The Third Term of George W. Bush

I forget. Did we elect "W" for a third term in November, 2008? Is a third term even constitutional these days? How did this happen? Where did Obama go?

Here's what we've seen since W's third term began:

- Robert Gates remained as Secretary of Defense. Despite having eight years in office, Bush successfully campaigned in 2008 under the slogan, "Change you can believe in". Showing his ability to admit he was wrong, he then reappointed one of the most controversial cabinet members in order to establish continuity in the war effort between his second and third administrations.

- We sent more troops into Afghanistan. In fact, the word "surge" is still a daily part of our war lexicon.

- $50bb to build nuclear power plants. Maybe the word "new-Q-lar" was even used. I forget. My memory has been going lately.

- Congress voted for, and the President approved, an extension of the Patriot Act set up during administration One. I'm looking forward to reading transcriptions of my private phone conversations eventually (unless the Freedom of Information Act gets repealed, which is a possibility).

- Continuity in the Treasury Department. Tim Geithner, the NY Fed Chairman under W's second administration, and a close ally during the Great Financial Collapse of 2008 of Secreatry of Treasury Paulson, is now... the Secretary of Treasury. Secretary Paulson could have kept the job but he appointed his #2 when he decided to retire to a leisurely life of bird-watching and memoir writing. Incidentally, I enjoyed his memoirs. He wrote, almost nostalgically, of the many conversations he enjoyed with both W and a young Senator from Illinois who W used to successfully transmit policy to the Democratic Party.

- Bailouts for everyone! TARP, started in 2008, has extended like a spider's web into bailouts of car companies, batches of mortgage-backed securities, and various other bailouts I'm sure we have no idea of due to the opacity of the Fed's balance sheet. Note, I'm not against this. I'm just admiring the consistency between Bush's second administration and his third.

- The Fed Rules! Princeton Professor Ben Bernanke, and Bush's former Chairman of Economic Advisers, has been reappointed as Fed Chairman. Again, I applaud the decision. It's important not to send mixed signals. Since Bush won in 2004 on a campaign of not second-guessing his choices it's good that he has remained consistent.

- Deficit Spending. Bush is a strong Keynesian advocate of deficit spending and his third administration shows no variance from these policies. In 2009, Bush at the tail end of his second administration passed a $3 trillion budget deficit. Now, for 2010, the administration (Bush III) has passed a $3.5 trillion deficit.

- Guantanamo Bay remains open for business. For a brief while it seemed like there was a faction of government that wanted to shut GBay down and start having trials of random terrorists in Main Street America. Well, Bush in his third administration has thoroughly quashed that idea.

Four administrations of FDR led to a ten year Depression, a World War with millions of lives lost, and two nuclear explosions (shortly after FDR died, but still in his 4th administration) on cities filled with civilians. During that time, FDR expanded the role of government into every aspect of our lives, tried to pack the Supreme Court, and sent millions of 18-year-olds overseas to their deaths.

I hope we eventually learn from our mistakes and decide against a fourth term for Bush. Its time to find a President who is strong on economics, strong on social issues, and has the ideological backbone to stand up for his beliefs and fulfill their dream of being real policies.

 

 

 

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Comments

[Clamver Annelet]

03:23 PM on 03/20/2010

Right you are! It's stunning, isn't it? Here's the problem, listen up and check this out: Obama is an acknowledged member (NOT acknowledged when he was running to President but only last March 2009) of the NEW DEMOCRATIC COALITION, got that? I'll say it again, NEW DEMOCRATIC COALITION. A group of democrats who claim they are moderate. They are not. When you look them up and read their policies on health care, financial reform, trade, etc they are right of center and almost indistinguishable from Bush's policies (as clearly noted here) or the Blue Dogs. THIS IS why Americans are scratching their heads over where we are now. WTF happened??? NO ONE is pointing this out in the media. WAKE THE F___ AMERICA! Obama wants to remake the Democratic Party into this new democratic/corporatist formula and has come right and and said so. (look it up) He is NOT A PROGRESSIVE. His policies should be showing you that. We have an election in 8 months and we need to know what is happening in order to make the critical changes we need.

[jhNY]

02:42 PM on 03/16/2010

"Four administrations of FDR led to a ten year Depression, a World War with millions of lives lost, and two nuclear explosions (shortly after FDR died, but still in his 4th administration) on cities filled with civilians. During that time, FDR expanded the role of government into every aspect of our lives, tried to pack the Supreme Court, and sent millions of 18-year-olds overseas to their deaths." I get your rhetorical point here, and it does round out your essay neatly, but it's historically inaccurate, in that FDR did not cause the Depression. As to the rest of it, sadly on point, if seldom put in such terms. And by the way, far more citizens were killed by conventional bombs (and targeted for death by Allied high command, so as to sap the morale and war-making capacities of our enemies) in WWII than were killed by the two nuclear detonations.

I too hate to see the third term of Bush, but it only goes to show that there are spokemodels that change out every election or so, but the corporatism that is our actual form of governance is permanent. So in a way, Bush's first two terms weren't actually his either.

[whoosh]

12:49 PM on 03/16/2010

I do agree with most of your article. It should be apparent to many of our fellow citizens that we have a major political dysfunction: A theocratic,pseudo-laissez faire political party and another party that has been captured by the financial sector. We are in dire need of some party competition.

[whoosh]

12:10 PM on 03/16/2010

"Its time to find a President who is strong on economics..."---by strong on economics do you mean someone of the Austrian School persuasion?

[James Altucher]

12:09 PM on 03/16/2010

FDR expanded the Great Depression well beyond its natural lifespan.

[whoosh]

12:33 PM on 03/16/2010

How would it have ended naturally? An American version of the Nazis? FDR never committed himself to a true Keynesian recovery plan. It took WW2 to justify the level of spending to end the Great Depression.

[James Altucher]

02:58 PM on 03/16/2010

- repeal the wage floors
- repeal Smoot-Hawley
- cut capital gains and wage taxes to < 20%

then it would've ended by 1934.

[whoosh]

12:04 PM on 03/16/2010

"Four administrations of FDR led to a ten year Depression, a World War with millions of lives lost, and two nuclear explosions (shortly after FDR died, but still in his 4th administration) on cities filled with civilians."----FDR did not cause the Great Depression. Hoover was in office when the Great Depression began. FDR did not start WW2 and if the U.S. did not get involved in WW2, fascists would rule the planet. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima was a morally bankrupt act.

[CatfishJohn]

11:35 AM on 03/16/2010

..yes, in many ways the continuity of personnel, piririoies and policy continue on under the already emasculated Obama.....flowery rhetoric and noble intentions pave the road right back to a more or less redundant hell that was- AND REMAINS- the Bush nuts and bolts.....