Posted on 08/27/2010 2:31:32 PM PDT by STARWISE
George W. Bush has been the presidential equivalent of a punching bag. Before he left office, he was vilified for the war in the Middle East, the credit crisis and the housing crisis. Democrats ran against his persona and policies in the 2008 election and successfully painted the Republican nominee for President, Arizona Sen. John McCain, as his Doppelganger.
He was radioactive, and even Republicans viewed him as such. But these days, though he's seemingly blamed for everything but bad weather by the left, Bush is making a comeback. As President Obama's approval numbers slide, people are starting to see the man they once laughed at and loathed isn't looking so bad.
Start with the economy. For all the finger-pointing backward, a Rasmussen survey released Aug. 3 shows that slightly more Americans, 48% of voters, now believe that Obama's policies are to blame for the dour economy than the 47% who fault Bush.
Handling of terrorism has also been a factor. Bush may have been stubborn at times, but when it came to hardheadedness on stopping radical suicide bombers in their tracks, it was welcomed - especially after Sept. 11.
Obama, on the other hand, has been slower to respond in many homeland security crises and not as stalwart. From the Times Square bomber to the Fort Hood shooter, to the Christmas Day underwear bomber (and Obama's inaccurate explanation that it was an "isolated incident"), these stumbles hurt the President's credibility and made many of us yearn for Bush's consistent decisiveness.
In fact, many on the left are oddly calling for Bush to weigh in on the Ground Zero mosque, hoping he can shed some wisdom and clarity, since Obama has provided us with exactly the opposite.
When it comes to Iraq, Bush took heat for the surge; however, the visual of troops pulling out of Iraq last week in many ways vindicated his approach. So much, in fact, that Obama is dedicating an entire speech on the subject after his Martha's Vineyard vacation.
It's an opportunity to take credit for a success in a war that he opposed and an exit strategy - the surge - that he voted against. Despite Obama's political posturing, or whether you disagree with the initial invasion or not, a perceived victory in Iraq is because of our troops - and Bush.
Of course, manmade disasters like 9/11 were one thing. Natural disasters were another. Bush's presidency took a turn for the worse after Hurricane Katrina.
He was impugned for his response and arguably never recovered. Until the gulf oil spill, and the bungling by the Obama administration of the response, many didn't believe the government and its leader could react so poorly. Apparently, it's all relative.
In early June, in the midst of the spill, 69% of those surveyed in an ABC News-Washington Post poll rated the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon leak negatively - a higher percentage than faulted the response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Rest @ link
GWB was the second greatest president of my lifetime... truman - obama.... hands down! The left’s villification worked in the short run, but I believe the prism of history will shine a whole different light on his Presidency.
Imagine if Gore had won... God help us!
Pres. Bush got a bum rap regarding Katrina.
Pres. Bush got a bum rap regarding Katrina.
~~~~~
Darn right! Gov. Blank-o, Mayor Nagin and
the corrupt politicians of LA get the bulk
of the credit for that horrendous and
unnecessary debacle. *And add the US
Army Corps of Engineers for their lack
of oversight of the levies, as well.
Finally people are beginning to wise up and quit listening to the MSM.
Thanks for the ping, STARWISE!
Amen to your post.
Thanks for posting this. Its hard to look at the photos knowing what we had...and the abomination we have now, it breaks my heart.
Have to dry off my keyboard now...
He sure did. He was blamed for the lack of National Guard mobilization - I don’t know how many times I heard that - I kept saying “HELLO! The governor is in charge of that!!!” Out of state National Guard were delayed due to delays in the Louisiana Governor at the time granting permission for them to cross the border. Lousiana Governor at the time also delayed issuing evacuation orders. Large fleets of busses sat motionless and then ended up destroyed underwater that could have been used to get people out if only mobilized more timely.
That isn’t to say the Federal Government didn’t respond poorly...but there were sure a lot of misteps at the start that could have made the situation much less severe. Then the media repeatedly reporting that New Orleans had “dodged a bullet” even while widespread destruction was only getting worse given people who may have been hearing those messages a false sense of security.
He also used the word “Islamofascism”, though. Doubtful Obama would ever publicly acknowledge such a thing.
God bless President Bush.
True, and he stuck by his guns in Iraq. Credit where credit is due.
Imo; . Pres. Bush was a great president.
Ingrates need not reply.
Hear! Hear!
I've seen a lot of unfair things in my lifetime...and yes, I know, life is not fair...but, the way President George W Bush has been so unjustly treated, is the worst of the worst of unfairness!!!
Hi STARWISE, thanks for posting this. I just want to remind that it wasn’t only the Left who viciously attacked GWB. Far too many on the Right did also; indeed, still do. They could not disagree on individual policy issues without slipping into ugly invective and hatred for a man who was the most conservative (in the modern sense) president in history. For this reason, although I remain a conservative Republican, I will never trust the Right ever again. I remain on the political Right, but no longer of it.
Excellent post!!!
He doin' dat crazy Hand Jive.
Iraq = Irack or Ear-rock
Support Redneck islamic spelling.
Thank you!
Thanks for the PING.
History will record President Bush among our greatest presidents.
Thank you.....GWB and Lovely Laura!
You are both greatly missed.
May God Bless You!
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