The New York Times: Bush May End Term With Iran Issue Unsettled
No shit.
And Iraq
And Afghanistan
And gas prices
And food prices
And the economy
And the housing crisis
And our descimated military
And the debt
And emergency management
And healthcare
And North Korea
And Palestine/Israel
And the environment
And the trade deficit
And keeping religion out of government
And our relationships with Europe and the rest of the world
And human rights
And education
And the war on drugs
And food and drug safety
And cronyism
And the dollar
And the Supreme Court
And Medicare Part D. (I forgot about that one.)
Is there anything this administration has done right? Anything? The Times is pointing to just one failure. I’ve thought about this for awhile, and I don’t see any positive legacy for President Bush. Nothing. The only legacy I can see him having is a pretty library somewhere. His legacy can be summed up in two words:
Epic Failure.
…on everything he’s touched.
Feel free to add your own failures of the Bush administration in the comments. And, by all means, tell me if there’s anything he has done right? Because after what I’ve seen for the past 7 years, I wouldn’t hire him to cook fucking Freedom Fries™ at McDonald’s.
Update: I have added a few from the comments. So far, it seems the only substantial accomplishment is the Do Not call list. I will give him that. It’s a good thing. But I agree with a commenter. If that’s all I got as the President of the United States, then I would off myself.
Update II: One thing I think the administration has done right. Robert Gates. I actually think this guy is a good SecDef. And I agree that Obama would be wise to keep him. But that was probably a fluke after a BushCheney binge drinking night. Still, flukes are sometimes good.
Huego
Is the the telemarketing Do-Not-Call list a Bush-era development? Because I really do get a lot fewer calls from telemarketers than I did in 1999.
I’m not kidding. I am, however, damning with faint praise
amorphous
Motherfucker can dance!
ACK
“Is there anything this administration has done right? Anything? ”
HHHmmmm that IS a tough one i must admit…
Have you been blown up lately?
That’s about the only thing they’ve done right, even with the constant opposition of the far left.
Jomo
Made many of his friends in the oil biz very rich.
Maybe money for AIDs in Africa?
That’s all I got
b-psycho
Well, he has single-handedly kept America’s comedians off the streets & well-fed…
ACK
b-psycho Says:
Well, he has single-handedly kept America’s comedians off the streets & well-fed…
June 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm
LOL
True…
Incertus
He made Democrats relevant again, even with our tendency to self-destruct at every opportunity.
Porco Rosso
Speaking of comedians, anyone remember the skit on SNL back in 2000 that imagined how a Gore presidency might differ from a Bush presidency?
Although they predicted that Washington would be in flames in 3 weeks of a bush inauguration, they really weren’t all that far off.
Incertus
Oh, and he made the rich a whole fuckload richer. It’s all about perspective. He was successful at a lot of stuff–it’s just all stuff that fucked me and a lot of other people over.
big cloud
Epic Failure is better than nothing. Think they’ll sell “My Pet Goat” at the George W. Bush Presidential Library gift shop? I hope so. I want that, along a set of engraved Jena Bush beer tumblers.
DFD
Have you been blown up lately?
That’s about the only thing they’ve done right, even with the constant opposition of the far left.
Setting the bar awful low are we not? I can’t say I’ve worried about giant atomic lizards ravaging my town either despite the disregard of liberal pinko scientists.
Redleg
Well, John- Bush did accomplish what he set out to do- he was “elected” to 2 terms. All the other shit he promised was just to get elected.
phoebes in santa fe
Beats me. Maybe the AIDS relief in Africa, as Jomo noted above. BUT, I don’t believe that the medicines were accompanied with safe-sex aids (i.e. condoms) that would reduce the spread of AIDS. (“None of that family-planning stuff for the RW!).
NCLB seems to have degenerated into “teach-to-the-test”.
I think his original ideas about immigration were somewhat supportive, and much less restrictive to the mainstream Republican right-wing’s views.
Aside from immigration and AIDS medication (and I’m sure some “crony” has the no-bid contract on distribution), I can’t think of one damn thing Bush and the Republicans have accomplished – in a positive way – in the last 7 years.
And, that’s so sad, when you think of it. Seven years WASTED. For the billions of dollars we’ve thrown down the drain in Iraq, we could have fixed our infrastructure here and not had bridges collapsing and levees breaking.
Redleg
Ack, to suggest that the “far left” has done anything to make us less safe domestically is a fucking joke. 9-11 happened on Bush’s watch, U.S. citizens are being attacked and killed every fucking day in Iraq and Afghanistan. How safe is that?
Rosali
And food and drug safety.
Dennis - SGMM
New Orleans is once again a vibrant city.
/snark
sivapith
It looks like he’s going to get retroactive immunity for telecoms passed, but, then again, that’s all Obama’s fault, so we probably can’t count that.
Shygetz
We found water on Mars.
Mars, bitches!
Just Some Fuckhead
Good looking non-elitist campaign artwork, Michael.
Red
I hope someone burns that presidential library to the fucking ground. And if it gets rebuilt, burn that one too.
RSA
Right, the far left is opposed to keeping me from being blown up. And Bush has only claimed to have done stuff that’s kept me from being blown up–but it’s all classified, so I really can’t tell. I might as well credit the Flying Spaghetti Monster, for all the evidence I’ve seen, or maybe the Anti-Terrorist Spray that Billy Mays is selling on one of his infomercials.
But there’s a more precise way of posing Michael’s question: Is there anything Bush has done that the majority of Americans would view as a success?
DFD
You forgot Darfur.
Bob In Pacifica
At least it’s not flooding in New Orleans anymore.
Punchy
He failed to enact the fair tax. Most of us view that failure as a success.
