In his speech to the nation Thursday evening, President George Bush defiantly asserted his list of accomplishments during his eight years in office. But there were hints of wistfulness and melancholy in his tone. And he admitted a few setbacks while in office conceding, "There are a few things I would do differently if given a chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interest of our country in mind."
In February 2003 I traveled with a Telemundo news team to the White House to interview President Bush, one month before the Iraq invasion. War fever had built to a crescendo in Washington, and the White House wanted to make its case to Hispanic Americans.
President Bush entered our interview location, a room on the ground floor of the White House, with a swagger and a smile. He was imperious and proud. During the interview he went through his justifications for an invasion, but said the final decision had not been made.
Following the interview the President Bush hung around for a few minutes of banter. I raised the issue of opposition to the pending war from the French, asking him, "What about President Jacques Chirac?" President Bush slapped me on the shoulder with the back of his hand, cocked his head and said, "Don't worry, he'll come around." With that, he quickly said his goodbyes and confidently departed. I turned to my team and said, "We're going to war."
In his speech last night, President Bush said, "I hope you can agree that I was willing to make tough decisions." Well, yes, he has made tough decisions. The problem is that he often made the wrong decisions. And worse, once decided, the decisions he made were poorly executed.
The Iraq war is a classic case of the wrong decision that was also poorly executed. Deregulation of the financial industry is another example. And, in the aftermath of Katrina, wrong decisions were made and the execution was painfully inept. The violation of civil liberties and his authorization of harsh interrogation techniques were terrible decisions that have undermined America's core values and founding principles. These are but a few examples.
"There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions," President Bush said, "but there can be little debate about the results, America has gone seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil." I felt a back handed slap against my shoulder as he spoke these words. President Bush seemed to be saying, "let's see what the next guy can do."
Today there is much debate about America's future. The country is mired in two wars, a devastating financial collapse, a recession, the Middle East is in turmoil, Osama bin Laden is still loose, and America's moral standing in the world has been severely eroded.
Most Americans support President-elect Barack Obama. He has already displayed intelligence, thoughtfulness, and a willingness to listen to strong voices and diverse opinions. His calm and cool style of leadership is reassuring. Hopefully we are entering a period of smart decisions, accountability and well-executed management. America's future is at stake.
President Bush apparently wants to be compared to President Harry Truman, who was also very unpopular when he left office. Yet after his retirement scholars came to judge Truman more positively. He made tough decisions and, as a result, he is now considered one of America's finest presidents.
Mr. Bush, you are no Harry Truman.
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Bush's Farewell Address
WASHINGTON — Unpopular but unbowed, President George W. Bush defended his tumultuous two terms in a farewell address to the nation Thursday night, claiming a...
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Bush's Farewell Address: Obama Election A "Moment Of Hope"
WASHINGTON — Unpopular but unbowed, President George W. Bush defended his tumultuous two terms in a farewell address to the nation Thursday night, claiming a...
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Bush Farewell Address (TEXT)
President George Bush gave his final primetime address to the nation on Thursday, January 15th. Below are a copy of his prepared remarks. Also check...
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Bush's Farewell Address: Still Delusional After All These Years
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Watch: Arianna Discusses Bush's Farewell Address on Rachel Maddow
Watch: Arianna Discusses Closing Gitmo on MSNBC
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Who Was President on 9/11?
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A Jew's Prayer for the Children of Gaza
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Bush's Original Farewell Address Leaked to Press
I beenz Precedent of The United over 8 to 10 yearz gone bye. I haz fun to be Precedent of y'all, even immegrantz, but not gayz. Here is my list of favorites, all favoritez, for you.
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What Bush Left Out of His Flat Farewell
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Gaza, Qaddafi, And Starbucks
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Tanks for the memories
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The 2009 Slantie Awards
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Obama, on the other hand, instead of being the new FDR this country desperately needs, is instead another triangulating, Clintonian neoliberal who will carry on unabated with the failed trickle down policies of the last three decades.
Harry Truman ended the war in the pacific, and prevented escalation in Korea. Those are two of the reasons he'll be remembered as an effective leader.
Truman famously displayed a plaque on his Oval Office desk that read, “The buck stops here.” In these last few days of W's train-wreck administration, as he and Cheney wrapped up their Revisionist History Tour, it's pretty clear that Bush, Jr. is as familiar with personal responsibility as he is with hard facts.
No, George. Warren Harding (arguably the worst US President) would be a more fitting parallel. Or maybe not. At least he had the wherewithal to publicly admit that he didn't really have the aptitude for the job.
Even Abe Lincoln would have had to scratch his head over this one ...
We can't say now what history books will say of Bush in the future, but it is up to Real Americans to put pressure on Obama and the Congress to investigate, indict, and then prosecute and find guilty Bush/Cheney, and that'll slam dump any historian writing anything positive about them!
I know I thank him for being so transparently a stooge I just HAD to get off my butt and fight back.
History has a way of adding a perspective not available in the moment. A President's term in office is judged on his total accomplishments, failures, and the long term consequences resulting from actions taken by the President. America likes to remember the good times because we have very short attention spans and we don't like to be wrong. Historians spin history just like the media spins the news.
Roosevelt placed Japanese Americans in internment camps after Pearl Harbor. Japanese AMERICANS who were citizens were placed in concentration camps and an apology was not formally given until Ronald Reagan's administration. Talk about violating civil rights and civil liberties. I have seen comments complimenting Truman for ending the war with Japan. However, almost 200,000 Japanese were killed by the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagaski which ended the war.
And yet, historians look at the administrations of Truman and Roosevelt and view them in a kind light. Who knows how historians will view George Bush and his tenure in the White House because only time will tell us the answers.
Indeed, we can't determine whether or not historians of the future will largely consist of complete idiots, which is not too farfetched a prospect considering the progressive lapse of academic standards and increasing faliure to implement the scientific method.
" A President's term in office is judged on his total accomplishments, failures, and the long term consequences resulting from actions taken by the President. "
Indeed, and with President Bush, there are absolutely no accomplishments whatsoever to list.