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President
Bush's Flip-Flop Record
From the beginning, George W.
Bush has made his own credibility a central issue. On 10/11/00,
then-Gov. Bush said: "I think credibility is important.
It is going to be important for the president to be credible with
Congress, important for the president to be credible with foreign
nations." But President Bush's serial flip-flopping raises
serious questions about whether Congress and foreign leaders can
rely on what he says. Here
are thirty of his best:
Bush pledges not to touch
social security surplus: "We're going to keep the
promise of Social Security and keep the government from raiding
the Social Security surplus." [President Bush, 3/3/01]
Bush spends social security
surplus: The New York Times reported that
"the president's new budget uses Social Security surpluses to
pay for other programs every year through 2013, ultimately
diverting more than $1.4 trillion in Social Security funds to
other purposes." [The New York Times, 2/6/02]
Governor Bush vetos patient's
right to sue: "Despite his campaign
rhetoric in favor of a patients' bill of rights, Bush fought such
a bill tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill coauthored
by Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 1995. He... constantly
opposed a patient's right to sue an HMO over coverage denied that
resulted in adverse health effects." [Salon, 2/7/01]
Candidate Bush praises Texas
patient's right to sue: "We're one of the
first states that said you can sue an HMO for denying you proper
coverage... It's time for our nation to come together and do
what's right for the people. And I think this is right for the
people. You know, I support a national patients' bill of rights,
Mr. Vice President. And I want all people covered. I don't want
the law to supersede good law like we've got in Texas."
[Governor Bush, 10/17/00]
President Bush's administration
argues against the right to sue: "To let
two Texas consumers, Juan Davila and Ruby R. Calad, sue their
managed-care companies for wrongful denials of medical benefits
‘would be to completely undermine' federal law regulating
employee benefits, Assistant Solicitor General James A. Feldman
said at oral argument March 23. Moreover, the administration's
brief attacked the policy rationale for Texas's law, which is
similar to statutes on the books in nine other states."
[Washington Post, 4/5/04]
Bush supports current tobacco
farmers' quota system: "They've got the
quota system in place -- the allotment system -- and I don't think
that needs to be changed." [President Bush, 5/04]
Bush administration will
support federal buyout of tobacco quotas: "The
administration is open to a buyout." [White House spokeswoman
Jeanie Mamo, 6/18/04]
Bush will not offer nuclear
North Korea incentives to disarm: "We
developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed our
long-standing concerns, the United States was prepared to take
important steps that would have significantly improved the lives
of the North Korean people. Now that North Korea's covert nuclear
weapons program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this
approach." [President's Statement, 11/15/02]
Bush administration offers
North Korea incentives to disarm: "Well, we
will work to take steps to ease their political and economic
isolation. So there would be -- what you would see would be some
provisional or temporary proposals that would only lead to lasting
benefit after North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. So
there would be some provisional or temporary efforts of that
nature." [White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 6/23/04]
Bush supports a woman's right
to choose: "Bush said he...favors leaving up
to a woman and her doctor the abortion question." [The
Nation, 6/15/00,
quoting the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 5/78]
Bush opposes a woman's right to
choose: "I am pro-life." [Governor
Bush, 10/3/00]
Bush promises to force OPEC to
lower prices: "What I think the president ought to do
[when gas prices spike] is he ought to get on the phone with the
OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the
president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower
the price." [President Bush, 1/26/00]
Bush refuses to lobby OPEC
leaders: With gas prices soaring in the
United States at the beginning of 2004, the Miami Herald reported
the president refused to "personally lobby oil cartel leaders
to change their minds." [Miami Herald, 4/1/04]
Bush spokesman denies need for
additional funds for the rest of 2004: "We do not anticipate requesting supplemental funding for
'04" [White House Budget Director Joshua Bolton, 2/2/04]
Bush requests additional funds
for Iraq for 2004: "I am requesting that Congress
establish a $25 billion contingency reserve fund for the coming
fiscal year to meet all commitments to our troops."
[President Bush, Statement by President, 5/5/04]
Bush spokesman says Rice won't
testify as "a matter of principle:" "Again, this is not
her personal preference; this goes back to a matter of principle.
There is a separation of powers issue involved here. Historically,
White House staffers do not testify before legislative bodies. So
it's a matter of principle, not a matter of preference."
[White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 3/9/04]
Bush orders rice to
testify: "Today I have informed the Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Against the United States that my National
Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, will provide public
testimony." [President Bush, 3/30/04]
Bush pledges to issue
regulations based on science: "I think we ought to have
high standards set by agencies that rely upon science, not by what
may feel good or what sounds good." [then-Governor George W.
