Bill Rusher Quotes Directory
 

Assessing Bush’s Place in History

“… if I were Bush, I wouldn’t despair. He has not escaped being labeled by some people, as most presidents are before their terms are over, as “the worst president we have ever had.” But that is simply the bellow of exasperation vented by the worst critics of almost every president. I don’t detect, in the larger tides of public opinion, anything like that sort of animosity toward George W. Bush … there isn’t a trace of savagery that animated the opponents of (say) Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon. Bush may not go down in history as a great president, but neither will he be remembered as a terrible one.”

Source: The Conservative Advocate,”Bush’s Last Few Months” (August 5, 2008)

Keywords: elections,remembrance,governance

Partisan Cycles and Spending

“… now is the Democrats’ time, and they can be forgiven if they intend to enjoy it …the downturn began before they took over, and can continue to be blamed on the Republicans for a while. In due course, the economy will come back, as it always does, and the political balance will reassert itself. With the Democrats running things, you can bet that government spending will increase, probably substantially, and that will have the temporary exhilarating effect that increased spending always does. The added debt will further cripple the national fisc, but at too much of a remove to be blamed effectively on those who caused it. The U.S. economy will simply shoulder the added burden and soldier on.”

Source: The Conservative Advocate,”The Political Consequences of the Economic Crisis” (October 13, 2008)

Keywords: economics,governance,political-strategy

Government Response to Downturns

“… The auto industry is a critical part of the nation’s economy. But … by no means the only critical part. If we undertake to guarantee its survival, must we (or should we) guarantee the survival of other major industries as well? And how shall we choose which to subsidize … Pure capitalistic theory … is very unsentimental about the answer. Let any unsuccessful economic enterprise go under. But we won’t, and we shouldn’t, enforce that draconian principle without exceptions. Economic hardships should be eased where possible, with due recognition that uneconomic practices must ultimately be eliminated. … a democratic society isn’t, and probably can’t be, a strictly and uncompromisingly capitalist one. Pure capitalism is based on a correct analysis of economics, but its prescriptions must be modified by an understanding of human nature that takes other necessities into account. To make such modifications is not to betray capitalism, but simply to understand that its rules must recognize other, and equally imperative, human needs.”

Source: The Conservative Advocate,”To Bail Out or Not” (December 16, 2008)

Keywords: economics,governance,policy

Bailouts and Economic Pragmatism

“… the recent worldwide economic downturn will, predictably, generate a demand that Washington “do something,” and Washington will respond with a whole series of programs, laws and expenditures allegedly designed to improve matters. Few, if any … will work, but they will have the collective effect of putting government’s weight on the scales against the economy’s own healthy tendency to right itself. In a few years, we will learn all over again why we acquired our previous deep distrust of government “solutions.””

Source: The Conservative Advocate,”Here Comes Big Government” (October 21, 2008)

Keywords: economics,policy,governance