It's hard to say anything new or interesting about George W. Bush's farewell address Thursday night. But one thing is worth noting about Bush's self-presentation: several times he refers to "tough decisions" that proved unpopular:
Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I've always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions.
Here's the thing: Bush has never conveyed the impression that he found it hard to make decisions. Quite the opposite. Being "the decider" seemed quite easy for him, something he relished. Bush never really bucked public opinion -- that would imply some reckoning with the reasons for opposition to his policies and for his own unpopularity -- he simply ignored it. And once he made a call he rarely looked back, claiming to be untroubled by whatever negative consequences might flow from it.
So, I think the focus on "tough decisions" is another post-hoc rationalization. Bush's decisions were "tough" not because he carefully weighed difficult issues and possible outcomes, but tough in hindsight because many of those decisions had disastrous results that the public deplored. Bush is trying to make himself look courageous for keeping his hand on the tiller during hard times, implying that was what made him unpopular. But in fact most of this mess was of his own making.
Sarah Palin has the same problem. Thankfully the voters kept her far away in Alaska, where her incompetence can be held to a minimum.
When you think about it, the worst things his administration did were actually easy. Start a war on false pretenses while your vice president becomes rich in the process ("tough" would be giving the money back). Get in bed with Ken Lay, then pretend he was a casual acquaintance even though he spent at least two weekends in the White House. That's easy when you're the president. Sign bills to give the appearance of cooperating with Congress, then fail to execute the laws while claiming extraordinary powers as present. Really quite simple. Hire incompetents for key jobs, and give them medals after they screw up. No sweat.
Bush's failures aren't matters of judgment. They're matters of character. He never had the character to be president, and nothing he says or writes now will change that.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/17/bush-43-worst/
Bush has always had a sweep up crew to "take care of things".
Bush does nothing by himself, ever. Never has and never will.
That is the CORE of the problem with Bush.
In Texas his role as "governor" was ceremonial while others ran the show.
Bush used the same hands-off model as president, while Cheney & Bushies ran the show their way.
All Bush could do is stutter, sputter and lie. Because he was never in charge,
has no command of details and is at a loss to answer any questions about anything.
Get a clue, sir. You have shown to be incapable of learning from or acknowledging your mistakes. So, to say that you would have "done things differently" is only more of the same revisionist history you are trying to force upon the nation. We recognize your lack in judgment. No need to make yourself look any worse.
Signed,
All of us with our eyes open
Good riddence to this menace.
By 2004, I couldn't hear the words "9/11" drip from Bush or Cheney's lips without getting angry, because they had taken an event that affected myself and millions of other Americans directly and turned it into a club for abusing their political rivals. Republicans in Nebraska or Idaho would belittle the people of NYC and DC for not supporting Bush/Cheney because we "hadn't learned the lessons of 9/11" even though the attacks occurred in our neighborhoods.
Instead of using 9/11 to unite the nation, as FDR did with Pearl Harbor, Bush demeaned the memories of those who died under his watch by turning 9/11 into a Republican political tool for tax cuts, invading Iraq and whatever other agenda item it seemed convenient for.
Not to put too fine a point on it, Bush, but your conscience sucks.
Yeah. Right. Okey Dokey.