Posted on 1/10/2009, 12:06:09 PM by iowamark
The postmortems on the presidency of George W. Bush are all wrong. The liberal line is that Bush dangerously weakened America's position in the world and rushed to the aid of the rich and powerful as income inequality worsened. That is twaddle. Conservatives--okay, not all of them--have only been a little bit kinder. They give Bush credit for the surge that saved Iraq, but not for much else.
He deserves better. His presidency was far more successful than not. And there's an aspect of his decision-making that merits special recognition: his courage. Time and time again, Bush did what other presidents, even Ronald Reagan, would not have done and for which he was vilified and abused. That--defiantly doing the right thing--is what distinguished his presidency.
Bush had ten great achievements (and maybe more) in his eight years in the White House, starting with his decision in 2001 to jettison the Kyoto global warming treaty so loved by Al Gore, the environmental lobby, elite opinion, and Europeans. The treaty was a disaster, with India and China exempted and economic decline the certain result. Everyone knew it. But only Bush said so and acted accordingly.
He stood athwart mounting global warming hysteria and yelled, "Stop!" He slowed the movement toward a policy blunder of worldwide impact, providing time for facts to catch up with the dubious claims of alarmists. Thanks in part to Bush, the supposed consensus of scientists on global warming has now collapsed. The skeptics, who point to global cooling over the past decade, are now heard loud and clear. And a rational approach to the theory of manmade global warming is possible.
Second, enhanced interrogation of terrorists. Along with use of secret prisons and wireless eavesdropping, this saved American lives. How many thousands of lives? We'll never know. But, as Charles Krauthammer said recently, "Those are precisely the elements which kept us safe and which have prevented a second attack."
Crucial intelligence was obtained from captured al Qaeda leaders, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, with the help of waterboarding. Whether this tactic--it creates a drowning sensation--is torture is a matter of debate. John McCain and many Democrats say it is. Bush and Vice President Cheney insist it isn't. In any case, it was necessary. Lincoln once made a similar point in defending his suspension of habeas corpus in direct defiance of Chief Justice Roger Taney. "Are all the laws but one to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?" Lincoln asked. Bush understood the answer in wartime had to be no.
Bush's third achievement was the rebuilding of presidential authority, badly degraded in the era of Vietnam, Watergate, and Bill Clinton. He didn't hesitate to conduct wireless surveillance of terrorists without getting a federal judge's okay. He decided on his own how to treat terrorists and where they should be imprisoned. Those were legitimate decisions for which the president, as commander in chief, should feel no need to apologize.
Defending, all the way to the Supreme Court, Cheney's refusal to disclose to Congress the names of people he'd consulted on energy policy was also enormously important. Democratic congressman Henry Waxman demanded the names, but the Court upheld Cheney, 7-2. Last week, Cheney defended his refusal, waspishly noting that Waxman "doesn't call me up and tell me who he's meeting with."
Achievement number four was Bush's unswerving support for Israel. Reagan was once deemed Israel's best friend in the White House. Now Bush can claim the title. He ostracized Yasser Arafat as an impediment to peace in the Middle East. This infuriated the anti-Israel forces in Europe, the Third World, and the United Nations, and was criticized by champions of the "peace process" here at home. Bush was right.
He was clever in his support. Bush announced that Ariel Sharon should withdraw the tanks he'd sent into the West Bank in 2002, then exerted zero pressure on Sharon to do so. And he backed the wall along Israel's eastern border without endorsing it as an official boundary, while knowing full well that it might eventually become exactly that. He was a loyal friend.
His fifth success was No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the education reform bill cosponsored by America's most prominent liberal Democratic senator Edward Kennedy. The teachers' unions, school boards, the education establishment, conservatives adamant about local control of schools--they all loathed the measure and still do. It requires two things they ardently oppose, mandatory testing and accountability.
Kennedy later turned against NCLB, saying Bush is shortchanging the program. In truth, federal education spending is at record levels. Another complaint is that it forces teachers to "teach to the test." The tests are on math and reading. They are tests worth teaching to.
Sixth, Bush declared in his second inaugural address in 2005 that American foreign policy (at least his) would henceforth focus on promoting democracy around the world. This put him squarely in the Reagan camp, but he was lambasted as unrealistic, impractical, and a tool of wily neoconservatives. The new policy gave Bush credibility in pressing for democracy in the former Soviet republics and Middle East and in zinging various dictators and kleptocrats. It will do the same for President Obama, if he's wise enough to hang onto it.
The seventh achievement is the Medicare prescription drug benefit, enacted in 2003. It's not only wildly popular; it has cost less than expected by triggering competition among drug companies. Conservatives have deep reservations about the program. But they shouldn't have been surprised. Bush advocated the drug benefit in the 2000 campaign. And if he hadn't acted, Democrats would have, with a much less attractive result.
Then there were John Roberts and Sam Alito. In putting them on the Supreme Court and naming Roberts chief justice, Bush achieved what had eluded Richard Nixon, Reagan, and his own father. Roberts and Alito made the Court indisputably more conservative. And the good news is Roberts, 53, and Alito, 58, should be justices for decades to come.
Bush's ninth achievement has been widely ignored. He strengthened relations with east Asian democracies (Japan, South Korea, Australia) without causing a rift with China. On top of that, he forged strong ties with India. An important factor was their common enemy, Islamic jihadists. After 9/11, Bush made the most of this, and Indian leaders were receptive. His state dinner for Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2006 was a lovefest.
