Monday, January 5, 2009
George W. Bush’s post presidential life is shaping up to be ridiculously comfortable. He will get a Dallas office, a staff, Secret Service protection, a travel budget, medical coverage and a $196,700 annual pension. All at taxpayers’ expense.
However, Bush will be the first ex president not to receive one former benefit: lifetime Secret Service protection.
Congress changed the law in the 1990s so that any president elected after Jan. 1, 1997, and his or her spouse will receive the Federal protection for only 10 years.
From the Left 
good to know.
2018
got it.
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Bush the heir to a political family Forbes magazine once pegged as worth $1 billion dollars?
All that Nazi gold is held in the Chicago Bank and Trust.
He and Pickles can pay for their own security. It isn’t my duty to make them safe. I’ve got a kid in college to pay for.
walkndude3,
I think the date you’re looking for is Jan. 21, 2019.
All the security in the world won’t protect him from the laws of Karma. As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t want to stand within a mile of this man. If I owned a home near him, I would move. The entire planet hates George Bush. I think Hitler and bin Laden are more popular.
Will the government of Paraguay provide military protection for Bush and Cheney if they wind up making the move southward?
Just wondering.
I think the failure of W, Oliver Stone’s deluded handjob of a biography, is a indication of how Bush is going to be remembered in the United States and the global community. There will be no forgiveness, no warm nostalgia of his years in the White House. There will be no Harry Trumanesque epilogue for Bush in the end.
No, Bush is going to be the punchline to a sick joke; the ugly manifestation of American’s xenophobia; the smirking, proud-to-be-dumb Forrest Gump who dragged the United States to the brink of the abyss. No matter how hard he tries, Bush won’t be able to sweep Iraq, Katrina, or the Next Great Depression under Old Glory this time.
History is waiting for George W. Bush, and even though he’ll try to run, he can’t hide.
The Bush legacy? Still out? WTF? Are people really saying this?
– 1 million Iraqis deaths and displacement of 4 million Iraqis
– more than 4,400 American deaths in Iraq
– oil reached $147 a barrel last July
– destroyed Iraqi oil product
– no bid Federal contracts to Halliburton
– USA Patriot Act I
– USA Patriot II
– wingers appointed to Supreme Court
– tried to amend the Constitutiona to outlaw gay marriage
– installed 2 Attorney Generals who would block investigations and supeaonas and ignore whistle-blowers
– gutted Habeas Corpus
– rationalized torture
We don’t owe this asshole anything except a kick in the ass.
The Secret Service can protect Bush from physical harm but they can’t protect him from the weight of history and history has a long memory.
Bush occupies a unique niche: he’s the Worst President Ever, and no amount of revisionist spin will change this, so get used to it, Bushites.
I’ll bump it up a notch.
As a taxpayer, I am vehemently opposed to having to pay for his office and staff. Bush should pay for his own game after leaving office. The dude ain’t poor.
An office? ROFLMAO!
What the hell will he do with an office? Look at pictures of body builders behind Pickle’s back?
The system that allows for these perks is broke and since the U.S. economy is teetering on the brink of another depression, I don’t think we should pay for anything for this clown.
The Royal Presidency. Any doubts now, my children?
LMAO! Christopher, that picture of the Bush pimp always makes me smile. A classic.
I propose his new office be located behind bars in Gitmo. Amenities include waterboarding sessions, snarling attack dogs, and days handcuffed in an interrogation room, with the song *You’re no good* blaring at dangerously high volume levels, non-stop.
What does he need and office for? He didn’t even use the one in the White House!
Bush doesn’t deserve anything from us.
He needs to pay for all these goodies out of his family fortune. We’re struggling to make ends meet and Bush, his staff, his security and his office isn’t my responsibility to provide.
Since Hillbilly has raised so much money from arabs, how come he doesn’t voluntarily pay for his own security? And it was Clinton who renewed Halliburtons contract. There are no other companies besides bectell that can do the job halliburton does and the government will not let them out of there contract. get your facts straight.
Ok. Last year(2008) Bill Clinton cost the American tax payer over $1.1 million. Among other things he charged his cable bill(over $1,000 includes all premium movie channels), and his phone bill(over $10,000). His permium for a speaking engagement is the highest emong the ex-presidents(around 500,000), and he is the most privately rich. On top of that he will recieve the exact same pension as George W. Bush as will the other ex-presidents. Unlike George W however he will recieve the protection of the secret service for his entire life. I am not trying to Clinton hate I just chose the most recent democratic President. I think the Presidents deserve the perk of getting secret service protection. But I think being able to bill whatever you want to the American tax-payer is not needed. Due to the fact that you now need to be independently wealthy to be president I think the pension is also not needed. That is money that could be used for more important things, like education reform.
On an unrelated note I do not think your comments about Bush are fair. I do agree that the job he did in the White House was not perfect. But i do think that he was the President of The United States and therefore deserves a level of respect that you are not giving him. I don’t care what a President did, he did a job that 98% of Americans, including me and all of you that commented on this post, could NEVER do. Things like booing him during Obama’s ingaruration and singing “Na Na Hey Hey” are uncalled for and just show ignorance.
Has anyone ever thought that all the past presidents get the same deal. Let’s see that would be Carter, Clinton, father Bush and Reagan was a part of that too. I don’t think any of them are lacking for money. Have you seen what Clinton is making just going around making speeches to foreign countries. Don’t complain against Bush unless you complain about the whole lot of them.