BRING IN THE BIAS – AT 7:45 P.M. ET:  An example of things to come, I'm afraid.  Former President George W. Bush will release his memoir, "Decision Points," on November 9th.  Like the gentleman he is, the former president is waiting until after the election to publish.  He should not expect similar courtesy from the media, which, as this Reuters story shows, can't wait to get at him:

(Reuters) - George W. Bush, whose U.S. presidency was marked by the September 11 attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will release a memoir on November 9, his publisher said on Monday.

The book, "Decision Points," will center on 14 decisions Bush made in his eight years as president, including "his flaws and mistakes, as well as his historic achievements," the Crown Publishing Group said in a statement.

Fine.  But then the cool and objective "reporter" throws this in:

The former Texas governor left the White House in January 2009 with one of the lowest presidential approval ratings in history, with the unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the financial crisis weighing on his legacy.

How quaint.  First of all, I've never seen a retiring president leaving the White House referred to as "the former Texas governor," or anything else other than president.  Can you imagine, "Former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton left the White House today," or "former Army man Dwight Eisenhower left the presidency..."

And then of course there is the gratuitious slap at Mr. Bush.  Low ratings!  Unpopular wars!  Financial crisis!

Nothing about keeping America safe for seven years, building relationships with democracies like India, which had been historically chilly toward America, and surviving, with good cheer, some of the worst abuse ever hurled at an American president. 

Brace yourself for the reviews.  We can practically write them already.

April 26, 2010