I think I can certainly understand both viewpoints here, as I certainly don’t agree with everything that the previous (or current) administration does.
Rabscuttle’s stance on illegal immigration is one that I agree with. It’s horrible that we now live in a country where law-breakers are given more rights & presumption-of-innocence than our own Citizens.
Pr Bush, however, has demonstrated his own admirable character on multiple occasions; especially when “no-one was looking”.
Things like motorcading into the New Orleans Katrina disaster area instead of disrupting all the S&R operations by flying in. By helping the elderly and offering his own seat while waiting his own turn in a speaking event. Also, look at how he refused to lash out, mock, or otherwise retaliate against an openly hostile and biased press. (Of course, you could rationalize it that doing so would only serve to prove them right.)
I'll give you that.
Bush--and Cheney--are a far classier act than the administrations preceding or subsequent to theirs.
However, that does not excuse the reality that they--and the Republican Congress--squandered several years of immense political capital and opportunity to finally accomplish a properly small government conservative agenda (as sickoflibs pointed out at # 51) and, even worse, started imitating the Democrats (!!!) by enlarging the size and scope of the Federal Government.