The Legacy of Bush's Big Ideas
It's fun and it's cool to hate Bush, plus it's easy to do. He invents words as often as liberals invent rights. When it comes to wars I sometimes think more sophisticated strategy and diplomacy goes into the Risk game I play with my friends.
But for all the idiocy, he still has the big picture right. In the long run that is what's remembered.
Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton were intensely hated by many people during their presidencies but since then have been viewed more favorably. Kennedy bungled, among other things, the Bay of Pigs invasion, but we remember him for his visionary and optimistic liberalism. The Reagan Administration survived the Iran-Contra Affair, multiple lobbying scandals and other controversies. Today he is remembered for his upbeat charm and aggressive conduct of the Cold War. Clinton's popularity ratings sunk into the mid 30's during the Lewinsky Affair; today they are in the high 50's as we recall the blissful prosperity of the 1990's.
Scandals and controversies inflame the nation as they happen, but time tends to melt the edges away to leave the raw core. We remember presidents for the big things they did and the big American ideas they announced.
Bush hasn't conformed to the popular or the conservative will. In his second term he has done things he feels are right, regardless of their popularity on either political side. Isn't this what we hope for from politicians?
Social Security and health care present major long-term solvency issues that most politicians would prefer to leave for the future. Bush has been one of the first bold enough to talk about them and to propose the adoption of free market measures, which will prove to be most efficient.
Lower taxes and commitment to free markets worldwide has rejuvenated the economy. The last two years have seen above average growth in gross domestic product. This year will likely be no different. The unemployment rate is a historically and internationally low 4.6 percent. Bush has taken leadership in immigration reform by proposing a reasonable compromise that has angered both liberals and conservatives, a sure sign that it is a good plan.
Now our favorite jack in the box - Iraq. Bush's entire legacy probably rests on this big idea. The Bush Doctrine states that the United States should spread liberty by force to free foreign people and as a means of self-defense. In 15 years Iraq will be secure and free and al-Qaeda will be nearly extinct. The Middle East will be held by the nascent but strong grip of democracy.
Rather than the actions he took in the war on terrorism, the inaction he took in Sudan should be remembered as his crimson sin.
Yes, I know it's not cool to defend the President. But history will remember the big Bush ideas and forget the smaller mistakes. Look at his big ideas through an honest, dispassionate and long-term lens. He will be remembered as an above average president who set a fundamental course for posterity.
But for all the idiocy, he still has the big picture right. In the long run that is what's remembered.
Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton were intensely hated by many people during their presidencies but since then have been viewed more favorably. Kennedy bungled, among other things, the Bay of Pigs invasion, but we remember him for his visionary and optimistic liberalism. The Reagan Administration survived the Iran-Contra Affair, multiple lobbying scandals and other controversies. Today he is remembered for his upbeat charm and aggressive conduct of the Cold War. Clinton's popularity ratings sunk into the mid 30's during the Lewinsky Affair; today they are in the high 50's as we recall the blissful prosperity of the 1990's.
Scandals and controversies inflame the nation as they happen, but time tends to melt the edges away to leave the raw core. We remember presidents for the big things they did and the big American ideas they announced.
Bush hasn't conformed to the popular or the conservative will. In his second term he has done things he feels are right, regardless of their popularity on either political side. Isn't this what we hope for from politicians?
Social Security and health care present major long-term solvency issues that most politicians would prefer to leave for the future. Bush has been one of the first bold enough to talk about them and to propose the adoption of free market measures, which will prove to be most efficient.
Lower taxes and commitment to free markets worldwide has rejuvenated the economy. The last two years have seen above average growth in gross domestic product. This year will likely be no different. The unemployment rate is a historically and internationally low 4.6 percent. Bush has taken leadership in immigration reform by proposing a reasonable compromise that has angered both liberals and conservatives, a sure sign that it is a good plan.
Now our favorite jack in the box - Iraq. Bush's entire legacy probably rests on this big idea. The Bush Doctrine states that the United States should spread liberty by force to free foreign people and as a means of self-defense. In 15 years Iraq will be secure and free and al-Qaeda will be nearly extinct. The Middle East will be held by the nascent but strong grip of democracy.
