I have been perusing the blogs as is my usual habit, at least a few times a week, and noticed a good number of conservative bloggers making a defense of President Bush. Most assert that, in spite of his failures and what the polls are showing, he will be seen as a successful President by history. I agree that the President has made some key decisions that have absolutely had, and will continue to have, a positive effect for years to come.
Most notably, the tax cuts. Conservatives like myself who cast their vote for George Bush (both terms) expected this, and were delighted when he stuck to his guns despite the nay-sayers who predicted it would be a disaster economically. Indeed, those who doubted him then must eat their words now as the economy continues to flourish.
I am not a huge fan of social anything but as far as I can tell, the Prescription Medicare legislation seems to be doing what was intended. Kudos to the President for once again doing the unpopular thing and coming out on top.
This article describes well exactly what I am talking about and I will admit I needed to read it and be reminded that by and large, the legacy of this current administration will be a positive one once the dust has settled and people regain their objectivity a bit. (I got the link to the article from LMC).
Some folks who are turning their backs on President Bush do so because they believe Iraq is a failure and that the President is just being "stubborn" because he doesn't want to admit defeat. There are of course those who think Iraq was planned long ago and that all the talk about WMD's, Al Queda, etc. was just posturing to get the American people on board. I don't buy the "Bush Lied" scenario, and I number that with the "fruit cake conspiracy" lot. Maybe it is just a matter of opinion and I don't have enough information to make that call, but take it for what it's worth, just please, please, DO NOT ask me, "Then where ARE the WMD's?!" because I have NO IDEA! If that is all you have to say after 8 years, to say your view of the world is myopic is an understatement.
I confess that as of late I have been not so happy with the current administration and have lobbed some negative remarks at G.W., and I will not apologize for that because those comments were not made lightly. I didn't expect George Bush to fail me at any point, I only expected good things from him. I still remember my excitement when he was made President back in 2000, the Clinton era was finally over! The overwhelming mandate that ushered in his second term brought with it, for me, a huge sigh of relief because I thought 4 more years of George Bush as Prez would do the country alot of good, not to mention not realizing my greatest fear of having John Kerry as leader of the free world. I assumed that in his second term, with no pressure of securing a re-election looming, G.W. could really unleash and do some really great, if not popular, things. After all, isn't that what most second term Presidents do? Over all, I am of the opinion that his second term has been a bit lackluster compared to the first, though maybe I just expect too much.
I am not sure what to make of Iraq at this point. I read articles that say we can't even get the government there to hold up their end of the deal (they would rather take a vacation?), and are even opposing us to some extent. I even read that they are reassuring that as soon as we leave, they will be fine without us. Part of me knows that if we just pull out, the void left would be too great to fill and Iraq could be worse off than before, if history serves. The other part of me is thinking, "If the government we are supporting is reluctant to have us there, what on earth are we dying over there for?"
Needless to say, a confusing picture, but anyone should agree that success in Iraq would do alot to change the face of that part of the world, and may even spur more people to put away their fear and pursue free governments in their own countries.
In my next post (and it should appear less than 3 months from now...) I will share specifically why I am disillusioned with G.W. these days, and why his mistakes could outweigh his accomplishments in the "big picture".
