THE LAST DAYS OF A HORRIBLE PRESIDENCY
Few presidents, if any, disgraced the office and damaged the nation as much as George W. Bush. Perhaps our lofty hopes for Barack Obama are unattainable, but we are left with little beyond that in the rubble of 2001-2009. Think of how low the image of the U.S. has sunk in the past eight years. Even our closest nation-friends grew to despise our actions. No democratic nation in the world thinks George W. Bush's military adventures and corporate hand-outs were the actions of a man of democratic intent. He is/was an ignorant bully with smaller nations. He had people tortured. He ran up astronomical budget deficits. He landed on an aircraft carrier with the boastful "Mission Accomplished" banner boorishly displayed. This military bravado from a man whose military "career" left a great deal to be desired.
Yes, there is no need to dwell on the failures and deviousness of President George W. Bush. The very title with his name attached makes one grimace and want to vomit. But unless there is a clear acknowledgment, the right-wing nutcases will continue to try and convince us otherwise. The man was an absolute failure...with the military, with the budget, with the infrastructure, with health care, with his "guardianship" of children, with the environment, with the elderly, with foreign affairs, with justice, with education, with medical science, with religion, with human rights, with our energy policy, ...the list could go on endlessly. He is what he is, he was what he was. To quote a recently-famous analogy: neocons can try to put lipstick on this pig, but it's still a pig. As a man with a master's degree in history, let me assure you that George W. Bush will go down in history as a sad, devious leader who greatly damaged the United States of America.
Good riddance. Now let us hope for a much cleaner, moral, ethical, and democratic president in January of 2009.
