The Bush Legacy

One of the more amusing quotes I've read this weekend was on the topic of how Bush 43 will be remembered by historians. When it was mentioned that critics see the POTUS as clueless and stubborn, former Bush speechwriter Kasey Pipes says Not So Fast, My Friends: (anti-Bush supporters) "suffer from the same flaws the critics say they see in the President: They're too lazy, they're too simple and they're too lacking in nuance."
As most well-studied historians know (and as Obama and his team are quickly learning), the job of POTUS leaves no room for error, and every move is scrutinized and questioned, if not from the opposite party, then certainly by the partisans. No POTUS in recent memory has escaped brutal second-guessing and constructive criticism. Obama will be no exception. Bush 43 left much to be desired, and there were many times that many Republicans felt abandoned and perplexed by the administration's perspective, but it's no different than any other POTUS we've seen in our lifetime. JFK had youthful exuberance and the New Frontier -- he also gave the green light to the Bay of Pigs fiasco soon after taking office. Johnson was instrumental in pushing forward the Civil Rights movements, but he couldn't control the massive anti-war movement at home, resting so heavy on his conscious that he refused to run for re-election. Nixon was a giant in shuttle diplomacy but succumbed to the psychotic strains of paranoia to the point of making a major lapse in judgement, which ultimately forced him to resign. Ford was the right man at the right time to guide America's healing process, but could not overcome the economic recession and double-digit inflation strangling the country. Carter brought hope of being an outsider that was needed to break up the malaise, but only made it worse. Reagan was the pillar of strength our foreign policy needed, and he brought down Communism, but he, too, made a lapse in judgement with Iran-Contra that some say was attributable to his age. Bush 41 rode in on incumbent coattails and the jury was out until he was unable to win re-election. Clinton was an engaging populist and took full advantage of the prior administration's diligence in revamping the economy, but his reckless and callous libido overshadowed any positive influence he may have gained and remains forever tainted. Bush 43 came in as an independent thinker, a governor of a large US state, fully capable on paper, but quickly lost steam with his questionable cabinet appointments to key positions, not to mention his devil-may-care attitude about massive increases in federal spending and imperialistic policies, but on that last note, I will argue that history will show him to be more correct than most give him credit for. Unfortunately for Bush 43, his communication skills and ineffective talent for spin-doctoring has left us yearning for more, and time will be the only solution. But shame on any amateur or myopic critics who are only too quick to mouth off against the man for what they see as a weak leader. As I always say, There's Two Sides To Every Story, and history will soon tell us all of it. I only hope I'm around to see it...and the subsequent washing of egg off many faces.