GEORGE W. BUSH, 43rd PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, HONORARY CHAIRMAN OF PATRIOT GOLF DAY 2010

Tulsa, OK (August 19, 2010) – The Folds of Honor Foundation today announced it has named George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States of America, as the Honorary Chairman of Patriot Golf Day Weekend 2010.

Patriot Golf Day events, held at thousands of participating golf courses over Labor Day weekend, raise money for scholarships for the families of military members killed or disabled in service to their country. Since its creation in 2007, Patriot Golf Day and its events, supported by The PGA of America and the United States Golf Association (USGA), have raised more than $5.3 million, and the Folds of Honor has awarded 1,163 scholarships and counting.

“I am pleased to be associated with the Folds of Honor Foundation, and I encourage all golfers to get out and support this worthy cause,” said President Bush. “Education is the key to a future of hope and opportunity. When our heroes in uniform are killed or wounded in the line of duty, the citizens they protect and defend ought to help the families those heroes leave behind. Patriot Golf Day is a perfect way for people to have fun and support our military families at the same time.”

Click here for a video of President Bush expressing his support for Patriot Golf Day.

“President Bush led our country through the September 11 attacks and outlined a strategy that has kept our nation safe for nearly a decade,” said Major Dan Rooney, F-16 fighter pilot and founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation. “We were proud to honor his father, George H.W. Bush, with the Patriot Cup Award earlier this year. We are equally proud and honored to have his support to help our military families realize their educational dreams.”

On Patriot Golf Day weekend, golfers have the opportunity to make donations to Folds of Honor for its scholarship program. Many courses all around the country ask golfers to add an additional $1 or more to their regular greens fees over Labor Day Weekend, while others host special events. The first Patriot Golf Day, organized in just a few short weeks, raised more than $1 million; last year’s Patriot Golf Day raised more than $2.3 million. Some 1,163 scholarships have been awarded by the Folds of Honor Foundation over the past three years.

Rooney also added that President Bush has been a lifelong supporter of the USGA and has had a lifelong passion for the game of golf.

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STATEMENT BY FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Ted Stevens and all those aboard the airplane that crashed in Alaska last night. Ted served our country with great distinction. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were lost, and we are praying for the health and well-being of the survivors.

MEDIA ADVISORY: PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH TO TRAVEL TO HAITI

President George W. Bush will travel to Haiti on Tuesday, August 10.  While there, he will view progress made on rebuilding after the January earthquake, hear from Haitian citizens regarding the current conditions in their country, and visit with organizations that are assisting in the rebuilding effort and have been supported by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded after Haiti’s January 12, 2010 earthquake, when President Barack Obama asked Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to lead a major fundraising effort to assist the Haitian people.  The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund primarily focuses on longer-term, sustainable economic reconstruction designed to help the people of Haiti rebuild by creating jobs and promoting economic opportunity.

President Bush’s trip will draw attention to the great ongoing need in Haiti, and he will encourage Americans to continue to give what they can to help their neighbors in need.

Contacts:

David Sherzer, Office of George W. Bush, +1 214-692-4306

Jean Pierre-Louis, Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, +509 3438 8991

From NBC:

The Interview Will Air Monday, November 8, 2010 as a Special Primetime “Matt Lauer Reports”

Bush Will Also Join Lauer Live on “Today” Wednesday, November 10

NEW YORK – August 2, 2010 – - NBC News’ Matt Lauer will sit down with President George W. Bush in his first one-on-one television interview since leaving the Oval Office. The extensive interview will air in primetime, Monday, November 8, as a special “Matt Lauer Reports.” President Bush will then join Lauer live on “Today,” Wednesday, November 10.

Since leaving office, President Bush has granted no one-on-one television interviews about his presidency. President Bush will talk to Lauer about the details of his upcoming book, Decision Points, to be released by Crown Publishers on November 9, and he will discuss the defining decisions he has made in his personal and political life.

Jim Bell is the executive producer of “Today” (Mon.-Fri., 7-11 a.m. ET).

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Read the stories from The Huffington Post, USA Today’s The Oval Blog and The Hill’s Briefing Room Blog

Published for Politico’s Arena, June 3rd, 2010:

Dana Perino:

The best way to restore confidence in the White House’s dealings with political candidates is to ask for an independent review. That way it can defer questions and commenting until that’s completed. It’s not partisan – it’s the right thing to do and it will help them in the long run.

Tevi Troy:

It is indeed surprising that the Obama who campaigned with the efficiency and discipline of Robocop is running an administration that often performs like the Keystone Kops. One reason is that the campaign season and to-do lists are relatively finite, while the responsibilities in government seem infinite. In addition, Obama had a lot of experience in his career as a campaigner, as both a community organizer and a political candidate, but he had precious little experience in governing before ascending to the top job.

