President Bush finally getting his due

It appears that amid difficult and uncertain times for American taxpayers, investors, small business owners, and citizens in general that President George W. Bush is finally getting his due. Yes, that George W. Bush--evil incarnate as the Left would lead you to believe.

Fresh polls are showing an apparent longing for the Bush days a year-and-a-half into Barack Obama's first (and possibly only) term. One example comes from the critical battleground state of Ohio. According to Public Policy Polling at the end of August, voters in that state would prefer to have Mr. Bush back in the White House as opposed to Mr. Obama by 50% to 42%. This is important and very surprising. In a late October, 2008 poll by Public Policy Polling, Bush's approval rating was 29% in Ohio.

Mr. Obama went on to win Ohio by a margin of 258,897 votes (Obama received 2,933,388 to McCain's 2,674,491). So what has triggered this change in the Buckeye State in the last year-and-a-half? Namely--jobs; specifically--the lack thereof. This is the story across the country. As another month shows that President Obama's "stimulus" is not working and unemployment is rising, the people of Ohio, just like the rest of America, have grown tired of the sugar-coated talk and suggestions from the administration of yet more "stimulus" and tax hikes. More Democrats are coming out in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts they once so stringently opposed.  Americans are tired of Obama opposing them on every major issue that comes down the pike and, in fact, seeming to take pleasure in defying them. This wasn't the case with Bush (or any other president in recent memory).

Looking at another poll released just on Friday is very illuminating. A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll reveals that Americans seem to have finally judged Iraq as worth the cost--now that Mr. Obama has "turned the page." According to the poll, 58% of voters think the U.S. made the right call in ousting Saddam Hussein, compared to 35% who do not. A full 58% of voters also say the invasion of Iraq made the U.S. safer, with 37% disagreeing. And finally, who is responsible for the success of the mission? According to the poll of 900 registered voters, President George W. Bush receives the favor by 54% compared to 19% of voters who, for whatever reason, give credit to President Obama. It is intriguing that among Democrats it is a tie for who gets the credit, each president receiving 34%.

This also shows how strongly the American people are persuaded by the media. After a year-and-a-half of no protests and no badmouthing the Iraq effort from left-wing fringe groups that the media paraded up and down their newscasts, Americans--when allowed to be left alone and think for themselves--judge the conflict as proper and necessary.

Thus, perhaps in light of the upcoming election season and all that is on the line after a year-and-a-half of socialist philosophy that has damaged our economy, damaged our country's institutions, and damaged Americans' faith in themselves, we are beginning to pick ourselves up again and finally recognizing the massive mistake we made in November of 2008.

It always takes time to assess a president's performance during his term(s). In the 1952 election year, President Harry Truman's approval rating plunged to the historic low of 22%. His image didn't begin to improve until the 1970s. The fact that President Bush is already receiving positive feedback from Americans may be due to one of three things:

1.) That Americans are seeing his major decisions were the right ones.
2.) Americans have a desperate desire to rid themselves of the nightmare enveloping us with Obamacare, tax increases, cap-and-trade, card check, etc.
3.) It may be a little of both.

President Bush didn't do everything perfectly, but the big decisions (with the exception of the bailouts that began under his watch) were the right ones.  Any way you look at it, finally President Bush is getting fair credit from the American people.