In the closing days of the Bush Administration, George Bush now being the lamest and the most duck-like he could be, one begins to reminisce on his time spent in the White House. There is no doubt in my mind, no matter how hard he tries, no matter how many writers he commissions to write a book, he will go down in history as one of the worst, most ineffective presidents in US history. He will not be forgotten. In the eight years as president, George W. Bush’s administration has been littered with scandals, deregulation, grammatical mishaps, and war.
Back in 2000, George W. Bush “beat” Al Gore in an arguably close, controversial election which came down to the wire (and the Supreme Court). Seeing that most of the nation considered that a “stolen election”, Bush already started off a little badly. Frankly if Al Gore was half as cool then as he is now (I chose to overlook the fact his ranch uses more electricity than Kennedy Space Center), history would have been different but hey, that’s just me. Between 2000 and 2001, Bush was known for his obvious and often comical grammatical gaffes, which really didn’t help the rumor going around that he was, well…a moron. People didn’t know the “guy they’d want to have a beer with” and more over didn’t really know what to expect. Then came September 11, 2001, the darkest day this nation has ever seen.
Al Qaeda strikes the US in a jaw dropping attack to the mainland that cost thousands of lives, billions in damage, two iconic buildings and an outer wing of every ones favorite geometric shape. Bush was now in a position to rise above and become a great leader…and that’s what he did for a bit. President Bush saw the highest approval numbers in his career. Soon after he was so bold as to declare war on the idea of terrorism and create a new chapter in US foreign policy book, the Bush Doctrine (if you don’t know what that is, ask Sarah Palin, she’ll tell you). First target, Afghanistan, the home base of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The administration’s failure to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden seem to find it’s way out of the spotlight. Soon however, Bush switched focus to…Iraq?
Arguably the most controversial occupation of a sovereign nation the Bush Administration sponsored, the Iraq War proved to be a bit more than America wanted to chew. I am sure everyone would have been for the Iraq War if we were pulling nukes and chemical warheads in droves from Saddam Huessein’s posh Bagdhad palace (even more so if they were golden warheads to match his toilet) but alas, that wasn’t the case. The Iraq War will go down as the biggest lie the Bush Administration dropped on the American people. Primarily because the war was founded on intelligence Dick Cheney scribbled on a cocktail napkin one night when he was bored. Soon after he prematurely declared “mission accomplished” by pompously landing on an aircraft carrier in full flight gear, Iraq turned from an occupation to a policing action. One that cost the lives of our troops (4,209 to be exact) and billions upon billions of dollars to fund.
While the government continued to spend, spend, spend in Iraq, not only by increasing troops but by handing out contracts to Bush Administration BFF Haliburton, Afghanistan became the forgotten war. Troop reallocations crippled forces in Afghanistan. Recent studies show that the Taliban now control 72 percent of Afghanistan, up from 54 percent last year. Our entrance in to Iraq also gave Al-Qaeda another front in the jihad against the United States, where it lurks in the shadows, attacking U.S. troops and interests with IED’s and ambush attacks. Now keep in mind, Iraq’s link to Al-Qaeda came only after coalition forces occupied Iraq. Intelligence reports of Al-Qaeda links to Saddam Hussein were also exaggerated, as Bin Laden had branded Hussein an “infidel” and asked his followers to support the Iraqi people and NOT their government.
But the most notable Bush Administration blunder didn’t happen on some foreign battlefield, but here at home. The catastrophic failure of the U.S. Government to act in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was, in my opinion, the final nail in the Bush Administration’s coffin. Leaving people for three days in a giant stadium with no food, no water, no support what-so-ever is frankly…unacceptable. Our National Guard was streched thin due to deployments in Iraq, and FEMA was caught with it’s pants down. Warnings of the possible disaster a category five hurricane could create in New Orleans fell on deaf ears, and the governments lack of preparedness caused U.S. citizens to suffer. The thing I noticed at the time is that whenever people debate issues, whether its the Iraq War, or the Bush Doctrine, there are always two sides, two parties one for one against. During the aftermath of the Katrina, there was one side, a thoroughly saddened and disappointed one.
Of course, our current economic crisis can’t help but have Bush Administration fingerprints either. Inheriting a budget surplus from the Clinton years, George W. Bush quickly turned it in to a budget deficit. Shortly after 9/11, Bush urged the American people to “spend, spend, spend” their way out of the recession. It was this moment in our nation’s history that began the downward spiral of our economy and the beginning of the credit crunch. Also the ever increasing cost of the two wars weighed heavily on the budget, to the point where shortly after the bailout passed, an extra space had to be added to the debt clock. Also the administrations over all disdain for regulation led to these massive amounts of bad mortgages, and over all irresponsibility in the economy.
Sadly these aren’t the only follies of the Bush Administration. There’s that whole CIA leak thing, all the secret contracts with Halliburton and various other oil companies, and…you know, Dick Cheney shot a dude. But I don’t want this to get too long. Point is George W. Bush was a president. He we elected to the highest seat of power this nation has, and served in it for 8 years, TWO terms, so give that man the credit that is due. Watch Oliver Stone’s “W” and even the most militant Bush hating, Prius driving, tree hugging pacifist will at the very least understand the guy. His rise from a coke snorting Yale frat boy to President of the United States of America is mind blowing. But along with that credit, tack on some criticism & blame.
We are now about to begin the final day of the Republican National Convention. Last night, Sarah Palin delivered a very well received speech, heavy with attacks against Obama. Post-speech, The GOP is singing this woman’s praises. This falls in line with that shiny new Republican message of bipartisanship and hugs & kisses. “We are the Republican Party, we care…want a hug?” The RNC has done a pretty good job so far at uniting the base, and the Palin speech was by far the most poignant. Here is a sort of highlight reel, I can’t find the full version in one video. If anyone else has it, post it as a comment below and I’ll update it. 