Brachiator
Bush succeeded in leaps in bounds in moving the country toward an oligarchy in which a thin sliver of wealthy people skated while a declining middle class was crushed under a burden of stagnant wages, outsourced jobs, and a tax system which subtly, but absolutely favored investment income over wage income.
Bush raised cronyism at the federal level to new heights.
Bush raised incompetence at the federal level to new heights.
Bush made ignorance based on narrow religious views a qualification for holding public office and for advancement in the military.
Bush succeeded in making religious mysticism co-equal to science.
Bush succeeded in getting pundits and others to push the lie that nearly every progressive impulse in America, beginning with the New Deal, was an error that needed to be undone.
Bush succeeded in getting millions to believe that the Congress and the Supreme Court should be subservient to Executive Branch authority.
Bush succeeded in getting millions to accept the idea that fear of terrorists makes in necessary to suspend the Constitution.
Dennis - SGMM
Bush made it possible for other countries to feel good about themselves because their currencies are now worth so much more compared to the dollar.
Splitting Image
He very likely kept John McCain out of the White House.
That, and he made his dad look good to historians.
DFD
He succeeded in making Nixon look like a relatively moderate and all around swell guy.
*barf
BombIranForChrist
The one positive legacy is that he killed the Republican party. He was so bad that even the Democrats look good by comparison. Bush was the only person capable of making this possible. If the Republicans had a president who was even moderately capable when 9/11 happened, they could have made the Democrats a permanent minority so easily. The Democrats are still just as corrupt, weak and spineless as ever, but amazingly, even that is better than Bush. In some ways, Bush is the best thing to have ever happened to the Democratic Party.
– A Democrat
ACK
“Redleg Says:
Ack, to suggest that the “far left” has done anything to make us less safe domestically is a fucking joke. 9-11 happened on Bush’s watch,”
First of all remember I said “far left” not “all Democrats”… So if I offended you, you must be on the “far left”.
Anyway, my bad…I forgot the muslims started hating us when Bush became pres.. I mean it’s not like they hated us before Bush.
And you’re right, 911 happened on Bush’s watch…
… Right after 8 years of dumbing down our intelligence agencies and military, oh and letting Bin Laden go…
But let’s blame Bush, it’s the easy way out as we all know.
It’s not like the “far left” hasn’t been branding our military as cold blooded murders, or calling our General – “Betrayus” – before he even testified in Washington.
It’s not like the “far left” has been appeasing the enemy every other day by telling them WE are the bad guys…
“…U.S. citizens are being attacked and killed every fucking day in Iraq and Afghanistan. How safe is that?”
I’m sorry to tell you that we ARE AT WAR. So yes there will be casualties. Fortunately it’s not like WW2 where we lost hundreds of thousands of Americans.
I know, in a perfect world we would win a war, without war, but this world is not perfect.
“How safe is that” you say?
Well you’re still alive and free right?
Pretty fucking safe for you.
Go thank a service member. And while you’re at it, thank your parents for keeping/having/moving you in America.
And NO I do NOT like Bush, nor do I support 95% of his policies. And I don’t support the 2 morons that are running for pres this cycle either.
God help us all. If there is one…
nota bene
Libya?
MattF
I suppose you mean something W did intentionally… Hmm. Prevented Jeb from getting into national politics?
PaulW
Well, some of Bush’s successes include:
1) Adding two conservative judges to the SCOTUS… which means our civil liberties are screwed for at least another 20 years or so
2) Preventing the U.S. from working on stem cell research in any meaningful effective way
3) Massive tax cuts… that led to a massive deficit contributing to the overall bleak picture of our nation’s economy (indeed the entire global economy) well into 2012
5) Installing unqualified people to hundreds if not thousands of positions throughout government and the judiciary, so much to the point it’ll take 3 consecutive Democratic terms in office to weed them out
6) Truckloads of no-bid contracts that will keep a handful of corporations deep in unearned profits for years
btw, 4) was classified.
ACK
“Setting the bar awful low are we not? I can’t say I’ve worried about giant atomic lizards ravaging my town either despite the disregard of liberal pinko scientists.”
LOL Nice…
“And Bush has only claimed to have done stuff that’s kept me from being blown up—but it’s all classified, so I really can’t tell”
LOL
Now THAT’s a good one…
I agree. Perhaps withe the “Freedom of Information Act” we could get that info for ya. Then you (and the enemy consequentially) will know what has been done to keep you safe..
LOL
Joe1347
It’s a question of perspective regarding whether Bush has done anything right. If you’re the CEO of Haliburton or Exxon-Mobil – or the member of royalty in an OPEC nation, then Bush is the most Awesome President ever. Otherwise – see the list above.
Rev. Dr. E Buzz Miller
I’ll troll here a bit, this is an insane blog. USENET-quality insane, Steve Kangas-esque nuttiness.
And Iraq
No
And Afghanistan
No
And gas prices
Thought lefties want them high…
And food prices
No
And the economy
Oh, like, the whole thing?
And the housing crisis
Prices fluctuating…just terrible.
And our descimated military
the one the left pisses on?
And the debt
Not really
And emergency management
Um, sure,
And healthcare
Yes, just terrible.
And North Korea
Maybe he should nuke it.
And Palestine/Israel
Uh, yeah, sure…
And the environment
Yes, it’s just gone, all of it.
And the trade deficit
Stop buying shit moron.
And keeping religion out of government
Like Fr. Obama?
And our relationships with Europe and the rest of the world
Seem to be good with the center-right governments, huh?
And human rights
Yes, just gone, all of it.
And education
Run by the teacher’s unions, it has, just fucking awful. But just spend more, the liberal idiot solution. Barry and his buddy Ayers didn’t do a whole lot for the inner city Chicago schools, did they?
And the war on drugs
Uh…
No “failing at controlling and combating terrorism” in your list?
