How One Ordinary American Will Remember President Bush

How will history remember George Bush? To many on the left, and even in the middle, he will be remembered as a failure. Opinion polls show his approval rating at only 23%--one of the lowest ratings ever. Many consider his foreign policy to be a disaster-with wars still being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. In his unsuccessful bid for the White House, even Republican John McCain distanced himself from the president from his own party. He is blamed, rightly or wrongly, by many for our country's current economic crisis. This isn't an article mostly on how history will remember Bush, although that will be touched on. It is an article on how I will remember him, and I by no means will stand behind everything he has done and have criticized some of his decisions, but this American will remember him far more kindly than most. I am not ashamed to stand up and say so.

As far as how history will remember Bush, it is far too early to truly say. Many historians online say he will be remembered unkindly-some say as the worst President ever. Other political experts, however, point out that one can never truly say how any President will be remembered until many years after he has left office. One British political writer, Andrew Roberts, wrote in the Telegraph on the website, http://www.telegraph.co.uk, that Americans did not truly understand Bush and that, "If the West wins the modern counterpart of that struggle (President Truman's struggle against communism), the War Against Terror, historians will look back in amazement at the present unpopularity of George W Bush, and marvel at it quite as much as we now marvel at the 67 per cent disapproval rates for Truman throughout 1952."

He wrote that because the war in Iraq is still going on, one cannot truly say how history will remember him, but he believes historians will note how the situation in Iraq greatly improved when President Bush ordered a surge of more troops to the country. He believes they will note how much safer the country became. Roberts believes historians will note mistakes made in the war in Iraq but will also notice the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the liberation of the Afghan people from the Taliban, the smashing of al-Qa'eda in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and the fact there have not been any more major terrorist attacks on the United States during the Administration of President Bush.

As for how I feel, I would agree with about everything Roberts said. Do I agree with everything President Bush has done?-absolutely not. He was absolutely wrong to try to work to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who flaunted American laws, even though I am 100% for legal immigration, because our country has always been a country of immigrants. He has been wrong every time has criticized Israel when they have fought their own war against terror, although he supports that country most of the time. He is absolutely wrong in his efforts to try to get Israel to give up Jerusalem in an effort to bring peace to the Middle East, although he is right to try to bring peace. I am sure if I tried harder, I could find other things I disagree with President Bush on, although I do agree with him more often than I disagree with him.

I will say some things in his favor, however. There have not been any more terrorist attacks on American soil during his Presidency. He has fought for the sanctity of life and against abortion, and our new President absolutely will never do that. Democrats who believed our country's intelligence showed the war in Iraq was a good thing and would protect the country and voted for it included Hillary Clinton, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, and many others. These are only a few of the many who supported him, even though they now roundly criticize him. As for our country's current economic crisis, President Bush is nothing more than a convenient scapegoat, a scapegoat who unfortunately helped elect the new President. (We will pay for that for at least the next four years-oh joy!) In the blog, http://newsbusters.org, Noel Sheppard noted former President Clinton and Massachusetts Democratic Representative Barney Frank played major roles in propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which helped bring on the current crisis. During the Presidential campaign wasn't it mentioned that our incoming President also received a lot of money from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Didn't the Democrats always want housing loans to be given to those who could not repay them?

Yes, I do disagree with some things President Bush did. I will remember him far more kindly than most Americans, however, and I am not ashamed to say so, even if I am in the minority. I hope history is kind to him.

Citations: History Will Say That We Misunderestimated George W Bush, by Andrew Roberts, Telegraph.co.uk

By Andrew Roberts