For the past eight years President Bush has served as Commander In Chief of our nation, but his reign will soon be coming to an end when Barack Obama will be inaugurated as our nation’s 44th President on Tuesday, January 20th.
During Bush’s tenure in office, America saw some of it’s most turbulent times since it’s beginning, with the attacks that occurred on September 11th and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that ensued shortly thereafter, as well as the events of Hurricane Katrina, and most recently the ongoing economic crisis that is troubling our nation today.
Some of these events brought our President much support and high approval ratings in their aftermath, while others brought him heavy criticism. As he leaves office, his final approval ratings rest at 22%. He holds the record for having both the highest and the lowest approval rating of any President in US History. What do I think of our outgoing Commander In Chief? Glad you asked.
As has been the case with nearly every US President (with the possible exception of William Henry Harrison who was in office for all of about a month, and thus didn’t have enough time to do anything wrong) there have been many missteps along the way for the Bush presidency. Giving a speech announcing the end of major combat in Iraq behind a “Mission Accomplished” banner was not a good idea. While we didn’t know that the road ahead would be quite so long and, until the surge, very violent- President Bush knew that there was more work to be done. Moreover, President Bush presided over the largest expansion of government this country has ever seen. A portion of this was very necessary, such as implementing the Department of Homeland Security, but much of it was not. Additionally, President Bush’s proposals for easy immigration created a divide among Republicans that the party is still working to heal.
But moving past those errors, there was so much that President Bush got right and deserves credit for. The first being, his efforts to keep our country safe since 9/11. Over seven years later without a terrorist attack on US soil, we can see that those efforts paid off. And as Bush leaves office, we owe him a deep debt of gratitude for that.
Another often glossed over success of the Bush Presidency is his administration’s work to combat AIDS in Africa, calling on congress in his 2003 State of the Union address to commit $15 billion over the next five years to help stop this deadly disease in regions of Africa and other parts of the world. Total US government development aid to Africa quadrupled from 2001 to 2008. In doing this, Bush saved millions of lives. It is a triumph of his administration that, sadly, few will probably ever pay any notice to.
Also, let us not forget Bush’s admirable positions on the judiciary and social issues, this was made most clear in one of President Bush’s final actions as President, declaring January 18th to be “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.” Also, in the two outstanding supreme court justices he appointed, Samuel Alito and John Roberts. I will always respect and appreciation President Bush’s commitment to honoring and protecting all human life, including the unborn.
And lastly, let us thank President Bush for giving us one of the most influential, classy, and respected First Ladies in American History- Laura Bush. Even while President Bush’s approval ratings wane, over 80% of Americans continue to express their support for First Lady Laura Bush- and with very good reason.
So many Americans are quick to call President Bush’s time in office a “failure.” This is simply not the case. But someone did fail during the Bush president. Someone failed big time. It was us.
Never before have we seen such disrespect, even hatred for our commander in chief. He holds a degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard but apparently we’re supposed to believe he is literally a complete and total idiot- because that is the caricature of him we’ve been fed these past eight years from the media. Meanwhile, dissenters have called him everything but a child of God, Hollywood types have tried to outdo each other with their ultra-intelligent criticisms of his Presidency, and so many Americans have simply turned their backs on him. But thankfully he never turned his back on this country.
So while it was not a perfect Presidency, I still say ‘Thank You President Bush.’
one of your best blogs.
Thanks Jordyn!!
Well said.
Jonathan,
you forgot to credit the Bush Administration with the Do Not Call Registry, by the way.
Likewise, while controversial, the initial round of tax cuts authorized by the Bush Administration probably provided for the economic boom that lasted from 2002-2007; now whether or not that was a good thing is another story, but facts are facts: the tax cuts helped spur an economic jump start after a brief recession following 9/11 centered around real estate development.
Good Points Jesse!
Very well-written! I could not have stated this better, and I thank you for the words I feel.
Excellent points! It is amazing how short our memories seem to be. Homeland Security and TSA are in the very fabric of our daily lives and it’s hard to believe it’s been less than eight years since they were established. All of this in one man’s presidency…I think G. W. Bush has accomplished more than any president in recent history.
It’s funny how many people walk around like sheep, just believing the media’s version of everything. The world is so ready to pounce when they hear of someone else’s failure. I am glad the world doesn’t get to hear of my every mistake. Thank you for this post. I am going to link to it on my blog. Keep up the good work here!
Thank you all!
Jonathan,
God bless you for such respectful words of truth about a man we do owe a debt of gratitude. While he did not do everything right, he certainly did not deserve the crude, vile and misinformed remarks that many people made of him.
He was a man of faith and character. We will never know the things behind the scenes that he was unable to share.
For now, I just thank God that he was my President for two terms and that he served this country well.