For What Will George W. Bush Be Most Remembered?
After hearing a particularly stimulating lecture today by author Gore Vidal, I began to think about all of the acts that have occurred during this President's administration, and wondered, what, if anything will be his legacy? So much has happened during these past six years, that I will attempt to sum up what stands out most in my mind. With a popularity rate at an all time low of less than 32 percent, by some national polls, it is time to take a look again at this President and his administration. As many of you know, I had enough of this man when this blog just began.(please see some of my first posts last April and May, and thereafter.)
Much stands out in the way of acts by Bush. Many of us remember his reaction to the tragedy of 9/11, and how he vowed that this country would be prepared for any such future acts if indeed they were to take place on U.S. soil. Others may look at how Bush invaded Afghanistan, kept troops there, and then went into Iraq, spending billions of dollars and loosing many American and Iraqi lives, his mission, to be to spread democracy to a country that really had very little to do with the United States. At first, Bush said there were WMD, and then none were found. Then of course, there was the time when he tried to pass an Amendment to the United States Constitution claiming that marriage was a union between a man and a woman. Bush also tried to intervene in the Terri Shavo case, making it clear that the law was meant for those other than himself, since he, after all, is President. We have the spy programs, the leaks of CIA agents, the resignation of Colin Powell, and of course numerous hurricanes that made their way across the Gulf Coast, and a President who failed to act for many days thereafter.
These acts affect us Americans, at least in some small way or another, but there is one act that has impacted on each and every American, rich, poor, smart or not so, urban or suburban, and that is that the price of gas during this President's administration has gone to more than $3.00 per gallon. Every single one of us is touched, in some way or another by the spiraling price of gasoline at the pump.
This President is a sleepwalker, he makes his presence felt in a big way, leaving us all hanging on at the other end wondering why he lacks a clear vision of what is really going on today.
Which act do you think Bush will be most remembered for and why?
Thank you for your minds.
Much stands out in the way of acts by Bush. Many of us remember his reaction to the tragedy of 9/11, and how he vowed that this country would be prepared for any such future acts if indeed they were to take place on U.S. soil. Others may look at how Bush invaded Afghanistan, kept troops there, and then went into Iraq, spending billions of dollars and loosing many American and Iraqi lives, his mission, to be to spread democracy to a country that really had very little to do with the United States. At first, Bush said there were WMD, and then none were found. Then of course, there was the time when he tried to pass an Amendment to the United States Constitution claiming that marriage was a union between a man and a woman. Bush also tried to intervene in the Terri Shavo case, making it clear that the law was meant for those other than himself, since he, after all, is President. We have the spy programs, the leaks of CIA agents, the resignation of Colin Powell, and of course numerous hurricanes that made their way across the Gulf Coast, and a President who failed to act for many days thereafter.
These acts affect us Americans, at least in some small way or another, but there is one act that has impacted on each and every American, rich, poor, smart or not so, urban or suburban, and that is that the price of gas during this President's administration has gone to more than $3.00 per gallon. Every single one of us is touched, in some way or another by the spiraling price of gasoline at the pump.
This President is a sleepwalker, he makes his presence felt in a big way, leaving us all hanging on at the other end wondering why he lacks a clear vision of what is really going on today.
Which act do you think Bush will be most remembered for and why?
Thank you for your minds.
31 Comments:
Iraq War debacle.
Deficit debacle.
Environmental Damage.
There's three to start...
If I were a historian tasked with putting together a historical record of George W. Bush's presidency, I would be dismayed at how tragic his presidency has been to the United States in general, and to the people of America specifically.
Bush and his friends have not seen a globalist business that they did not like. Oh how they bend so far backward to give the globalist what they want, disregarding our security , and economic concerns.
America is the greatest debtor nation and that was not always so. Under the George W. Bush administration they have taken fear to an all time high, and have started a war in Iraq that was not necessary.
This administration will be remembered I think by most as the administration that has based itself on war, there love affair with globalist big business, and its general lack of concern for natural and naturalized citizens, compared with his love for illegal immigration.
Well, I voted for the man and I am terriblly dissapointed. He spends money like a drunken sailor. He waits till there is a disaster or an "almost disaster" before he tries to do anything. He looks the other way about the immigration issues. He comes from a big oil family and he's hardly done anything to spur on the need for alternative fuel sources and our dependence on foreign oil. He's feeding our "entitlement" generation with the prescription drug program.
I really feel sorry for people on a fixed income right now. Gas prices are stagering and electic bills will be crazy this summer.
I still wouldn't vote for John Kerry if my life depended on it, so I hope we have better choices in the voting arena next time around.
Sorry for the rant...
I'm gonna really TRY to not over-do this...
Shock and awe sounded so much like blitzkrieg, I couldn't help but to draw all the conclusions that follow it,
ignoring all the countries of the world and attacking a country ...
ignoring the rights of the citizens of this country and pouring billions into a war on two fronts while several hundred people die of starvation HERE every day....
sustaining a two-faced argument where the votes of the citizens count unless they disagree with his own....
