It Ought To Be A Word

It's true what he said: we misunderestimated him.

George Bush came into his presidency with a huge wave of goodwill. Not from me, but from the others. An amazing number of people who should have known better thought of him as a charming guy whose intellectual limitations would somehow be as benign as Ronald Reagan's, whose promise of a fairly passive presidency would be as survivable as Dwight Eisenhower's. So he couldn't seem to get a sentence out straight, so what? And as for his religious rigidity, that was simply his way of dealing with an alcohol problem without the sloppy conventions of AA.

He was misunderestimated in every way. It was hard to imagine that this feckless leader could do so much damage. But even as the worst emerged, he was given the benefit of the doubt because of the ongoing mysteries of his administration -- mysteries that have remained unsolved in spite of the skills of hundreds of gifted journalists who have attempted to uncover them:

• Who exactly was running the country these last eight years?
• What did the President know, if anything, and when did he know it, if ever?
• Was he capable in any way of even one sleepless night, much less the ongoing insomnia that any sentient person would suffer after so many wrong decisions and pointless deaths?
• Did he mispronounce the word "nuclear" 1) on purpose, in order to make himself seem folksy 2) because he actually thought he was pronouncing it correctly or 3) just to piss us off?

The exit appearances that Bush has made in recent weeks will be something future presidents will refer to as often as Lincoln's Second Inaugural, although for different reasons. Here's what he said:

• We did the best we could under the circumstances.
• It's not easy being President.
• It wasn't completely my fault.
• Everyone makes mistakes.
• I kept America safe, except for this one time.
• After that one time I worked really really hard almost every day and had to read a lot of stuff about foreign countries.

This is Bush's legacy -- a stunning series of alibis. This is what he will crawl off to Texas with, hoping that it will fool a publisher into giving him a substantial book advance and contributors into giving him money for a library full of pilfered papers.

On Monday, we will have to get used to a different thing entirely, a president who's in the loop, who reads history, who speaks decent English. He will rob of us of something -- of the burning anger that has sustained us the last eight years, and that will take some adjusting to. But we're up for it; after all these years in the dark, we're ready for a little overestimation. Which is, unlike misunderestimation, an actual word. But come to think of it, misunderestimation ought to be a word. I certainly know what it means.

Comments

[Kelley Bell-Wenzlaff - Huffpost Blogger]

Comedians all over the country are crying tonight. Their gold mine is gone.

P.S. Thanks for the great HuffPo presentation at the 92nd st. Y. It was a great pannel. I am glad I came.

[TheKat]

As I took in President Obama's speech, I realized how angry I've been. It was simply overwhelming to realize that this day: January 20, 2009 had come. Even though I thought it never would. There was a stash of merchandise imprinted with the date in our bookstore, the Brookline Booksmith. When it first appeared it seemed to me that this day could not come soon enough. As I sat with my neighbors watching this morning the spectacular events on this extraordinary day, I exhaled.

[BillMelater]

Wow, Nora, spot on article. TYVM

[Anne Hill - Huffpost Blogger]

You write: "What did the President know, if anything, and when did he know it, if ever?"

Precisely! Let the graduate dissertations begin!

[LibMass]

Remember when everyone was down on the Dixie Chicks for saying they were ashamed to be from Texas because of Bush. Lokks like they called it right. Makes them look like Geniuses now.

[dahpunkster]

I tried to watch Bush's farewell speech on tv, but couldn't get through it. The fact that he totally trashed our country and has basically gotten away with it, and sits there footloose and fancy free , It just makes me want to punch the tv.
I think it will take me a while to get over him, but hopefully this new administration will help me cool down back into the mellow person I used to be 8 years ago.

[julianne]

ok

[Youngvet09]

The insanity of it all

[Elissa Altman - Huffpost Blogger]

And this, Nora Ephron, is why I love you. (This, and your knowledge of Mrs. Herbst.)

[MathIsTruth]

When Bush first ran for president, a lot of people created a fantasy Bush in their own mind, ignoring what was known about him.

But anyone who dispassionately and honestly "estimated" him based on the available information could have predicted what kind of president he would be.

He was a spoiled rich kid who had stuff handed to him growing up. During his "military" career he ran and hid. During his college days, he partied. As an adult, he was a drunkard. He eventually exchanged his alcoholism for some sort of religious perversion.

Given that, what was the chance that as president he would be another Washington, Lincoln, FDR or even Reagan.? Or even another George H. W. Bush?

[dawlishgal]

There was plenty of information available to inicate that Bush was dishonest and a manipulator. Anybody who read up about the crooked stadium deal ought to have known that he was not presidential material. (So should Bush 41 have known, and he ought to have protected the country by talking his wastrel son out of running).

I will never understand why the Democrats failed to make campaign issues out of the way Bush and his cronies rearrnaged the law so as to allow them to buy up land for pennies on the dollar. And, for gawdssakes, the courts made them pay the landowners back. Why was this not an issue?

[rubinoff]

hey, don't give 'poppy-boosh' a free pass....he's sneaky, too.

[CFSM]

seems like decline of empire stuff, hope wrong - a majority voted for and went along with for quite a while

[maxgen]

Obama is sworn to uphold the Constitution. Nothing in our history or state papers specifies that criminals are not to be brought to justice.

He says he hasn't time to prosecute those who violated the Constitution. Nonsense! He should appoint Patrick Fitzgerald (who shunned affiliation with any political party) attorney general, fund him generously and and order him to investigate all violations of the Constitution and the laws of the country, including election violations. (The GOP accused the Democratic party of election fraud. Let's have an honest investigation to see whether ACORN is stealing elections and also whether the GOPs stole the 2000 and 2004 presidencies).

Give Pat backing and leave him alone; let the chips fall where they may. That shouldn't take much of Obama's time.

By failing to prosecute high officials, he only continues a precedence such that the next sociopath can continue the criminality without fear of shame and prosecution. Their crookedness will be repeated until perpetrators are held accountable and punished for their crimes.

[dutch163]

good idea!!

[alicetilden]

Wow. Patrick Fitzgerald for Attorney General. I think everyone but Obama would have to resign and qucikly move to a country that doesn't extradite.

[rubinoff]

Agree ^5

[RedKnuckles]

Based on the incredible amount of damage, which even Bush seems to honestly fail to acknowledge, I think he was overmisund­erestimate­d.

[windypaperboy]

I was looking for an article of yours about the Gaza massacre, and failed to se a single one. Well you seem more concerned about misunderes­timatings, aren't you?

[Agent420]

Obama says that we are a country ruled by law. Now is the time for him to prove that. If he lets criminals go because they held high office in the country, then he proves that he believes in a country ruled by two sets of rules. One for the rich and one for the poor. Don't let that happen.

[freddiefreeloader]

The 1950 Nuremberg Tribunal, which the U.S. signed onto says principle #3 The fact that a person
who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as head of state or
responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law.
Google 1950 Nuremberg tribunal to see laws violated.