POLITICS
George Bush Criticizes Obama Policies
2009-06-18 03:30am
Former President George W. Bush took aim at some of President Barack Obama's policies Wednesday over issues of interrogation of terrorist suspects, the economy and health care.
Bush, speaking to members of a local business group in Erie, Pa., said the private sector - not government - would eventually right the economy, that nationalization of health care is a bad idea, and that his administration's interrogation policies were within the law.
"I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in," Bush said to widespread applause, the Washington Times reported.
"You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money," said Bush.
While Bush repeatedly said during his hourlong speech and question-and-answer session that he would not criticize Obama directly, on several occasions he took direct swipes at the Obama administration's policies while defending his own eight-year reign.
"Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States," said the former president.
Regarding interrogation techniques, Bush said, "The way I decided to address the problem was twofold: One, use every technique and tool within the law to bring terrorists to justice before they strike again."
Bush also made comments regarding the closure of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military detention facility, which he himself said he wanted to close while he was still in office.
"I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind," Bush said, noting he would not criticize Obama directly.
On Obama's plans to reform health care, the former president said, "There are a lot of ways to remedy the situation without nationalizing health care. I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for health care."
(c) 2009 Newsroom.