Bush started strong, with tax cuts to rev up the economy and a new tone that for at least a moment seemed to calm the angry rhetoric in Washington. The hard lefties would never forgive him for actually winning the election in Florida and preventing Gore from stealing it, and for the next 8 years they'd never give up the cry that "Bush was selected, not elected". Funny, those same people who belittled and criticized our president both here and abroad are today demanding that we all rally around and support Barack Obama. I've got two words for them and the first one starts with an "F" and it's not "fat chance".
Then came 9/11 and everything we thought the Bush administration might be changed dramatically. We were now at war and for the briefest of moments a united country, angry at the senseless murder of our citizens and anxious for revenge. We took it to the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and then in 2003 came the decision to go into Iraq.
We know that intelligence agencies in the U.S. and other countries believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and would use them if he could. We also knew that Saddam was not shy about cooperating with terrorist organizations. I'm sure there were other reasons for going into Iraq - probably a sense of a job left unfinished by his father and perhaps a desire to avenge an assassination attempt by Saddam during a visit by the senior Bush to Kuwait - that made the war necessary in Bush's mind.
Was it? I guess we'll have to leave that to the historians. If Iraq becomes a stable democracy in a very unstable part of the world, I think we can say the war was worth it. If not, it may be looked upon as one of the greatest mistakes by a U.S. president ever.
I don't believe Bush was well served by Donald Rumsfeld who was so insistent on a small footprint that things began to spiral out of control until Rumsfeld was removed and the surge begun. Iraq can now be called a war won, but the peace is tenuous.
After taking over a recession begun during the last part of the Clinton years the Bush economy resulted in a record 52 straight months of job growth. Unfortunately, that all ended in January of 2008 as the economic freefall began. Now the very people whose policies and obstruction created the environment for economic disaster are being handed the reins of the country. That's scary. Bush will be blamed, at least by contemporary historians, for a recession or depression not of his making. The liberal housing policies and willful lack of oversight by Congress is what led to the collapse of the banks, not the Bush tax cuts as promoted by Nancy Pelosi.
The public began to turn on Bush and the Republicans in 2006 when the Democrats returned to power in both houses of Congress. If I had my way presidents would serve only one six year term, because it seems the entire first term is spent worrying about getting reelected, and by the mid-second term America is tired of them. Such was the case with Bush.
Although he was still able to exercise his presidential power by keeping Congress in check, the last two years were pretty much the definition of "lame duck". President Bush did what he could to advance his policies, but there wasn't much he could do with a hostile Congress and low approval ratings.
As he leaves office I'm confident that the presidency did not change George Bush. He's the same genuine, caring, and generous individual he was when he entered office. He still wants people to get along and work together, and somehow has managed to show up everyday without letting the critics get to him. He leaves office grateful for the opportunity to serve, but not desperately clinging to the job to the last minute like Bill Clinton did. Once out of office Clinton didn't know what to do with himself and couldn't live without the spotlight. Bush won't have problems
returning to civilian life and I'll be surprised if we see much of him.It could well be that the greatest work Bush did during his 8 years was his role as "comforter in chief". The way he cared for the families of the victims of 9/11, and the families of those lost in the wars set a standard for presidential behavior. He didn't bite his lip and "feel their pain", he cried with them and hugged them and told them someday it would all get better. And he meant it.
I sincerely believe he did the best he could and always tried to do what he thought was needed to keep America safe and make life better for as many people as possible. He is at heart a good man and I will miss him. Farewell, Mr. President. Thank you for your service. I hope your retirement is the most fulfilling time in your life for you and Laura.
UPDATE: Peter Wehner reminds us of a few things for which we should thank George Bush:
Among the things President Bush's fellow citizens should thank him for:
* Defeating Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.
* Keeping America safe in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when virtually no one thought such a thing was possible. In achieving this, President Bush fulfilled the first duty of his office.
* Correcting earlier (and significant) mistakes in Iraq and supporting the surge when almost everyone — the American people, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commanding general in Iraq, all Democrats, and many Republicans — opposed his efforts. This was a textbook example of leadership and wise decision-making in the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
* Leading efforts that led to a humiliating defeat for al-Qaeda in Iraq and, more broadly, to militant Islam being on the defensive throughout much of the world, including the Arab world.
* Liberating more than 50 million people from two of the most malevolent regimes in modern history.
* Standing with Israel against its enemies and having the wisdom to declare he would not deal with Yasir Arafat.
* Adding two outstanding Justices to the Supreme Court and appointing first-rate federal judges.
* Championing a culture of life and the global AIDS initiative.
* Cutting taxes several times and never, not even once, raising them.
* Putting in place the most far-reaching reforms in education in generations, which insisted on accountabilty, high standards, and produced positive results.
* Restoring dignity to the Oval Office, acting with civility and grace, loving his country, and serving her well.
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