The Bush Legacy
President Bush gave a speech in Carlisle, PA as part of his “legacy tour” – which is more or less a last ditch effort to NOT leave office in shame. What’s funny about this, aside from the fact that it will be utterly ineffectual, is that he has been touting his anti-terrorism credentials.
Both he and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff take credit for preventing any additional terrorist attacks since 9/11. Well, congratulations, sir, but…isn’t that your responsibility as President?
It’s not exactly a landmark achievement, considering that every other President in U.S. History has also managed to prevent any foreign terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. As for the ONE attack that did occur on our soil, well sir, it kind of happened on your watch. Now certainly Bill Clinton deserves some of the credit for this landmark failure in national security, but Clinton is not the one fishing for praise for his national security credentials.
Bush’s legacy is one of absurdity. His legacy has been a commitment to the same imperialism that has dominated U.S. foreign policy at least since the Spanish-American War (that was in 1898). There is a direct correlation between that foreign policy and virtually any entity’s motivation to attack us in the first place.
Bush, if unique or memorable for anything, it is for being particularly tenacious in executing that foreign policy – to the detriment of the U.S. global reputation and at least contributing to the downward spiral of our economy.
A “legacy tour” at this point is only an exercise in political hubris (damn have I been waiting to use that word!), and with all eyes looking to an uncertain future, one that will mostly go unnoticed. But it remains to be seen what the history books will say about George W. Bush – whether they’ll whitewash his disgraces or record him as at least one of the worst Presidents in U.S. history.
Tags: George Bush, Legacy, Pathetic, Presidency, Tour, Worst