WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2008
The Legacy George Bush Will Leave
CBS Evening News: Historians Review The 43rd Presidency As His Terms Wind Down
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George W. Bush's Legacy
President Bush has often downplayed his legacy and, as Jim Axelrod reports, he may hope others do the same.
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President Bush delivers the State of the Union in January, 2008. (CBS)
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Bush Presidency
The president's agenda, plus facts, figures, major events and key personalities.
"I'm reading about George Washington, still," President Bush said in 2006. "My attitude is, if they're still analyzing number one, 43 ought not to worry about it."
And why would he want to, given the long list of targets he's presented to his critics, CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod reports.
"He's in the bottom 10 to five presidents in the history of the United States," James Thurber, an American University historian, said.
But the president could take heart that none of those will be his defining issues.
"I think the assessment of President Bush begins not with Inauguration Day, but with 9/11, and then it goes to Iraq," said Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff for Ronald Reagan.
And there, even Democratic critics like Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institute, say the success of the surge in Iraq will help the President's legacy.
"He went to war in a deliberately cavalier way," O'Hanlon said. "But let's also be fair. Iraq now seems to be a quasi-functioning Democracy without weapons of mass destruction, without genocides against citizens or attacks against its neighbors. So to some extent, we gotta give our president his due."
Still, presidential legacies are by their very nature an exercises in comparison. If you want to understand the signature of this two-term Republican president, compare it to the last one.
"In 1988 with Reagan in the mid-50s in popularity, everybody was clamoring for a third term with Ronald Reagan. And now the only people who are talking about a third term for President Bush are the Democrats," said Duberstein.
It seems indisputable that George Bush will address the convention, greatly diminished from his previous appearances. If the first draft of history is written by reporters, the historians, like James Thurber, are about to get their turn.
"Well all presidents think that history will change perceptions of their activities," Thurber said. "I think history will be unkind to this man."
And it would seem they won't offer the president much comfort.
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No weapons of mass destruction or decption before or after - NO CHANGE
No attacks on neighboring states in the last few years before or after - NO CHANGE
No genocide against its citizens - Blackwater, M1 tanks, bombing wedding parties - NO CHANGE
Functioning democracy - perhaps a little bit.
2 trillion plus dollars for an unnecessary war, thousands to hundreds of thousands killed or maimed, racial and ethnic cleansing of neighborhoods, torture, billions in cash missing under Brenner, and in Bush and O''Hanlon''s eyes that is a win?!?!?!
W- WORST EVER!
BUSH FAILED AT 9/11
BUSH LIED US INTO WAR IN IRAQ AND BOGGED DOWN THE TROOPS ON THE WRONG BATTLEFIELD.
BUSH FAILED TO RESPOND FOR FOUR DAYS AT KATRINA.
BUSH FAILED THE ECONOMY
BUSH''S LEGACY IS OF FAILURE AND NOTHING ELSE!!!
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The shining example of who NOT to elect to the presidency, and I guess that''s something.
The operative word is...
LEAVE.
of president. Great-grandfather
The wealthy are getting much,much wealthier in this administration. Corporations are bringing in record breaking profits and yet only about 20% of them are paying any taxes at all. Yes, this was the plan and it has been a success.
Just take a look at the response Bush will get when his video is played at the convention tonight. McCain''s supporters will be ecstatic.
Of course McCain knows better than to let on that his party is happy with the direction of the country because in order to get elected he has to pretend that he would do things differently.
That is why they kept Bush away from speaking live and why they wouldn''t even put the video on at prime time. Hoping nobody will see how pleased these people are with the Bush Presidency. And hoping nobody will understand that these supporters are thrilled at the idea of 4 more years of the same.
At this time next year he''ll be defending himself at the Hague.
1. Put himself and his family under the tightest scrutiny of any position in the history of the world to serve his country
2. Refused to waver in decisions and positions that he''s held
3. Looked out for good of someone other than HIMSELF in going to Iraq unlike the majority of society today, teaching children that doing the right thing isn''t always easy or fun (God forbid).
So basically, you can sit there all day and point out every mistake that the man has made in the past 8 years (and he has made them), yet remember that he has faced more difficult situations and challenges unparalleled by any other world leader in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Life is always how you look at it; you can point out every flaw in the man, but we could also put every single person in this country on that platform and see how many would be able to stand for eight years Not many. As a country it is not our job to sit back and take potshots at the man.
