The decency of George W. Bush

Washington Post ^ | Friday, November 7, 2008 | By Michael Gerson

[meandog]

Election Day 2008 must have been filled with rueful paradoxes for the sitting president. Iraq -- the issue that dominated George W. Bush's presidency for 5 1/2 bitter, controversial years -- is on the verge of a miraculous peace. And yet this accomplishment did little to revive Bush's political standing -- or to prevent his party from relegating him to a silent role. The achievement is historic. In 2006, Iraq had descended into a sectarian killing spree that seemed likely to stop only when the supply of victims was exhausted. Showing Truman-like stubbornness, Bush pushed to escalate a war that most Americans -- and some at the Pentagon -- had already mentally abandoned.

[meandog]

"...But that humanity is precisely what I will remember. I have seen President Bush show more loyalty than he has been given, more generosity than he has received. I have seen his buoyancy under the weight of malice and his forgiveness of faithless friends. Again and again, I have seen the natural tug of his pride swiftly overcome by a deeper decency -- a decency that is privately engaging and publicly consequential.

No one here has ever said that George W. Bush wasn't decent guy, BUT this is exactly why IMO he failed as a president! Loyalty, after all, is a two-way street but, when one is president the president's side of the street should be the one with less traffic. Instead of tolerating the incompetence which will forever distinguish his administration, Bush needed to immediately fire the subordinates thet screwed up. If "Heckuva Job" Brownie, McClellan, Evans, Crummy Rummy and currently Paulson, Cox and Bernake were kicked to the sidewalk the minute they flubbed up perhaps the legacy could have been different. "Nice Guys finish last," both in Leo Durosher's baseball world and in the history books on presidential legacies!

BTW, for you tin-foilers, the author is a distinguished member of the Council on Foreign Relations

[Earthdweller]

Manipulating jerks.

[cornfedcowboy]

This idiot writer doens’t know what class is.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

Thank you for posting this, meandog.

admin mod, could you please correct the spelling of President Bush’s name? Thank you kindly.

[meandog]

admin mod, could you please correct the spelling of President Bush’s name? Thank you kindly.

ooops "n" is right below "h" on keyboard and finger must have slipped.

[therut]

Now the jerks write a story like this an expect us to believe their veiled applauding of Bush. Of coarse he got NO respect for winning in Iraq thanks to the MSM. They make me sick. This guy is another who whinned and complained after her left the faith based inititive working group.

[PLD]

President Bush is still popular in my house with me and my husband and all three of my children..He is a great man..The people that really make me ashamed are the bully liars in Congress and senate.. You know I always remember Gods promise and that is I will always be with you..

Things happen for a reason and one day these scum bags will get theirs..

[sickoflibs]

Thank you double for me Mr President,especially for waiting until the 2006 midterms before the surge. And keeping up our moral 2005 and 2006 when all the media lied and said the war was going badly, you held firm and kept us true dwindling believers together, and then in 2007, you did the surge, I believe that war just turned bad in one month after the election. I dont care if every elected official is democrat, I don’t care if the term ‘conservatism’ is consider a joke now, I still believe in you. THANK YOU!

[Wallace T.]

The author points out an interesting fact: "Many conservatives view Medicare, education reform and foreign assistance as heresies. Many liberals refuse to concede Bush's humanity, much less his achievements." Much like Richard Nixon in the 1970s and Herbert Hoover in the 1930s, Bush was intensely, irrationally hated by liberals even though from a domestic policy standpoint, both Nixon and Bush did not break from the welfare state, big government policies of their Democratic predecessors. (Bush did support significant tax reform, an initiative that was possible due to Republican control of Congress, which Nixon lacked. Hoover, though not a laissez faire advocate, contrary to popular belief, was President prior to the establishment of the welfare state and before the metastasis of Federal and state taxes to present levels.) As happened in the 1930s and 1970s, the Republican Party and conservatives were tarred with the problems and failures of the GOP administration.

Politics are cyclical. However, we must realize that sea changes can and do occur in American history: the Civil War and the Great Depression caused the two greatest changes since the founding of the republic. The election of 2008 may be another one, as 52% of eligible American voters voted for a man for the Presidency who is fundamentally anti-traditional or un-American, irrespective of the circumstances of his birth. America may have ceased being American in any but the geographic or pop culture sense.

[LilRhody]

Ditto mean dog. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve felt it a privilege to be able to vote for him twice. He kept us safe. The rats tried to knock down everything he tried to do, or water it down. They treated everyone he tried to nominate with such meanness and ignorance that it was a disgrace to this country. His own party didn’t have the guts to stand by him. He and his family, as well as Vice President Cheney and his family are in my notebook of daily prayer intentions and they will always be there. God Bless the Man.

[MrB]

speaking of keyboards and decency,

do you think that all the O’s will be removed from the keyboards during this transition?

(no, I know they won’t)

[meandog]

Thank you double for me Mr President,especially for waiting until the 2006 midterms before the surge.

