I learned today that President George W Bush has raised $100 million for a President George W Bush heritage fund. This is not the library fund. This funds will be used mainly to tell the Bush presidential story. In other words, the funds will be used to fund scholars, speakers, articles, events and projects that are focused upon putting Bush in a positive light.
The supporters of Ronald Reagan put together a similar fund to promote the view that Reagan walked on water. His failings have been minimized and his accomplishments magnified and added to. The assumption is that history's judgment in 75 years will be heavily colored by the dominant interpretation that takes place in the first 15 years. When Reagan left office he was viewed highly and in the top third, but not in the top 8. Partly due to the work of Reagan's fund, twenty years later, he is viewed by many conservatives in the top five and in the country at large around 7th or 8th.
Bush's supporters will have a greater challenge than Reagan who is viewed as one of the ten worst Presidents the country has had, and one of the two worst in the last hundred years. A great deal of revisionist work will have to be done to move him in the middle of the pack. I hope money going into subtle marketing efforts does not color how Bush is judged in 15 to 25 years from now.
Reflective Wanderings - Reflections on various topics that arise out of my personal, life and professional experiences. There are also are some family related news, travels and pictures.
5 comments:
he must understand how much he's disliked if it's going to cost $100 million to fix his image!!!
Facinating! Imagine raising $100 million to put a careful spin on the G W Bush presidency. It is without a doubt a very poor record at the end of it all. When I think of the squandered opportunities of his first few years in office demonstrates to me how he surrounded himself with people that failed him and the American people. When I think of the tragic events of 911 and how good could have come out of that - yet the opportunity was squandered. It will be interesting to see how this spin on his presidency will play out. It really is rather sad.
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Hey. He can pay me a million and I will be more than happy to travel and tell his story ... and for that price, I'll put a possitive spin on it ... I promise.
I think the Bushie attempts at revisionism will be less successful than those of the Reaganites. Lots of people are extremely angry with the Bushies now, so they're probably not going to stand aside quietly while history is rewritten. The Reagan era didn't have anything close to the foul stench that the Bush era has.
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