I was flipping through the worthless rag that passes for our local paper this morning when I came across this joyous little piece of hate in the Letters to the Editor:
A Reign of Error has finally ended
It has been said by others that “the highest patriotism is love of one’s country deep enough to call it to a higher standard.”Now that an eight-year Reign of Error is ended, an American Renewal can, at torturous last, begin.
And if W’s large evangelical base is correct about the existence of a hell and a heavenly quid pro quo, dear W will be warm, now, in Texas and then, later, forever be considerably warmer than he might like.
John Katz
RIDGEFIELD
Oh Lord, BDS — Bush Derangement Syndrome is a live well in Ridgefield.
There’s plenty of room for criticism of George W. Bush’s record as President… There is, however, no need for the kind hate filled rhetoric used by Mr. Katz.
Newsmax.com has detailed two part examination at the Bush legacy:
Bush’s Legacy: Conservatives Were Betrayed
“This administration has had a good, solid record, and I’m very proud of it. I tell people I leave town with a great sense of accomplishment and my head held high.”
—George W. Bush, Jan. 13, 2009As the 43rd president waves goodbye to Washington, relatively few Americans share his proud assessment of his own presidency.
George W. Bush leaves the White House with one of the lowest approval ratings in history. According to Gallup, only Richard Nixon and Harry Truman, who suffered the double whammy of a bad economy and the unpopular Korean War, had lower approval ratings when they left the White House.
Today, Bush’s legacy to his successor is two unresolved wars, a global image that is deeply tarnished, and the greatest economic crisis in modern times.
Conservatives who backed Bush in two successive elections have little to show for their efforts. Bush, in fact, has decimated the Republican brand.
Bush oversaw the greatest increase in discretionary social spending in history as the federal government usurped new powers in its war on terror. He placed the United States on a global interventionist path for the elusive goal of “democracy.” Ronald Reagan would not be able to recognize the party he knew, which espoused limited government, protection of personal liberty, and the idea that the U.S. should lead globally by example rather than by force.
The best that can be said of President Bush is that he kept America’s homeland safe. During his watch, we did not experience another terror attack on U.S. soil after Sept. 11. Read the rest…
Part II:
The Bush Legacy Part II: Trillions in Deficits For Years to Come
As Barack Obama assumes the mantle of the presidency and duties of the office, he has inherited from his predecessor a federal government that has a staggering national debt of more than $10 trillion, a ballooning federal deficit this year estimated at $438 billion – and a government that recently assumed responsibility for some $5 trillion of the nation’s consumer debt.
The irony is that George W. Bush, who billed himself as a conservative in the mold of Ronald Reagan, leaves a legacy of profligate federal spending, record debt and an economy in shambles.
A broad range of conservative thinkers, surveying the political and economic fallout of the two Bush terms, are openly voicing their concerns that it may take years for the Republican Party and the nation to repair the damage Bush policies have inflicted.
“Bush has added a staggering $32 trillion to unfunded government liabilities future generations of Americans will have to bear,” wrote the London Sunday Times’ Andrew Sullivan, a maverick conservative who described Bush’s economic policies as “fiscal madness.”
The huge spending increases came despite the fact that fellow Republicans controlled Congress for six of Bush’s eight years in office. And Bush did not veto a bill of any kind, including spending, until July 2006, and left office having cast the fewest vetoes of any modern president.
Ultimately I think history will judge George W. Bush relatively well in the war on terror his record on domestic issues was at best mediocre.