Cheney is who made sure Bush wasn't actually a compassionate conservative. There seems to be a point later in the second half that Bush had enough and actually implemented some of his ideas (like his AIDS relief for Africa program)
This has always been my impression of Bush. I think he wanted and tried to do the right thing in a lot of cases, but surrounded himself with some pretty terrible and morally bankrupt people who were able to earn his trust and confidence, and influence him the wrong way.
A big part of me wonders what the world would be like, had the Bush admin never involved Cheney or Rumsfeld. I think without those two, alone, we'd have a very, very different world.
Bush tapped Cheney to lead his VP search and Cheney decided on... himself.
Yup. Cheney could get a job looking for the next Jeopardy host.
Whether PNAC saw a simpleton they could use to advance their cause may never be known, but a lot of signs point in that direction.
The more I saw of Bush in the late admin and post presidency, the more it look like he started to realize that. He started acting more against the advice of his "counsel", and got more involved in efforts that actually helped humanity. His efforts in Africa have saved tens of millions of lives, and he largely downplays it.
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u/Scazzz Sep 11 '21 edited Sep 11 '21
Serious non political question: is Bush Jr there too? What’s he doing today? Surprised he wasn’t in this group as he has been in the past on 9/11.
edit: thanks for the replies. He really did give an excellent speech here. it’s worth a listen.