Rather than the actions he took in the war on terrorism, the inaction he took in Sudan should be remembered as his crimson sin.
Yes, I know it's not cool to defend the President. But history will remember the big Bush ideas and forget the smaller mistakes. Look at his big ideas through an honest, dispassionate and long-term lens. He will be remembered as an above average president who set a fundamental course for posterity.
posted by Billy Joe Mills at 12:17 PM
4 Comments:
Dear Billy,
Bush will always be remembered for his failed policy in Iraq. This administration’s handling of the war has been so inept that on May 1st, 2003 Bush declared the war over. Since that date, we have lost more American lives, and have spent more money in Iraq than we did before the “end of major combat”. The fact that this administration was so utterly unprepared for the insurgency will be what historians will remember about Bush. The Bush administration rushed into war without even providing our soldiers with the proper armor, despite no imminent threat. Even today many soldiers lack the proper armor needed to protect them. Even a good outcome in Iraq (which becomes less and less likely with each passing day) will not overshadow his ineptness.
The mishandling of Iraq will be the main part of Bush’s legacy, but let us not forget Bush’s colossal failure of leadership after Katrina. With the news media showing non-stop footage of the death and destruction in the Gulf coast, Bush was busy doing photo-ops and giving speeches about Medicare. By the time the Bush administration actually took notice, hundreds of lives had been lost.
I think you paint a far too cheery picture of Bush’s legacy, but I may be wrong. Just my two cents.
Wally
I'm not sure I agree with your premise or your evidence here. Although Presidents are often remembered more favorably in retrospect then they were appreciated at the time, this seems to be mostly a matter of response acquiescence on the part of the polled. Every American President of the last 44 years except Nixon and LBJ receives mostly favorable ratings - even Jimmy Carter, who left office with 34 percent approval! (source ) It's hard to say what the criteria for exceptions to the old "forgive and forget" rule are, but it seems pretty clear that for Nixon, it's Watergate, and for LBJ, it's Vietnam.
Likewise, I'm not sure where your evidence on Clinton's popularity comes from; according to this list of polls, Zogby Int'l was the only polling firm which ever gave him an approval rating below 50 since 1997. I'm not sure why in particular that is, but it could owe to the fact that Zogby may have, even then, been an Internet-based polling firm, and what parts of the blogosphere existed were significantly more conservative overall than today (Free Republic started in 1996, I believe, whereas DailyKos started off in... 2002?)
President Bush's time in office, thus far, has been characterized by grabbing hold of third rails (Soc.Sec, nation-building, immigration policy) and doing harm to himself, but not holding on long enough to affect a policy. His administration's heart is filled to the brim with ideology and the desire to make it happen, but its brain is too full of political common sense to actually push for much of it.
For example, regarding social security, he made a lot of noise in the direction of privatization. However, he wouldn't have had the votes to make it happen, so that's off the table for the next several years, at least. Likewise, with immigration policy, he may have had the ability to get his proposed law made, but the political cost would have damaged his party significantly. (Also, I don't think I agree with your assertion that just because something offends liberals and conservatives, it's a good idea - that would define McCain-Feingold as the opposite of a good idea.)
I believe that Presidents are remembered not for what they think, but rather for what they do. Clinton isn't most well known for his pushes for universal health care, and Ronald Reagan isn't remembered best for statements on "welfare queens". To that end, President Bush's legacy probably weighs heavily on how Iraq goes.
Perhaps these Presidents were viewed more favorably posthumulously b/c American society is ahistorical and nobody remembers the screw-ups of the Bay of Pigs or the really disastrous Iran-Contra scandal (it threatened the very survival of American cities and nearly brought down the banking system thanks to S and L).
Nick
I'm glad someone else realizes that Bush is doing the right thing, despite how much he is hated. I find that the most hated people in history are often the ones that went against popular opinion and did the right thing anyway. I'm sure someone will respond to this article with a "what about Iraq!?!?" What was happening in Iraq was very similar to what was happening during the Holocaust and I am proud that our president had the guts to stop it this time around. Viva Bush!
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