Where’s Saddam again?
What happened on Sept. 11, 2001? Care to share the answer?
TenguPhule
He has made GOP a four letter word.
Dennis - SGMM
Lamentably, Bush can’t spell “GOP.”
Lavocat
Chimpy has WILDLY succeeded at proving that the neocons are incredibly incompetent at governing.
Really, George, mission accomplished!
TenguPhule
Or as long as they live.
Whichever comes first.
The Commander Guy
When Al Gore was asked this question he said: Ben Bernacke was a good pick.
Other than this, there ain’t much to work with.
nota bene
Anyway, my bad…I forgot the muslims started hating us when Bush became pres.. I mean it’s not like they hated us before Bush.
?? So by that logic the lack of terrorist attacks on mainland America (other than the 93 WTC bombing) during Clinton’s term means Clinton kept us safe….and Clarke repeatedly stressed to the Bushies that bin Laden was dangerous and they blew him off. This is consistent with Paul O’Neill’s claim that at the very first Bush Cabinet meeting in Feb 01, Iraq was the first thing on the agenda. The Bushies did not mention OBL in public before 9/11, and NSA Rice was scheduled to give a major policy speech I think on the 12th that was primarily about missile defense.
… Right after 8 years of dumbing down our intelligence agencies and military, oh and letting Bin Laden go…
Bin Laden was let go?
It’s not like the “far left” hasn’t been branding our military as cold blooded murders, or calling our General – “Betrayus” – before he even testified in Washington.
Where to start….even if we grant the premise that the “far left” (whoever that is) has called soldiers murderers, I don’t see how that makes us less safe. In any event I don’t think that’s happened anyway. There is the Vietnam-era tendency that lingers on the right to equate any criticism of military policy as a blanket condemnation of all soldiers.
As for Petraeus, he was given the nickname by soldiers under his command, IIRC.
It’s not like the “far left” has been appeasing the enemy every other day by telling them WE are the bad guys…
First, the term appeasement does not mean what you think it means.
Second, “bad guys” and “good guys” are terms that belong in movies, not in legitimate discussions about current events.
Third, regardless of what the “bad guys” are doing, America has to live up to its own standards. When America is not living up to its own standards, it is open to criticism. Torture, holding people not convicted of a crime in cages for years with no possibility of challenging the detention and denying access to lawyers, embassies, and family members, are all things that are contrary to the idea of America and the spirit of its founding.
But, you know, Saddam Hussein gassed the Kurds, so anybody who complains about Abu Ghraib is objectively pro-Saddam.
I’m sorry to tell you that we ARE AT WAR.
No shit? Really?
So yes there will be casualties. Fortunately it’s not like WW2 where we lost hundreds of thousands of Americans.
So the 4,000-odd families that lost a loved one in Iraq, they should just quit their complaining?
(BTW, if you’re complaining about the left, let’s just not bring up WWII. It’s not going to help your case at all to compare 1941-1945 to 2001-2008.)
I know, in a perfect world we would win a war, without war, but this world is not perfect.
Afghanistan was winnable. OBL was capturable. The Taliban were routed. And we moved 130,000 troops, three carrier groups, the CIA & Special Forces, and DOD translators to Iraq. That’s the biggest reason why we haven’t won either one. The world being imperfect has nothing to do with it; Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and neoconia has everything to do with it.
So AQ hasn’t attacked us here in the States since 9/11….do they need to? We’re still taking our shoes off at the airport, and we’re still running a gulag in Guantanamo (and possibly other places).
They weren’t ever going to be able to beat us militarily….they can only scare us into undoing our own laws. Which they’ve done a grand job of doing. And I don’t think even OBL anticipated 9/11 precipitating the US invading and occupying Iraq.
In the meantime, our ports aren’t secure, New Orleans is still ruined even as we attempt to rebuild Baghdad, nobody ever figured out who was mailing anthrax, and the Bushies have deliberately or accidentally strained relations with nearly every one of our allies, and the economy has run aground.
So tell me again, how does the “far left” make us less safe?
D. Mason
Bush did, in all fairness, give us the national do-not call list. Of course if I were President and that was my only accomplishment I would eat a shotgun shell…
Lance Link
Have you been blown up lately?
There are quite a few people who can’t answer that question because they’ve been blown up in the past 7 years.
Chuck Adkins
I will admit, he is a fucking dolt and he’s done some crap that undermines the Constitution.
However, to be fair to the dolt:
There has not been another major terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11.
Al Quaeda is on the run in Afghanistan and has been all but crushed in Iraq. (Which I do acknowledge was an epic mistake)
Plus, you all have got to realize, you cannot blame Bush only for Iraq.
He made the decisions based on the intelligence that he had, there were mistakes made by others, under the President. Although, he’s the first they blame for everything. What about the other players?
Anyhow, like I said, He is a dolt, but he did have people working for him, that made mistakes too.
Just sayin’ ya’ll, that’s all.
Dennis - SGMM
Bush has succeeded in making it certain that to repair the flood damage in the Midwest we’ll have to borrow more money from China.
Church Lady
With an assist from his puppetmaster, he increased the power of the vice presidency. :)
Dennis - SGMM
OTOH, the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan and AQ wasn’t in Iraq until after the invasion.
Mrs. Peel
Yes, but there WAS 9/11 on his “watch”. And how “safe” do you thing we’d be right now if we had let his Arab friends buy out our ports like they wanted to? Nothing like Bushie attempting to give the “bad guys” a safe cover to work INSIDE our country.
erghammer
Can’t think of a goddamned thing this effin’ administration has done right. WORST PRESIDENCY EVER.
nota bene
Al Quaeda is on the run in Afghanistan and has been all but crushed in Iraq.
