The Legacy of the Bush Administration?

The American ^ | October 24, 2007 | Victor Davis Hanson

[neverdem]

This article appears in the "Geopolitics" section of the recent issue of The American.

By October, 15 months before his presidency would end, George Bush’s approval ratings still hovered around 30 percent.

His administration will go down, say historians such as Columbia’s Eric Foner and Princeton’s Sean Wilentz, as a disaster. As Wilentz put it, “Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history.”

A new genre in American popular culture has arisen comparing Bush to Hitler — on the Internet, and in fiction, stand-up comedy, and drama. To the novelist Garrison Keillor, Bush’s Republicans are “brownshirts in pinstripes” — echoing Al Gore’s similar slur of “digital brownshirts.”

Even Bush’s supporters seem resigned to such abuse. They now talk not of a restoration in public esteem before the president leaves office, but rather of a Trumanesque turnaround: a once-despised president only years later becomes appreciated for his unpopular but necessary decisions.

But for now, Bush seems to have an orphaned presidency defended by very few. From the left, he is criticized for his tax cuts for the rich, his lack of concern for African-American victims of Katrina, his illiberal homeland-security measures — and always for Iraq, with shrill persistent choruses of “preemption” and “unilateralism.” Much of this anger against Bush is Pavlovian and superficial, deeply embedded within the president’s caricatured dead-or-alive, smoke-’em-out lingo.

As a result, the left gives the president no credit for policies that have irked his conservative base. In his first term, he increased federal spending at a faster rate than Bill Clinton. He extended the reach of federal education policy with his No Child Left Behind legislation, and he did not veto a single spending bill, instead sponsoring a major new prescription entitlement...

[Blake#1]

What’s the matter? Didn’t Bush invite you to his party? You must be crushed! By the way, did you have a date for your senior prom? Felt left out, huh?

[John Valentine]

And just what’s causing YOUR attitude problem?

[neverdem]

Ping

[Cobra64]

What’s the matter? Didn’t Bush invite you to his party? You must be crushed! By the way, did you have a date for your senior prom? Felt left out, huh?

To whom is that remark addressed?

[JennysCool]

The only thing bad about the Bush Administration is that it happened to energize and coincide with the second childhood of the hippies. They’re as bad as they were then, except now they have a sympathetic media that thinks their idiotic bleating is somehow cool.

Damn good thing they’re dying off.

[neverdem]

What’s the matter? Didn’t Bush invite you to his party? You must be crushed! By the way, did you have a date for your senior prom? Felt left out, huh?

What's your malfunction?

[OneHun]

 

"The Legacy of the Bush Administration?”

It is to early to answer this for anyone.

 

[SatinDoll]

Bushy will be looked back upon with wistfulness one day, just like Harry Truman who also had poll numbers in the basement.

[Tut]

His administration will go down, say historians such as Columbia’s Eric Foner and Princeton’s Sean Wilentz, as a disaster. As Wilentz put it, “Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history.”

Sorry, the left doesn't get to choose. They might want the job.... to dictate how people will view Bush decades from now but that is not how it works. This is all so funny. One would THINK if the left was any where near as smart as they claim to be, they should know this already.

I personally like some things about Bush and some things no so much. His view on illegal aliens kind of sucks the big one but his present Iraq policies I agree with.

If in deed Bush is vindicated which I believe he will, he would be viewed as a man who stood by his beliefs in the face of a lot of pressure and not who followed along like sheep nor was dictated by skewed polls like so many who wish to become president are guilty of.

As of right now among his critics in Washington, I've never seen anyone bring to the table anything constructive. The Democrat leadership have found it is by far a lot easier to criticize than actually lead. Along side of Bush, none of them even compares.

[ari-freedom]

Bush's legacy:

That other finger is for the democrats who were against her freedom

[Jeff Chandler]

It will be a mixed bag of a (vitally!) masculine foreign policy and an embarassingly womanly domestic policy.

He will be lauded for his tax cut-driven rescue of a sick economy and denounced for refusing to reverse the invasion from the south.

Worst? Not even close.
Best? Not the best, but far, far better than the alternative.

[ThinkClearly]

Bushy will be looked back upon with wistfulness one day, just like Harry Truman who also had poll numbers in the basement.

I sincerely doubt it.

[Marie2]

Some aspects of his legacy, I predict:

- a much improved Supreme Court

- drumming Islamic terrorists off of American soil

- getting rid of the Taliban

- getting rid of S. Hussein

- getting Libya into line, de facto

- Medicare prescription benefits (boo)

- tax cuts

[Caipirabob]

Liberals trying their best to rain on the parade. What have they got to celebrate? Pelosi and Reid in control of the Senate? That may cost them more than they know in both the short and the long run.

[Cobra64]

Methinks someone's been imbibing excess amber.

[Antonio C]

I think Bush will one day be considered one of the greatest if not the greatest American president.

[liliesgrandpa]

The Republicans, after years of hard work finally had the house, senate, and presidency. With all the potential to show what conservatives could do, finally being in control, Bush chose to “ reach his hand to the other side of the isle “.

So what we got was a party that never went after the other side, no matter how corrupt they were, didn’t defend conservative principles, and joined the other side in going for pork.

That is his legacy.

[Jackson Brown]

That is his legacy

That is ONE part of his legacy! There is SO much more than that...and maybe more to come! I think history will treat him better than most think, and worse than some would like.

[tlb]

In one of his books Bob Woodward asked about his legacy and quoted President Bush replying: “We won’t know. We’ll all be dead.”

I don’t think he ever expected to leave office as a popular
president. That’s very liberating if you think about it.