by Bill Stewart
The presidency of George W. Bush is drawing to a close. It is clear in his recent interviews and trips abroad that he is in a nostalgic mood. And why not? Eight years is a long time. It has been for him and certainly has been for us. They have been tumultuous years, beginning with the September 11 attack and finishing with the collapse of the nation’s economy. It is clear that those years have taken their toll. He is grayer and lacking in energy. Though he is still the president, Bush has almost disappeared from the national scene. The president-elect seems to be our commander in chief.
Bush is not a man given to reflection or introspection, no matter the issues or the times. That is not his nature, and intellectually he is ill-equipped for such a journey. But he is a man of essential personal good will; that comes across. It probably lies at the heart of why the country voted for him, not once but twice. But accomplishment, leadership and the overall record are all so abysmal that it is clear he will never make it into the Hall of Fame. On the contrary, his presidency is a failure of historic proportions, and it’s doubtful that George W. Bush will ever understand why. He will not go there, because he cannot, not now, probably not ever. Instead, he wants to go back to the ranch, clear brush and chop wood. In that, one wishes him well. The nation, as a whole, will heave a sigh of relief.
His presidency seemed jinxed from the beginning, starting with the celebrated “hanging chads” in Florida and the dubious decision of the US Supreme Court that handed him the White House. He had, after all, lost the popular vote. From the beginning, however, Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and an inner White House circle acted as if they had a popular mandate. That was less leadership than it was hubris. They were convinced they understood the nation and the world, and that if you were not for them you were against them. Just stand aside and let the big boys do the real work. Hubris became the besetting sin of the Bush administration for the next eight years.
Then came the shattering events of September 11. Almost three thousand people were killed by terrorists who had commandeered jet airliners, flying them into New York’s World Trade Center, and the Pentagon in Washington. It was an unprecedented and frightening event for Americans. In the following few weeks Bush rose to the occasion and showed genuine leadership. He organized the attack in Afghanistan against al Qaeda and the Taliban, with most of the world in full support.
But the flame of that initial leadership began to flicker when it became clear that in the White House view, Washington neither needed, nor especially wanted, allies. The new war on terrorism was America’s show, and the world could either support us or stand aside. We would do whatever was necessary. Terrorists were terrorists whatever their motivation, and quick, armed response was the one-size fits all solution.
Only it wasn’t. Though the State Department and many in the Pentagon had grave doubts about attacking Iraq, the Bush team forged ahead, determined to bring down Saddam Hussein. Flushed with initial victory in Afghanistan, the Bush team, led by the vice president and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, wanted to remake the Middle East, and remaking Iraq was the place to start. Most of the world was opposed, leaving the British to join us a very junior partner.
Bringing down Saddam turned out to be the easy part. Despite the skill and bravery of US and allied forces, there was never a competent overall plan for the occupation of Iraq. There was none because the Bush team never thought there would be an occupation. We would be in and out in six months, and then home free. The oil of a grateful Iraq would pay for the war It was a colossal error in judgment and a monument to incompetence.
At home, the Katrina disaster showed how uncomprehending the White House was when it came to domestic affairs. We virtually lost the city of New Orleans. Remember “Brownie” and Bush’s cheerful confidence in him?
The most tragic aspect of Bush’s misguided policies, however, must be the sanctioning of torture. Bush issued a presidential order saying that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to prisoners of the “war on terror.” That order led us down a path of national shame, beginning with the Justice Department’s redefinition of what constituted torture. At that point, we strayed a long way from the ideals and values of the Founding Fathers. The Bush White House still does not grasp the meaning of what has happened. That too will be part of George Bush’s legacy. It is up to President-Elect Barack Obama to set matters right. Someday, he too will have a legacy.