Posts published here

As published for Economics 21 on May 24th, 2010:

SUMMARY

We propose a specific reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that securitize and guarantee conforming mortgages.  Our plan protects taxpayers and the overall economy from the systemic risk posed by the former GSE model, while ensuring that financing remains available for housing even in periods of credit market strains.  Under this proposal the two firms would become private companies that buy conforming mortgages and bundle them into securities that are eligible for government backing. The reformed firms would not have the investment portfolios that were the main source of risk under their previous structure. The federal government would offer a guarantee on mortgage-backed securities composed of conforming loans. This guarantee would be explicit, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. To compensate taxpayers for taking on housing risk, Fannie and Freddie would pay an actuarially fair fee to the government in return for the guarantee, and the shareholders of the firms would take losses before the government guarantee kicks in. Other private firms such as bank subsidiaries would be allowed to compete by securitizing conforming loans and purchasing the government guarantee. Over time, entry into these activities would help ensure that the benefits of the government support are passed through to homeowners and would reduce the risk that the failure of any one firm would pose a threat to the housing market or the overall economy.

Few issues are as important to financial markets, the U.S. economy, and current and future American homeowners as the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that support the secondary mortgage market. Since the government put Fannie and Freddie into conservatorship in September 2008, the two firms have effectively become federal agencies. Taxpayers have injected more than $100 billion into the two companies—putting them on track to be the most expensive of the financial market bailouts—and may have to add tens of billions more in coming years. At the same time, the Federal Reserve has purchased more than $1 trillion in Fannie and Freddie securities in order to support the mortgage markets and the broader economy.

Read the full paper here

By Mark McKinnon for The Daily Beast on May 20th, 2010:

Obama’s team continues to blame America’s problems on his predecessor. But as Tuesday’s vote made clear, voters are holding 44 accountable.

An economy in recession. An ever-deepening deficit. An increase in terrorist attacks. And an angry, divided electorate. If only Bush had not won that third term. So says Barack Obama.

Much like the schoolyard taunt,” I’m rubber, you’re glue,” President Barack Obama, the actual current occupant of the Oval Office, continues to deflect criticism of his administration’s failures by persistently pointing the finger of blame back at his predecessor. Even on day 485.

From the staggering loss of jobs on Main Street, to the nation’s loss of authority abroad, and even to Scott Brown’s clarion victory in Mass., the clearest rebuke of his health care takeover, Obama continues to bemoan all that he inherited. And it’s only going to get worse.

Jumping aboard an angry bandwagon of blame will not help Obama. It’s his wagon that voters are now running from.

In the run-up to the November 2010 elections, 44 is once again campaigning against 43. Obama’s positive future-oriented message about hope and bipartisanship from the presidential campaign was ditched pretty early on.

The playbook going forward is clear: look back, blame Bush, and blame the partisanship divide on the minority party. It’s sad to see that polls—not principles—are the driving force behind Obama’s message.

While the majority of Democrats in America blame Bush and the majority of Republicans blame Obama for the economic mess of the last two years, there isstrong bipartisan agreement that voters trust their own judgment more than the president’s.

Read the full post here

As published for The Wall Street Journal on May 13th, 2010:

The lack of a court appearance suggests prosecutors are getting information. But they shouldn’t have to improvise.

The Obama administration’s announcement that it will seek legislative changes to Miranda warnings for terrorism suspects is a signal event. On Sunday, Attorney General Eric Holder said, “We need to give serious consideration to at least modifying the public safety exception” to the Miranda law to give law enforcement officials “the necessary flexibility” to question terror suspects.

In other words, the Miranda rights to remain silent and have an attorney present during questioning would be suspended for terror suspects believed to possess information that could prevent an attack.

The administration is making a number of admissions here: Mirandizing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, aka the underwear bomber, after only 50 minutes of questioning was a mistake; terrorists are enemies of America, not ordinary criminals; and the law-enforcement approach to combatting terrorism, which is designed to obtain evidence admissible at trial after a crime has already been committed, is not the most effective way to obtain intelligence to prevent future attacks.

This is an important step forward and a sign that, after the Manhattan subway plot, Fort Hood, Detroit, and now Times Square, the administration has become more adaptable to the realities of the war on terror. Yet the jury is out on whether the administration has a real plan or is merely improvising. Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad remains in the criminal justice system and has not been designated as an enemy combatant, though he is still eligible for such designation.

This is likely because the administration, guided by Mr. Holder, doubts whether the president has the authority to hold a U.S. citizen as an enemy combatant. This is clearly an incorrect view of the law. No less an authority than the U.S. Supreme Court, in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), resolved this question: The president has the authority to hold even U.S. citizens as enemy combatants if he believes they are working with the Taliban, al Qaeda or associated terrorist groups.

Mr. Holder recently announced that Shahzad was working with the Pakistan Taliban, so Mr. Obama is within his rights to order him held as an enemy combatant. The Supreme Court has not addressed whether a U.S. citizen arrested on U.S. soil may be held as an enemy combatant, but the federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit answered in the affirmative in Padilla v. Hanft (2005). This is the only operative judicial opinion on the issue and provides ample legal grounds to designate Shahzad as an enemy combatant.

Read the full article here