There are thousands of people in Iraq who are thanking God that someone had the guts to stand up and risk his own reputation so that they could have breath free air and raise their children in freedom. Those people will remember him. I think that George W. Bush will take that trade any day of the week. Its time to wake up, and realize how blessed we have been the past few years. President Bush, if this ever finds your eyes, let me see it, even if some others won''t: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1. Put himself and his family under the tightest scrutiny of any position in the history of the world to serve his country
2. Refused to waver in decisions and positions that he''s held
3. Looked out for good of someone other than HIMSELF in going to Iraq unlike the majority of society today, teaching children that doing the right thing isn''t always easy or fun (God forbid).
So basically, you can sit there all day and point out every mistake that the man has made in the past 8 years (and he has made them), yet remember that he has faced more difficult situations and challenges unparalleled by any other world leader in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Life is always how you look at it; you can point out every flaw in the man, but we could also put every single person in this country on that platform and see how many would be able to stand for eight years Not many. As a country it is not our job to sit back and take potshots at the man.
There are thousands of people in Iraq who are thanking God that someone had the guts to stand up and risk his own reputation so that they could have breath free air and raise their children in freedom. Those people will remember him. I think that George W. Bush will take that trade any day of the week. Its time to wake up, and realize how blessed we have been the past few years. President Bush, if this ever finds your eyes, let me see it, even if some others won''t: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1. Put himself and his family under the tightest scrutiny of any position in the history of the world to serve his country
2. Refused to waver in decisions and positions that he''s held
3. Looked out for good of someone other than HIMSELF in going to Iraq unlike the majority of society today, teaching children that doing the right thing isn''t always easy or fun (God forbid).
So basically, you can sit there all day and point out every mistake that the man has made in the past 8 years (and he has made them), yet remember that he has faced more difficult situations and challenges unparalleled by any other world leader in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Life is always how you look at it; you can point out every flaw in the man, but we could also put every single person in this country on that platform and see how many would be able to stand for eight years Not many. As a country it is not our job to sit back and take potshots at the man.
There are thousands of people in Iraq who are thanking God that someone had the guts to stand up and risk his own reputation so that they could have breath free air and raise their children in freedom. Those people will remember him. I think that George W. Bush will take that trade any day of the week. Its time to wake up, and realize how blessed we have been the past few years. President Bush, if this ever finds your eyes, let me see it, even if some others won''t: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1. Put himself and his family under the tightest scrutiny of any position in the history of the world to serve his country
2. Refused to waver in decisions and positions that he''s held
3. Looked out for good of someone other than HIMSELF in going to Iraq unlike the majority of society today, teaching children that doing the right thing isn''t always easy or fun (God forbid).
So basically, you can sit there all day and point out every mistake that the man has made in the past 8 years (and he has made them), yet remember that he has faced more difficult situations and challenges unparalleled by any other world leader in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Life is always how you look at it; you can point out every flaw in the man, but we could also put every single person in this country on that platform and see how many would be able to stand for eight years Not many. As a country it is not our job to sit back and take potshots at the man.
There are thousands of people in Iraq who are thanking God that someone had the guts to stand up and risk his own reputation so that they could have breath free air and raise their children in freedom. Those people will remember him. I think that George W. Bush will take that trade any day of the week. Its time to wake up, and realize how blessed we have been the past few years. President Bush, if this ever finds your eyes, let me see it, even if some others won''t: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1. Put himself and his family under the tightest scrutiny of any position in the history of the world to serve his country
2. Refused to waver in decisions and positions that he''s held
3. Looked out for good of someone other than HIMSELF in going to Iraq unlike the majority of society today, teaching children that doing the right thing isn''t always easy or fun (God forbid).
So basically, you can sit there all day and point out every mistake that the man has made in the past 8 years (and he has made them), yet remember that he has faced more difficult situations and challenges unparalleled by any other world leader in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Life is always how you look at it; you can point out every flaw in the man, but we could also put every single person in this country on that platform and see how many would be able to stand for eight years Not many. As a country it is not our job to sit back and take potshots at the man.
