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A historic gathering of presidents

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor January 7, 2009 02:22 PM

The-Presidents%27-Club.jpg

(AP)

As President Bush hosts his successor and predecessors for lunch today, he is the least popular by far of any of them.

But a poll out today suggests he has cause for hope that Americans will look more kindly on him in years to come.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton all received higher approval ratings further away from when they were in the White House. The poll found that 69 percent approve of how Clinton handled the presidency, up from 51 percent in March 2002; 64 percent approve of Carter's performance, up from 45 percent in November 1990; and 60 percent approve of Bush's, up from 58 percent in November 1993.

In the same survey, conducted Dec. 19-21 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, Bush's approval rating was 27 percent and Obama's was 82 percent.

Before the lunch, they all gathered for a brief photo opportunity in the Oval Office.

According to the press pool report, President Bush said, "I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents for lunch. And one message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed. Whether we're Democrat or Republican we care deeply about this country. And to the extent we can we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. All of us who have served in this office understand that the office itself transcends the individual and we wish you all the very best and so does the country."

Obama responded, "I just want to thank the president for hosting us. This is an extraordinary gathering. All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office, and for me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary and I'm very grateful to all of them. But again thank you, Mr. President, for hosting.

After the lunch, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs issued this statement:

"They had a very constructive conversation. The President-elect was grateful for their counsel and the spirit of bipartisanship they showed in wishing his Administration success in meeting the challenges we all share as Americans. The President and the former Presidents had helpful advice on managing the office as well as thoughts on the critical issues facing the country right now. The President-elect is anxious to stay in touch with all of them in the coming years."

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Everybody looks to the camera but Bush Jr. Poor guy never can get it quite right.

Posted by Ron M January 7, 09 04:06 PM
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Let's hope the charlatan Obama is a one termer

Posted by Greg January 7, 09 04:37 PM
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The headline should be "An historic . . ."

Posted by Fred Rabin January 7, 09 04:42 PM
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The globe still talking about Bush favoribility rating and you wonder why the globe losing money.

Posted by brianf January 7, 09 05:27 PM
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Bush should have punched Jimmy Carter in the face

Posted by Larry January 7, 09 05:27 PM
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Go find the highest building and jump. Your pathetic .

Posted by repod January 7, 09 05:45 PM
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The ol' proverb; Let the flood waters recede and the rock will be there. All this means is that the truth will come out in the end and we'll have a much better idea of what President Bush (George W) brought to this country, both positively and critically. Lest we not judge so quickly... In the meantime, as a supporter of President-elect Obama; I'm very glad to hear the tone of his comments relative to his willingness to go to these former leaders for advice and counsel.

Posted by John Del Vecchio January 7, 09 05:50 PM
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isn't the guy on the left on some terrorist watch list?

Posted by pk812 January 7, 09 05:57 PM
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So W has made all those other guys look not so bad in retrospect.

Posted by FSM Ramen January 7, 09 06:17 PM
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OMG CLINTON AND CARTER AREN'T WEARING FLAG PINS! THEY MUST HATE THIS COUNTRY!

Funny how no one said this anymore once they realized McCain never wore one either...

Posted by Mike January 7, 09 06:32 PM
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Bush Jr will be praised years from now. Everybody who is so against Bush and is a Bush hater, look up his State of the Union address to Congress on Sept 21, 2001. He states his plan and everything that it will take. He says that it will take years and it is something the people of the US have not seen. When he gave this speech, every body was cheering, they stopped a hockey game so people could watch and the patriotism was over flowing. The problem now, is that it has taken too long. People in the US expect to see things right away. What this country needs is another attack so people can understand. Only problem is, Bush HAS done a good job, and we have not been attacked since 2001.

Posted by Bud January 7, 09 06:48 PM
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I'm gonna guess George Jr isn't on any one of the other's speed dial. Not even his Father's. You Bush lovers just can't admit that he was a total complete failure. A total bust on every level. He managed to unravel everything good that has been build or preserved since WWII. Foreign Policy and relations, economy, security, domestic disasters, both man-made and natural. The military is stretched so thin I doubt we could defend ourselves - let a lone anyone else. Good luck getting a gov. student loan. He is about as earth friendly as an oil spill and fire. Mission accomplished. His legacy is that he did whatever the VP and his friends wanted him to. For all his tough talk he never really had a spine of his own.

Hey George, don't let the door hit ya, where the good lord split ya. Get out- so long, hit the road, adios, Here is your hat- whats your hurry. ciao, get lost, pack your bags.. right this way out the door.

He unraveled everything good that had been build since WWII. Be it

Posted by Aquanet January 7, 09 06:50 PM
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No. He's actually your new President.

Posted by Bob January 7, 09 06:53 PM
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One of these things is not like the other........nope, its not Obama..........it's the one in the middle!!!

He's the only one who ran the US into the ground! [this was the censored version btw]

Posted by OneTwentyOhNine January 7, 09 06:55 PM
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I wish he'd just go now and let Barack get in there...

Posted by Bill January 7, 09 07:08 PM
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George Wmd Bush did a good job if his administration began Sept. 12, 2001.

Posted by Skraeling January 7, 09 07:10 PM
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The protocol would be for GWB to give Obama the truth about Roswell, Majestic 12, Area 51 etc. as well as who really killed Kennedy but they figured he would not believe it coming from W so they all had to go to confirm the real American history.

