George W. Bush's swipes at Obama

The former president publicly criticizes his successor for the first time

Conservatives can stop "grinding their teeth," said Gawker. Former President George W. Bush, who has been doing "the gentlemanly ex-president thing" and refraining from criticizing his successor, finally took some swipes at President Obama during a speech in Pennsylvania on Wednesday. According to a story in The Washington Times, Bush "fired a salvo" against Obama by defending Bush administration interrogation policies, and saying that businesses, not government, would lead the economy out of hard times.

"Finally," said Gateway Pundit, "after being pummeled for months," George W. Bush is blasting President Obama's "socialist economic policies, overspending, and weak national security decisions." It's hard to argue with Bush's points—Obama is quadrupling the budget deficit in his first year in office—but don't be surprised if "President Thin Skin" reacts with a fresh attempt to blame all his problems on Bush.

George W. Bush wasn't exactly starting a rhetorical war, said Matthew Moran in Digital Journal. The former president mainly just defended himself on issues for which the contrast with Obama is most stark—namely interrogation tactics and the war on terror. Bush made a point of repeating that he was "not going to criticize" his successor directly, and most of his "jabs" at Obama were pretty soft.