Does George W Bush deserve to go to prison?

As far as I can tell everything he did was legal, or he got it to be made so, so, no, I don’t think he needs to go to prison. He also did what he thought was the right thing to do.

Ask me about Cheney and I might give a different answer.

Execute him!

Patriot Act? I’m not scared.

I agree with Darwin. I think that time will show that he was just a mediocre president during a series of very bad events. Though many people may blame him for all the bad things that happened to the country, it’s not primarily his fault. As far as going to prison, that’s kind of absurd considering he bases much of his decisions from intelligence he gets from his cabinet.

If a criminal investigation results in charges, and those charges result in a trial and conviction, then the courts will determine a suitable punishment.

The question is, can our government afford the circus, given the real problems we’re facing? If W did anything criminal, I hope he gets his due, but I don’t want this right now. He faces the judgement of history. That will be enough for now.

If he goes, congress should go with him.

No. I don’t.

I do think America deserves to learn its lesson. “What lesson?” you ask. That we should no longer be ruled by fear.

Ditto to cheebdragon.

Anyone who would send someone to prison, who has not been suspected of wrongdoing, they should be the one sent to prison or executed.

Nah, Cheney is Mr. Waterboarder (he’s the one you want)...Bush will be recognized as the worst President in history (that’s enough punishment for him)...

@googlybear
the worst was Polk, most people don’t even know he was a president.

I agree with Darwin and RandomMrAdam. Bush faced some very tough times and events, but he didn’t do anything criminal. Just allow him to become a part of history and look toward the future. Why is our culture so set on the past and on highlighting individual’s mistakes? Stop worrying about him.. let him live his life after presidency, and start worrying about more important matters. Life goes on folks :)

No. He just had the bad luck of being president during a shitty time period, presented with even shittier choices. Assuming someone was hell bent on sending him to prison, I doubt Capitol Hill will have anyone left to run the country.

I would say let bygones be bygones, but there are over 200,000 men, women and children who are dead directly because of the actions of this administration, including over 5,000 of our own people. Where is the justice for them? My God, they’re dead and it’s all in vain?

I watched my friends die beside me in Vietnam, and we never blamed the president.

In support of @cheebdragon‘s quip, I present The 545 People Responsible For All of America’s Woes, by Charley Reese.

@robmandu, I was looking for that list the other day, thank you!

@aprilsimnel: So every president who was ever involved in a period of war, or in which people died during his presidency, should have been sent to prison? War – and therefore death – is part of leading a country. Would you have prefered that Bush let bygones be bygones and not retaliate for 9/11? Many American people died that day at the hand of people other than Bush. And those 5,000+ Americans who died defending our country during his administration volunteered to be in the military, to go overseas to fight for a cause. There was no draft – as was with Vietnam. They DID NOT die in vain. They are loved and remembered. They are honored for their service. Their deaths do not mean that the president during the time should be blamed.

This is turning into an insane debate about an asinine question.

Get a life, you can’t look to the future as long as your stuck in the past.

Time to stop watching this one…

yes, he does

Yes, I believe he does deserve to go to prison. Along with some members of his cabinet. And selected members of Congress too. And…..well, you get the idea.

And it’s only a fantasy because none of it will ever happen.

And now I have to go get a life because that is what DrBill told me to do in his post above. Whatever.

I am not a fan of G.W. Bush, but I say that it is a hard, hard, job running as a president. I just think it is too much for one man. Now I know that there is congress and how they have the power to override some of the presidents suggestions, but I say that Congress and that is it…unless congress turns evil. Then we all just grab pitchforks and torches and you know the rest :).

Yes.

@DrBill, the 19th Century had a bumper crop of rotten presidents. You mention Polk, but Pierce was probably worse. So was Buchanan. Johnson was impeached. Grant’s administration was a model of corruption.

In the 20th Century, we had Warren G. Harding, who was a drunkard and a gambler. W.H. Taft stole his party’s nomination from T. Roosevelt, the poplular choice. Hoover was widely blamed for the Great Depression. Nixon was, well, Nixon.

To quote a lyric from Frank Zappa, spoken by the devil:

“You ain’t that bad. You shoulda seen some of the souls I’ve had. Why, there was Milhaus Nixon, and Agnew too, and both o’ those Suckas was worse ‘n you” (from Titties and Beer).

I honestly hope that history will judge Bush less harshly than contemporary popular opinion. I think he made some terrible mistakes; he acted recklessly and arrogantly, and I’m glad to see him and his party out of power. But it’s time to move on.

no more than Clinton should have.

Thank you jmbm!