Founders v. Bush: a Comparison in Quotations of the Policies and Politics of the Founding Fathers and George W. Bush [Paperback]

Steve Coffman (Author), Zack Coffman (Editor), Scott Di Lalla (Editor), Mark Summers (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

What would the founding fathers have thought of George W. Bush?
Founders v. Bush is a comparison in quotations of the policies and politics of the Founding Fathers and the administration of George W. Bush. See what the Founders really thought about the Constitution, Liberty, Patriotism, Religion, War, Truth, Lies, Wealth, and more...in their own words.
GEORGE WASHINGTON "Beware of pretend patriotism." -1796
JOHN ADAMS "Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God s service when it is violating all His laws." -1816
THOMAS JEFFERSON "By oft repeating an untruth, men come to believe it themselves." -1813
JAMES MADISON "Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad." -1798
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN "Being ignorant is not such a shame as being unwilling to learn." -1758

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Founders v. Bush brings the wisdom and eloquence of the Founding Fathers back to the people, while unmasking the fraudulent PR machine that is corrupting their words and stealing our legacy." --Jim Hightower - Best-selling author, radio commentator, and editor of The Hightower Lowdown

"As Thomas Jefferson prophetically said, 'The only sure guarantees of our liberties are the people.' Especially now, that requires the people knowing why they are Americans. And this book Founders v. Bush is an illuminating beginning of that essential knowledge." --Nat Hentoff - The Village Voice

"An indispensable reference for the brave editorialist, blogger, or bar-room firebrand." --David Essex - Flak Magazine

About the Author

Steve Coffman grew up in South Bend, Indiana. At the University of Michigan he won 3 Avery Hopwood creative writing awards and had several plays produced. Other productions followed at the University of Detroit, Norfolk State College, Bowie State College, The Smithsonian Institution and the The Dundee Players.

His move to a rural lifestyle gradually caused Coffman's writing to move toward fiction and creative nonfiction. He has had stories published in The Little Magazine and Nantucket Review and four in Redbook (including Freshening which was also anthologized in Redbook's Famous Fiction, Vol II.)

Since 1972, Steve Coffman and his wife Bobbie have lived on a defunct farm at the end of a dirt road on one of the highest hills in rural Yates County, where they have raised two children, bounteous flowers and vegetables, occasional cows, horses, pigs, chickens and many acres of glorious trees.

Published nonfiction includes two political memoirs, Peace Meal and Messy Freedom (Foothills Publishing, 2005 and 2006), and the country memoir How To Walk A Pig (1995) which was expanded into Chicken Justice (Hearst, 2006).

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: One World Studios Ltd.; 1st edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979727200
• ISBN-13: 978-0979727207
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,660,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars We the People, March 17, 2008

By 

Edwin C. Pauzer (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Founders v. Bush: a Comparison in Quotations of the Policies and Politics of the Founding Fathers and George W. Bush (Paperback)

In Founders v. Bush I was hoping to find more than just a comparison of quotes between our Founders and the president. I was looking for intense discussion about the comparisons. With the exception of the start of the chapters, there was little to read or digest.

Steve Coffman catalogues a great many memorable quotes from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams and what other Founders wrote or said in their speeches, the Federalist Papers, their personal correspondence, or what people overheard and recorded. These quotes were placed in comparison to those of George Bush under such chapter titles as The Bill of Rights, Liberty, Religion, War, PNAC, Cheney & Yoo, Lies Dishonesty & Disinformation, and other topics. Also included were statements from John Yoo, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice and others that are bound to depress for their blatant fabrications that took us to war.

Besides a lack of discussion there was a problem with reading one quote after another. It's a little like what might happen to your attention span as your focus on the movement of wipers removing the rain from your windshield. You end up missing the road, or message of the quotes because of their sheer repetition. It's disappointing to lose the thread of so many profound statements and know that you have to go back.

It is a good source of quotes, (many I have never read before), and the comparison of statements between our Founders and Bush. These will jar you with the difference in depth, selflessness vs. selfishness, self-interest vs. national interest.

Yet, even the most attention-challenged reader cannot help but find the difference in insight, wisdom, temperament and sheer stature between the Founders and George W. Bush. It is crushing to learn what has replaced what once was.

The most common theme that separates the Founders from Bush is that they speak in terms of the people. Bush speaks in terms of himself, what he wants, and that he is the one who decides. He shouldn't. We should.

We the People.



Happy St. Patrick's Day
Happy Birthday, James E. Egolf

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those interested in the welfare of our country, September 5, 2007

By 

Wisconsin Progressive - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Founders v. Bush: a Comparison in Quotations of the Policies and Politics of the Founding Fathers and George W. Bush (Paperback)

Politicians and bloggers love to quote (misquote?) the Founders. This carefully researched book quotes the Founders in context and with sources given. On topics ranging from Separation of Church and State to Patriotism and War, the Founders tell us in their own words what the abuse of power and war profiteering can do to our nation.

The appendix alone should be read by everyone old enough to vote, including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as some lesser known documents such as The Project for a New American Century Statement of Principles and letters signed by people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz and William Kristol. The contrast between the former and latter documents is alarming and illuminating.

In the words of James Madison, "If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bestriding the narrow world like a Colossus, September 28, 2007

By 

Jerry Woolpy (Minocqua WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Founders v. Bush: a Comparison in Quotations of the Policies and Politics of the Founding Fathers and George W. Bush (Paperback)

Cassius describes Julius Caesar to Brutus as follows: Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves. And so Steve Coffman might describe our tyrant leader. But he does not. In his new book, Founders V. Bush, Steve takes on the President by juxtaposing his quoted positions with those of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. So without having to re-read the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Federalist Papers, or the numerous documents and letters left by the founders you can plainly see how far we have missed the mark. It is a very readable paperback of 147 pages plus two appendixes and substantial documentation, an amazing piece of scholarship with none of the usual pretensions. Bravo Steve.

Jerry Woolpy