In his first speech since leaving the White House, former U. S. president George W.Bush charmed a friendly Calgary audience Tuesday with self-deprecating comments about his popularity and a message that the U. S. is lucky to have Canada as its major supplier of imported oil to the U. S.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the top sources of U.S. crude oil imports at the end of December were Canada with 2.033 million barrels per day, followed by Saudi Arabia at 1.394 million barrels per day, Mexico at 1.126 million barrels per day and Venezuela at 1.028 million barrels per day, where President Hugo Chavez last year nationalized the fields of private oil companies.
Unlike Rush Limbaugh and former-Vice President Dick Cheney, Mr. Bush declined to criticize Obama. He said the new president has enough critics and he "deserves my silence."
According to the Yahoo News report, the speaking engagement was not without protest.
About 200 protested outside the event; four of them were arrested. Some protesters threw shoes at an effigy of Bush, a reference to the Iraqi journalist who tossed his shoes at the former president during a December news conference in Baghdad.
"He shouldn't be able to go anywhere in the world and just present himself as a private citizen," protest organizer Peggy Askin said. "We do not have any use for bringing war criminals into this country. It's an affront."
Do you think Ms. Askin has a point about Bush being a war criminal? I know there was some talk about that in the past, but is there anything to it still? Although Cheney had a different approach to commenting on the current administration, both he and Bush stand firm on justifying their actions with regards Iraq. What do you think about that? Is the world safer now thanks to Bush & Co.?
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