Re: Neoconservativism failed miserably/unfair treatment of Bush
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Posted by HenryW on 20:15:30 2008/11/12
In Reply to:
Re: Neoconservativism has failed miserably ,Now its Obama's turn posted by Dave L
Currently Bush's rating is almost as bad as Truman's was at the end of his term. Perhaps history will change the view on Bush once the dust settles a bit and the (lying) MSM gets out of the way.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
What must our enemies be thinking?
By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO
Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in
support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage
plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the
classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.
[Commentary] AP
According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval
rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11.
Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing
abandonment from the right.
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both
Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president
reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said,
"Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To
make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I
will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from
both political parties.
The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed
Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered
Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated
traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has
enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges
we face there.
It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything.
He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the
right.
Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems
either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond
his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and
congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some
of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of
solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one
country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come
together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of
America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings
put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S.
Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left
office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal
poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in
history.
Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's
presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize
the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how
extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the
September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing
less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel
and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve
we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never
lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to
continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.
Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has
not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how
disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful
display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after
Mr. Bush has left the White House.
Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously
interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential
election in 2004.
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