Finally, a no-brainer: the surge. Bush prompted nearly unanimous disapproval in January 2007 when he announced he was sending more troops to Iraq and adopting a new counterinsurgency strategy. His opponents initially included the State Department, the Pentagon, most of Congress, the media, the foreign policy establishment, indeed the whole world. This makes his decision a profile in courage. Best of all, the surge worked. Iraq is now a fragile but functioning democracy.
How does Bush rank as a president? We won't know until he's judged from the perspective of two or three decades. Hindsight forced a sharp upgrading of the presidencies of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Given his achievements, it may have the same effect for Bush.
Mark,
I like your list better. Good summary. Thanks.
I’m getting tired of conservatives crediting politicians with slowing the growh of government. When do we see conservative politicians stopping, or even reversing, the growth of government.
No 1. Should be toppling Taliban and Saddam. Not just for “promoting Democracy”, but for ridding humanity from two aggressive, genocidal, totalitarian regimes.
Ping - before the BDS crowd shows up. ;-)
the foreign policy items on the list are right on, as are the Supreme Court judges on the court (not nominees because the Meirs thing was an embarrassment). Domestically, I am mixed on No Child Left Behind and Medicare drugs. I understand the purpose behind both. I am philosohically againt growing government, but practically if there is a dept of education, I like adding accountability and standards. The spending on Medicare is abhorrent, but if seniors are relying on medicare, prescriptions are a big part of it, and the program should be complete.
What Barnes missed was the sustained economic growth due almost exclusively to a lower tax burden. Take out the current disaster, the economy grew for an extensive time and was very resilient despite a lot of major speed bumps (9/11, war, etc.)
I am thoroughly disgusted by so much rewriting of history about the ‘last eight years’. This was a very successful period of time, and people have done quite well. Many Americans drive nicer cars, have $2000 televisions, multiple computers and cell phones, etc. The downturn aside, it is now a nation of ingrates, IMO. Only a sustained economic disaster will get Americans thinking straight again.
Nice summary of positive achievements. I do not agree with Bush's entitlement program on prescription drugs because I do not see where and how it sparked competition. I do and will remember that Ramos and Compean are rotting in jail because Bush will not, for some unholy reason, give them a full pardon. It is a disgrace and a smudge on the entire Bush family, IMO.
This military family is already having BWS. Bush withdrawal symptoms.
No one president can please everyone, but all in all President Bush was just fine. Main think was that he kept this country safe. (and all his support troops)
A very important point that doesn't get noticed very much and I'm sure is a completely foreign concept to the National Socialized Medicine crowd.
You think health care is expensive now? Wait until it's 'free'.
Amen!
I agree. So many people are too lazy and self-absorbed to realize what a monumental effort that was, considering the threats we were under. They quickly forgot about 9-11 and got back to focusing on Survivir and American Idol.
Thank you for your service.
I think the authors forgot one:
Bush, via his Justice Department, took the open and clear position that the Second Amendment was an individual right. The first administration to do so and which led to the Supreme Court decision on Heller.
As with all presidents, Bush is flawed, of course, but he hasn't gotten anything like the credit for his greatest achievment so far, which is keeping the country safe after 9/11 (which includes keeping the economy from complete collapse). If I'd posted here on 9/12 that as of 1/10/09 we'd have no additional attacks on our country, I'd have been mocked and/or laughed out of here.
His enemies and the DUmmie crowd can try all they like to claim nothing he did protected us, but if they are intellectually honest, they'll have to agree they, too, would have laughed at the idea that we wouldn't have a 9/11 followup by now.
The media (supported by advertising dollars) has been entirely responsible for the villification of President Bush.......accentuating negatives that had nothing to do with his presidential responsibilities and accomplishments.
While Pres. Bush was waging two difficult wars and supervising the recovery of several natural disasters- the American people were buying over-priced homes, HDTVs, new cars, eating well and living fantasy lives promoted by advertising dollars. Reality is a b*tch!
Good catch. That deserves to be on the list and take off NCLB (a typical Kennedy FUBAR disaster) and prescription drugs (just what we need: another entitlement).
There were many times President Bush disappointed me, especially over the last 4 years. But I haven't walked in his boots.
God Bless President Bush. He kept us safe and made the world safer. He is a true gentlemen and his Administration's coordination on the transition to President Obama shows his true heart, character and love of Country.
Enjoy your retirement President Bush. While not perfect, job well done.
Maybe mentioning Bill O'Reilly or Rush Limbaugh will get it started. ":^/
Don’t forget W’s contribution to the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
There were many times President Bush disappointed me, especially over the last 4 years. But I haven’t walked in his boots.
God Bless President Bush. He kept us safe and made the world safer. He is a true gentlemen and his Administration’s coordination on the transition to President Obama shows his true heart, character and love of Country.
Enjoy your retirement President Bush. While not perfect, job well done.
Certainly not recently because all moderate/rino republicans like Bush do is basically support liberals wanting to grow the size of gov't. In fact Bush grew gov't recently more than any liberal I've ever seen. However, I would definitely say back in 1996 conservatives under Newt's leadership had the right idea, but failed miserably! There are plenty of conservatives who try to stand in the way, but not nearly enough.
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