Thanks for the memories and heck of a job Bushy

The promise of 2009 to most with at least a few synapses firing is the approaching exit from public life of man who has done nothing I can think of while in office that history will find benefited the United States much less the world. It seems like a lifetime ago when he became president with the country relatively prosperous as compared to now, boasting a budget surplus, and generally well thought of around the world. He rushed into office speaking of "compassionate conservatism", cutting taxes, and being "a uniter, not a divider". Now being fair here but at the time the country was exhausted over Clinton's perceived and real shenanigans and his questioning of the definition of the word "is". Gore didn't run a very good campaign. And of course its always good to have a right wing leaning Supreme Court waiting in the wings for those little Florida recount issues.







So the little man entered office walking his Texas swagger and went about for the first few months generally doing nothing, that is until September 11th.
So boosted by 9/11 W., unable to dazzle us with brilliance he settled on just baffling us with his bullshit. Yes, we were attacked and had to go to war but instead of rallying the people for the tasks ahead he told us to go shopping and gave us a tax cut, mostly helping the rich and very rich, so we could go further into debt. Now I know history is a bit of a stretch for many people but generally when you find yourselves in a war you have to RAISE taxes so the guys and gals can go off and fight the good fight with the proper equipment. Instead after committing us in Afghanistan, which should have been a the main focus, we run off and invade Iraq which had the curious affect of really pissing people off all across the world. Especially in Islamic countries were the terrorists that attacked us came from more or less proving their propaganda.

Now ignoring the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks and the story Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld sold us that they did was a whole bunch of half-truths wrapped up in lies, inside of a scam to make their friends rich we soon found ourselves involved in whole world of shit. Religious factions decided to take our invasion as an opportunity to fight ancient battles, the Kurds wanted to break away which sent the Turks into fits, and American troops were told you went war with the army you had, not necessarily the army you wanted. All the while they went around in junk yards hunting for metal for Hillbilly armor for their humvees.

The glorious corp of Chickenhawks, ass kissers, and other acolytes in the Bush administration simply arriving a half century or more to late to participate in Hitler's experiment went about redefining what torture was, twisting civil liberties, and giving certain people all inclusive vacations at secret CIA prisons. It would be so easy to go with all these remarkable accomplishments but the masterpiece failure of the Bush administration can be summed up in one word: Katrina.

So now with only a few days left with Bush occupying the White House what are we left with?

We are tied up in two wars with billions still flowing out of the country. Iraq has improved greatly but a huge question remains as whether the various factions will continue to behave after we start to withdraw that by a recent treaty, negotiated by Bush's people, we must do by 2011 no matter what. Afghanistan is falling utterly apart with even the commanding general over there saying a military solution doesn't exist. All the other presidents put together since the country was formed built a debt adding up to six trillion dollars. Bush by his little self has managed to build that debt up to ten trillion. Bush's good friend Putin is leading a resurgent Russia that aside its legitimate interests is once again seeking do more than resume its place on the world stage. China, the six hundred pound gorilla also returning to the world stage, continues to see its power build in military, economic, and diplomatic terms mainly at the expense of the United States with us so preoccupied with bring democracy to the Middle East.

But I believe the most actively incompetent policy that Bush pursued after the 9/11 attacks that borders on treason was his lack of any real attempt to break the United States off imported oil. This country developed the atomic bomb and put a man on the moon in a race to overcome enemies that actively sought to defeat us. Instead of taking those examples and pushing this country to end our crack-like addiction on imported oil Bush threw up his hands saying there were no easy answers and Cheney, with his famous sneer, said something to the effect that conservation was a personal virtue. It was never about easy answers or personal virtue but about leadership and giving a damn about something other than family business interests.
Now some will say that at least Bush kept us safe with no further attacks on United States. Okay, I'll give you that count but until they release some information about any attacks they stopped (independently verified) as far as I trust them they might as well claim to have defeated an alien invasion from space.

All told it is the American people that have to pick of the pieces the Bush administration. So I end this last political rant on Bush with a quote from Winston Churchill. You can figure out my intent. Just change out Baldwin's name with Bush's.

"I wish Stanley Baldwin no ill, but it would have been much better if he had never lived. "