Cass R. Sunstein, Columnist

George W. Bush's Graceful Silence

One of the more remarkable features of all the foreign policy arguments of 2014 has been President George W. Bush's consistent grace.

December 22, 2014 at 2:00 PM UTC

By Cass R. Sunstein

Cass R. Sunstein is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

Silence can be golden.
Photographer: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

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In the domain of foreign affairs, 2014 has brought heated national debates on an impressive range of subjects: Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Syria, Ebola, immigration policy and, most recently, torture, North Korea and Cuba. One of the more remarkable features of all these discussions has been the consistent grace of President George W. Bush.

This month, Bush offered a rare comment on a public debate. Responding to the Senate’s release of the CIA torture report, he said, “We're fortunate to have men and women who work hard at the CIA serving on our behalf. These are patriots and whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country, it is way off base." Note that Bush paid tribute to the employees of the CIA -- and pointedly declined to take a shot at the Barack Obama administration.