By BJ
It appears that our good buddy Bush is looking at trying to buff up his historical image:
Meet George W. Bush, time traveler.He's in Poland in 1939 as Nazi tanks advance on Warsaw, then flying with his Navy-pilot father to battle imperial Japan. He's alongside Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, William McKinley on his deathbed and Franklin D. Roosevelt on D-Day. He lingers with Harry S. Truman, another U.S. president deeply unpopular in his time.
President Bush leaps forward as well, envisioning a distant future in which Iraq is a tranquil democracy, Palestinians live peaceably alongside Israelis and terrorism is a tactic of the past.
"Imagine if a president had stood before the first graduating class of this academy five decades ago and told the Cadet Wing that by the end of the 20th century, the Soviet Union would be no more, communism would stand discredited and the vast majority of the world's nations would be democracies," Bush urged graduates at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs nearly two weeks ago.
As the door begins to close on his tenure, Bush is increasingly drawing on selected events of the past to argue that history will vindicate him on Iraq, terrorism, trade and other controversial issues.
. . .
Some historians are particularly critical of Bush's frequent references to Truman, who had an even lower approval rating than Bush amid opposition to the Korean War. They say Truman's place in history is elevated by his roles in leading the victory in World War II, creating institutions such as the United Nations and implementing the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe.
"The only connection between Harry Truman and George Bush is that they left office with low opinion numbers," said historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University. "That's a very thin reed."
On that last point, I think Spencer Ackerman says it best:
Truman is viewed as a far-sighted president in retrospect. But the Korean War, which decimated his approval rating, is not viewed as a glorious crusade. . . . Truman did not stop MacArthur from invading the North; could not stop the Chinese from entering the war; and then could not bring the war to an end. In short, Truman is viewed today as a worthy president in spite of the war, not because of it. Good luck selling people on that one, Bush.
Let�s give W a little bit of credit though, at least he is trying to polish his image in a positive way. He actually doesn�t want to be remembered as America�s worst president ever. Say what you will, if he was truly concerned with building a historical legacy for himself, this wouldn't be the way to do it.
I mean, nothing he does at this point is going to make him a great president; things are too far gone for that. At least being the crappiest president in American history would leave a mark.
Unfortunately, even that legacy remains in jeopardy. Granted, if McCain gets elected, he�ll have no worries, as the continuance of his disastrous policies for another four years will virtually guarantee the Bush legacy will be indelibly marked upon the American consciousness.
However, such a result is by no means certain. Rather, Americans seem to be looking to elect someone opposed to Bush�s policies, and were such a person to be successful in ameliorating or even reversing the effects of those policies, the Bush era may be relegated to history�s dustbin so far as most people are concerned. After all, most Americans would like nothing better than to be able to put the Bush era aside as a foolish aberration that can be ignored and hopefully forgotten. An administration that cleans up much of the mess Bush has made of America�s foreign policy and economy would allow them to do just that.
Truly, Bush�s best hope for posterity lies in creating a disaster of such proportions that it will cause subsequent generations to remember him regardless of the actions of his successors. He�s close, of course, but I believe he can still go the extra mile just to be certain.
So go on, Dubya! Start that war with Iran you've always wanted to. Maybe even hit Syria while you're at it. Frankly, most of us are surprised you haven't done so already, (and there's even a number of folks who are highly disappointed by that fact). I'm pretty sure that once you get the ball rolling on a third Middle Eastern war, you can be assured that your name will passed on for generations.
Granted, it will be cursed and reviled, but that's gotta beat being ignored, doesn't it?
Don't bait Dubya, please!
ReplyDeleteA clear summary of Bush's legacy was provided last night in the form of Kucinich's 35 articles of impeachment. With supporting citations, they took four-plus hours to read.
They included lies about Iran itended to justify an attack. Let's hope we get to January 20th without one.
The particular fascination of this Bush to look for someone in your executive history to compare himself to is one of the more bizarre aspects of his tragic personality. And he picks Truman, who for all his faults, was at least authentic and seemingly the closest individual to the American common man since Lincoln. You'd almost want to say, using a great Yiddish word, Bush has chutzpa. But villains with this characteristic also always demonstrate a pretty good understanding of irony and self-awareness. Unfortunately Bush is simply a shlemiel. To paraphrase Leo Rosten: If Bush wanted to hang himself, he'd grab a knife.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't Bush tied so closely with, and probably controlled by, Dick Cheney that it should be the "Bush-Cheney Legacy"? History must not let the most corrupt and evil of US Veeps get a free pass nor be an incidental footnote to the Dubya Era.
ReplyDeleteAs the architect of so many failed policies, Cheney made certain that they all seemed to come from the shallow mind of a man who never had an original thought in his life (except maybe some of his drug-and/or-alcohol-fueled ruminations).
They must be forced to share a single poorly-packed parachute into the history books...
Neil,
ReplyDeleteApologies. I do let my snarky side get the better of me at times. You're right that an Iran attack is hardly a joke.
Geoff,
chutzpa I know, shlemiel not so much, but from your example, I'd say it's appropriate. He doesn't even seem to be able to get anything right by accident.
Naomi,
Too right. Cheney should be chained to the same anchor Bush is.
Cheney might be remember harshly, he certainly deserves it, but considering how good a job he did of making sure this admin shoveled out billions of dollars to the private industry and inherited-wealth types that fund the Republican party, I'm sure there will always be people out there with a kind word for him.
ReplyDeleteI predict that the Republicans will try to Reagan Bush, though I don't know how successful it'll be. I just hope they never name anything after the doofus.