?
Did you mean this as sarcasm? Just about every EVERY military expert has agreed that the surge should have come two years earlier than it did!

[PLD]

It really makes me cry to see what has happen to this country under the rule of SCUM..and I mean the two houses in Washington..I love the Chaney family also and wish them all well..

God is still in control and he will have these liars pay for their lies..

[indthkr]

"were kicked to the sidewalk the minute they flubbed up perhaps the legacy could have been different."

You can't kick people to the sidewalk every time a mistake is made; that's no way to run an operation.

Track record and situational issues dominate. That's what makes the job of POTUS such a huge burden.

GWB's willingness to take the long view (and the heat) and "go the distance" brought us Petraeus and the successful Surge. Good for him.

[stockpirate]

I voted for bush twice. And supported him as he betrayed caonservatives time and again with his brand of socialism, which he names, compassionate conservatism which really means republican socialist.

While Bush showed he would defend our country he saold us down the river to the international socialists.

I won’t waste my time listing the socialist agenda he was able to put into law, but the worst was the recent nationalization of freddie, fannie AIG, banks and God only knows what else.

Now what I see is the socialist media coming out and thankiing him for all he has done for their cause. As for me I have NO respect for the man George Bush, republican socialist.

[reagan_fanatic]

Whatever. They spent the last eight years dumping on Bush. Now it’s Zero’s turn. Don’t expect us to roll over and play nice.

[stockstrader]

Pres Bush deserves our thanks and credit for the WOT, holding firm on tax cuts and the USSC.

However, he will always be remembered by the conservative base as the man who,,,

gave us President B. Hussein Obama.

[Tribune7]

If "Heckuva Job" Brownie, McClellan, Evans, Crummy Rummy and currently Paulson, Cox and Bernake were kicked to the sidewalk the minute they flubbed up perhaps the legacy could have been different. "Nice Guys finish last," both in Leo Durosher's baseball world and in the history books on presidential legacies!

Works for me. And add to it that he didn't through a loud, public fit about problems for which he had solutions (Fannie/Freddie, ANWR) that the Dems (and RINOS) torpedoed.

[PLD]

I voted for President Bush twice also and would do so again if I had the chance if he had of run against Obama no matter what the Liberal criminals say he would have won..

You have your opinion and I have mine and that is the way this county works now, but just wait it will go down hill very fast with the GARBAGE that is going to be in the white house and his partners in Crime the Liberals..

God Bless my President and I tank him from the bottom of my heart for keeping us free..

[ridesthemiles]

Same here.

[geege]

Same here

[stockpirate]

Keeping us free isn’t something George Bush will be known for considering his nationalization of a long list of business interests in America.

But he did keep us safe. Don’t confuse safe with free.

I do agree about the marxiat scum that is on it’s way in.

[Witter]

“However, he will always be remembered by the conservative base as the man who,,,

gave us President B. Hussein Obama. “

I totally disagree with you. Your saying everything is Bush's fault. Your taking the easy way out and blaming it on one man. We, the republicans, ultimately allowed Obama to be elected. How in the world could there not of been anyone to run against this man, in all of the U.S. that had our conservative values and could of beaten him? We dug our own grave and their are those who are trying to dig Palin’s, who drew crowds bigger than McCain!

[Dog]

No I don't agree.

He will always be the man who stood on a burned out fire engine at ground zero days after 9/11 and rallied a nation at our darkest hour.

The man took crap from everyone....EVERYONE!....and kept us safe for how long now ....7 years.

He has earned his retirement....lets leave him alone.

[sickoflibs]

I should have told you this earlier but I agree with you 100% but am getting tired of the frontal assault to to keep from getting stale I am trying different approaches. No, December 2006 was my wakeup call, not that I was happy before then, but thats when I really got mad.

[PLD]

Sorry I do not agree with you..

[PLD]

I do feel safe at this moment and that is because of President Bush...As for as free I feel that also..we will not be either when the Muslim is sworn in..Gewt ready folks we will be on a merry-go- round that won't stop..

[PLD]

I don't know about you. but when I did hear the Muslim won I broke down and cried,I am a though cookie, but when I knew for sure he has been chosen by his liberal friends I though about my family that will be here after I am gone and the country they will have to live in after these criminals get finished raping it.. ..They will finish what the Clinton's started..

[geege]

I didn’t cry because I had that miserable feeling all along that 0 was going to win so I just accumulated during the campaign agida and worry....Now I’m used to it.

[PLD]

Well mine was bottled up for a very long time and then I started..I knew what was going to happen as well as all of us here did and I never stopped praying that some how God would intervene..He did give us a ray of sunshine when he brought Sarah Palin to us..anyway I am over it now I am just scared of what is to happen.Not for myself but for other...I have my trust in God and that will get me through if anything happened like a big war I know God promised us he would take us home before we have to go through any of it..