There are thousands of people in Iraq who are thanking God that someone had the guts to stand up and risk his own reputation so that they could have breath free air and raise their children in freedom. Those people will remember him. I think that George W. Bush will take that trade any day of the week. Its time to wake up, and realize how blessed we have been the past few years. President Bush, if this ever finds your eyes, let me see it, even if some others won''t: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1. Put himself and his family under the tightest scrutiny of any position in the history of the world to serve his country
2. Refused to waver in decisions and positions that he''s held
3. Looked out for good of someone other than HIMSELF in going to Iraq unlike the majority of society today, teaching children that doing the right thing isn''t always easy or fun (God forbid).
So basically, you can sit there all day and point out every mistake that the man has made in the past 8 years (and he has made them), yet remember that he has faced more difficult situations and challenges unparalleled by any other world leader in THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Life is always how you look at it; you can point out every flaw in the man, but we could also put every single person in this country on that platform and see how many would be able to stand for eight years Not many. As a country it is not our job to sit back and take potshots at the man.
There are thousands of people in Iraq who are thanking God that someone had the guts to stand up and risk his own reputation so that they could have breath free air and raise their children in freedom. Those people will remember him. I think that George W. Bush will take that trade any day of the week. Its time to wake up, and realize how blessed we have been the past few years. President Bush, if this ever finds your eyes, let me see it, even if some others won''t: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
'' .. nobody hunts you because you are a cog, if something happens to you, they replace you with another fool just like you, alas if you should do anything outside regulation to any of us, they will tear you limb from limb, so go frame yourself or something, before somebody else does .. ''
'' .. relatively few trespass or steal even for necesity, relatively many use drugs, relatively few keep an eye on any particular property, relatively many keep an eye on any particular drug uset, dope fiends are running circles around governments and neighborhood zealots despite all the war on drugs, in many ways because of the war on drugs, and to such an extent that if even a small number of dopeheads were into executing and or jailing governments and zealots: then the governments and zealots would all be dead or in hell .. ''
That''s putting it lightly. You don''t double the national debt (to stimulate the economy) and end up with a worse economy unless you''re uniquely worth condemning. But, internationally, the invasion of Iraq will go down as one of the all time blunders in HISTORY. If you want to feel the effect this has had on the loss of good-will toward Americans internationally, examine the bluster coming out of Russia right now. People are wickedly ''p*ssed'' at the U.S., and that will continue for some time.
Yes, he''s a disaster. I would say the worst in history, hands down. Thurber was being polite.
The $1-3 trillion dollar cost of the Iraq War hasn''t been fully experienced by the American people yet. When that bill comes due, we''ll all remember that one of the jobs of our President is also to maintain a quasi-functioning democracy in America, not just the Middle East.
Bush... worst ever.
935 lies.
$3 trillion squandered.
Over 4000 Dead American troops.
Halliburton stock went through the roof.
Bush went looking for fake WMDS in Press Club dinner in DC, dancing in New Orleans, and partied in daughter''s wedding extravaganza.
While thousands died in his war in Iraq.
Great legacy, Mission accomplished.
No Child Left Behind Act enforces teachers make sure every child is on the same level. This changed drop-out rates, and the amount of children who were held back because the couldn''t get the help they needed, because teachers didn''t have to. I know that when I was in school, it was fail and then get help next year. Thank you for caring for our children.
President Bush has stood on all his desscions, even when being scrutinized by the toughest critics, and not being afraid to veto a bill which could hurt us.
Thank you President Bush for not being perfect. We can look back at your presidency like all the others. Mistakes and Success.
You must have drank a Keg Of the Bushco Kool-Aid..........
the world would have been a better place if gwbush had taken up gardening instead of poliics.
it''s an american tragedy.
Their Legacy will end with the phrase: %u201C%u2026and they got away with it%u201D
Bush will place his hand on a stack of Bibles and lie yet again that his lies weren''t lies.
The religious right deserves what Bush has to offer, but the rest of us didn''t.
I haven''t seen such a despised president since Nixon and he makes Nixon look like Mother Theresa.
His moral disaster has dishonored and humiliated America and the people of America and offended many other countries.
God I would love to see these terrorists holding us hostage in a constant threat of war--brought up on every crime they have committed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html
QUOTES FROM HER PASTOR:
Jesus called us to die. You''re worried about getting hurt? He''s called us to die. Listen, you know we can''t even follow him unless you are willing to give up your life. ... I believe that Jesus himself operated from that position of war mode. Everyone say "war mode."
