George H.W. Bush Blames Dick Cheney And Don Rumsfeld For His Son's Legacy

The Atlantic: George H.W. Bush Settles Old Scores With Cheney and Rumsfeld

The 41st president’s comments criticizing two of his son’s closest advisers on the Iraq war are rooted in tensions dating back to the Ford administration.

One of the benefits of being 91 is you don’t have to hold back anymore—you can say what you want. And in a new biography, former President George H.W. Bush tells Jon Meacham just what he thinks about Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld’s work in his son’s administration, as reported by Fox News and The New York Times.

“He just became very hard-line and very different from the Dick Cheney I knew and worked with,” the elder Bush said of the man who served as his secretary of defense. “Just iron-ass. His seeming knuckling under to the real hard-charging guys who want to fight about everything, use force to get our way in the Middle East.” He said Cheney built “his own empire.”

“I’ve concluded that Lynne Cheney is a lot of the eminence grise here—iron-ass, tough as nails, driving,” George H.W. Bush said. (One takeaway from the book is Bush’s love of the phrase “iron-ass,” which seems at once like a dated Yankee descriptor and also delightfully vivid.)

WNU Editor: Dick Cheney has responded .... Dick Cheney Takes George H.W. Bush Criticisms As 'Mark Of Pride' (Huffington Post), and so has Don Rumsfeld .... Donald Rumsfeld fury at George H. W. Bush: He says president 'getting up in years' after former president called him 'arrogant' and accused Cheney of forming an 'empire' (Daily Mail). What's my take .... this new book is all about protecting the Bush legacy.

More News On President George H.W. Bush's Criticisms Of Dick Cheney And Don Rumsfeld

Elder Bush Says His Son Was Served Badly by Aides -- NYT
EXCLUSIVE: HW Bush jabs at Cheney, Rumsfeld in new book -- FOX News
George H.W. Bush criticizes Cheney and Rumsfeld for actions in son's Cabinet -- L.A. Times
George H.W. Bush slams ‘iron-ass’ Cheney, ‘arrogant’ Rumsfeld in new biography. Also faults Bush 43. -- Washington Post
Bush 41 hits 43's aides in new biography -- CNN
George HW Bush slams Rumsfeld and Cheney in new biography -- BBC
George H.W. Bush Tears Into Cheney and Rumsfeld -- Mother Jones
Even George H.W. Bush now denounces his son's "axis of evil" speech. And he's right. -- VOX News