Decades from now, and perhaps even centuries, historians will look back on the legacy of President George W Bush. And, with an impartial perspective, rather than a partisan and political one, I believe their findings will be quiet reasonable and accurate.
A simple reflection on the facts leaves us with a number of benefits gained from the work of Bush and the members of his administration.
Under Bush, we have seen the establishment of the highly effective Office of Homeland Security. He was responsible for the appointment of two promising new Supreme Court justices. American's have enjoyed modest but widespread tax cuts and since September 11, 2001, we haven't had a single terrorist attack on American soil.
Some of what those who have been opponents of the administration will argue is that Bush's team had been too hasty in invading Iraq, had mishandled the situation that was Hurricane Katrina and has allowed the national economy to fall into a very deep recession.
Yes, Bush and his team dropped the ball on the original decision to go into Iraq. However, Congress did as well, including President-Elect Barack Obama.
On the positive side, the initial invasion resulted in the ousting of one of the world's worst dictators. And, as I have learned, when one makes a mistake, they should be responsible for correcting it, thus our continued presence in Iraq. Although far from perfect, this very presence has yielded massive, measurable results in stabilizing an ever violent region.
Similarly, the response time to aide the victims of Hurricane Katrina was sub-par. But, this democratic governor of Louisiana and mayor of New Orleans did not adequately allocate federal funds in a timely manner, leaving FEMA and Bush to take all the blame. Looting and rioting in the streets of New Orleans also caused difficulties for any rescue efforts.
As for the economy, yes, we are experiencing a recession. However, for the majority of his time as president, the economy under Bush was very strong. In October of 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial hit an all-time high of more that 14,000. And when things did start to go bad, it was more the accumulated effects of the Community Reinvestment Act, started under Jimmy Carter's administration and considerably revised under Bill Clinton in 1995.
And now that this man's tenure is coming to an end, Obama will be our nation's Commander in Chief.
It is hard to project what to expect under the administration of a sort of celebrity-like leader. It seems that the concept of "change" is among his chief priorities. However, there is good change and there is bad change. And as of this time, we have no idea which direction his vision of might take us. That is, if any real change does actually occur at all.
All in all, Bush has clearly not been one of the elite among those to hold the position. Very few will compare him to the likes of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin D. Roosevelt for example. However, when examined with reason and removing bias, he will surely not rank among the worst national leaders either. Like him or not, he did a pretty average job.
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