RUSH: This is really, really curious. I came in here today, I got in here, and Snerdley’s bringing the coffee in, and he said, “What do you think about this Bush book?” I hate it when somebody asks me something that I don’t know about. You know how rarely that happens? And I said, “What Bush book? “The Bush book where they’re hitting Rumsfeld and Cheney.” I said, “Which Bush?” He said “43.” I said, “43’s got a book out?” And he said, “No, no, no, no, 41.” And I was still, “41 has a book out hitting –” And it turns out that 41 doesn’t have a book out.

Jon Meacham has a book out in which he has talked to George Bush 41. It’s a biography. The new Jon Meacham biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, i.e., George H. W. Bush, i.e., 41. And in this book it is said that Bush 41 has some harsh words for the actions of his son’s administration. In particular George Bush 41 is said to have objected strenuously to how Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld reacted to 9/11. He feels that they were too hawkish, that they took a harsh, inflexible stance that tarnished America’s reputation around the world.

Now, forgive me, folks, but I’m not aware of any Republican using that language. I mean, clearly we have some Republican moderates using hindsight who didn’t want to be associated with any of that who’ve been critical of it, and Rumsfeld Cheney, but tarnished America’s reputation around the world? That’s the kind of language the left used particularly when talking about that phantom torture they thought was going on down at Club Gitmo. For crying out loud, George H. W. Bush, this is a guy — this is really hard. I mean, I know things. I’m incredulous here. A, I don’t know how this even happened. But this is the same George H. W Bush that can’t say one bad thing about Bill Clinton or Barack Obama and we’re launching on Cheney and Rumsfeld here in a biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

And Bush is quoted. It makes sense, it’s his biography as written by Jon Meacham. Meacham used to be, what was it, Newsweek? Jon Meacham, Newsweek mag, he’s part of the Howard Fineman cabal over there at Newsweek and Gloria Borger and that bunch. It wasn’t US News. It might have been. But I know it wasn’t TIME. Anyway, here’s the quote. This is H. W. Speaking, Bush 41, to Meacham, the author. “I don’t know, he just became very hard-line and very different from the Dick Cheney I knew and worked with. The reaction [to 9/11], what to do about the Middle East. 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 …”

That’s what he said about Cheney. He’s even harder on Rumsfeld. Quote, “I don’t like what he did, and I think it hurt the President” — his son, that is. “I’ve never been that close to him anyway. There’s a lack of humility, a lack of seeing what the other guy thinks. He’s more kick ass and take names, take numbers. I think he paid a price for that. Rumsfeld was an arrogant fellow …”

Now, meanwhile, Jeb Bush, devoted and trusted son of 41, is running around, running for president, telling everybody his brother, and that would mean Rumsfeld and Cheney, kept us safe. Folks, there’s so much of this, a lot of this doesn’t pass the smell test in ways that I cannot divulge I have smelled things. I just can’t. But this doesn’t seem — yeah, he’s the former editor-in-chief of Newsweek. This just doesn’t compute, folks. I’m sorry. I wish I could go further. I can’t. It’s called discretion, secrecy, promises, and so forth, but it doesn’t wash here, for me.

But let’s say it’s true, I’m still amazed. It’s undignified and beneath the dignity of the office to attack Democrats. It’s undignified and beneath the office to politicize the office of the presidency and anybody who’s held it so we’re not gonna get down in the gutter. Remember that was the reason why we were told that Bush 43 administration did not respond to any of the defamatory hits that they were taking throughout their administration, particularly the second term. But man, when it comes to launching on Republicans, it doesn’t seem like there’s any problem here.

Anyway, I had to mention this at the top because the Drive-Bys are buzzing about this. You can just imagine they are having a field day with this, and they will continue to have a field day with this. All of this is happening while Jeb is trying to restart his presidential campaign for the fifth time. Byron York has a piece out there. I’ve got it in the Republican primary campaign Stack. Byron York in the Washington Examiner laying out how Bush can actually win this thing. It’s a long shot and a lot of planets, even those we haven’t discovered yet have to line up. But it can happen, and it can happen if Bush has staying power, if the money hangs in there and if we can just be patient, let all these other people just wipe themselves out, Bush could end up being the last man standing.

Well, now this election cycle (laughing) but now, now, can you imagine the questions in the next debate, “Mr. Bush, Jon Meacham writing a biography of your father, Cheney, Rumsfeld, big mistakes, iron ass, kick ass, no dignity, no humility. What do you say about that?”

“They kept us safe.”

“Really? Well, your dad’s out there saying that –“

This is problematic. I know there has been no reluctance on the part of some in the Bush family to criticize Reagan when they were both running for the presidency. It does seem that hitting Democrats, that’s undignified, we’re not gonna go there, but we can criticize and hit people on our own side of the aisle.