Posted by Marty January 7, 09 07:13 PM
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When will we get past all this polarization? Intelligent and patriotic Americans need to emote less and think more. Each one of those gentleman have done a job that most of us could never even imagine never mind do. They will all be remembered for their willingness to give to their country, Democrat and Republican alike.

Posted by Rick January 7, 09 07:30 PM
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aw...why is Mr. Carter standing so far away? Did he smell funny? No love for Carter.

Posted by dr katz January 7, 09 07:46 PM
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Fred,
Technically "A historic" is correct and more common in writing than "An historic," but both usages are sufficiently common to be considered correct.

"An" is the form of "a" before an initial vowel sound (an arch; an honor) and SOMETIMES esp. in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h: an historian.

Posted by Heather January 7, 09 07:59 PM
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Hey Bud, I have many islands to sell you - including Mnhattan if you really believe that.
But you dont - you are just being faithful to your "team" - which is commendible. The thing is, we have all moved on without you. Bush made America a mess beyond belief - that will never go away. The reality of his actions: he hired the incompetent and the corrupt. We know that now. So long to bad news.

I dont hate the guy - he is too pathetic. He set out to destroy "big government" and he destroyed anything he touched. And Cheney pushed him into most of it.

The reason we got attacked on 9/11 becasue he and Condi didnt want to hear what Richard Clarke was repeatedly telling them. Clarke was part of "big govenment" - get the pattern?

No, it wont be hard to be twice as good as W for anyone. The problem is we are in such a hole because of W, its going to take years to get back to where Slick Willie had us when W took over. Can you say " In over his head'?

Posted by BillyBob January 7, 09 08:36 PM
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I thought the republicans wore red and the dems wore blue ... Obama clearly didn't get the party-tie-color memo. You have to look to the past to create the future and let's hope it's brighter for all of us, regardless of what side of the aisle you like better.

Posted by Inf January 7, 09 08:47 PM
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It's almost like...they're laughing at us. Perhaps, losing their power will become their suffering? (They have to check out sometime.)

Posted by DjM January 7, 09 08:50 PM
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Bud, Bush has bungled EVERYTHING he's touched. Not being attacked in 7 years is something Clinton accomplished as well without running up a trillion dollar deficit, and increasing the national debt by more than any other president in the past, or starting a second war without true justification. And the State of the Union address is delivered in late January or early February by law. the September 2001 speech was an address to the country, not the State of the Union. It was 10 days after we were attacked, and he needed to address the country. You are, I fear, wrong.

Posted by mhc90 January 7, 09 09:19 PM
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We elected every single one of them.

Before we fault them, perhaps we should take into account the people who elected them.

US

i voted for everyone but the one apart from guy in the middle

Posted by brian January 7, 09 09:19 PM
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Umm, Bud? "What this country needs is another attack so people can understand." ... ... ?????

Posted by BDY January 7, 09 09:30 PM
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I do wish Barack Obama a successful presidency. Even though I did not vote for him it would be ludicrous of me to think otherwise. If a President, any President, fails then we all fail as well, and since I do love my country my prays are with Obama as well as all the men standing there with him.

Posted by Ellen Dean January 7, 09 09:34 PM
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Bush has NOT done a good job, and his administration should be remembered as the American government haters that they are. They are about as unpatriatic a lot as has ever held the Executive in the history of this country, and all these fawning kool-aid drinkers who continue to wax uneloquant about the many blessings Bush has bestowed upon this country are actually excellent examplars of the failure of civics education in the country over the past 2 or 3 generations, and the success of the paranoid Birchers in infiltrating our civic culture since the 50s. Thank God we have apparently returned to the ethic of government as public service.

Posted by Timothy Silva January 7, 09 09:52 PM
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We're going to have four living ex-presidents at the same time. I wonder what the record is.

Posted by JMR January 7, 09 10:02 PM
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Bud, that was not the State of the Union address on Sept 21, 2001, it was just a special address to joint members of Congress.

People criticize Bush because of his administration's foul-ups of the economy, foreign policy, health care, education, social security, emergency responses to Hurricane Katrina, etc.

He has done a horrible job, and 80% of the American people and a majority of the rest of the world realize this and a minority like yourself seem unwilling to accept this fact.

Posted by Ed January 7, 09 11:28 PM
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I love the USA!

Posted by 4change January 7, 09 11:51 PM
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Dear Globe,

Why do you allow people to comment on these articles? You are only providing an open forum for all of these hateful morons to shoot their mouths off while they hide behind their computers.

Sincerely,
Someone who speaks with decency in public

Posted by Erica January 8, 09 12:04 AM
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While it is true that the United States has not been attacked since 9/11, this does not make Bush a good or even great President. It means that he did what he was supposed to do to protect and defend the United States against enemies foreign and domestic - a rather precise description of what the President is hired to do to begin with. That said, it is a bit early for us to start looking into our crystal balls to determine his future popularity but this much can be said now: Bush presided over the greatest expansion of federal government since LBJ and broke a treasured Republican credo - he authorized a war and refused to pay for it honestly, setting us up for the deficits we (including future generations) are now saddled with for years. In this respect his presidency has been catastrophic. The most painful irony of course could be that in "liberating" Iraq, he will have constrained the United States, sharply diminishing the likelihood of economic liberty for future generations. Even more painful is the shameful manner in which he pursued it; declaring victory long before one was in sight, while arguing that Social Security be invested in the market. Imagine had that come to pass given the state of our economy now ? Poor Barack Obama - the only "change" he may be capable of bringing to America is that this may indeed be our ruling currency.

Posted by David Harris January 8, 09 04:21 AM
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