Wake the Neighbors: The President Has Regrets

In the sunset of his presidency, George W. Bush who has the singular distinction of being the most unpopular President in US history, and possibly the most reviled and despised American around the world, decided to do the honorable thing and do something he took pride in not doing -- reflect, ponder, contemplate.

When I read the headlines, "Bush Recalls Moments of Regret," Bush Speaks of Regret," I broke open the chips and hummus to read his Apologia. This will be good, I thought. The President who once said, "I'm not a guy who looks in the mirror," should have something profound to say... like someone looking past the long shadow of a life to talk about that first love, the one that got away.

A well crafted apology can work wonders. Who can disown a swaggering teenager who takes the family car for a midnight spin, and then cries with great beauty, pearls of remorse streaming down cheeks, when caught? A cheating spouse can redeem him/herself with a good mea culpa and aerobic make-up sex. In Japan, politicians who screw up render public apologies about their misdeeds, and the bravest of them show they really mean it by ending their own lives. This I think is a bit unfair -- to leave the innocent electorate with survivors guilt.

So, lay it on me Mr. President, I thought as I opened the first link. You got us into a war that costs us $435 million dollars a day, $3 billion a week, $12 billion a month. It would be a good thing to apologize for -- at a time when many of us are wondering if we should sell our remaining assets (prized rubber band and CD collections) to make rent. It would reassure those who're worried that Stephen Colbert is right -- that Chinese people may soon be allowed by law to keep Americans as household pets, since they own us by the short and curlies.

Perhaps he'd apologize to our servicemen and women who went to Iraq to fight the good fight -- to avenge 9/11, to find the WMD, to secure the weapons of chemical warfare first touted by Colin Powell during ceremonial waving of perfume bottle at the U.N. Or maybe he'd say sorry to the military families who made the greatest sacrifices, while his acolytes, Ari Fleischer and Bill Kristol,and all the other war-mongering media sat at their computers, sipping cappucino, while pontificating on the price we must all pay for freedom and democracy.

Or, just maybe the President would apologize to the Iraqi people for bombing their country and turning it into rubble, for no reason other than to "kick some ass," as he told former terrorism czar, Richard Clarke days after 9/11.

But, no. The President has regrets speaking in front of a "Mission Accomplished," banner, and he regrets saying "dead or alive," and "bring 'em on." Nothing, it seems, will dim the eternal sunshine in the spotless mind of our 43rd President.

Comments

[DeeKre]

I almost had a stroke at Bush's 'personal revelation'. His incompetency and plain wrong actions have harmed this country far more than a Bin Laden could ever hope to achieve. No regret for lost lives in two wars; no regret for lost lives and property due to Katrina; no regret for the hardship on every day folks in this economic struggle. His only regrets are the inartfulness of some stupid platitudes he used along the way. Impeachment actually is too lenient for this fool....maybe actual jail time would be more apt.

[peterg76]

President Bush *says* he has regrets. Not the same thing.

[LeftRight]

At least he finally apologized for the "bring it on" statement. Of course, the first two that he said are just a regret about how they harmed his image....

[GraceNeeded]

For all his foibles, he is sincere. He is sincerely simplistic in his thinking. He is sincere in his faith. He sincerely thinks we are going to influence the Middle East region by engineering a democracy in Iraq. He sincerely loves his country and thinks he is doing a good job as President despite everything. That sure beats the Republican ticket for Pres. and V.P. that was completely disingenuous on all counts and were the biggest hypocrites I've ever seen in politics and I was around for Watergate. Despite supporting McCain in 2000 and his heroic service to our country, he managed to cause such 'righteous indignation' for the kind of campaign he ran to last the rest of his life without some real penitence and accountability for his actions.

[davism97]

Being sincerely incompetent is no excuse. And let's not forget the rest of his administration. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, and yes Rove (Palpatine himself). There's a lot of people who want to see these people pay for their crimes and they don't want to hear an "oops my bad!".

[kellysmalltowngirl]

We, the American people elected them and we're all going to pay for our mistakes.

BTW I never voted for President Bush, although I did consider it.

[pcplz]

You really think he is sincere? Really? No......really??? Uh....how did you get to that conclusion?

[kellysmalltowngirl]

I agree. I have always sensed that President Bush truly believed that he was doing the right and best thing for his country. Unfortunately, he lacks the life experience and intellect necessary to deeply understand the effects of his policy decisions on the whole range of Americans. His frame of reference is the highest SES, business owning group; he is not capable of even remotely understanding the life of someone in the working class. A well-intentioned guy in way over his head; a genial electable figurehead for those who run the Repubican party.