Bush, 1/15/00]
Bush administration regulations
ignore science: "60 leading
scientists—including Nobel laureates, leading medical experts,
former federal agency directors and university chairs and
presidents—issued a statement calling for regulatory and
legislative action to restore scientific integrity to federal
policymaking. According to the scientists, the Bush administration
has, among other abuses, suppressed and distorted scientific
analysis from federal agencies, and taken actions that have
undermined the quality of scientific advisory panels." [Union
of Concerned Scientists, 2/18/04]
Bush invites Chalabi to State
of the Union address: President Bush also met with Chalabi
during his brief trip to Iraq last Thanksgiving [White House
Documents 1/20/04, 11/27/03]
Bush military assists in raid
of Chalabi's house: "U.S. soldiers raided the home of
America's one-time ally Ahmad Chalabi on Thursday and seized
documents and computers." [Washington Post, 5/20/04]
Bush opposes the Department of
Homeland Security: "So, creating a Cabinet office
doesn't solve the problem. You still will have agencies within the
federal government that have to be coordinated. So the answer is
that creating a Cabinet post doesn't solve anything." [White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer, 3/19/02]
Bush supports the Department of
Homeland Security: "So tonight, I ask the
Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department
with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the homeland of
America and protecting the American people." [President Bush,
Address to the Nation, 6/6/02]
Bush says we found the weapons
of mass destruction: "We found the weapons of mass
destruction. We found biological laboratories...for those who say
we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned
weapons, they're wrong, we found them." [President Bush,
Interview in Poland, 5/29/03]
Bush says we haven't found
weapons of mass destruction: "David Kay has found the
capacity to produce weapons. And when David Kay goes in and says we
haven't found stockpiles yet, and there's theories as to where the
weapons went. They could have been destroyed during the war.
Saddam and his henchmen could have destroyed them as we entered
into Iraq. They could be hidden. They could have been transported
to another country, and we'll find out." [President Bush,
Meet the Press, 2/7/04]
Bush supports free
trade: "I believe strongly that if we promote trade, and when we
promote trade, it will help workers on both sides of this
issue." [President Bush in Peru, 3/23/02]
Bush supports restrictions on
trade: "In a decision largely driven by his political
advisers, President Bush set aside his free-trade principles last
year and imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel to help out
struggling mills in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two states
crucial for his reelection." [Washington Post, 9/19/03]
Bush wants Osama dead or
alive: "I want justice. And there's an old poster out
West, I recall, that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'"
[President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden, 09/17/01]
Bush doesn't care about
Osama: "I don't know where he is.You know, I just don't
spend that much time on him... I truly am not that concerned about
him."[President Bush, Press Conference, 3/13/02]
Bush supports mandatory caps on
carbon dioxide: "[If elected], Governor Bush will
work to...establish mandatory reduction targets for emissions of
four main pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and
carbon dioxide." [Bush Environmental Plan, 9/29/00]
Bush opposes mandatory caps on
carbon dioxide: "I do not believe, however, that the
government should impose on power plants mandatory emissions
reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a 'pollutant' under
the Clean Air Act." [President Bush, Letter to Sen. Chuck
Hagel (R-NE), 3/13/03]
Bush resists an outside
investigation on WMD intelligence failure: "The White
House immediately turned aside the calls from Kay and many
Democrats for an immediate outside investigation, seeking to head
off any new wide-ranging election-year inquiry that might go
beyond reports already being assembled by congressional committees
and the Central Intelligence Agency." [NY Times, 1/29/04]
Bush supports an outside
investigation on WMD intelligence failure: "Today, by
executive order, I am creating an independent commission, chaired
by Governor and former Senator Chuck Robb, Judge Laurence
Silberman, to look at American intelligence capabilities,
especially our intelligence about weapons of mass
destruction." [President Bush, 2/6/04]
Bush opposes creation of
independent 9/11 commission: "President Bush took a few
minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice his opposition
to establishing a special commission to probe how the government
dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11." [CBS News, 5/23/02]
Bush supports creation of
independent 9/11 commission: "President Bush said today he
now supports establishing an independent commission to investigate
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." [ABC News, 09/20/02]
Bush opposes time extension for
9/11 commission: "President Bush and House Speaker
J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose granting more
time to an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks." [Washington Post, 1/19/04]
Bush supports time extension
for 9/11 commission: "The White House announced
Wednesday its support for a request from the commission
investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks for more time to
complete its work." [CNN, 2/4/04]
Bush limits testimony in front
of 9/11 commission to one hour: "President Bush and
Vice President Dick Cheney have placed strict limits on the
private interviews they will grant to the federal commission
investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that they will meet
only with the panel's top two officials and that Mr. Bush will
submit to only a single hour of questioning, commission members
said Wednesday." [NY Times, 2/26/04]
Bush sets no time limit for
testimony: "The president's going to answer all of the
questions they want to raise. Nobody's watching the clock."