But, lastly, and this is the worse of all.
He has lit the fuse of a thousand year war.
There. If I write more, I will curse and I've really tried hard not to do that on others' blogs.
Yes, there are so many areas of damage created by this administration, it is difficult to point to one specific area.
Lucy, I appreciate your comment, as I know you voted for the man, and at one time defended him too.
To see how he has taken this wonderful conuntry down a dark path is heartbreaking.
Please read what an email sent to me this morning:
Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner-- President Does Not Seem Amused
By E&P Staff
Published: April 29, 2006 11:40 PM ET
WASHINGTON A blistering comedy "tribute" to President Bush by Comedy Central's faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.
Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, "and reality has a well-known liberal bias."
Noting those low ratings, Colbert advised, "The glass isn't half empty - it's 68% empty. There's still some fluid in there, but I wouldn't drink it."
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. "This administration is soaring, not sinking," he said. "They are re-arranging the deck chairs--on the Hindenburg."
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the "Rocky" movies, always getting punched in the face—"and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world."
He noted former Ambassador Joseph Wilson in the crowd, as well as " Valerie Plame." Then, pretending to be worried that he had named her, he corrected himself, as Bush aides might do, "Uh, I mean... Joseph Wilson's wife." He asserted that it might be okay, as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was probably not there.
Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, "photo ops" on aircraft carriers and at hurriance disasters, and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face.
Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday."
He closed his routine with a video fantasy where he gets to be White House Press Secretary, complete with a special "Gannon" button on his podium. By the end, he runs fleeing from Helen Thomas and her questions about why the U.S. really invaded Iraq and killed all those people.
Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was "surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides—the president's side and the vice president's side."
As he walked from the podium the president and First Lady gave Colbert quick nods, unsmiling, and left. E&P's Joe Strupp, in the crowd, observed that quite a few felt the material was, perhaps, uncomfortably biting.
Asked by E&P after it was over if he thought he'd been too harsh, Colbert said, "Not at all." Was he trying to make a point politically or just get laughs? "Just for laughs," he said. He said he did not pull any material for being too strong, just for time reasons.
Helen Thomas told Strupp her segment with Colbert was "just for fun."
The president had talked to the crowd with a Bush impersonator alongside, with the faux-Bush speaking precisely and the real Bush deliberately mispronouncing words. At the close, Bush called the imposter "a fine talent. In fact, he did all my debates with Senator Kerry."
Among attendees at the black tie event: Morgan Fairchild, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Justice Antonin Scalia, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers--in a kilt.
He'll be remembered as a puppet president whose strings were pulled by the F'n Fundies.
Well, at the risk of being flamed- I supported the war in Iraq. I simply felt that it was our country's moral obligation to correct the wrongs that we had done to the Iraqi people for supporting their horrible dictator throughout the Iran-Iraq war and turning a blind eye to his genocide of the Kurds and Marsh Arabs. Of course I do not believe that Bush was thinking along those lines when he ordered the invasion, but it was still the right thing to do.
I think what his presidency will be remembered for is a remarkable incompetence- that they took the good will of the world after 9/11 and completely reversed it, that they completely ruined a great opportunity to reshape the middle east by insisting on pie in the sky estimations of the ease of the operation and of course hastening the coming collapse of the united states by completely insane budget policies.
This is virtually the same comment I left on CyberKittens blog moments ago. I think it very much applies here.
~Mike
The American people are tolerant to a fault. They are slow to angry, but once riled, nearly impossible to placate. Just ask Richard Nixon (or his ghost) what happens when you take complacency for stupidity.
George Bush II is teetering on the edge. In the view of many, he has already fallen. Critical mass is fast approaching and there does not appear to be much he can do. His view to his future legacy has left him unaware of the present and now that future is not looking too rosy at all. Senator Biden said on The Daily Show regarding Bush's commitment to prayer and faith that Bush doesn't pray for the right decision, he makes a decision and then prays that it is right.
He relies on a gut instinct that is historically and consistently wrong. That will be his legacy.
~Mike
Iraq. No doubt about it. While I think it's not going well, I'll let history be the judge of how it turned out.
Secondly, the Supreme Court. He may have the opportunity to nominate another justice. That would be felt for decades.
Iraq seems to be number one, either way.
Fred, I agree with you about the Supreme Court. Thank you for adding that issue as well. Not only will he be remembered for it, but the very nature of our liberities may be redefined.
He'll be remembered for being the "Decider" :p
He'll be remembered for his smug smile and penchant for mispronunciation (e.g., "nucular").
It all depends on how world events shape themselves now and after he leaves office.
If Iraq becomes a true deomcracy..then no one will remember the few years of insurgency and 2,000 US deaths.
But if it descends into civil war then he will go down as a bad President
Ooucchh.. IM divided..!
