George Bush: A Legacy of Errors
As the Bush administration came to an end, historians and political pundits alike are assessing the former President’s performance. Presidents must be judged by their actions, the context of those actions, and what they accomplished during their tenure. Most historians agree that James Buchanan was the worst US President ever, for his negligence led to the Civil War, in which 600,000 Americans lost their lives. Therefore, it is unlikely that anyone could legitimately argue, as some try, that Bush was the worst President in History. When examining our most recent President we must view his actions with an unbiased eye.
On November 7th of 2000, the people of the United States went to the polls to vote for the 43rd President of the United States, but this fierce contest was not decided that night. Although Al Gore had won the popular vote in the election, after weeks of litigation between the two sides, it was concluded that George W. Bush would be our 43rd President.
The Presidency of George W. Bush will always be characterized, for better and worse, by September 11th 2001. As the second jet slammed into the second tower, Bush was reading a children’s book to an elementary school class. He was informed of what had occurred, yet remained reading to the class for another seven minutes before deciding that the attack warranted his attention.
On Main Street, the country was swept by a new found pride and patriotism that hadn’t been seen since the days of World War II. Initially, support for the US and the President echoed around the Globe.
Bush had the option of using the sympathy of the World to justly seek and destroy the men responsible, but many critics assert that he disregarded the World and did things his own way, by creating a new military engagement- The War on Terror.
The War on Terror became a War against radical Islam, specifically Al-Qaeda and their ghastly leader, Osama Bin Laden. Our President drew the battle lines in his speech after 9/11 naming the “evildoers”, the “Axis of Evil” comprised of Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
Bush declared a “crusade” on radical Islam, saying he would not differentiate between terrorists and those who harbor them. Some thought of it as a courageous act of defiance against the terrorists, while others viewed this declaration as a dangerous line in the sand, which could serve to alienate even traditional allies.
Bush and the Republican Congress soon passed the Patriot Act, which gave the Executive Branch unprecedented power to detain terror suspects without charges. The American people began to ask themselves whether or not security was worth giving up supposedly inalienable rights and liberties.
The Patriot Act threatened one of the oldest liberties in free society, the writ of habeas corpus, or the right for every citizen to know exactly for what they are being tried and for that trial to be fair and just. The Patriot Act suspended habeas Corpus to prevent not only espionage, but any threats to U.S. security. Bush’s explanation was that we must do everything in our power to protect the people of the United States.
Historians struggle with whether or not suspending rights for temporary safety is justified or not. Though Bush claimed the Act defends the very freedoms that our forefathers fought to protect, Benjamin Franklin argued centuries ago that “those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security.”
Bush chose security over liberty and many claim that he began to shred and disregard the very basic rights of our free society.
But as the flood of Patriotism exploded around the country, this law began to reinvent for some people what it meant to be patriotic and American. America entered a transformation, from a welcoming, free society, to a skeptical, vengeful, even vindictive nation.
As the War on Terror raged on in Afghanistan, the Bush administration began to make a case for the invasion of Iraq. He lobbied that Iraq was instrumental in the planning of 9/11, was harboring terrorists, and was stockpiling the dreaded weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). To date, WMDs have not been found and no evidence suggests Iraq had anything to do with 9/11.
The World backed the US when we invaded Afghanistan, for defending itself after the horrific attacks of 9/11. But the global opinion of the United States changed from sympathetic to resentful as soon the President decided to bring “Shock and Awe” to Iraq. The United States invaded Iraq virtually unilaterally.
Americans failed to realize that the War on Terror is a war on an idea. There are no borders to attack and there are no large armies to fight, the War on Terror is like no other war before it, save perhaps the Crusades. Even Bush admitted the war was unwinnable.
Most of the world interpreted the invasion of Iraq as a threat that if the US disagreed with foreign leaders, it might just invade a country and depose its government. No longer were we seen as the protectors of freedom but as domineering crusaders.
This sent fear and resentment throughout the Middle East. Bush’s War on Terror became interpreted by many to be a war on Islam. The USA became seen by many as the great invader and great evil in the World. This sentiment spread and terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda began to recruit members to drive away what they called the “American infidels”.
Critics argued that the US should have showed the people of the Middle East the power and might of our Democratic liberties, not the power and might of our military. Simply forcing an ideological change on people will always have great backlash.