AQ at least had a presence in Afghanistan before 9/11. In Iraq? Not so much. In any event, whether they’re “on the run” is open to dispute, since the Taliban just broke how many prisoners out in Kandahar?
Plus, you all have got to realize, you cannot blame Bush only for Iraq.
He made the decisions based on the intelligence that he had, there were mistakes made by others, under the President. Although, he’s the first they blame for everything. What about the other players?
1. The buck stops with the President.
2. SecDef Cheney told everybody in the 90s why we didn’t go on to Baghdad, and he was dead right about everything he said then.
3. There was dissent on the veracity of the intelligence. That dissent was not just ignored but systematically and deliberately sidelined and marginalized. They blew off Ritter, Blix, and El Baradei. They stocked the CPA with Young Republicans with no relevant experience. They deliberately redid this, so they don’t get to claim that “everybody else believed it” as an excuse.
Rome Again
I got one:
He so angered the country that America may finally get it’s first black president which would not have been possible before such time?
I got another one:
He made Republicans actually appear non-conservative?
PaulW
There hasn’t been another major attack on US soil since 9/11 because they don’t need to come here to kill us, it’s cheaper for them to hop over to Iraq and kill our troops there.
Davis X. Machina
So tell me again, how does the “far left” make us less safe?
What is there about the specter of slightly higher rates of income tax and gay marriage that you don’t get?
Dennis - SGMM
He succeeded in making “They’ll greet us as liberators” an Internet Tradition.
4tehlulz
Yeah, fuck Madrid, London, Bali, Pakistan…
ehj2
He’s outsourced (privatized) governance to “K” Street, enabling lobbyists and industry insiders to write regulation without possibility of scrutiny or oversight.
He’s ravaged the actual instruments of governance, replacing knowledgeable people throughout government with poltroons and hacks, which in this era is equivalent to shooting the pilots and engineers on board a flying 747 that has already lost an engine and is about to hit real turbulence.
He’s eliminated many routine reporting instruments that can only be developed at the federal level, which is equivalent to removing all the instruments from the dashboard of your car which enable you to tell what’s going on before the engine freezes from lack of oil.
Adam
One thing Bush has done right is be such a godawful embarrassing shitpile wreck of a president that there is absolutely no one who could be worse than him. I’m for Obama, natch, but McCain still looks awfully good to me after the last eight years, and McCain does not look good in any other light. I mean, Huckabee would’ve been a huge step up.
Svensker
Remember how Al Gore was supposed to have said he “invented” the intertrons?
Well, in some ways, Little Georgie’s awful term in office could have spurred the flowering of the blogosphere, cuz without all the outrage, who would have been reading and posting so much.
Oh, and he woke me up to the lunacy of the Republican Party and the evils of the Warfare State.
smiley
Signing statements! Unitary executive!
Dennis - SGMM
He’s succeeded in making scrounging for aluminum cans acceptable to the Middle Class.
Joshua Norton
He managed to turn my 401K into a small fortune.
Unfortunately, it was a pretty big fortune before the “Bush Economy”.
ACK
“?? So by that logic the lack of terrorist attacks on mainland America (other than the 93 WTC bombing) during Clinton’s term means Clinton kept us safe….and Clarke repeatedly stressed to the Bushies that bin Laden was dangerous and they blew him off….Bin Laden was let go?”
Yes by both the Clinton and Bush admin, Bin Laden’s life was spared.
First, the term appeasement does not mean what you think it means.
ap·pease·ment (ə-pēz’mənt)
n.
An act of appeasing.
The condition of being appeased.
The policy of granting concessions to potential enemies to maintain peace.
Sure it does.
Second, “bad guys” and “good guys” are terms that belong in movies, not in legitimate discussions about current events.
Excuse me for pointing out there are “good guys” and “bad guys” in the real world, not just movies.
Third, regardless of what the “bad guys” are doing, America has to live up to its own standards.
This we agree on. I don’t recall advocating torture or any inhumane treatment of anyone.
So the 4,000-odd families that lost a loved one in Iraq, they should just quit their complaining?
Did I say that? NO.
Afghanistan was winnable. OBL was capturable … That’s the biggest reason why we haven’t won either one. The world being imperfect has nothing to do with it; Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and neoconia has everything to do with it.
Was, was, was…
You’re talking in past tense, like it’s over, we lost… We’re winning on many fronts in this war, granted not all by far, but progress is being made. Is that not a good thing?
So AQ hasn’t attacked us here in the States since 9/11….do they need to? We’re still taking our shoes off at the airport, and we’re still running a gulag in Guantanamo (and possibly other places).
If you don’t think the desire is there to attack us here in America you are not paying attention.
In the meantime, our ports aren’t secure, New Orleans is still ruined even as we attempt to rebuild Baghdad, nobody ever figured out who was mailing anthrax, and the Bushies have deliberately or accidentally strained relations with nearly every one of our allies, and the economy has run aground.
New Orleans? WTF does that have to do with this discussion. What about the midwest floods? No outcry to blame Bush for that uh? I guess that is not as important… Sheeeesh
So tell me again, how does the “far left” make us less safe?
Just an example…..
In May, 2006, Rep. John Murtha, D-PA, appeared on “Good Morning America” accusing United States Marines of killing “. . . innocent civilians in cold blood” and higher military officers of covering up murder.
You tell me….
Dennis - SGMM
I would but you wouldn’t listen.
Joshua Norton
Considering we shouldn’t even be in Iraq in the first place? Fuck NO!
Just because there’s a room full of horse shit, it doesn’t mean there’s a pony nearby.
Mrs. Peel
Seems to me that Murtha would know more about it than some cheerleading wingnut with his fingers stuck in his ears.
Also turns out to be true.
