Final Thoughts on the Bush Administration...& First Thoughts on the Obama Administration
The final days of the Bush Administration have left me with three main emotions: impressed, sad, and frustrated.
I've been very impressed with the class and dignity Bush has shown in his final days, in a complete 180 from his scumbag predecessor, Bill Clinton. One could easily describe Bush as eager to pass the torch to Obama; he almost immediately met with him after his win, and set the tone for bipartisan partnership by immediately working with him instead of foolishly clinging to his last coupla weeks and trying to push his own agenda. Bush seemed relieved to be leaving Washington, didn't pardon true criminals just because he happened to know them, and left happy with the person who was taking his place. Bush's actions showed, once again, that no matter what you thought of his politics, he was a man of class and dignity who truly respected the office he held for eight years, and that should impress every American.
I was also impressed because, looking back, Bush did have more successes that people had a tendency to remember. Bush was a fantastic leader after September 11th who was instrumental in America rediscovering its courage, sense of peace, and sense of safety. Another important fact that is overlooked is this: If you'd come up to someone on September 12, 2001, and asked them if they thought the US would be a victim of another terrorist attack by 2009, EVERYONE would have answered yes, right? None of us thought it would be possible to live through seven years of peace at home. Bush deserves to be commended for that; that is a MONUMENTAL achievement that everyone is overlooking.
That being said, however, it's hard to look at Bush's presidency as anything other than a failure. Bush inherited an economy that had serious long term flaws, and rather than correct these flaws for the good of the long term at the expense of the short, Bush exacerbated these flaws, hurting the economy even more in the future. He allowed rampant collusion to occur in the oil & gas industry, totally screwing over consumers in the process. While I still believe that invading Iraq was the right decision, almost every other decision made regarding that event--from how it was handled in the media to deciding on an overall plan--was handled poorly until Robert Gates entered the administration. Prison abuses tarnished the US reputation, and too much time was wasted debating social topics that paled in comparison to important national issues like health care and social security reform, which changed little during his time. And finally, he never managed to capture Public Enemy #1: Osama Bin Laden. Sadly, I think when we look back at Bush's presidency, we probably would have to consider him one of the top five worst presidents, and certainly in the top ten.
In the end, though, I'm mostly frustrated, because I believe George Bush got screwed over by everyone. I've always believed that Bush never wanted to be President; I think that Bush was strong-armed into running by the radical majority that unfortunately ruled (hopefully ruled and no longer rules) the Republican party because they thought he could win on his name. I think Bush agreed and trusted his party to do a good job of ruling for him (this is why Bush spent more time out of Washington than any other president, easily blowing away Reagan's vacation record); instead, we were left with a man who is evil (Dick Cheney) running the country. I feel that Bush is a living embodiment of the Peter Principle: he's a good man who was a great Governor of Texas, who unfortunately rose to a level he was not prepared for, and evil and/or incompetent men were able to take advantage of him. George Bush deserved better, and we certainly deserved better.
HOWEVER...there is one other culprit if you're looking to place blame on having the Bush Administration for eight years. That would be the Democratic Party. Why, do you ask? Because even now, using hindsight, if my choices are Bush v Al Gore or John Kerry...I think my answer is still George Bush. That's how little respect I have for those two men. If you think you can do better Democrats, then run someone out there who is worth voting for.
Which is what they did this time, and leads me to my first impressions of Barack Obama. I didn't vote for Obama, and while I do have reservations about him that have already been visited here, I've been impressed with him so far in office. Obama has moved quickly and earnestly in his attempts to revive the economy. He has made good on his promise of a bipartisan cabinet; I've been impressed with the way he seems to add the extremes of both sides of an issue to his Cabinet. You can see both sides vehemently arguing their case in the future, with Obama listening and learning from both, and then (hopefully) choosing the most prudent course of action--which is almost always the one in the middle. He's already mentioned that social security reform is a necessity right now, and basically told the Unions, "Look, you know I'm your boy, but we're in a full blown Recession right now, and I'm not even going to try to placate you until things get better." He's moved quickly and earnestly on some of his difficult campaign promises--like shutting down Guantanamo Bay--without doing so recklessly and without thinking--like giving himself a year to figure out how, exactly, he's going to shut down Guantanamo Bay.
