That slam against Bush for nation-building has always been a false charge. I mean what did we do after WWII but rebuild (set up democracies) three countries...and as I recall the president was a Democrat. For his critics I guess deposing Hussein but leaving Al-Qaeda or Al-Sadr in charge would be preferable to a fledgling democracy. The FIRST!!! arab-Muslim democracy in history. Bush will look very good in the history books after future honest historians start writing them.
When you think of the millions of votes (between Afghanistan, the multiple Iraqi votes, the re-vote in Ukraine, etc.) that have been cast...I lost count after 129,000,000. Their democracies might not last. It’s painful for us to realize, as demonstrated by the Russian invasion of Georgia, that democracy in the 21st century can be fragile. But voting is habit-forming and, thanks to GWB, people who NEVER would have cast a vote in their lifetimes have been able to shape their own political destiny. It’s a modern miracle that has been hidden from the public but not erased from history.