The only “unamerican” people around are the fascist wanna-be’s like you who need to be lied to while ChimpCo runs our history through the shredder.
cminus
He’s at least reached the bar set by Millard Filmore, the highlight of whose Administration, according to Dave Barry, was “the Earth did not crash into the sun.”
D.N. Nation
I appreciate the fact that Bush vetoed the Farm Bill. (even though it didn’t work)
And the no-call list, sure.
That’s it. From a fucking president.
Joe Beese
Is the author kidding?
Bush successfully liquidated the separation of powers. In doing so, he re-fashioned the fundamental political structure of the United States.
That seems like a pretty impressive accomplishment for a guy with a 93 IQ.
D.N. Nation
The Midwest flooding hasn’t put a single drop of water in my apartment in Atlanta. It doesn’t mean the government has properly protected me from the flooding.
Phoenix Woman
Hey, wingnuts: We’ve easily killed a thousand times more people since 9/11 than were killed in 9/11. That’s twice the kill ratio the Nazis committed against the town of Lidice in revenge for Heydrich’s death. Is that how you want the US to go down in history — as being more vicious than the Nazis on occasion?
Joshua Norton
Too bad the Bushie government declared the levee’s safe so the houses that are now underwater wouldn’t have to buy flood insurance.
Phoenix Woman
Joe Beese: That was Cheney’s doing. His, and David Addington’s.
w vincentz
He and Laura sent some very nice Christmas cards.
He appeased the wingnut evangelicals.
He cleared some brush on the ranch.
He goosed that German lady, Merkle.
He has some rather unique dance moves.
He introduced new words into the language, like nooklur, and terrists and revised verbs. Like, “I’m comin’ to getcha Osama bin Laden, dead or alive.
He had a wonderful landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier, Abraham Lincoln, and he looked good under the “Mission Accomplished” banner.
His dog, Barney, liked him.
That’s all for now.
Joshua Norton
And more houses could be built on the flood plain, which are also currently underwater.
Dennis - SGMM
And I haven’t been caught in an elephant stampede that whole time either.
pinola
Millions of Americans were introduced to the codpiece.
Dennis - SGMM
He has succeeded in making millions look forward to January 20th, 2009.
pinola
phoenix woman @350: Yeah, I think he had a little help with that.
Wolfdaughter
I’d like to weigh in on the “Do not call” list. Yeah, this happened during Bush’s maladministration. Somebody refresh me, what did Bush do to see that this happened?
At least he didn’t interfere with it AFAIK.
Re 9/11 and no attacks on our soil since then: so how many years was it before then that we had no attacks on our soil? Pearl Harbor? No attacks happened on Clinton’s watch, ON OUR SOIL. ACK, does that mean that Clinton is as good as Bush in keeping attacks from our soil?
RSA
For a war of choice that Bush and his cronies started under false pretenses, progress toward winning has to be put in context. If I see a student failing every course through his college career, but in his last semester he’s doing a little bit better, I still wouldn’t say, “That’s a good thing.”
Dennis - SGMM
Bush should be praised for progress (whatever that means this week) in Iraq? Isn’t that a bit like praising someone who nailed our feet to the floor for no good reason because someone else at some undefined future date will get the nails out?
pinola
As far as human rights go, he’s done an excellent job of filthifying our reputation abroad. I know, it’s not a word.
pinola
Sorry, I just couldn’t come up with anything milder than something with the word ‘defecate’ in it. So I made it up.
MillionthMonkey
Clinton had the 93 WTC bombing. Which, if you’ll notice, inflicted no damage at all on the U.S. Constitution, because Clinton was not the sort of president to exploit such a tragedy with despicable fearmongering in order to undermine Constitutional limitations on government.
scarshapedstar
It’s hard work!
2liberal
you seem to have the idea that he actually *wanted* to fix something or leave some sort of legacy. He did exactly what he wants to do. This is a guy who *lives* to fuck up absolutely everything he can get his hands on and that is his very deliberate legacy.
dbrown
Your missing the point – what the times (ie bloody war loonies) are saying is that bloody hands cheney and bush whack can achieve thier goal of ‘perfect fuck ups’ if they do attack Iran and start another endless war and fuck this country even bigger – bush whack will then achieve a perfect 1000 batting average
slippy hussein toad
The Anthrax mailings, which were never solved, were in October of 2001.
That substance was mailed to, among others, the Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle. Define that as “not major.” With a straight face. Go the fuck ahead.
D. Mason
At this point that’s pretty much all it takes. Sad but true.
Danothebaldyheid
Wait, I’ve got a real one!!! He created the world’s largest marine reserve. Well he needs somewhere to dump the bodies….
That’s it, though.
Nothing else.
slippy hussein toad
I am here to cheerfully tell you that is horseshit. We are OCCUPYING a FOREIGN LAND. We are INVADING.
If we are at WAR, who is the enemy? The Iraqi people? What happened to rose petal showers? Al-Queda? Whose putative head Bush has openly and repeatedly declared his complete lack of interest in catching? Or are we at war with a fucking noun that can never surrender???
Since you’re such a fucking expert on world affairs, maybe you can recall precisely what precipitated World War II. Go ahead. Say it.
The Moar You Know
One – in all seriousness. Signed the extension to Daylight Saving Time. I love it.
Not much to show for eight years in office, but that’s how it went.
D. Mason
OMG. That was horrible. my auto-updating clocks had to be replaced, costing me over $100. It’s surely not a lot of money but damn, I could have done without having to spend it on clocks for basically no reason whatsoever.
a. pismo clam
I met someone extremely knowledgeable about Africa who strongly defended Bush’s record on the continent, saying that his record compared very favorably to Clinton. This person had worked for both administrations.
I’ll give him credit for the first month of the war in Afghanistan, maybe two. It was not obvious then how badly he would fuck it up.
