Inside Politics

Defending Bush

Fox News journalist Chris Wallace on Monday evening defended President Bush against criticism by Hollywood filmmaker Ron Howard that the president has abused his office in a way similar to President Nixon, Jon Ward reports at www.washingtontimes.com.

“Richard Nixon’s crimes were committed purely in the interest of his own political gain,” Mr. Wallace told Mr. Howard before an audience of a few hundred after viewing the filmmaker’s new film, “Frost/Nixon,” which is about the only U.S. president to resign from office.

“I think to compare what Nixon did, and the abuses of power for pure political self-preservation, to George W. Bush trying to protect this country - even if you disagree with rendition or waterboarding - it seems to me is both a gross misreading of history, both then and now,” Mr. Wallace said.

Mr. Wallace was a member of the audience at a special preview screening of “Frost/Nixon,” which depicts the process that led to the disgraced president’s confession of failure. The screening was held at the National Geographic Society Auditorium in Washington. The movie opens nationwide Friday.

After the screening, Mr. Howard took the stage and made comments comparing Mr. Bush’s actions in office to those of Mr. Nixon.

Meanwhile, Ben Bradlee, who was executive editor of The Washington Post when that newspaper led the way in exposing Mr. Nixon’s abuses, expressed unhappiness with the film’s depiction of Mr. Nixon.

“They [the filmmakers] never should have let him apologize in the film,” he told Stephanie Green of The Washington Times after the screening. “Nixon never was sorry for what he did.”

Just say no

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, unlike many of their fellow governors, want no part of federal bailouts.

“As governors and citizens, we’ve grown increasingly concerned over the past weeks as Washington has thrown bailout after bailout at the national economy with little to show for it,” the two Republicans said Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal.

“In the process, the federal government is not only burying future generations under mountains of debt. It is also taking our country in a very dangerous direction - toward a ‘bailout mentality’ where we look to government rather than ourselves for solutions. We’re asking other governors from both sides of the political aisle to join with us in opposing further federal bailout intervention … .

“One fact that’s been continually glossed over in the bailout debate is that Washington doesn’t have money in hand for any of these proposals. Every penny would be borrowed. Estimates for what the government is willing to spend on bailouts and stimulus efforts for this year reach as much as $7.7 trillion, according to Bloomberg.com - a full half of the United States’ yearly economic output.

“With all the zeroes in the numbers, it’s no wonder Washington politicians have lost track.”

Last chance

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