I agree with your assessment of Bush’s leadership qualities,his dignity and ability to get his policies enacted. My problem is that all too often his policies were liberal and his commitment to conservative values was weak. His “new tone” was the wrong strategy in a time when we needed a true leader, one who could fully articulate and follow through with a conservative agenda. The Medicare drug plan was the first step toward what we now see. I respect W immensely. May God bless him and comfort him in the coming years. We are in for a battle to save this nation, no doubt.
I appreciate your points and think they are pretty solid.
I think a lot of people confuse my defense of President Bush with a lack of desire for more conservatism. I would like to have a more conservative President. I would also like to win elections.
Bush winning two elections did accomplish a huge relative advantage for conservatives. His soft conservatism was better than hard liberalism. I would love for conservatives to figure it out and win with some other candidates.
Most of the sniping at President Bush strikes me [not yours] as counterproductive and undermining the emergence of a conservative voice. I think if a conservative candidate had lead the ticket this fall I think Bush would have again graciously allowed the Republican to use him like a punching bag and say that we need a “real conservative” in the White House. What kind of person has that kind of gracious character?
He has been tough as nails on America’s true enemies: Al Qaeda, Saddam, islamic radicalism. And yet he is so gracious to his domestic back stabbers at home. I really doubt Obama will pull that off.