As Bush spends his final few days in office, everybody seems to have an opinion on his legacy with most striking a fairly dim view of the last eight years.
Many--including those in his own party--point out what President Bush has done wrong.
Others balance that against what the Bush Administration has gotten right to demonstrate that his Presidency hasn't been an abject failure.
Bush, on the other hand, hopes that Americans agree that he was willing to "make the tough decisions" even if we agreed with him or not.
(If you are unable to see the embedded video from FOX News above, please click here.)
While Bush hopes that history will have a more favorable view of him than most Americans do now, I think that it's very simple to sum up the legacy of the Bush Administration.
Back in December, when Bush was defending the taxpayer funded bailouts, he said the following:
"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system."
I think that, with a strategic edit, this quote also sums up George Bush's tenure in the White House:
"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the
free-market system."
Or, perhaps more succinctly:
"I've abandoned free-market conservative
principles to save the free-market
Washington political system."
Regardless of the debate that will wage for years on where Bush was right and wrong, his Presidency was ultimately hindered by his moderate and centrist views. The more that President Bush drifted toward the middle, the worse his approval rating became.
But then, George W. Bush was never a conservative--and that was his problem.
In the end, W was a lot like his father: a big-government, country club Republican who alienated the party and ensured a backlash against the GOP in the electorate. Beyond Iraq, the economy, immigration and every other issue that will be debated, George W. Bush's presidency resulted in the GOP's undoing.
That's one hell of a legacy for any President...and not a good one.
Leave a comment