Kalnins has preached that the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq were part of a "world war" over the Christian faith, one in which Jesus Christ had called upon believers to be willing to sacrifice their lives.
He preaches repeatedly about the "end times" or "last days," an apocalyptic prophesy held by a small but vocal group of Christian leaders. During his appearance with Palin in June, he declared, "I believe Alaska is one of the refuge states in the last days, and hundreds of thousands of people are going to come to the state to seek refuge and the church has to be ready to minister to them."
I am a life-long democratic woman who supported Hillary Clinton along with 18 million others. I keep hearing Democratic strategists declaring that we "disgruntled Hillary supporters" will not vote for McCain simply because he chose a woman to be his VP. But this is NOT TRUE!
I along with thousands of other Hillary supporters WILL be voting for McCain and Sarah Palin because we WANT to see a woman as VP and voters like myself see it as a brilliant move by McCain to reach out to us women voters.
The TVangelists threaten us of Roe V Wade being overturn but fail to mention that both Bush administrations were Pro-Life and women still have the right to chose.
When Colorado Democratic Party leader Billy Compton intimidated Sacha Millstone asking her to resign as a Delegate because she had second thoughts on Obama was outrageous! When the sexist/racist Emil Jones called Delmarie Cobb who supported Hillary an "Uncle Tom" infuriates us women!
I am asking other Democratic women to join us in sending a message to our Democratic Party Leadership that THEY do not chose our Nominee by intimidating elected Delegates into voting for THEIR choice.
Only rushbots would ignore the totally opposite politics between Hillary and Palin, and claim to switch from one to the other. Or a purely sexist borderline personality.
I am a life-long democratic woman who supported Hillary Clinton along with 18 million others. I keep hearing Democratic strategists declaring that we "disgruntled Hillary supporters" will not vote for McCain simply because he chose a woman to be his VP. But this is NOT TRUE!
I along with thousands of other Hillary supporters WILL be voting for McCain and Sarah Palin because we WANT to see a woman as VP and voters like myself see it as a brilliant move by McCain to reach out to us women voters.
The TVangelists threaten us of Roe V Wade being overturn but fail to mention that both Bush administrations were Pro-Life and women still have the right to chose.
When Colorado Democratic Party leader Billy Compton intimidated Sacha Millstone asking her to resign as a Delegate because she had second thoughts on Obama was outrageous! When the sexist/racist Emil Jones called Delmarie Cobb who supported Hillary an "Uncle Tom" infuriates us women!
I am asking other Democratic women to join us in sending a message to our Democratic Party Leadership that THEY do not chose our Nominee by intimidating elected Delegates into voting for THEIR choice,
'' .. universes we swim and bus in is not comprised of silly theoretical ports to infinite numbers of divine places and times throughout forever and always, it''s just a flecks of dusts that oddly appeared temporarily in the middle of an otherwise endlessly vast oblivion of nothingness and nevermore and will someday disappear all over again .. ''
'' .. if most folk most time wanted to be self sufficient transient lazy naked lusty dopey kid subsistence farmets playing get well soon and feed the world while dancing round all the sick beds in forever, then they wouldn''t be paying me trillions dollars to paddle transient lazy naked lusty dopey kid subsistence farmet rears and to replace them with nuclear biological chemical stealth ray pow dare camp shock and awe armagedon holy holocaust extravaganza and to play get sick soon tax the world while disciplining and punishing all the folk dancing round all the sick beds in forever .. ''
'' .. i like how people ''won''t give you the time of day'' unless you at least try to look and act like a starving slaving tortured mangled raped baked african war baby, but i do think they are being a tiny bit over zealous and cruel by leaving so many other alternatives ''out of the loop'' .. ''
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by vechibless
September 5, 2008 4:34 PM PDT
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See all 41 Comments'' .. god is odd, her one tentical is busy engineering a social machine made out of mosquitos and seaweed and such and five and ten year old girls and boys and such that is capable of building a forever out of a little bit of dirt and grass, even as another of her tenticals is busy waging wars that rape and kill mosquitos and seaweeds and such and five and ten year old girls and boys and such by cruelly utilizing market share and lunch money that otherwise would have belonged to mosquitos and seaweeds and such and five and ten year old girls and boys and such .. ''