Farewell BUSH

[WhatisRight]

Your thoughts on bush over the last 8 years, his decisions and where he went wrong or the good decisions he took over this period.

[Pothas]

He will have to go down as one of the worst Presidents in history. That doesn't mean that he is as stupid as some people make him out to be and he has been very good at winning elections. However as the figurehead of the neo-conservative movement he has done terrible damage. Even if we take the moral judgement out of his foreign affairs they have not been effective in securing America’s goal. Moreover his domestic policies handed out completely unjustified tax cuts for the rich while he put the states finances in terrible order, now that the dogmatic belief in the market has come crashing down he is left with the worst legacy of any President in living memory. I unlike some people do not think he is the devil, but he was a very bad President.

[Burgey]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Arguably the greatest indictment on the American people, or at least their electoral system, that they elected this buffoon not once, but twice.

His lack of judgment continued right until the end, when he bestowed America's highest civilian honour on none other than John Howard.

I hope he gets trampled on by a steer the first day back at his ranch.

[cpr]

Originally Posted by Burgey

His lack of judgment continued right until the end, when he bestowed America's highest civilian honour on none other than John Howard.

Gave one to Tony Blair n all



Actually, that line pretty much sums up his the first 7 years in power....

[luffy]

Glad to see he's gone.

May see the world more peaceful now.

[Sanz]

Bush gets a lot of criticism for being dumb and Iraq war and deservedly so. That said, Whatever his legacy is, at least he is leaving an America that is a much safer than when Clinton left. It was Clinton's security holes that left America vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and let's not forget there was an economic crash during Clinton's era as well.

[Craig]

'Misunderestimate'?



"Me fail English? That's unpossible"

[Pothas]

What crash was this? cause i missed it, thought the last big recession was just before Clinton (hense the famous 'it's the economy stupid.' Clinton's Presidency is well known for it's economic progress, not that Clinton necessarily all deserves the praise for this as obviously the government does not have complet control over the economy. It's also a shame that in trying to make America safer he introduced such things like the 'patriot act.'

[Shaggy Alfresco]

Things Bush did wrong:

Invasion of Iraq (or rather the diasterous planning post-invasion)
Botched Social Security reform
Politicisation of the War on Terror
Cutting taxes without a reform of the unwieldy US tax code

Things Bush did right:

Free trade
Tax cuts
Immigration reform
"Staying the course" in Iraq with the surge
Strong response after 9/11

And potentially, though we can't say so right now, the decision to invade Iraq. I read the Economist earlier today and it made a good point, after 9/11 Bush could have simply prosecuted the war in Afghanistan/Pakistan. Instead he decided to change the whole paradigm of the Middle East by attempting to create a beacon of liberal democracy, dealing a blow to authoritarian pan-Arabist dictatorships that are at least partially caused the explosion in radical Islamism.

[Shaggy Alfresco]

Originally Posted by Pothas

What crash was this?

Dot com bubble.

[Pothas]

Ah yes, but it was in no way comparible to what is happening right now and I think it is reasonable to say that Clinton's years were ones of economic progress.

[sirdj]

Originally Posted by Shaggy Alfresco

Things Bush did wrong:
Strong response after 9/11

Instead he decided to change the whole paradigm of the Middle East by attempting to create a beacon of liberal democracy, dealing a blow to authoritarian pan-Arabist dictatorships that are at least partially caused the explosion in radical Islamism.

Surely you jest Shaggy. The Taliban have regrouped and gained ground, Pakistan is in deep **** fighting them, Iraq has become such a hell hole that you may abandon all hope for peace in the middle east for the next 100 years unless you have a miracle and Israel do a 180 on their current position.

For the west to even think of creating "a beacon of democracy" is extremely foolish and dangerous.
If middle eastern countries wish to become democratic then they have to do it from within.

Bush did not invade Iraq because he perceived it to be a real threat. he invaded Iraq because it was convenient and no-one in the middle east liked Saddam (even Bin Laden) and this was a way of grabbing Iraqi resources. He invaded a country on false pretenses and in my view should be charged with war crimes.

[sirdj]

[Craig]

Originally Posted by sirdj

Surely you jest Shaggy. The Taliban have regrouped and gained ground, Pakistan is in deep **** fighting them, Iraq has become such a hell hole that you may abandon all hope for peace in the middle east for the next 100 years unless you have a miracle and Israel do a 180 on their current position.

For the west to even think of creating "a beacon of democracy" is extremely foolish and dangerous.
If middle eastern countries wish to become democratic then they have to do it from within.

Bush did not invade Iraq because he perceived it to be a real threat. he invaded Iraq because it was convenient and no-one in the middle east liked Saddam (even Bin Laden) and this was a way of grabbing Iraqi resources. He invaded a country on false pretenses and in my view should be charged with war crimes.

IIRC Bush covered himself there that he can't be charged for war crimes (at least in America I think) in the past, present, and the future. I could be wrong though.

[Dravid]

You know I won't say if bush was the worst president in history yet.

My professor in history last semester brought up a really good point. When Lincoln was president, his approval rating was near the all time lows. Today his face is on the penny and mt rushmore. Although I'm not a huge fan of Bush, I would like to see what the world says of him a hundred years from now.