[White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 3/10/04]
Bush says gay marriage is a
state issue: "The state can do what they want to do.
Don't try to trap me in this state's issue like you're trying to
get me into." [Gov. George W. Bush on Gay Marriage, Larry
King Live, 2/15/00]
Bush supports constitutional
amendment banning gay marriage: "Today I
call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the states
for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and
protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and
wife." [President Bush, 2/24/04]
Bush opposes nation
building: "If we don't stop extending our troops all
around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to
have a serious problem coming down the road." [Gov. George W.
Bush, 10/3/00]
Bush supports nation
building: "We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the
good of the Iraqi people." [President Bush, 3/6/03]
Bush says it is impossible to
distinguish between Al Qaeda and Saddam: "You can't
distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the
war on terror." [President Bush, 9/25/02]
Bush says Saddam had no roll in
Al Aqeda plot: "We've had no evidence that Saddam
Hussein was involved in Sept. 11." [President Bush, 9/17/03]
Bush vows to have a UN vote no
matter what: "No matter what the whip count is, we're
calling for the vote. We want to see people stand up and say what
their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and the utility of the
United Nations Security Council. And so, you bet. It's time for
people to show their cards, to let the world know where they stand
when it comes to Saddam." [President Bush 3/6/03]
Bush withdraws request for
vote: "At a National Security Council meeting convened at
the White House at 8:55 a.m., Bush finalized the decision to
withdraw the resolution from consideration and prepared to deliver
an address to the nation that had already been written."
[Washington Post, 3/18/03]
Bush opposes summits:
"Well, we've tried summits in the past, as you may remember.
It wasn't all that long ago where a summit was called and nothing
happened, and as a result we had significant intifada in the
area." [President Bush, 04/05/02]
Bush supports summits:
"If a meeting advances progress toward two states living side
by side in peace, I will strongly consider such a meeting. I'm
committed to working toward peace in the Middle East."
[President Bush, 5/23/03]
Bush opposes
McCain-Feingold: "George W. Bush opposes
McCain-Feingold...as an infringement on free expression."
[Washington Post, 3/28/2000]
Bush signs McCain-Feingold into
law: "[T]his bill improves the current system of
financing for Federal campaigns, and therefore I have signed it
into law." [President Bush, at the McCain-Feingold signing
ceremony, 03/27/02]
Bush opposes restrictions on
527s: "I also have reservations about the
constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising [in McCain
Feingold], which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups
on issues of public import." [President Bush, 3/27/02]
Bush says 527s bad for
system: "I don't think we ought to have 527s. I can't be
more plain about it…I think they're bad for the system. That's
why I signed the bill, McCain-Feingold." [President Bush, 8/23/04]
Bush says medical records must
remain private: "I believe that we must protect…the
right of every American to have confidence that his or her
personal medical records will remain private." [President
Bush, 4/12/01]
Bush says patients'
histories are not confidential: The Justice
Department…asserts that patients "no longer possess a
reasonable expectation that their histories will remain completely
confidential." [Business Week, 4/30/04]
Bush sets timeline for
Saddam:
"If Iraq does not accept the terms within a week of passage
or fails to disclose required information within 30 days, the
resolution authorizes 'all necessary means' to force
compliance--in other words, a military attack." [LA Times, 10/3/02]
Bush says he's against
timelines: "I don't think you give timelines to
dictators." [President Bush, 8/27/04]
Bush wants to divert great
lakes: "Even though experts say 'diverting any water from
the Great Lakes region sets a bad precedent' Bush 'said he wants
to talk to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien about piping
water to parched states in the west and southwest.'– [AP,
7/19/01]
Bush says he'll never divert
Great Lakes: "We've got to use our resources wisely, like
water. It starts with keeping the Great Lakes water in the Great
Lakes Basin...My position is clear: We're never going to allow
diversion of Great Lakes water." [President Bush, 8/16/04]
Bush claims he can win the war
on terror: "One of the interesting things people ask me,
now that we're asking questions, is, can you ever win the war on
terror? Of course, you can." [President Bush, 4/13/04]
Bush says war on terror is
unwinnable: "I don't think you can win [the war on
terror]." [President Bush, 8/30/04]
Bush says he will win the
war on terror: "Make no mistake about it, we are winning
and we will win [the war on terror]." [President Bush, 8/31/04] |
