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.
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The amazing thing about Bush is his absolute inability to learn; according to him, everything is about his personal courage (doesn't flinch, blink, pay attention to 'loud voices' or critics, etc). and nothing more. It's as if the country and all the people living in it have just been bit players in some psychological drama unfolding only in his head. Who cares how many people are killed as long as Bush feels like a stand-up guy, he seems to be saying. Even in something as small as the mispronunication of a word (or the invention of a word), he can't learn from his mistakes and do better. Perhaps an equally big concern is that the fact that we, as a country, elected him a second time. Maybe Bush can't learn, but thank goodness the rest of us can, even if it took four years longer than it should have.
When he was terrified during the bombing, I felt for him.
When he stood up at the 911 site, everybody stood up with him.
But thereafter? What happened?
Nobody has ever squandered so much goodwill. He simply was unqualified for his job.
President Palin would have made him look good though...
thank god we don't get to see how misunderestimated she would have been.
Epitaph
Misunderestimated,
He lied.
People died.
He destroyed so many lives and will be allowed to walk away with that assinine smirk on his face. I will go to my grave feeling cheated of having to stomach his administration in the prime of my life. We were robbed, and think of those who actually paid for it with life and limb...
My sentiments, exactly.
"Misunderestimate" v. t. 1. To underestimate but not sufficiently. To know that something is bad or inadequate, or dangerous, or evil but to not take nearly seriously enough the badness, inadequacy, danger or evil thereof.
Best definition I've heard yet.
Miss Nora, I'm first to post a comment - how exciting. As the author of my favorite movie, "You've Got Mail", I have to thank you and ask you to please forgive my gushing - is it coming through? I love the movie because I own a little gift shop and love P&P just like my beloved "Shop Girl" a handle I often try to use. Also, my little shop is suffering right now during these turbulent times.
I too have been annoyed with Bush's incorrect pronunciation of the word nuclear - a personal pet peeve. I would like to ask if you have noticed that our dear Mr. Obama, more often than not, does not use the word "an" before a word beginning with a vowel? I am happy to declare that is pretty much the only fault I have found in him so far - although I wasn't too happy with his choice for the inaugural invocation.
Thank you for all the happiness you have given me through your work. I hope if you are ever in the Denver area you will accept my invitation to come by my little shop and let me repay the favor. I will entertain you with my spot on impressions of Ms. Arianna Huffington and the legendary Julia Childs and dazzle you with my other creative talents. I promise to bring a smile to your face as you have done for me so many, many times.
Warmest regards,
Sarahdoodle
Owner
AppleDoodles
Arvada,
Such a *sorry* excuse for a national leader ... careless, clueless, and heartless.
Brava, Nora. As usual, you are concise and right on the mark. As for the burning anger, however, that's not something I anticipate diminishing for a long, long time, if ever. The extraordinary, unprecdented damage this horrible, shameless, worthless man has inflicted on us will be with us for many years. What he has inflicted on this country and the world is almost unquantifiable and certainly unforgiveable. I personally will never get over the nightmarish reign of this empty, despicable, soulless and morally degenarate wretch of a human being.
At last, a president that the people of the United States
can respect and admire for who he is and what he
stands for.
Curious, intelligent, tolerant, open minded, he
smiles alot (never smirks), an avid reader,
confident, but with sincere humility, an
intent listener, gracious, calm, thinks carefully
before he speaks . . .
What a role model for a citizenry that needs
to become involved in helping this country
turn around.
It's a shame we had to take a Beat-Down before excepting African-Americans that have fought in every war they were allowed to fight in.
Imagine if he wasn't half white, I wonder how we would except him, somewhat like Palin excepts the starving villages of another territory we took over?
I really don't think most people are so apparently ready to dismiss Bush and simply turn over a new leaf. I think most of us want to see the rule of law asserted by seeing him and his team prosecuted for their crimes, for flaunting US and international laws, as well as the Constitution itself. I think that reasserting the core value of 'no man above the law' is essential to going forward in any effective way.
"This is Bush's legacy -- a stunning series of alibis."
Absolutely. Great post!
Brilliant - nothing I've seen comes close to this analysis.
How ironic. Yes, we did miscalculate our estimation of a George W. Bush presidency in a way that could be described as an underestimation. What an accomplishment to underestimate someone who set the bar so low! We underestimated the amount of damage he could do. We underestimated his ability to remain completely unapologetic, unrepentant, and (apparently) unaware.
Great post.
We can all breathe a sigh of relief...b
Don't forget his lock-step Congress that for 6 years did nothing but agree to Bush/Cheney's wishes.
And...CURT
Very well said, as usual, Nora
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