For people making lots of money, he’s scored big. For corporations who wanted less oversight, he’s been a reliable pal. Big Pharma, Big Oil, and Wall Street are industries that have many billions of reasons to thank this administration. Microsoft, Enron, Halliburton, and Blackwater are companies that jump to mind as companies with a major debt — however well they’ve fared otherwise.
He provided a short-term boost to the economy of the place where he pretended to have a ranch during his presidency. Now that the show’s almost over, the rumor is that he’s going to move to a rich area near Dallas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Chapel_Ranch
LanceThruster
He’s established that the Constitution is just a goddamn piece of paper. He’s done a heckuva job in that regard. Mission fucking accomplished!
“Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.” ~ Lenny Bruce
Dave_Violence
Oh? You mean the war on drugs Bill Clinton could’ve ended but didn’t? You mean the War on Drugs W that barely gets a mention during the W years?
You mean the War on Drugs that president Obama will ignore? Retards.
Faux News
Bush and his Neo Con pals single handily defeated the Peace and Prosperity that plagued us back in 2000.
No Lib can take THAT accomplishment away from him!
Dave_Violence
World Trade Center bombing, Feb 1993.
Oklahoma City – which counts, no?
Dave_Violence
Sanctions against Iraq.
Bombing the living shit out of Yugoslavia, including hitting the Chinese embassy.
Expanding the military all over the world.
Panic over the Y2K bug.
What peace and prosperity in 2000.
Francis
Medicare Part D.
It’s a huge fuckup, but it’s also brought prescription drugs into Medicare for the first time.
TenguPhule
Okay, every person who spouts that bald faced lie needs to receive an electric shock to jog their memory.
Anthrax Mailings.
A lie will cross the world before truth gets its pants on.
Just Some Fuckhead
Yeah, cuz Truth is in bed doing a threeway with Justice and The American Way. Those weren’t rumors.
Just Some Fuckhead
Yeah, if for no other reason than Robert Gates knows how to stick to the script and how to lie without getting prosecuted.
tarrah begone
Seriously, I can’t remember the name of the area, but he did designate some area off one of the Hawaiian islands as a nature preserve. This was done before 04. I actually think he did it so that he could point to something positive about his presidency when he was running for his second term..
Mac
They actually started to do something about immigration that might have been as sensible and humane as anyone could reasonably expect. So, of course, congressional Republicans scuttled it.
Joyful Alternative
He did do a good job of hiring lots of women and people of color, without making a big fuss about the diversity.
Of course, all of them were lousy, incompetent, venal, or worse.
His only competent appointee that I can think of was a white man, but Bush quickly rebounded by firing him.
priscianus jr
Epic failure. Agreed. I only want to add one thing: Thank God for that! Because if these assholes had succeeded in everything they wanted to do, we’d be in ten times more trouble than we are now.
The Commander Guy
We already had the Do Not Call list in Tennessee pre-Bush.
It worked just fine. So I can’t give Bush credit there because federalism beat him to it.
Eric
You forgot: Catching Osama Ben Laden.
stickler
I’m going to ignore all the comments and go straight for this:
Hell, no. HELL, no. Let’s get this straight: Gates was appointed by the GOP handlers and rammed down Junior’s throat. They had sent the Iraq Study Group to bail numbnut’s ass out of trouble, and the dipshit went and gave them (and us) the middle finger with his Double Down Surge Plantastic Strategery.
After that, he got Gates to help mind the store.
PK
No!
Add Breathing to the list. He is still breathing. The idiot could not even choke on a pretzel.
Kyle
And to Eric goes the prize.
Person of Choler
Quite a check list of problems. I can’t wait to see how Our Savior Obama solves them.
west coast
The saying goes “It’s better to be lucky than good.” The Bush team is both unlucky and incompetent. “Heck of a job, Brownie” has become shorthand for management that believes that it can market its way out of product failure.
Epic Failure is doing the term “epic” a disservice. Try using “total,” “complete” or “absolute” instead.
chuckieboyc
The wingnuts, led by chimpy and dickhead have accomplished two of their objectives, although not publicized, 1. Bankrupt the USA, 2. Destroy the middle class.
Just Some Fuckhead
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
May 21, 2008
President George W. Bush signed into law today the the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA – the first and only federal legislation that will provide protections against discrimination based on an individual’s genetic information in health insurance coverage and employment settings.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era in health care,” said Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY). “Americans can finally take advantage of the tremendous potential of genetic research without the fear that their own genetic information will be used against them.”
Just a few weeks ago, GINA received overwhelming support in both the Senate, with a unanimous vote of approval, and the House of Representatives, where the legislation was passed by a landslide vote of 414-1.
The health insurance protections offered by GINA are expected to roll out 12 months after the bill is signed, whereas the employment protections will be fully realized in 18 months.
Specifically, the legislation protects against genetic discrimination by health insurers or employers by:
Prohibiting group health plans and issuers offering coverage on the group or individual market from basing eligibility determinations or adjusting premiums or contributions on the basis of genetic information. They cannot request, require or purchase the results of genetic tests, or disclose genetic information.
Prohibiting issuers of Medigap policies from adjusting pricing or conditioning eligibility on the basis of genetic information. They cannot request, require or purchase the results of genetic tests, or disclose genetic information.
Prohibiting employers from firing, refusing to hire, or otherwise discriminating with respect to compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment. Employers may not request, require or purchase genetic information, and may not disclose genetic information. Similar provisions apply to employment agencies and labor organizations.
res ipsa loquitur
I’ve thought about this for awhile, and I don’t see any positive legacy for President Bush.
When a Harvard graduate mentions (which they never fail to do) “Dropping the H Bomb”, you can laugh in their face. Bush has de-fused that bullshit forever.