Mostly, though, I've been impressed with Barack Obama the man. This isn't Bill Clinton, the scumbag, coming into office with a sham marriage and a litany of scandals waiting behind him; this is a man who truly loves his family and his country, who is coming into office honestly trying to help his country. Like George Bush, I can give leeway to a good man who is trying to help, even if he makes mistakes. So far I feel the same way with Barack Obama.
So good luck Obama. You're going to need it, because you have a lot of daunting issues out there. But--like every American should, regardless of who they voted for and what their party affiliation is--I'm rooting for you.
I've been very impressed with the class and dignity Bush has shown in his final days, in a complete 180 from his scumbag predecessor, Bill Clinton. One could easily describe Bush as eager to pass the torch to Obama; he almost immediately met with him after his win, and set the tone for bipartisan partnership by immediately working with him instead of foolishly clinging to his last coupla weeks and trying to push his own agenda. Bush seemed relieved to be leaving Washington, didn't pardon true criminals just because he happened to know them, and left happy with the person who was taking his place. Bush's actions showed, once again, that no matter what you thought of his politics, he was a man of class and dignity who truly respected the office he held for eight years, and that should impress every American.
I was also impressed because, looking back, Bush did have more successes that people had a tendency to remember. Bush was a fantastic leader after September 11th who was instrumental in America rediscovering its courage, sense of peace, and sense of safety. Another important fact that is overlooked is this: If you'd come up to someone on September 12, 2001, and asked them if they thought the US would be a victim of another terrorist attack by 2009, EVERYONE would have answered yes, right? None of us thought it would be possible to live through seven years of peace at home. Bush deserves to be commended for that; that is a MONUMENTAL achievement that everyone is overlooking.
That being said, however, it's hard to look at Bush's presidency as anything other than a failure. Bush inherited an economy that had serious long term flaws, and rather than correct these flaws for the good of the long term at the expense of the short, Bush exacerbated these flaws, hurting the economy even more in the future. He allowed rampant collusion to occur in the oil & gas industry, totally screwing over consumers in the process. While I still believe that invading Iraq was the right decision, almost every other decision made regarding that event--from how it was handled in the media to deciding on an overall plan--was handled poorly until Robert Gates entered the administration. Prison abuses tarnished the US reputation, and too much time was wasted debating social topics that paled in comparison to important national issues like health care and social security reform, which changed little during his time. And finally, he never managed to capture Public Enemy #1: Osama Bin Laden. Sadly, I think when we look back at Bush's presidency, we probably would have to consider him one of the top five worst presidents, and certainly in the top ten.
In the end, though, I'm mostly frustrated, because I believe George Bush got screwed over by everyone. I've always believed that Bush never wanted to be President; I think that Bush was strong-armed into running by the radical majority that unfortunately ruled (hopefully ruled and no longer rules) the Republican party because they thought he could win on his name. I think Bush agreed and trusted his party to do a good job of ruling for him (this is why Bush spent more time out of Washington than any other president, easily blowing away Reagan's vacation record); instead, we were left with a man who is evil (Dick Cheney) running the country. I feel that Bush is a living embodiment of the Peter Principle: he's a good man who was a great Governor of Texas, who unfortunately rose to a level he was not prepared for, and evil and/or incompetent men were able to take advantage of him. George Bush deserved better, and we certainly deserved better.
HOWEVER...there is one other culprit if you're looking to place blame on having the Bush Administration for eight years. That would be the Democratic Party. Why, do you ask? Because even now, using hindsight, if my choices are Bush v Al Gore or John Kerry...I think my answer is still George Bush. That's how little respect I have for those two men. If you think you can do better Democrats, then run someone out there who is worth voting for.
Which is what they did this time, and leads me to my first impressions of Barack Obama. I didn't vote for Obama, and while I do have reservations about him that have already been visited here, I've been impressed with him so far in office. Obama has moved quickly and earnestly in his attempts to revive the economy. He has made good on his promise of a bipartisan cabinet; I've been impressed with the way he seems to add the extremes of both sides of an issue to his Cabinet. You can see both sides vehemently arguing their case in the future, with Obama listening and learning from both, and then (hopefully) choosing the most prudent course of action--which is almost always the one in the middle. He's already mentioned that social security reform is a necessity right now, and basically told the Unions, "Look, you know I'm your boy, but we're in a full blown Recession right now, and I'm not even going to try to placate you until things get better." He's moved quickly and earnestly on some of his difficult campaign promises--like shutting down Guantanamo Bay--without doing so recklessly and without thinking--like giving himself a year to figure out how, exactly, he's going to shut down Guantanamo Bay.
