Posted on 05/23/2006 8:34:45 AM PDT by Pokey78
NNow when he is at his lowest point yet in the polls is the time for those who love and admire President Bush to say so. Depending on the final success of his already successful campaign to bring the rudiments of democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq, George W. Bush, #43, may go down as a truly great president, who against fierce odds turned the entire Middle East in a new, more democratic, and more creative direction.
But I do not want to argue here the question of his greatness (I have heard voices call him the worst ever) because the question of ranking is above my pay grade and my foresight.
What I do want to argue is that, after Washington and Lincoln, Bush is the bravest of our presidents. He has faced the most intense fire, hatred, contempt, heavily moneyed and bitterly acidic partisan opposition, underhandedness, betrayal, of any president in the last hundred years. He has faced hostility over a longer time, in possibly the most dangerous period of international warfare in our national history. He has remained constant, firm, decided, and generous (to a fault) with his opponents.
He has faced almost unbroken contempt from the academy, from the mainstream press, from Democratic elites, from Moveon and all the other holders of the Democratic-party purse strings, from the Democratic Congress, from his treacherous (if not treasonous) Central Intelligence Agency, and from many levels of the permanent State Department. Almost every day, he has been pummeled and undermined by powerful forces of American power. Still, he has stayed firm, with clear arguments, and an even clearer vision.
On the number-one issue facing the nation—the war declared upon us by fascists who pretend to be religious—he has not wavered, he has not bent, he has stayed on course and true.
In Iraq, civil society, nearly comatose under Saddam Hussein, is today alive and full of vitality. Newspapers and television and magazines are full of diversity and energy, political parties multiply, private associations are functioning by the thousands, most of the country is more secure than some American cities. Iraqi exiles from around the world, far from fleeing, are coming back in droves.
In Paris, France, more cars may have been set on fire this past year than car bombings in Baghdad. In the decade of the Algerian war some time ago there may have been more bombings in France per week than there are now in Iraq. A tiny band of extremists, led by a crafty but crazed Jordanian, are still capable of impressive resourcefulness and ruthless killing, especially within camera reach of the hotels in Baghdad, where the American press is bunkered down. But they represent only a small fringe of Iraqi voters—and of course they loathe democracy with all their writhing intestines.
Despite the depredations, beheadings, and homicide bombings aimed at American public opinion, and especially elite opinion, President Bush has bravely kept his focus on eliminating one by one the dwindling band of terrorists, on the reconstruction of Iraqi civil society, and on the ability of Iraqi parties to broker and bargain and argue themselves into consensus in a political manner.
Whatever American voters may say of him to opinion pollsters—and his polls are now very low indeed—the survival of democracy in Iraq will in the future count as an enormous achievement. Moreover, the exchange in Arab minds of the "big idea" of democracy for the grand illusions of the past (Arab nationalism, Arab socialism, Baathist dictatorship, pan-Arabism), may a generation from now confer on President Bush the unmistakable honor of having been one of those presidents who actually changed the course of history. A president who changed the course of history, yes—and also one who did so against unprecedented opposition at home, bitter and hysterical opposition, even from those who were formerly of the party of democracy, human rights, and international outreach.
It takes more bravery to continue walking calmly through immense hostility at home, than to face down a foreign foe, with a united nation at one's back. This, as I say, is a very brave president.
It may also turn out that, despite currently swirling furies, the president's stout refusal to be merely partisan or to throw red meat to some of his best supporters (he knew as well as anybody what they most wanted now), alongside the five interlinked courses of action he proposed, will have empowered a much more thorough immigration reform than seemed possible even four weeks earlier.
Despite a normal diet of failures and setbacks, common to all presidents, it is also worth counting up his steady, always surprising successes in cutting taxes, in reshaping the Supreme Court, in getting personal Social Security accounts and personal medical accounts on the agenda of public discussion (the first president since Roosevelt to touch the third rail and live to tell of it), and in presiding over the most amazing economy in the world during the past six years.
Polls may be fickle. Notable accomplishments endure, as rock-solid facts. The full record of this president may yet turn out to be as highly ranked as his bravery is bound to be.
If you were in his shoes, would you not prefer the fame of 30 years from now to popularity in your own time? Being popular is neither within one's own control nor, in the larger scheme, a goal worth pursuing. Doing the right thing steadily, as best one can, is.
I like this guy. And I admire his guts, and his decency.
— Michael Novak is the winner of the 1994 Templeton Prize for progress in religion and the George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. Novak's own website is www.michaelnovak.net.
Y'all gotta read this!
Agreed. But, one must also remember that W's stubborness in fighting Islamofacism (correct), can be his downfall when not building a fence, protecting our borders, and continually compromising with the Left as when he allowed Kennedy to write the Education Bill and other Dems in writing the Transportation and Ag bills. I love him but when he continually forgets his BASE, he tries one's soul!!!
Some of the haters on this site are, I believe, going to be greatly disappointed when the Republicans do better this November against the 'Rats than is currently predicted.
we've been in the "most dangerous period of international warfare in our nation's history" since the Bomb was invented and proliferated.
Also, why is this a bragging point? It's not like weapons are going to be less destructive in the future. Every single future generation will be living through the "most dangerous period of international warfare" in history.
Of course Al Qaeda is dangerous, but more so than the Commies? I'm not so sure. At least not in terms of capacity for total destruction.
Thanks for the upbeat reminder. I just sent an email to GWB, thanking him for his determination and service to our country. I also let him know that my family is praying for him daily. Amen.
I love President Bush. ;o)
Good point. Single issue "conservatives" have been keeping the RATS alive long past their storage date. First it was the pro-life, single issue, "I'm gonna sit on my hands and send them a message" conservatives. Now it is the anti-illegal immigration, single issue, "I'm gonna sit on my hands and send them a message" conservatives.
And they are far more unstable than the communist block were.
He never promised to build a wall; he did promise an Education Bill. Whether one agrees with him or not (and many times I don't), he does keep his word and he does what he says he will do -- which sometimes requires working with Congress. He is a strong, effective President with great leadership qualities.
And he does remember his "base" -- tax cuts, WOT, judicial nominations. He is just not a classic Conservative like Reagan -- but then again he never campaigned as one.
More dangerous? I think so.
Well put
:0)
I am :0)
Maybe he does not see you as his base because you believe you are the base of the party does that actually make you so.
This is great!
Two pro-Bush threads in two days!
WOW!
I needed the break from the constant Bush bashing I'm being exposed to daily.
Bold is an insignificant word to describe his Iraq strategy.
Unenlightened is an insignificant word to describe his illegal immigrant policy.
However he remains true to his BELIEFS and his vision and does NOT waver from them.
You have to admire his fortitude. He is the most maligned President in my lifetime, probably since Lincoln.
I wish he was the President during my war fighting days. The outcome just may have been VERY VERY different.
Ditto on that!
TWO THUMBS UP for a SUPERIOR analysis of our courageous Commander in Chief!
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