Still wasn’t worth wrecking the country, though.
Raenelle
I read that he signed the law making dog-fighting illegal. I approve of that.
Other than that, I’ve always enjoyed the fact that the sides of his face are wildly off balance. One side always looks sheepish and foolish; the other angry mean.
And, as someone else pointed out a while back, we all know how to spell incompetent now.
Fran
Murphy’s Law
say no more
Fran
Pardon me;
Even though Murphy’s Law applies
I meant ‘Peter Principle’
Either way, we as a country have been hammered by the worst
combination of hubris and incompetence that the world has ever
seen.
He has made his place in history; WPE
KXB
Bush did get India right. After 9/11, he could have simply followed earlier American presidents and focused solely on Pakistan, since he needed their help at the time. But Bush understood that the rules of the Cold War were over, and India would become increasingly important, well after 2008.
It’s a shame that the ambitious nuclear deal with India appears to be dead, not through any fault of the U.S., but because Prime Minister Singh cannot get his Communist allies in line. As much as I like Obama, I am afraid his approach to India will mirror Clinton, with an emphasis on India signing the ineffective Non-Proliferation Treaty.
But even without the nuclear deal, there is increased economic interaction between the two economies, and the militaries are increasingly coordinated their activities, particularly naval capabilities.
Duros Hussein 62
Although they predicted that Washington would be in flames in 3 weeks of a bush inauguration, they really weren’t all that far off.
I remember that! I can’t find the vid, but here’s the transcript.
Season 26, episode 4; Charlize Theron and Paul Simon.
karrsic
Not really w/i the guidelines of the thread, but not a bad summary:
On my google home page I include the “Quotes of the Day” and “Chimp-o-matic” modules. I’m often amused how the two counterbalance each other. Here’s Sunday’s example.
Umberto Eco:
“I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.”
Bush (2000):
“If you don’t stand for anything, you don’t stand for anything! If you don’t stand for something, you don’t stand for anything!”
meander
I think that Bush is without a doubt the worst president in recent history, but his administration’s tightening of diesel emission rules for trucks, buses, and construction equipment are worthy of praise. (the record on diesel locomotives and ships is far worse)
However, much of the credit needs to go to the Clinton administration, which worked for years to significantly reduce the level of sulfur in diesel fuel. The reduction in sulfur required a huge investment from the oil industry — not exactly a group that likes to spend money for the good of society — and thus the battle was epic. Next, the Clinton administration created regulations for heavy-duty trucks and buses that drastically reduce particulate matter (soot or smoke) and nitrogen oxide (a precursor to smog) emissions. This required significant investments by the engine and truck manufacturers as well as higher operating costs for truckers. The most visible result is that from model year 2007 and beyond, on-highway trucks and buses will be essentially smoke free.
The on-road regulation was completed in late 2000. When Bush came into office, he could have dashed them aside, but instead he allowed them to be implemented. Then, a few years later the Bush EPA promulgated regulations for off-road equipment that will result in drastic emissions reductions over the next decade (an EPA page on the regs).
Jack H.
The lack of another major terrorist attack on American soil is about the only claim to fame (the Anthrax thing doesn’t qualify as ‘major’ to most people). It baffles me that almost everyone (on da tv) seems to think another attack would benefit the Republicans. Bush & Co. would then have two major terrorist attacks on his watch to go along with Iraq, Afghanistan ….. I would think the seething anger at Bush would turn to rage.
bigol
from rwn:
Not so fast, says British writer Andrew Roberts. Writing in today’s UK Telegraph, he suggests history may be much kinder to President Bush than current historians suggest it will be:
If the West wins the modern counterpart of that 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.
[…]
George W Bush will be remembered for his responses to 9/11 in Afghanistan and Iraq, but since neither of those conflicts has yet ended in victory or defeat, it is far too early categorically to assume – as left-wingers, anti-war campaigners and almost all media commentators already do – that his historical reputation will be permanently down in the doldrums next to poor old Warren Harding’s.
I suspect that historians of the future will instead see Bush’s decision to insist upon a “surge” of reinforcements being sent into Iraq, combined with a complete change of anti-insurgency tactics as configured by General Petraeus, as the moment when the conflict was turned around there, in the West’s favour.
No one – least of all Bush himself – denies that mistakes were made in the early days after the (unexpectedly early) fall of Baghdad, and historians will quite rightly examine them. But once the decades have put the stirring events of those years into their proper historical context, four great facts will emerge that will place Bush in a far better light than he currently enjoys.
The overthrow and execution of a foul tyrant, Saddam Hussein; the liberation of the Afghan people from the Taliban; the smashing of the terrorist networks of al-Qa’eda in that country and elsewhere and, finally, the protection of the American people from any further atrocities on US soil since 9/11, is a legacy of which to be proud.
While of course every individual death is a tragedy to the bereaved families, these great achievements have been won at a cost in human life a fraction the size of any past world-historical struggle of this magnitude.
The number of American troops killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan is equivalent to the losses they endured – for a nation only a little over half the size in the mid-Forties – capturing a single island from the Japanese in the Pacific War.
British losses of 103 killed over seven years in Afghanistan bears comparison to a quiet weekend on the Western Front in the Great War, or the numbers the Army loses in traffic accidents in peacetime. History can lend a wider overall perspective to what are nonetheless, of course, immeasurably sad events.
History will also shine an unforgiving light on those ludicrous conspiracy theories that claim that the Iraq War was fought for any other reason than to implement the 14 UN resolutions that Saddam that had been flouting for 13 years.
ACK
“Chimpy” seems to be a common term for Bush here (among other things), and it’s fucking hilarious, because let’s face it, he deserves most of the ridicule he gets.