Mostly, though, I've been impressed with Barack Obama the man. This isn't Bill Clinton, the scumbag, coming into office with a sham marriage and a litany of scandals waiting behind him; this is a man who truly loves his family and his country, who is coming into office honestly trying to help his country. Like George Bush, I can give leeway to a good man who is trying to help, even if he makes mistakes. So far I feel the same way with Barack Obama.
So good luck Obama. You're going to need it, because you have a lot of daunting issues out there. But--like every American should, regardless of who they voted for and what their party affiliation is--I'm rooting for you.
posted by Michael Pondrom at 1:25 AM
3 Comments:
"He allowed rampant collusion to occur in the oil & gas industry..."
Dude?!? OPEC, an international cartel, controls most of the world's supply of oil & gas. There is nothing anybody in this country can do about it, including the President.
Bo
Bo,
This is a blog in and of itself, and trust me--Kyle and I have debated this often and heatedly, with both sides conceeding points to the other. I will answer your point with two quick facts:
1) As I predicted YEARS in advance, the price of gas suddenly PLUMMETED about two months before the election, dropping from $4 a gallon to $1.50 in what...two months? Wow...what fortunate timing for the Republicans.
2) About a month ago, OPEC had one of their biggest supply cuts ever, around the time oil was about $50 a barrell--specifically in order to raise prices. What happened? Prices continued to fall, bottoming out at about $35 a barrell.
Don't get me wrong--I'm not defending those evil sons of bitches that are OPEC. But you'll have to forgive me for thinking that it's more than just coincidence that when a Haliburton Excecutive who enjoys being referred to as Darth Vader runs the country for eight years, gas prices jump almost 400%. Then, when his party is somewhat desperately seeking re-election, they almost overnight drop to the levels they were before he came in office. After he leaves office, in spite of supply cuts from our biggest supplier, the price continues to fall with the opposing party in office.
Obviously there are lots of other factors at play in the price of oil & gas. But forgive me for not believing that it's all OPEC's fault, and has nothing to do with the Oil & Gas Industry.
PJ
That is my fav. thing about Obama is his genuine desire to bring people together.
The one thing post-9/11 that I believe was Bush's ultimate downfall comes down to one sentence for me: "You are either with us or you are against us." While I love a good Western as much as the next person, cowboy ethics just can't be applied to today's world. It may have fired up Toby Keith, but it made most everyone else in the world really angry. Things are more complicated than that. This began the alienation of the U.S. from our allies at a time when people were ready to support us (though perhaps not militarily in every case). We have a short memory--we've seldom become involved in miliary action ourselves as a nation unless there was something in it for us. (This is inarguably true of most nations.) One need only look at our inaction pre-Pearl Harbor or our consistent action in the Middle East (Kuwait-1991, e.g.) vs. our painfully clear inaction in Rwanda in 1994(yes, this was a Dem. Pres.--it's not been a partisan pattern) to see that the U.S. has a history of selective isolationism as well. To accuse those who don't want to rush to war--or "conflict," the world's worst euphamism--with us of being enemies was the beginning of the damaging rhettoric that's plagued our nation for these last 7+ years. In one way (and only 1) I almost feel a little sorry for Sarah Palin, because they made her the mouthpiece for saying all the ugly things the powers that be in the Republican party wanted Americans to believe this time around. She gets to be the bad cop and McCain walks away looking classy after making one really nice concession speech, though the bulk of his campaign was centered around trying to scare people out of voting for Obama. If he'd run like he made his concession speech, he might have won.
This whole notion that people on either side of a debate, whether it be on on gay marriage or abortion, have to view one another as enemies is childish and unproductive, no matter one's stance. This is the tone that Washington has had for a long time & Obama's cabinet choices show a clear move away from that.
The presence of an evangelical minister, the first gay bishop, and an extension of friendship to the Muslim world (the real Muslim world both in and out of the U.S., not those who distort it to manipulate desperate people) at the same leader's inaugural celebration is something that'll make me say, "Amen!" We're a diverse nation. It's one of our greatest strengths, and it's about time a president acknoweldged that through more than just lipservice.
--Robin
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