The Bush Presidency in Four Words

A recent Pew Research Center poll found that the one word Americans used most to describe President Bush was "incompetent." While no compliment, the word fails to convey the condemnation warranted by the last eight years.

There are several words that are more apt, such as "betrayal." Consider the administration's handling of the California "energy crisis." Two months into the administration and at the height of "crisis," the administration learned that the soaring prices were caused by market manipulation -- a potential setback for Vice President Cheney's energy task force whose recommendations would include California-style electricity deregulation. Forced to choose between mitigating what would ultimately be a $45 billion loss to Californians or serving Enron and other cronies, Cheney chose to serve the cronies and ordered that this information be sealed. Even worse is that the administration continued to blame the "crisis" on California's environmental regulations.

The administration would make the same choice time and time again as government became something for cronies to feed on and not something provided for the benefit of the people. This simply is a recipe for failure as we saw with Iraq, Katrina and the current financial crisis.

President Bush weakened or abandoned industry regulations while opening the government trough for corporate looting; doubling the amount spent on government contracts to $412 billion and tripling the amount spent on no-bid or limited competition contracts. This resulted in over $1 trillion in contracts marked by significant fraud, waste or abuse not to mention the $8.8 billion in cash that simply disappeared in Iraq. The most infamous looter, Halliburton received over $130 billion in contracts under Bush and overcharged the government $100 million for a single day's work.

This was merely the appetizer, as Bush abandoned "a strong tradition of wartime fiscal sacrifice" and pushed through $2.6 billion in tax cuts (which one Republican insider said was the "least defensible" economic policy he had ever seen). This giveaway has yielded little return on its investment and for most taxpayers any benefit was offset by higher state taxes and tuition, higher employee heath insurance premiums and gas costs not to mention their share of both the increase in the federal debt (which for a family of four would be $64,000) or the $2 trillion in retirement savings lost in the stock market crash.

Bush also betrayed his oath of office to uphold the Constitution. The conservative Cato Institute characterizes Bush's record as "overwhelmingly one of contempt for Constitutional limitations," as Americans were subjected to indefinite detention and wiretaps while the White House assumed imperial powers through signing statements that the President could disregard acts of Congress.

Just as significant, however, was Bush's betrayal of the public trust and subversion of the democratic process by consistently concealing information and misleading or outright lying to the American people. This was especially true with Iraq where one study identified 935 false pre-war statements made to gain support for an unnecessary war that diverted resources from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and seriously damaged our global standing.

Another appropriate word is "catastrophe." The total costs of the Bush tax cuts, the Iraq War, the financial bailouts and contracting fraud and abuse are approximately $7.9 trillion -- which is twice the cost of World War II in current dollars. To put this in context, according to 3trillion.org, this money instead could have been used to fully fund the social security trust fund, repair our critical infrastructure, implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, provide universal health care and internet access and procure five stealth bombers while giving a private jet to every Governor and member of Congress... and still have more than half the sum left. That is where we could have been had Bush not been selected as President.

This sum does not account for the nearly 35,000 soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq or deaths that might have been prevented had Bush responded to warnings on 9/11 and Katrina. It also does not account for the additional 4,000 premature deaths each year due to lack of health insurance; the administration's contribution to the 70,000 annual deaths due to air pollution; or the workers, consumers and children killed or injured due to lax workplace, food and toy safety regulation.

The final word is "nightmare". How else can you describe the descent to Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, the loss of civil liberties, the abandonment of a major American city and a nation on the brink of a depression? The first President that Dick Cheney served took office assuring the nation that "our long national nightmare is over." The same statement would be just as fitting and welcome on January 20th as the incompetent, betrayal, catastrophe and nightmare that was the Bush administration finally comes to a close.

Comments

[Right-turn]

Many of these so called "Bush Failures"on the economic side have to do with human greed. Unfortunately, it is not limited to just one political party. If the economy had not crashed just prior to the election, you could of had a entirely different result. There should have been more oversite, but I am sure these Wall Street Crooks had clout with both major political parties.

[rasit]

What is new? The NeoCon Republicans wanted to take the "Country Back", well, in 8 years, under Dubya's leadership, they have managed to "take it back" to the early 1930s (great depression....

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED....

[Toonadude]

What hath Satan wrought?

(my four words)

[IdahoGuy]

Let's face it:
In the "Hidden In Plain Sight" underworld realm of existent non-being that is peopled by dark hearts with their "I'm-Not-The-One-Driving" eyes like the Bushes, Cheney, Rove, Madoff, those privatizing masters of the privately-owned Federal Reserve Bank, et al to which, by the way, all Americans now virtually owe their souls thanks to an unchecked series of loosened FTC laws, US border laws, major media's biases & censoring, this fact I guess is the only thing that makes sense:
After Bush Senior's speech to all the leaders of the world in January 1991 (& again in March) at the United Nations (10 years & 9 months prior to the disastrous 9/11/2001) wherein Bush Sr. specifically emphasizes the need for a New World Order, which by definition principally would require worldwide chaos before members of that "Hidden In Plain Sight" underworld can reorder world matters into a design of their own making...... And the "re-ordering" of money (worldly power) is Priority #1. That's what's been going on lately, IMO.

