IT'S EASY WHEN YOU'RE PRINCIPLED:

The Dignity of George W. Bush: He won’t criticize Obama’s policies, his popularity polls are rising, and Democrats are hailing him as a “statesman.” Nicolle Wallace asks, is Bush becoming history’s classiest ex-president? (Nicolle Wallace, 5/31/09, Daily Beast)

Friends and former advisers who have spent time with him recently report that he’s “more relaxed than they’ve seen him in years” and “truly at peace” with life as a “former.” Events showcasing the warmth between Bush and Clinton shine a spotlight on Bush’s comfort with membership in the ex-president’s club. In fact, recent news coverage of Bush’s public events depicts an openness and generosity, especially toward those who disagree with him, that was often obscured by the office.

In two public speeches this week, Bush repeatedly refused to criticize President Obama on national security and on his management of the economy. He reiterated a pledge he made in March to maintain his silence, saying that “it is essential that he [Obama] be helped in office.” This comes from a place of deep respect for the office he once held, but also from genuine goodwill toward President Obama. “I love my country a lot more than I love politics,” Bush added. There are few public signs of that goodwill or respect being reciprocated from Obama, but that’s not likely to alter Bush’s conduct.

In answering a question from an audience member at a speech in front of the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan about what he wanted his legacy to be, Bush said: “I hope it’s this: the man showed up with a set of principles and he was unwilling to compromise his soul for the sake of popularity.”

With his approval numbers inching upward, George W. Bush is doing all the right things to ensure that his legacy is as he wishes. [...]

[W]hile no politician willingly sacrifices public support for his agenda if he can avoid it, George W. Bush relished traveling the politically treacherous path. Being a man of deep conviction was as central to Bush’s presidency as any other personal trait or outside event. I asked Senior Advisor David Axelrod once to what extent Obama was driven by his convictions.

“He’s pragmatic,” was his response, and it’s in keeping with something I’ve written about before—Axelrod’s belief that every winning candidacy is a ‘remedy’ to the previous administration.

And pragmatism is nothing if not unprincipled.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 31, 2009 7:05 AM