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It’s finally over. The eight year nightmare of George W. Bush’s administration is riding into the sunset. Please don’t be confused by that comment however. I do not, nor have I ever hated President Bush. I know many people who’s irrational hatred of the man, clouded their judgment to the point of insanity. But, I also cannot hold him in the high regard espoused by many conservative pundits in this Country. Now in the waning hours of the Bush administration, it is time to make a carefully considered evaluation of the last eight years.
First and foremost: Since 9/11/2001, the United States has suffered no terrorist attacks on our soil. This is due largely to President Bush’s initiatives to improve security and intelligence techniques. God knows the enemy hasn’t gone away, and they would still love to strike us painfully and deeply at home. Since the original 9/11 attack, we’ve had plenty New Years celebrations, lots of Christmas gatherings and quite a few Super Bowls without so much as a single jihad induced hangnail. All Americans owe George W. Bush a debt of gratitude for their safety during the last seven years. Our enemies would attack us if they could and their inability to do so, has not just been a stroke of good luck.
On the negative side of the balance sheet, we’ve got the fiasco in Iraq. I’m not at all sure we will ever know the actual motivation behind our incursion into that country. Why we picked this particular evil dictator to overthrow is a mystery, given all the others around the world that continue to oppress and impose violence on their citizens. If our Government really believed Iraq was a hiding place for all the terrorist in the middle east, they weren’t looking very hard at Syria, Iran or Saudi Arabia. Just as cloudy is our guess at how long we will remain in that desert hell-hole and what it all will ultimately cost us in lives and money. I know one thing for sure: Bush’s preoccupation with carrying on this war and defending his actions against critics, surely kept him from giving adequate attention to other matters like a badly overextended economy, a pitifully bureaucratic response to the Katrina disaster and maybe even rounding up the real bad guys in Afghanistan. As unfortunate as that was, perhaps a more catastrophic effect was the overall deterioration of support for this President both internationally and domestically, essentially destroying America’s momentum and influence world wide. I can’t help wondering what George Bush and our Country could have accomplished in two terms, had we not been mired down in such divisive acrimony. So for me, the passing of this administration is bittersweet. I am truly ready for it to be over, but I can’t shake the image of what could have been. President Bush won in 2004 with a legitimate voter majority (no hanging chads in Florida), still had plenty Republicans in Congress and continued to ride the wave of patriotism and support stemming from the 9/11 attacks. Unfortunately, this gift was squandered into complete political bankruptcy during the next four years because of a stubborn, single-minded pursuit of unpopular,
questionable policies. President Bush, I think you are a good and decent man who loves his Country and wants the best for it's citizens. We just differ on how to accomplish that goal. I know you deserve the rest you are going to take starting on Tuesday afternoon, and I hope you can enjoy more time for yourself and your family. In spite of our many points of disagreement, I thank you for your service over the years and sincerely wish you the best in whatever you do. I know its been tough, but perhaps the future will treat you more kindly.
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