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Former president George W. Bush is promoting his new book, a collection of his paintings of military men and women, the proceeds of which will go to help veterans groups. That alone highlights one dramatic contrast between Bush and President Trump the former has actually done good works for others. Bushs recent remarks on the Today show caught the attention of political watchers. Only in the era of Trump could Bush seem to be criticizing Trump when he says, I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need an independent media to hold people like me to account.

In the wake of CPAC, the GOP can no longer claim to be the party of Ronald Reagan. But neither can it claim to reflect values embodied by Bush 43, and that is a horrible thing for the party and the country.

For starters, Bush actually understood and subscribed to the Founders view that power should be limited.Power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive and its important for the media to call to account people who abuse power, whether it be here or elsewhere, he said.

Moreover, in the wake of 9/11, his determination not to demonize Muslims generally stands in stark contrast to Trumps xenophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric. I think its very important for all of us to recognize one of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or to not worship at all. A bedrock of our freedom is the right to worship freely, he told Matt Lauer. And if that wasnt clear enough, in response to a question on the Muslim travel ban, he said, I am for an immigration policy thats welcoming and upholds the law.

That of course reminds us that a conservative, law-and-order president was pro-immigration reform and pro-legal immigration specifically because he was/is a conservative (who believes in free markets, understands what makes the economy grow) and in favor of law and order (which necessitates we end the underground economy, make certain they pay taxes, etc.).

Speaking to People magazine, Bush was clear about his views on race and his fellow Americans more generally. I dont like the racism and I dont like the name-calling and I dont like the people feeling alienated, he said. The story continued: The couple list some of the centers work that stands in contrast to Trumps isolationism: immigration ceremonies, womens reproductive-health programs in Africa, and leadership training for Muslim women that the Bush Center brings to Texas from the Middle East. And of course in office Bush routinely defended human rights, religious freedom and the U.S. role in setting an example for the rest of the world. It would not have occurred to him to claim the United States. was being taken advantage of by our allies or shouldnt provide humanitarian and other forms of aid for other countries.

We shouldnt damn Bush 43 with faint praise by saying he is more humble, compassionate, empathetic, generous and civil than Trump, but it also bears remembering that in his defense of democratic norms, U.S. world leadership, nondiscrimination. legal immigration and anti-poverty initiatives his policy views were more rational and mindful of American values than are those of the current Oval Office resident. Moreover, the GOP under Bush, whatever its faults and shortcomings, was surely preferable to the Party of Trump.

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Republicans should miss George W. Bush - Washington Post (blog)