15 or twenty years from now when the now children of Iraq add themselves to the list of terrorist, that will be a terrible legacy.
Im opposition to Amishav's point, while bad, I think the people of Iraq now have it worse. The genocide back then it was not about Sadaam but the governing Baath Party, but with it now mostly anihilated, now we see the civil war ensuing within the other sects. But on top of that, the people are now really suffering. During BUSH Sr. the theme was that getting rid of Sadaam would unstabilize the region... no shit.. no we see.
The other thing that I will remember Dubious.. I mean Dubya for is Katrina. In 41 years I have never seen Americans dying in the streets of America due to the Governments ineptitude, and I Dont think I will see it again.
Finally, Lucy, I would have not voted for Kerry if he would have not become the opposition's party candidate. And after I saw him in Meet the PRess a couple of weeks ago, I was dying laughing as he showed how he didnt learn anything form his campaign.
T
Oh .. did anyone see MEet the Press today? I did not know who the Secretary of Energy was until the show today.. but I'll tell you guys what.... while listening to him, I had the worst Deja Vu case... of watching Michael Brown (ex FEMA guy) the first time I saw him being interview on TV; Interview which made me blog how inept the guy was.. BEFORE anyone else did.. (its recorded for the world to see) .. but the point is that this guy today acted exactly like Brown... and that is scary!
I'm sorry to go off topic but I just read a past post and am concerned.
I'm reffering to a certain disturbance you had with others. I know it's frustrating when people keep bothering you and won't leave you alone. And it makes you want to run away. But I don't think we should give in to frustration and stop our spiritual growth. Our souls need food too.
I think this is probrably a test and G-d wants to see what you will do. You are strong. I know you can pass. You have the potential.
Wish you success.
I think probably Katrina.....And where did all the donation money go to help them people out....I'm sure we will be hearing from people who didn't see a dime and needed it really bad.....in the future!!!!
Have a great day!!!
Rabbit, rabbit!
Gore Vidal is an interesting character, isn't he?
Bush will be remembered for taking 9/11 and turning it into the tragedy of the Iraq War.
I'm afraid that this topic gets me so heated that I can't say anything nice.
Mr. H.K. has a good start. I suppose to those three I'd add:
Degredation of domestic healthcare
Nominations to the Supreme Court to take us socially backwards
Reductions in women's rights
Deterioration of already tenuous international relationships
As I said, this topic just makes me angry beyond words. I think I'll stop there.
ok perhaps you all may be right... he may get some history book space for his policies, but most of us will probably remember how much he bumbled his words and spoke like a baboon!
When I think of Clinton... I think of Monica not his policies! He actually wasnt a bad president... if only he could have kept his pecker in his pants and smoked that damn cigar!
cheers! Kate
Barbara, I think you've covered the salient points.
I hope he and members of his inner circle will also be summarized and remembered in the history books as great illustrations of the concept of "ideologue," which is what makes them, as you kindly say, "sleepwalkers," but I'd say stupider than your average pigeon in one of BF Skinner's experiments with reinforcement and pecking behavior.
His manner of speaking, undiciplined and uneducated, which serves as an embarassment to this country, will surely not be forgotten.
But I just want to forget!
Winterwheat took my answer.
saying "Newkula"
and every evil thing else..
It seems as if my use of the word, act, singlarly, was not appropriate. It should have read, which acts.....
I was thinking of your post today while watching news;
WHile watching the immigration rallies I couldnt think of any other President in history who has divided us more.
And I find terribly funny (or sad) that the Republicans chastized Clinton for degrading the Office of the President; but yet, yesterday at the reporter's annual dinner, they were laughing at the president poking fun at his own ineptitude?? How is that respecting the office of the president?
He never had the resume nor the preparation and as an american I feel sad he is our 'leader'!
For sure the Iraq war debacle and his attempts to tie Saddam Hussein to 911
The way he pronounces "nuclear"
Using the term "axis of evil"
The spy program
Misunderestimation
I think that it will be several years before we can truly say the war was a success or a failure.
I never voted for the man either time. If they counted the cost of food and energy in inflation. I then would say Dubya would get bad grade in the economy
Everything to with the middle east as Dubya been office it been a mess.
The national debt
I honestly don't think the man has clue about the real world. He doesn't give rats ass about blue color worker, So I'll give him an F their.
He's precisely the person the powers that be in this country want in the WH. To a conservative the more shrewd the better. With the help of an obedient lapdog media and Karl Rove we're seeing a presidency made of smoke and mirrors. Perpetual war, enrich conservative donors by raiding the treasury with tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate welfare goes unchecked, creating huge deficits and starving social programs to death, just like Grover Norquist wants.
Just so conservatives know I feel John McCain could've won in '00. But the powers that be in the gop didn't want him at the helm.He could've been a good one. And I say that as someone decidedly Left of center politically.
Now he's nothing more than another repub toady.
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