Bush Presidency "A Total Failure," Says Speaker Pelosi

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview Thursday for "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" (to be shown Sunday, July 20) that: "God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject." That cutting remark came after president Bush once again chastised Congress, this time for doing little and spending little time doing it, stating Wednesday that the "American people deserve better."

Nothing like leading by example.

But seriously, is Bush's record that dismal? Has he failed so utterly, so totally that he could very well be considered the worst president the United States has ever had? More than a few think so. So, let us take a look at the record...

On domestic policies, the Bush administration has overseen the greatest deregulation of corporate America in history, including industries like banking, oil, mining, etc., all of which are either failing, making scandalous profits at the expense of the average citizen, or destroying the ecology. Bush and Co. oversaw the singlemost devastating domestic catastrophe in American history, and, while the world watched, mismanaged the Hurricane Katrina aftermath into a debacle of ridiculous proportions (which is still ongoing, nearly three years later). The president attempted to dismantle the Social Security system and made it difficult for elderly citizens to get cheaper prescription drugs from other nations, including Canada. His blatant cronyism placed anti-environmentalist lawyers at the head of the EPA and corporate heads at the FDA. Along with a Republican Congress, they effected a rewriting of the Clean Air Act and, more recently, oversaw -- and are still overseeing -- the tomato (no, it wasn't tomatoes, but they don't know what it was, so it could have been tomatoes) salmonilla noninvestigation investigation disgrace. The FTC and other government agencies have been quite mute on the subject of the ever-growing list of products from China that have dangerous amounts of lead in them. Which, when examined closer, may be understandable when considering that the greatest bulk of trade the United States is involved in is with China. Our free trade agreements are sending our money overseas along with our outsourced jobs and relocated corporations. And nearly seven years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the nation's borders and ports are as insecure as they were on that terrible day.

On foreign policy, the Bush administration has presided over the alienation of nearly every country on the face of the planet. First, the refusal to sign the Kyoto Accords when it would have been a great public relations move was shortsighted and petty. Then came the unjustified war in Iraq that has brought the United States to its economic knees by subsidizing said war with loans mainly from China. What consideration the United States received from the international community because of the terrorist attacks was wasted on this useless and wasteful war. And in the entire duration of the Bush presidency, nothing has been done to even mitigate the possibility of a nuclear Iran, which some leading international experts see as the singlemost danger to future world peace. Add to this the complicated but misdirected 'war on terror' that many intelligence experts believe has drastically increased the number of actual and potential terrorists. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to destabilize the Middle East region without an end in sight (and recent indications that it may begin to get worse), despite Bush administration avowals that an American presence there is indeed necessary for continued stability. And this does not include the current ripple of consternation over the 'defense shield' proposed for and agreed upon -- in specific cases -- for eastern Europe that has Russia warning of military countermeasures.

On legal and Constitutional issues, the Bush administration has decreed that habeas corpus could be suspended three separate times, although the Supreme Court has overruled such an egregious infringement on people's rights all three times. They have illegally wiretapped private citizens of the United States without legal warrants (even though the administration itself helped pass legislation on FISA warrants, making them easier to obtain). The administration has condoned torture and a process known as "extraordinary renditioning," the sending out of country people suspected of national security risk in order to circumvent civil rights protections. And then there are the presidential "signings", whereby a president usually suggests future amendments or possible problems with legislation, but where president Bush has "signed" only the portions he did not agree with or would not heed.

And what about the Valerie Plame case and the Scooter Libby pardon? And his unforgiveable position on the Webb-Hagel GI Bill?

And that's just a few things off the top of this writer's head.

It seems as if Speaker Nancy Pelosi might have a point. To be fair, it must be assumed that, since president Bush is a Republican, that he at least has the support of the conservatives.

But that assumption would be incorrect. The entire conservative mantra centers on smaller government, a protect-and-defend foreign policy, less governmental interference in the lives of private citizens, and a controlled budget. With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Bush administration nearly doubled the government's size. The administration has spent far beyond its fiscal budgets and that is notwithstanding extra war appropriations and spending. The increased centralization and suspension of habeas corpus and the National Security Agency's illegal wiretaps have infringed upon the privacy of individual citizens. And starting an unjustified (and now indefinitely perpetual) war flies entirely in the face of the conservative movement. Which means that president Bush is a failure even among those that have supported his presidency.

A "total failure", though? Yes, a total failure. Except for one thing -- he managed to get himself reelected.

In the end, some may view Speaker Nancy Pelosi's words as overly harsh and extremely critical. But there are more who would view those same words as being appropriate, accurate, and not nearly harsh enough.

Source:

"Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," CNN Televsion

CNN.com