President Bush, in Denial to the End, Says Goodbye
January 15th, 2009 |
| White House |
| Bush takes final advice from hot tub pal Condi Rice |
We Say Good Riddance
by Glynn Wilson
Perhaps the most unpopular president in American history, yet in denial about his failures to the very end, President George W. Bush came before the nation on TV one last time Thursday night in a final public relations moment — to try and convince the 26 percent of the people who still care that he is not a complete screw up.
Leaving office with the highest disapproval rating since Richard Nixon, yet clinging to the one moment when he had the nation’s attention after the 9/11 attacks, Bush offered up more boilerplate rhetoric, saying the United States will “never tire, never falter and never fail.” Right.
“You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made, but I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions,” Bush said, seeming to beg for our sympathy, if not asking for our forgiveness. He also did not appeal for the forgiveness of the God he claimed to worship back when he was running for president.
His time in history will always be bookended by the worst terrorist attack on American soil on his watch near the outset, followed by botching the handling of the worst natural disaster in American history in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans, then two wars, one of them a failure in Iraq, along with the worst recession in this country since the Great Depression.
While the brief speech from the East Room offered this president one last chance to try and defend his presidency and craft a first draft of his legacy for historians before he leaves office, the effort seemed strained at best and there was nothing of style or substance that will save his legacy from the scrap heap of history.
It was his final public appearance until he greets President-elect Barack Obama on the North Portico Inauguration Day, and he indicated in an interview earlier in the week that he planned to step off the national stage and head back to the ranch. Good.
Bush was markedly gracious to Obama, the first African American president, and called his election and inauguration a “moment of hope and pride” for America.
“Standing on the steps of the Capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land,” he said.
An audience of about 200 people was assembled to listen to the speech at the White House, including 45 people chosen for their personal stories, a practice normally reserved for a State of the Union address, according to the Associated Press. Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both gave farewell addresses from the Oval Office with no audience. Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, gave no final address.
“Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks,” Bush said, couching his failures in the least objectionable light. “There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right.” The key word being “thought.” He “believed,” but still doesn’t seem to “know” how badly he screwed up the country.
He issued more clap trap about “good and evil.”
“This has made some uncomfortable,” he said. “But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise.”
Hmmm. When he looks in the mirror, does he not see evil staring back at him? Bush and the corporate capitalists he represents are the biggest evil facing the planet.
While he trumpeted his administration’s efforts to equip the nation with new tools to monitor terrorists, freeze their finances and foil their plots, he tried to sweep under the rug his policies on torture, along with his illegal domestic spying program that is without a doubt the most intrusive violation of civil liberties in world history.
“There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions, but there can be little debate about the results,” Bush claimed, but we suspect about three-quarters of the people in this country would argue with that assessment.
While there has been no major attack here, the number of terrorist acts around the world has gone up markedly, while Iran has gained influence in the Mideast, North Korea still hasn’t verifiably ended its nuclear program, anti-Americanism abroad has emboldened extremists’ recruitment efforts and a safe haven for terrorists remains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11, but I never did,” Bush said. “Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.”
Bush is not alone in having his life changed on 9/11. It changed my life significantly. Tens of thousands of people’s lives were far more seriously changed than his, a fact that still seems lost on this dumbest of frat boys to ever occupy the White House.
Bush bragged about higher standards in public schools, although most teachers will tell you the unfunded No Child Left Behind Act left many, many children behind. He passed a bureaucratic new Medicare prescription drug plan, but most of the benefits went to private, GOP friendly insurance companies, while the elderly worried about the “donut hole” — forcing them to pay full price for drugs for parts of the year.
He bragged about lower income taxes, something I suppose the rich are still cheering, but hardly anyone else. He did get to appoint two more justices to the Supreme Court, but time will tell whether that works out for him, or for us.
“With the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great nation will never tire, never falter, and never fail,” Bush claimed, as if we are in this global struggle alone.
It is notable that while the neo-cons who pulled Bush’s strings wanted the Iraq War not only for oil but to remake and stabilize the Mideast, Bush will leave office with Israel in an all out war with Hamas in the streets of Gaza.
Here’s to hoping Barack Obama has more of a global plan to reverse ALL of Bush policies, every signing statement — and get this country back on course environmentally and economically.
And Here’s to never having to wake up in the morning to a Bush speech from the Rose Garden ever again. What a complete lying fuck up! Good riddance…