Bush Sr.'s son George W. seems to be "The Designated Destroyer."
Good call, underworld people......
W's history is that of seizing power with Rove close by to do the dirty work, getting in bed with his bigdog bailout people when he muffed things up & consequently become indebted in favors, and generally just being utterly incompetent & unfettered by matters of personal honor.
HOW did this guy get by us????

[rasit]

Through the US Supreme Court, and the Swidtboat Veterans??

[IdahoGuy]

And the 4 words ANYONE, ANYWHERE will NEVEREVER**EVER** hear a "Conservative" or "NeoNa..... ooops.... I mean "NeoConservative" Republican say is:

I WAS WRONG. SORRY.

*** NEVER ****

(And if I myself *ever* personally DO hear such words out of a GOP weasel's mouth, I'd just keel over dead-like.)
They don't have the guts to be truthful about their own failings. They'd rather lie or half-lie their way through being presented with facts that prove them wrong..... They take it personally in a really weird groupthink kind of way.... Basically, they're all girlie-men & women in the realm of honorability. Their form of honorability has as its prime tenant being resourceful in their diabolical creation of circumstances for smooth use of "plausible deniability" so that they can weenie out of the truth when the truth is just as frikkin plain as the noses on their insipid pastey faces. OR they just go mindblind, & just flat out lie right in the presence of the world & God. Going mindblind is an art. They'll grin & say some kinda stupidass joke of some kind or another to loosen up the tension & then they'll insipidly grin their way through the uttering of a bunch of crap words that winds up meaning virtually nothing at all.

[Clavis]

100% true.

Today's modern Republican does things like participate in the Brooks Brothers Riot, lie about it at the time (in fact, feign outrage that you would suggest such a thing), then later put it on their resume when they next apply for a partisan Republican position.

Look into how creationists continue to deliberately use lies and outdated "facts" to win their debates. It's the exact same techniques Republicans use -- misrepresent your opponents' positions, lie about your own, use emotional manipulation, fake authority, etc.

There is something sinister about the human mind that allows this authoritarianism "Party before Country" mentality to flourish, and it is truly frightening.

[CVignone]

Yes, and it is time Lionsgate Films, who produced "W", the uninteresting flop motion picture about
George Bush, Now produce "Farwell Gorgeous", the flipside comedy screenplay which is rumored around movietown to be such an incredibly funny film about Bush that they (Lionsgate) have been afraid to produce the motion picture and put it into theatres.
I think we, the American people, have earned that humorous treat which Lionsgate can give us?
Don't be afraid Lionsgate!!!!!!! Produce that comedy, make $300Milion in both domestic and foreign
box offices and give us a well earned uproarious Laugh on the "Dubya"!!!
At least that will be one good thing Bush will give to America upon his departure!!
CVignone

[FromthePitofDespair1]

So yea. We know all this. You need to tell us why they will walk away from it all and why they are not in prison?

The strange way Ms. Pelosi pulled accountability off the table immediately. There is more to this and we all know there is. Ms Pelosi needs to be investigated.

All she did was empower them MORE. You don't play your trump card at the beginning of the game...you hold it till the end. Nancy Pelosi has also betrayed us. The Democrats lied their way into Congress and when you think about it, this is the real abomination. We all voted them in to stop Bush and they got in then flipped us off. Unbelievable. They did NOTHING to stop Bush and Cheney and Rove and Rove is in contempt of court right now. Why hasn't he been arrested? Instead he is traveling the globe on speaking engagements!! What is going on here?

What strange power do these men have that an entire Congress cow tows to them? That the Constitution can be subverted for their protection? That after these crimes, they go off to play golf or shoot more people in the face?

Disgrace. The day they walk away from the White House is a day of permanent disgrace for our
"democracy" and my time as an activist and life-long Democrat has come to an end.

[schatsie]

two words for this administration....PLANNED CATASTROPHE.. The Bushs never met a dollar they didn't like.

Trained as a Pilot at Government expense.
Oil Companies funded by EXCESSIVE TAX WRITEOFFS for depletion and exploration.
Stadium funded by Arlington county.
Silverado Bailout of Neil Bush.
Jeb Bushs Mortgage reduction from 5 million to 500 grand.
Carlisle, Halliburton, Blackwater...

[IdahoGuy]

Wanna see scary stuff?
I mean, like, scary as in "the attempted dissolution of The Republic of America" scary?

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/

Time to take the gloves off now...........

[IdahoGuy]

Ya ever see the Democratic Party's logo? A donkey, with red, white & blue-stripes for its coloring (the donkey, BTW, came from Andrew Jackson's foes) with 4 white stars in it. The 4 stars are pointed up, normally, in the traditional showing of the stars on America's flag.

