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Missing George W. Bush
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George W. Bush comforts Ashley Faulkner, the daughter of a 9/11 victim.
It’s an old joke. The drunk says, “I miss my wife.”
His friend asks, “Where did she go?”
The drunk replies, “I traded her for a bottle of whiskey.”
“You miss her, huh?”
“Heck no, I’m thirsty again.”
I’m thirsty again, for the sense of security that I felt when George W. Bush was president.
After nine months of The One’s narcissism, excessive Congressional spending, and in the aftermath of the horrific Fort Hood massacre perpetrated by a crazed Islamic Jihadist, America’s Obama binge has worn off. Even some noteworthy liberals are wondering if we wouldn’t be better off today with a man like George W. Bush in the White House. You remember W, the bungling oaf who couldn’t pronounce nuclear. He’s the guy who kept our nation safe after 9/11.
I wasn’t a Bush fan. I always thought of him as a progressive moderate in the same mold as his father. His slogan, “Compassionate Conservative,” tipped it off for me. Bush’s brand of compassion led to record spending and the highest deficit in history until the new guy came along and blew the deficit through the roof. I supported and campaigned for Alan Keyes in the 2000 primaries. Had someone other than Bush gained the GOP nomination I would have been a lot happier, but I voted for him twice in the general election because I figured that, although Bush was a less than perfect candidate, he was a better alternative than the Global Warming huckster, Al Gore, or French-looking John Kerry.
George W. Bush was an accomplished politician rather than a statesman. But he was on track during three fourths of his administration. He foresaw the problems we are now having with Medicare, Social Security, and the housing crisis and tried his best to address those challenges, only to be stopped from implementing the solutions by a Democrat majority in Congress.
There are far too many Bush accomplishments to list them all, but here are a few:
During his presidency Bush signed legislation for two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in U.S. history, allowing the economy to grow for seven consecutive years. He supported elimination of the death tax and reductions in capital gains, policies that turned around an economy that was in recession and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks. He kept the unemployment rate at 5%, which many economists believe is tantamount to full employment and increased small business incentives to expand and hire new people. He also initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts.
But Bush didn’t just direct his attention toward the economy. Under his direction Congress created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled. He increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child and made the $5,000 adoption tax credit permanent as well as providing $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000. Best of all Bush listened to the American people by changing his stance on amnesty for illegal aliens and corrected his mistakes with the Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Miers appointments by appointing two exceptional conservative judges to the Supreme Court; John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
The wisdom of his adventure into Iraq can be debated, but there is little question that his Iraq campaign liberated millions from under the thumb of a maniacal despot. He spent millions to combat AIDS in Africa and solidified our relationship with our Eastern European allies. In addition he was one of the strongest friends Israel has ever had in the U.S. presidency.
Bush was a decent man and devout Christian who loved his wife, his family, his country and his troops. He shed genuine tears when soldiers returned home in caskets and spent many private hours with the families of the fallen. He toured veteran’s hospitals and encouraged the wounded, something that he still does today. We never heard him give a shout out when announcing a national tragedy similar to the Fort Hood massacre. And we never heard him disparage his predecessor even though there is strong evidence that our nation’s most immoral President, Bill Clinton, dropped the ball that led to 9/11.
Strong, diligent, and always a gentleman, Bush stood against the vilest attacks and mockery from his political enemies and never wavered from his beliefs. The rest of the world might not have liked him, but they respected him. His troops fought for him but his own party abandoned him as the Republicans eventually lost their way.
Bush had many faults. He brought the deficit to record levels and implemented the $700 billion TARP bailout for the banking industry. That was an error which, I believe, weakened our capitalistic system and cost McCain the election. It also set the stage for the current administration’s outrageous spending spree. One of Bush’s most obvious faults was that he had the mistaken idea that he could foster harmony and bring bipartisanship to Congress by working with the opposition party, even though Democrats double crossed him numerous times. I am reminded of the No Child Left Behind Act, written by Ted Kennedy. Just hours after Bush signed it, Kennedy, who got everything he asked for in the bill, attacked Bush for not spending enough money on the program. Nevertheless the strengths during the Bush years outweighed the weaknesses.
I may be looking through rose-colored glasses, but I have begun to miss W’s crooked smile and his folksy manner of speaking. I miss the humility and grace that he brought to the office. He didn’t have to be eloquent and he didn’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar. He was my President, and although I disagreed with him in many areas, I had the utmost respect for him. I also miss Laura, one of the most gracious first ladies in my lifetime.
After eight long years of relentless attacks on Bush from the left, America demanded change. The change that we got was Barack Hussein Obama. How’s that working out for you?
God bless George W. Bush.
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