With the surge of patriotism also came a surge of religious fervor and Bush did not hide his born again Christian spirit. The lines between religion and politics became somewhat blurred, as many Conservatives joined up with the Christian Right.
Bush even sought to change the historic perception of the nation by characterizing our founding fathers as great Christian men. Many of our founding fathers were not Christians, or even religious for that matter.
Thomas Jefferson claimed, “Christianity is the most perverted system ever shone on man.”
John Adams stated, “this would be best of all possible worlds it there were no religion in it.”
While thinking on religion’s place in American politics Benjamin Franklin exclaimed, “lighthouses are more useful than churches.”
During his farewell speech, outgoing President Bush said that although he has had failures he had success in education reform. Bush claimed that his No Child Left Behind Act was one of the greatest reforms in our nation’s history.
This is just not true. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the No Child Left Behind Act, or the NCLB, it has been a disaster. The NCLB states that all public schools must assess their students through a statewide standardized test. Every student, no matter what they’re learning ability or language level, takes the same standardized test.
This might seem like a good idea, but most educators know that no two students learn the same. Some might have students reading 3 grades below grade level and when they are given standardized testing, they are given no opportunity to promote their strengths. Forbidden to help, all teachers can do is wish them luck.
This test is extremely detrimental to the entire education system. Students assume that no matter how well they do in the classroom if they can’t pass the test then they will still not be promoted to the next grade. Both teachers and students alike have passed out, gotten sick, and had panic attacks because of the stress of high stakes testing.
Schools that do poorly on the test receive less funding than schools that do well on the test. Administrators scramble to show learning gains to receive adequate funding for their students.
Bush called this an incentive program, but good students who go to failing schools are being punished because their schools become underfunded. Many students form resentment for public schooling at a very young age because of the disarray of their schools.
No Child Left Behind leaves good students in bad schools behind, and deprives students of help who need it the most.
In a speech the Bush administration’s Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings claimed that we must begin to hold our teachers accountable. The problem is that teachers don’t have even a vague idea of the content in that test.
Also, students are given what they call “distracters” throughout the test to try to lead them astray. The tests became an assessment of which students can sift through trickery and misinformation. Everyday each educator, no matter what subject, focuses on one test, instead of teaching vital skills to help prepare students for an exceedingly competitive job market.
No Child Left Behind came from good intentions, but its outcome has left millions of students unprepared for the World they will soon be thrust into. Students should be tested on what they have been taught throughout the year, not what bureaucrats, who have spent zero time in the classroom, think they should know.
Our country thought things could not get much worse, but in the summer and fall of 2008 things did get much worse. The housing bubble burst, unemployment rose, and the stock market lost over 50% of its value. The past eight years have been tough for just about every American. People have lost their jobs, businesses, homes, and even their lives.
With all of Bush’s faults, his one true disaster was his handling of the economy. He inherited a billion dollar economic surplus and left office with a trillion dollar deficit. His economic plan was very simple; tax cuts for the rich that will “trickle down” to the majority of Americans. Needless to say, the plan did not improve the life of the average American whatsoever.
Great Presidents adapt their policies to the times in which they live in. Bush was President during turbulent times but he ruled with an ignorant disconnect from the era.
Bush’s supporters always cite one fact when defending Bush’s legacy, “America has not been attacked since 9/11.” The fact is that our soldiers in the Middle East are attacked everyday by a growing number of insurgents and foreign fighters who were emboldened by America’s foreign policy.
Our standing throughout the World, as a whole, was tarnished because of the Bush Administration. The World viewed us as arrogant, stubborn and reckless. This was, perhaps the biggest reason that Bush left office with an approval rating flat-lined in the 20s.
Like all Presidents, Bush’s legacy will be examined for years to come. Even though we need to look back at the last eight years as a learning experience; we must now look forward to our country’s future. The country now turns its attention to our new President, Barack Obama, who recently stated, “We are not quitters”. We must not quit on our future and the first step to accomplish that is to reevaluate our education system. The education is the first interaction that a young American has with their country. It needs to be a positive experience.
Our new President admires the leadership of our greatest President, Abraham Lincoln, for his shrewd political sense and his willingness to listen to his opposition and not be afraid to change his mind in the face of adversity. Although Americans do not always agree on the decisions made by our Presidents, both former and present, we must maintain faith in the principles and values that has made this country the World’s greatest and most successful democracy: Liberty and Justice for All.