The Bush Factor

Politico did a story about how Bush-bashing was still politically potent http://www.politico.com/, and how some Democrats could potentially use the former president as the centerpiece during their upcoming races. I find it interesting how after nearly seven months removed from office, Bush remains an enticing target.

In all fairness this wouldn’t be the first time a former president has served as the villain, becoming a lightening rod for the opposition. Jimmy Carter comes to mind as well as Richard Nixon. In any case, I started to think a lot about how history will judge Bush, and his ideology on both the domestic and international fronts, and if it is still viable to blame him for so many of our current woes.

There are people on the left who hate Bush with such a passion it seems to consume every fiber in their body. Personally I don’t hate anybody. True, I never voted for Bush, but I never wanted his administration to fail. His failure meant American’s failure.

The outrage of so many Democrats can be directly connected to 2000. They believe the Supreme Court, which suddenly shifted from a revered, fairly nonpartisan body to nine political hacks, stole the election from them in Florida. Even still it can be argued the Bush v. Gore decision was based on reality, and it can be further suggested if the decision had gone the other way Gore probably would have lost the election anyway. He didn’t exactly set the halls of justice on fire by protesting. The perception of a rigged 2004 election, especially the outcome in Ohio adds even more fuel to the fury, along with the view that Bush used the 911 tragedies for his own political gain.

Then there are those on the right who strongly support Bush, and are just as equally blind. They still proudly sport his 2004 reelection bumper sticker on their cars, while completely ignoring his long list of malfeasances. The effects of his policies are monumental. His mismanagement of taxes, the giveaway of the surplus left by Clinton, the start of the Iraq war, and his handling of the Katrina disaster are appalling. The mess caused by Katrina was a massive environmental catastrophe. Not only that, but his administration’s failure to protect the people of New Orleans told you all you needed to know about his compassionate conservative side. The expansion of the government from 2001 to 2008 was unbelievable. You can’t give away tax cuts like the Republicans, but spend money like the Democrats. The economic crisis being felt worldwide can’t be ignored, and is part of his legacy whether his supporters think there wasn’t much he could have done about it, or not.

Although Bush keeps himself busy these days writing his new book the media still occasionally keeps us informed of his whereabouts. Again, if you’re on the right you’ll vilify the reporting for the past eight years as completely bias. Lies from a liberal media with an agenda to show Bush in the worst possible light, and part of the Democratic propaganda machine spewing out disingenuous information, which made him out to be arrogant, callous, and incompetent. If you’re on the left Bush typifies his conservative base, and their reporting. FOX news bears some serious responsibility for constantly marginalizing his illegal wiretapping, his distain for the constitution, and his torture camps, following behind the GOP like mindless sheep, uttering the same old Republican talking points that to criticize the United States is to hate the United States, to criticize the war is to hate the soldiers, and President Bush kept us safe. In any event, you be the judge.