Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Bush Legacy pt.3
In 2004, President Bush campaigned for re-election on the need to fight terrorists to prevent another Sept. 11. Despite yet another election scandal, this time in Ohio, he eked out a victory in the face of a weakening economy and growing discontent over Iraq. Once again, he claimed a mandate.
"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style," he said on Election Day. And he used that capital to push for something big: an overhaul of the Social Security system, promoting changes allowing younger workers to divert some of their Social Security taxes into the stock market. For months, the president pushed the idea, which got no traction in Congress or in the nation at large. But in the summer of 2005, Bush also got his first chance to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Sandra Day O'Connar had stated her intent to resign from the bench, when on September 5th 2005, Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away. President Bush nominated John Roberts, a highly regarded conservative to take the job. To fill the second seat on the bench, Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers. After 4 grueling days fo criticism due to her lack of adequacy for the job, her nomination was withdrawn and Samuel Alito was confirmed shortly thereafter.
Around the same time came one of the lowest points of the Bush Presidency: Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans was devastated. The Bush Administration seemed completely unprepared and one moment seemed to sum up it all up- when the president lavished praise on Michael Brown, the embattled head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: " Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Later that year came the midterm elections, when the democrats captured both the House and the Senate for the first time in a dozen years. Bush called it, "a thumping." It was a repudiation of the President, and a day after the election, Rumsfeld was out. In is two final years as President, Bush was often overshadowed by the race to replace him. His approval ratings continued to drift down through the 30 point range. In the presidential primaries, Democratic candidates cast him as a villain, while Republican candidates distanced themselves. The President did not attend the Republican National Convention in 2008. Then, this past fall, another blow: an economic crisis more severe than any since the 1930's. The President stayed mostly in the background as his appointees struggled to deal with the financial meltdown. At year's end, Bush made his final visit to Baghdad as commander in chief. An Iraqi journalist hurled hi shoes at the President in a gesture of defiance and protest.
President Bush leaves the White House under perhaps the greatest of (negative) turn-arounds for American prominance. From controversial nominations and elections, to torture allegations and unilateral approaches to foreign policy, to the dwindling value of the dollar and a banking system in ruins, to the Patriot Act and the outing of undercover CIA Agent Valerie Plame, there is no question about the immense failure the past 8 years have been for Americans.
"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style," he said on Election Day. And he used that capital to push for something big: an overhaul of the Social Security system, promoting changes allowing younger workers to divert some of their Social Security taxes into the stock market. For months, the president pushed the idea, which got no traction in Congress or in the nation at large. But in the summer of 2005, Bush also got his first chance to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Sandra Day O'Connar had stated her intent to resign from the bench, when on September 5th 2005, Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away. President Bush nominated John Roberts, a highly regarded conservative to take the job. To fill the second seat on the bench, Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers. After 4 grueling days fo criticism due to her lack of adequacy for the job, her nomination was withdrawn and Samuel Alito was confirmed shortly thereafter.
Around the same time came one of the lowest points of the Bush Presidency: Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans was devastated. The Bush Administration seemed completely unprepared and one moment seemed to sum up it all up- when the president lavished praise on Michael Brown, the embattled head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: " Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
Later that year came the midterm elections, when the democrats captured both the House and the Senate for the first time in a dozen years. Bush called it, "a thumping." It was a repudiation of the President, and a day after the election, Rumsfeld was out. In is two final years as President, Bush was often overshadowed by the race to replace him. His approval ratings continued to drift down through the 30 point range. In the presidential primaries, Democratic candidates cast him as a villain, while Republican candidates distanced themselves. The President did not attend the Republican National Convention in 2008. Then, this past fall, another blow: an economic crisis more severe than any since the 1930's. The President stayed mostly in the background as his appointees struggled to deal with the financial meltdown. At year's end, Bush made his final visit to Baghdad as commander in chief. An Iraqi journalist hurled hi shoes at the President in a gesture of defiance and protest.
President Bush leaves the White House under perhaps the greatest of (negative) turn-arounds for American prominance. From controversial nominations and elections, to torture allegations and unilateral approaches to foreign policy, to the dwindling value of the dollar and a banking system in ruins, to the Patriot Act and the outing of undercover CIA Agent Valerie Plame, there is no question about the immense failure the past 8 years have been for Americans.
