Flamesuit - ON, Fire Extinguisher - READY...
I keep reading about how horrible the past eight years have been under President Bush, and I must confess that I just don't see it that way.
9/11 - Unforeseen by just about everybody. But there hasn't since been another terrorist attack on the US (when everybody was sure there would be another attack, and soon). That doesn't mean the terrorists won't try to affect our upcoming elections (as they did successfully in Spain), but up until now the government has done a good job protecting its citizens.
Hurricane Katrina - Devastating (both to New Orleans and Bush's reputation). But exactly when did local preparation and execution of emergency processes become the responsibility of the President of the US? Why did the governor of LA and the mayor of N.O. (whose job it WAS) get a pass? And why don't we hear much about Mississippi, which was hit just as hard (if not harder) than LA?
Civil liberties - I keep reading how Bush and Cheney have "gutted" the Constitution, but how? My Constitutional rights seem as firm as ever (especially after the Supreme Court's recent 2nd Amendment decision). And I don't think it's a constitutionally-protected right to call terrorists in foreign countries via the telephone in order to coordinate attacks on the US. The Constitution exists as a limit on government, not a suicide pact.
The economy - The US slipped into a very short recession immediately after Bush was sworn into office in 2001, which indicates it couldn't possibly have been due to his policies. Since the recovery from that recession, the US economy has been the envy of the world. And no, we are not currently in a recession (not that the media isn't trying to talk us into one).
The War on Terror - The intial fighting in Afghanistan went as well as anyone could have hoped (remember, the Russians fought there for ten years before having to concede defeat, and their supply lines were short compared to ours). The main fighting in Iraq was over quickly, but we didn't seem well prepared to fight a religious-based insurgency. The surge (which Bush intially resisted but was finally convinced of by John McCain and General Petraeus) worked out well and has led to the current plans to remove all US troops within the next couple of years. So, you can say the initial military plans were inadequate (hardly unusual when fighting wars...), but Bush was flexible enough to try different tactics. The result is looking like victory, when defeat was being demanded by political critics at home.
There are other examples, but I guess these are my main points.
Your comments are appreciated.
I keep reading about how horrible the past eight years have been under President Bush, and I must confess that I just don't see it that way.
9/11 - Unforeseen by just about everybody. But there hasn't since been another terrorist attack on the US (when everybody was sure there would be another attack, and soon). That doesn't mean the terrorists won't try to affect our upcoming elections (as they did successfully in Spain), but up until now the government has done a good job protecting its citizens.
Hurricane Katrina - Devastating (both to New Orleans and Bush's reputation). But exactly when did local preparation and execution of emergency processes become the responsibility of the President of the US? Why did the governor of LA and the mayor of N.O. (whose job it WAS) get a pass? And why don't we hear much about Mississippi, which was hit just as hard (if not harder) than LA?
Civil liberties - I keep reading how Bush and Cheney have "gutted" the Constitution, but how? My Constitutional rights seem as firm as ever (especially after the Supreme Court's recent 2nd Amendment decision). And I don't think it's a constitutionally-protected right to call terrorists in foreign countries via the telephone in order to coordinate attacks on the US. The Constitution exists as a limit on government, not a suicide pact.
The economy - The US slipped into a very short recession immediately after Bush was sworn into office in 2001, which indicates it couldn't possibly have been due to his policies. Since the recovery from that recession, the US economy has been the envy of the world. And no, we are not currently in a recession (not that the media isn't trying to talk us into one).
The War on Terror - The intial fighting in Afghanistan went as well as anyone could have hoped (remember, the Russians fought there for ten years before having to concede defeat, and their supply lines were short compared to ours). The main fighting in Iraq was over quickly, but we didn't seem well prepared to fight a religious-based insurgency. The surge (which Bush intially resisted but was finally convinced of by John McCain and General Petraeus) worked out well and has led to the current plans to remove all US troops within the next couple of years. So, you can say the initial military plans were inadequate (hardly unusual when fighting wars...), but Bush was flexible enough to try different tactics. The result is looking like victory, when defeat was being demanded by political critics at home.
There are other examples, but I guess these are my main points.
Your comments are appreciated.