LOL
I predict that, after he’s elected, and we all know he will be, if anyone calls BHO ANYTHING, or pokes fun at him, (not just terms like “Chimpy”), they will be branded a raci$t.
hehehehe
It’ll be fun to watch how people squirm into submission in the name of “raci$m”, even though every president in history has been made fun of.
Hold on guys, hold on… let me put my protective goggles on…
Ok.. Let me tie this here, and buckle that…
Ok.
hehehe
I think I’m ready for the hate spewing…
GO! … LOL
j/k
scarshapedstar
LOL
steve
I would say looking for positives, would be money for AIDs drugs for infected patients. Other AIDS related money grants for prevention are hamstrung by rider agreements, no money is granted if the organization uses any money (from any source) is spent on non-absentience or abortion.
But for helping get medicine to sick, I will say that the US government has done well there.
Other than that, not very much to be happy about.
Tom
Well, San Franciscans may get to vote on whether to name their sewage plant after him this November.
http://www.kcbs.com/pages/2451354.php
http://presidentialmemorial.wordpress.com/
That’s a legacy. Sort of.
joe
The administration’s handling of the anti-Syrian uprisings in Lebanon and the pro-democracy marches in Urkraine were quite deft. Their public diplomacy, modeled on the “Tear Down This Wall” speech, was well-done, as was the hard diplomacy in the UN.
Not to mention, they didn’t bomb anyone and fund any terrorists.
binzinerator
9-11 happened while Bush had been president for months not hours, and a month after he’d been warned such an attack was coming.
Every president since FDR takes the responsibility and the reins of government in his hands in his first 100 days in office. We know what a president is about after those first 100 days.
And Bush? After 100 days his presidency was already tanking. He was lost, adrift, aimless, in over his head. He had no clue what the fuck was going on, and didn’t exert himself to find out. And people had began to realize what a stinker he really was.
And after 200 days into his presidency, after the better part of a year, some 8 months to address and change these things you say Clinton did not do, after 234 days to take responsibility for the security of the nation and he still didn’t do jack shit, even after people came to him to warn him.
And what did President George Bush do when he was warned about bin Laden and the coming attack? He mocked the people who warned him. And then went on vacation.
When the planes hit the WTC and the Pentagon, he still had no fucking clue what was going on. He didn’t know what to do. So he pretended nothing had happened, just like he did later when the water was rushing in and drowning New Orleans.
Then he ran away and hid for 4 days from the people he was supposed to lead, from a frightened nation that needed reassurance, that needed leadership, and whose leader had gone AWOL — again. It took him 4 days before he figured out what was going on and his handlers could stage-manage some speechwriter’s words and a bullhorn for him at ground zero.
It took him 234 days before he concerned himself with the responsibility of the nation’s security, and days more before he found the courage to act.
And even then, his leadership was bullshit, a lie, manipulative, criminal and corrupt. He manipulated and criminally led the nation into the disaster that is the Iraq War, and diverted us from bin Laden. Two years ago, Bush quietly disbanded the CIA unit tasked to find bin Laden. He said capturing bin Laden, the man responsible for the most devastating and most successful terrorist attack in the world, the murderer of 3,000 Americans, wasn’t important anymore.
ACK, you are a dumbfuck.
One of Bush’s few success is this: After 7 years of his pig-headed stupidity, his criminal negligence of his responsibilities, his lawlessness and his war crimes, we still have enablers and fucktards like ACK who defend and excuse Bush’s failures by blaming other people.
You’re doing a heck of a job, Bushie! But no matter how much you try to excuse Bush’s criminal incompetence by blaming Clinton or the “far left” or whoever else is your favorite scapegoat du jour, you will never be able to gloss over that kind of criminal dereliction of duty as demonstrated by one Geoge W. Bush.
binzinerator
History will also shine an unforgiving light on yet another dishonest fucktard who wishes to ignore the Iraq war was unnecessary and criminally ginned up. To say nothing of the dishonesty of calling it a ‘war’ when it is an occupation, and the stupidity of defining ‘success’ as anything better than a bad day on the Somme.
Gosh, bigol sezs it ain’t a failure until 20,000 are killed in one day! 50,000 people die in traffic accidents in the US in just one single year. Hell, that means the 10-year-long Vietnam war was a smashing success!
And besides, the Iraq war is a just war — they had it comin’ to them for all those WMDs they’ve so cleverly hid so well that we still can’t find them. All we gotta do is find just one “nuklear” weapon, or some anthrax, and that’ll shut up all those nay-saying nattering nabobs of negativity.
Lying about the reasons for war and intentionally deceiving the nation to support that war is a legacy of which to be proud? Invading a country that did nothing to us, that had no involvement in the attacks on 9/11, that had no contact with bin Laden or al Qaeda is a legacy of which to be proud? Causing the deaths of a million civilians is a legacy of which to be proud? Protecting the oil ministry while weapons depots are unsecured and cultural treasures are looted is a legacy of which to be proud? Creating a terrorist recruiting windfall and training ground is a legacy of which to be proud?
What a proud, proud time for America!
Why don’t you trot your proud flag-waving glib wingnut ass on down to the army recruiter’s office and get yourself in on a piece of the glory?
bigol
binzinerator Says:
“History will also shine an unforgiving light on yet another dishonest fucktard…”
How you expect anyone to listen to you after starting out with that is beyond me.
“Why don’t you trot your proud flag-waving glib wingnut ass on down to the army recruiter’s office and get yourself in on a piece of the glory?”
You know nothing about me, my views, or my feelings towards the war. My only point was history WILL have a very different take on this era many years from now. As any student of history can tell you, perceptions change as the emotions and fury fade and facts can be reviewed in context with the results.
Oh… and Semper Fi you ignorant mind-numbingly small-minded child.
Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.
B