Farewell to All That — Bob Herbert Joins In
An awful lot has been said and written lately about the failed Bush Presidency and about his upcoming good riddance and good comeuppance.
I have tried my hand at it.
But today, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert truly says it all and says it best in his “Add Up the Damage.”
Of course, Bush defenders, if there are any left out there, will bristle because Herbert doesn’t mince his words—because he tells it like it is, and like it has been for the past eight miserable years.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the Bush mindset was his crude joking about the U.S. not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, while our troops were dying and getting maimed there because of such false claims:
A year into the war Mr. Bush was cracking jokes about it at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association. He displayed a series of photos that showed him searching the Oval Office, peering behind curtains and looking under the furniture. A mock caption had Mr. Bush saying: “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere.”
And Herbert concludes:
[Bush] told ABC’s Charlie Gibson: “I don’t spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don’t worry about long-term history, either, since I’m not going to be around to read it.”
The president chuckled, thinking — as he did when he made his jokes about the missing weapons of mass destruction — that there was something funny going on.
At the beginning of his column, Herbert enjoins Americans:
When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks (in reality, he checked out long ago), most Americans will be content to sigh good riddance. I disagree. I don’t think he should be allowed to slip quietly out of town. There should be a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speeches — over the damage he’s done to this country.
I would only note that such a polite “loud, collective angry howl” should be followed by an equally polite “loud, collective cheer” by four million people gathered for the inauguration of our 44th President at the Washington Mall.
A polite, neat, eco-friendly, legal, symbolic mountain of shoes in front of the White House during “move-out day” might also be appropriate.
12 Responses to “Farewell to All That — Bob Herbert Joins In”
Alas, more band-wagon analysis. Sigh…
As I've argued on another TMV thread, history will be kinder to Bush than this kind of “me too” essay. Having lived through the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, for example, Bush has arguably done much better. My main complaint with Bush was his allowing fellow Republicans to spend like drunken sailors, without vetoing a single bill until late in his Presidency, when the Dems were in control. As a fiscal conservative, this really rankled me. As for Afghanistan, even writers on this blog overlook the fact that we didn't go it alone. We are part of NATO there, even as we were part of a coalition in Iraq. Does Bush get an A? Far from it. I'd give him a C+. He was no Reagan (A-), and no Clinton (B+), but thank heaven he was no Carter (D-).
Keep hoping—or dreaming, Manchester. You are entitled to it
Sorry, Manchester- I guess Bush still has many apologists.
I lived through Carter as well, and although we had double digit inflation and gas lines, we did not have the massive debt we have now, and the economy was not on the brink of a major depression. Carter did not involve us in 2 long expensive wars (one of choice) and he at least tried to get Americans to think about energy conservation. His biggest achievement, of course, was the agreement between Sadat and Begin– which today would be almost impossible.
After the Bush presidency ends — he will “refill the coffers”. Carter started the Carter center and is an international humanitarian.
There were many problems with the Bush administration, but for some reason this example is the most galling for me. In 2001 scientists determined that dental technicians were being exposed to a dangerous carcinogen, beryllium, during procedures. The exposure was enough to cause lung cancer. It was reported to OSHA- with an urgent recommendation to take action. A Bush political appointee stymied the agencies intent to regulate the substance, after a discussion with industry lobbyists. In short, nothing has been done in all of these years. Bush put people in watchdog agencies who would negate the agencies purpose in order to remain friendly with big Republican corporate donors.
IMO, that is about as immoral an act as you can find. How would you like a job as a dental technician, Manchester??
Carter inherited a bad economy from Ford and Nixon.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar…
Carter gave the world Camp David Peace Accord. This peace resulted in the militant Shiites in Iran to capture the US embassy, dooming Cater's chances for reelection. W inherited a decent economy with a budget SURPLUS.
Good points, Rudi!!!
Also- Bush had a complacent Republican-led Congress, whose leaders acted like lieutenants in his presidential army – and whose members almost always voted with the head of the party.
Carter was a fish out of water in DC, and had a lot of problems because of a rivalry with Ted Kennedy who was gearing up for his own run in 1980, and who thought Carter was not liberal ENOUGH.
How does W get a C+?
What has he really done?
Don't bring up Islamostooges attacks on the US mainland. The US wasn't attacked by the USSR during the Carter administartion. Does this make Caters grade a B or better?
History won't be kind to Bush. How could it be? Manchester, how kind is history to Hoover?
And Reagan? A- ? A self-confessed traitor to the USA? That kinda defines your standards…
“A few months ago, I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and evidence tell me it is not.” – Reagan 3/3/87
Yes, Greendreams- if they had put him in front of a Grand Jury during Iran-Contra he would have been guilty of obstruction and perjury- as Clinton was.
Ditto If they had made Cheney testify under oath about Plamegate-
kritt, and indeed that's exactly why all testimony should be under oath. How dare the Bush administration refuse to pledge their testimony will be truthful. As far as I'm concerned, Cheney lying to Congress and the public is just as criminal as Clinton lying to the court (though the court didn't convict, as the definition of “sex” was too vague).
Worse, GreenDreams, because in the end, Monicagate did not have any effect on national security.We will never know the damage revealing Plame's identity did to it.
I absolutely agree about testimony under oath– otherwise corrupt officials make a mockery of the law. Cheney is a wise old coot, and learned how to operate outside the law from his predecessors mistakes during earlier scandals.
I stand by my D- for Carter. He dithered for 444 days — count 'em — while our hostages languished in Iran. Only then did he authorize a military strike that crashed in the Iranian desert, a symbol of a military that he had bled with reductions in Defense spending. Then, when the economy soured, he goes on T.V. and the radio and gives his infamous (and pathetic) “malaise” speech. The reason he didn't get an “F” from me was the Camp David accords, the one positive moment in a sorry four years. Since then, I'd give him a “B.” He's been a good former President, I'll admit that much.
Actually, quite kind. He is known for doing many positive things both prior and after his time in the Presidency. It's in the history books.