Keep Talking, George

While I am somewhat despairing of the prospects for real health care reform today, I can say unreservedly that the prospects go up in an off-the-charts fashion if the reviled George W. Bush keeps talking about it.

Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector -- not government -- will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care.

"I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in," the former president said to applause from members of a local business group. "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money." [...]

But he was less than convinced about Mr. Obama's move to overhaul the health care system.

"There are a lot of ways to remedy the situation without nationalizing health care," Mr. Bush said. "I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for health care."

I appreciate the description of "the current economic times we're in" as if they just magically appeared and the guy on stage dispensing all this wisdom had nothing to do with it.

And I think most people generally get that as well. George Bush speaking out against anything will have a reverse-Midas effect. He keeps going and we'll have a carbon tax, national health care and his entire cabinet will be held in the stocks.

I love this, too.

On Guantanamo, which while in office Mr. Bush said he wanted to close, the former president was diplomatic.

"I told you I'm not going to criticize my successor," he said. "I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that -- persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind."

As John Cole says, "I, for one, am really glad Obama dropped his plan to send all of these guys to therapy instead of trying them for alleged crimes. Nice double negative, btw, Bush."

By the way, the public overwhelmingly supports charging or releasing detainees at Gitmo and not just holding them indefinitely, the way Bush, the Republicans, and to a lesser degree Obama wants. That's because it's simply the expected standard of American jurisprudence that we either release or charge those who come through our criminal justice system. Attorney General Holder plans to charge 60, and many more are being released. In the end, we need to stand up for justice here.