The Republican Party's logo is that of an elephant also with red, white & blue-stripes for coloring, but with *3* white stars in it. The GOP symbology sorcerers didn't pick 4 stars, & not 2 or 5, but *3* stars (and believe me, they've probably got ONE HELL of a good spinstory for this stuff..... And guess which way they chose their 3 stars to point? Yeeeeeep. Upside down. During Bush's early administration the American flag began to be graphically aligned in reverse. And ya, they got a B.S. story to cover that crap, too. But anyway, put it all together, factor in the literal destruction of America, physically, ideologically, & spiritually (muchMUCH more fearfulness post-Bush) that has been going on for the past 8 years & the 3 upside-down stars reallyREALLY begin to look like they could just as well be replaced with three 6's.
Look at the pictures:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=republican+party+logo&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Satanism & Luciferianism's prime symbolical "hiding in plain sight showing" of itself is in its reversed traditional symbols.
Pretty simple to figure this one out folks..............

[IdahoGuy]

Except for their giveaway insipid grins, cocked heads & hateful talk interspersed with fluff..............
Oh... and one other characteristic: They attack each other when attacks against their Opponent of the Minute isn't working. We saw that near the end of the campaigning when McCain & Palin were slated for defeat.
And ya notice how Rove in particular was all niceynice & noncombative on TV interviews when discussions of the Democratic Party or of any Democratic politicians came up?
Google Spoonamore & Connell.
Look at what happened when in early November.
You'll realize WHY Rove backed off to keep the righteously indignant & those intensely wanting justice at bay.......
In fact, here..... Copy & paste these two links into a couple of your browser windows' address bars:

http://www.google.com/search?gbv=2&num=30&hl=en&safe=off&q=spoonamore+connell+crash+velvetrevolution&btnG=Search

In this next one, read the entries for the topmost one, 12/20/08 & then scroll down to 11/04/08. It's about the late Michael Connell, taken from his family and the rest of us less than a week before Christmas & just 45 days after he was forced to appear before a Federal judge (Nov.3rd) to give a deposition about electronic vote thefts & alterations.

The Evil (very literally) Predators are out there.........
And they hate life & they hate the peace that comes in faithfulness to God, no matter what anything they say that might imply the contrary to those things.

[vigilantwarrior]

the "New Pearl Harbor"

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/the-ghost-in-the-machines-the-mystery-of-the-wtc-hard-drive-recoveries/

[me again]

MY 4 WORDS, the final words from Leoncavallo's great opera, "I Pagaliacci," ........ "The Comedy is Finished"

[Bennet Kelley - Huffpost Blogger]

If only it were a comedy.

[HolmesMusic]

some friends made it a comedy - what else could they do?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXxTooNIsBc&feature=channel_page

[me again]

Agreed.

[vegas9999]

Think that most of the words you used to describe Bush could also be used to describe the congress and journalism in this country?

[Partisan59]

Since from 2000-2006 the congress was merely a rubber stamp for the Cheney/Bush presidency and Journalism is owned by multibillion dollar comapnies that fully support the Repo's, yeah I'd say a Republican congress and Fox news style journalisim establishment could be descibed the same way. But I'm guessing you meant this as a shot at the "evil" liberals so you probably don't agree with your own comment.

[rich misty]

The goal of Republicans is, and always has been, the demise of their number one enemy: America and Americans.

[vegas9999]

The people that want to open the borders to everyone are the people who want to see the demise of America

[Partisan59]

You mean like the founding fathers? I seem to remember a quote "Give me your tired your hungry your poor." I don't recall the "but not all of 'em" part. Wasn't it McCain who was for immigration before he was against it? And who exactly wants to open the borders to EVERYONE?

[AngelaQuattrano]

Uh, open up those borders so the illegal immigrants can run home to their own countries. The Bush administration has not been able to destroy the economies of those countries, and they can find jobs there again.

[Clavis]

You mean corporations who want cheap labor and rich people who profit from that cheap labor (and who get their lawns cut by them)? Yes, I agree that corporations and rich people often express un-American ideas.

I think a company like Halliburton that gets billions in cost-plus, no-bid contract $ and then takes that $ to Dubai to spend it is about as un-American as you can get. Thanks, Dick!

[Bennet Kelley - Huffpost Blogger]

That's going too far. You can disagree about the role of government and still be a good person and a patriot.

Throughout history, a group's belief that it has the sole possession of the truth has usually led to great calamity.

[Partisan59]

But you have to admit the neocons and the bushites have tried their best to dismantle the fundamental freedoms and protections of the Constitution as well as the ability of the government to regulate the military/industrial/corporate profit machine. Maybe not all Republicans have tried to destroy America but a good case can be made for the ones in charge for the last 8 years trashing it.

[Clavis]

How misinformed, ignorant and authoritarian can you be and still actually, technically BE helping America with your efforts?

We already know that millions of Republicans vote against their own interests every 2-4 years because they're manipulated with wedge issues. We know that millions of people vote every year on un-Constitutional referendums where mob rule infringes on minority rights. We know that the Cheney Administration -- FACT -- has handed TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to the top 1% with essentially no oversight or even a receipt.

So to alter an old phrase: with patriots like these, who needs rebels?