Every American president has left behind a lasting legacy from his years in office. Some have left behind inspiration and images of greatness, statesmanship and hope, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D Roosevelt. Others have been remembered for notoriety and scandal, these include Warren G Harding (the Teapot Dome scandal), Ulysses S Grant (Black Friday, Credit Mobilier and the Whiskey Ring) and, of course, Richard Nixon (Watergate).
Even Ronald Reagan, much beloved by the Republican party, was beset by the Iran-Contra Scandal, as well as having the national debt almost double under his presidency. Bill Clinton will most likely be remembered for the Lewinsky scandal, even though his presidency was a time of increased economic prosperity. What will the legacy be of outgoing President George W Bush?
George Walker Bush took office as perhaps the most controversial president elected, since the election of Rutherford B Hayes and the Compromise of 1877. He narrowly beat Al Gore and many are convinced the election was “stolen” from Gore.
Gore had received 48.38% of the popular vote to Bush’s 47.87%. The next closest election in modern history was the election of 1960 when John F Kennedy was running against Richard Nixon. (Kennedy only managed to win 49.7% of the popular vote to Nixon’s 49.6%). Bush’s next eight years in office did nothing to assure the American people not to mention other countries that he was indeed the right man for the job.
Shortly after taking office, on September 11, 2001, the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda operatives gave President Bush a major challenge. Most Americans were in favor of seeking out those responsible for the attack and bringing them to justice. However, the focus on al Qaeda got diluted as Bush focused further and further from bringing bin Laden and his associates to justice.
The Bush Doctrine can be summed up by the quote “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” It was a doctrine of preemptive militarism. In place of responding to threats or actions, America became the country of predicting possible future actions and acting to prevent them. The Bush Doctrine is controversial to say the least, especially in light of the second Iraq War.
The premise for going after Sadaam Hussein was his supposed large cache of weapons of mass destruction. In Bush’s final press briefing earlier this week, he said “[N]ot finding weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment,” but he stopped short of calling it a mistake. “A significant disappointment” is an understatement. Not staying the course in Afghanistan to go after a possible cache of WMDs in Iraq was a grave mistake. In fact, there were other more significant threats than Iraq – North Korea for one. Kim Jong-Il made it clear that he was interested in nuclear proliferation.
The Bush legacy seems to be one of “should have beens.” Osama bin Laden should have been captured. American should have been sure of weapons of mass destruction before invading Iraq. Bush should have been less arrogant and more willing to admit his mistakes. America should have been out of Iraq by now. Afghanistan should have been the true focus of American might. America should have been able to help Afghanistan more by focusing on Iraq less. America should not be facing an economic recession now. The housing market should not have collapsed leaving many homeless. America should not return to the neo-imperialism that has been the norm since George W Bush took office. The Bush legacy may well find its home beside those of Nixon, Harding, Grant and Reagan. Hopefully, America can overcome it.
Tags: President George W Bush
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