The Bush Years: It’s Been a Rough Eight Years, No Question

The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial on the Bush years comes up short in its half-hearted attempt to go along with the current White House spin that Bush “is betting history will be kinder to him than any possible present-day assessment of his tenure.” Too many missteps and failures to lead will accompany Bush’s trip through the pages of history yet to be written. As for the numerous assessments of the Bush Administration that have found their way to print; they all share a common theme of disappointment. The Inquirer admits: “Bush departs the White House as one of the least popular presidents in recent times, with some critics confident enough in their historical perspective to nominate him in various "worst" categories.” The editorial writer tries to produce an acceptable reason for such a lackluster record: “Maybe that's because Bush is viewed widely as having stumbled so badly on key policies. By now, it's a familiar litany: Bush led the nation into an unnecessary war in Iraq; eroded core freedoms by snooping on Americans without court approval; squandered global goodwill with the harsh interrogation and open-ended detention of terror suspects; undermined environmental protections; favored the rich with tax cuts; and botched the Hurricane Katrina rescue.” It’s a very formidable task the writer takes on to make so many major blunders sound even slightly less disastrous when judging a president’s tenure in office. After eight years of portraying the tough, decisive commander in chief who was hell bent of doing what he felt was right; without regard to historic consequences because, Bush boasted, I’ll be long gone before the history can accurately judge my administration. Tough sentiments: but recently, a different Bush has emerged, one who is suddenly concerned that his legacy is accurately portrayed. This new, more reflective Bush is actually voicing his hope that historians will write their tombs in accordance with Bush’s own memories of how and why events happened as they did. He’s taken great care to lose unimaginably huge numbers of e-mails that might have given historians valuable insights into what actually occurred over the past eight years. He has also launched a “legacy project” that consists of talking points designed to put the Bushies in the most favorable light possible. The most salient and often quoted talking points boast that Bush "kept the American people safe" from further danger after the September 11th, 2001 World Trade Tower tragedy. Bush also claims to have “revived the post-2001 economy with his tax cuts” as well as maintaining "the honor and dignity of his office." What a crock! The Inquirer editorial admits that: “Only after 2,975 were killed on his watch in the worst-ever terrorist attack did Bush respond with stepped up antiterror measures. The Iraq insurgency - a veritable demonstration project for terrorists - never would have happened had U.S. forces not gone after Saddam Hussein on the basis of faulty claims that the brutal dictator had weapons of mass destruction.” The Inquirer further admits that: “The Bush military intervention in the Gulf, coupled with Abu Ghraib abuses, could make Americans less safe, to the extent that they fuel Islamic fanatics' anger. That's an especially grim future for the already suffering families of the more than 4,800 troops killed and thousands more wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan fighting.” Bush also took measures that laid the groundwork for the worst economic conditions in decades: “As for priming the economy with hefty tax cuts that benefited the wealthiest, that maneuver heralded the end of balanced budgeting while shifting to the states the burden for many domestic needs. Then there's the current economic crisis: Bush leaves office with nearly two million more Americans looking for jobs as a result of the recession, two million-plus facing mortgage foreclosures, and untold numbers looking at smaller retirement nest eggs.” And as far as “preserving the honor and dignity of the office, that has to be about more than just avoiding the sex scandal that marred Bill Clinton's presidency,” the Inquirer admits. Finally, at the end of their assessment of the Bush record, the Inquirer makes some laudatory remarks: “There should be less debate about other bullet points from the Bush record: his stellar leadership on fighting AIDS in Africa, his smart focus on school achievement through the No Child Left Behind Act, the groundbreaking achievement of a prescription-drug benefit for retirees and other Medicare recipients, and Bush's unsuccessful call for sweeping immigration reform.” Yes, the Inquirer is right: “It's been a rough eight years, no question.” Now it’s up to Obama to mix Bush’s mess.