By the way you still have not listed anything that would answer my original question: Why will history say that Bush was a good president?

(1) The economy grew by 1.8% last quarter. It’s been booming for 8 years now.

(2) The rights of the individual are as good as they’ve ever been. 1st Amendment working well enough, 2nd Amendment reconfirmed by the Supremes, etc.

(3) Lots of people are jealous of America, or hate it because of the propaganda they’ve been fed. But the true measure of the situation is — more people seek to immigrate than to emigrate.

(4) Of course there’s still a war going on. The war between radical Islam and Western civilisation has been going for over 1000 years and has just flared up again. To his credit, Bush has taken action instead of cowering like Carter.

As for “… your judgement is based on your political opinions, which seem to be formed based on left-wing propaganda” I have come to the conclusion that to you all dissenting views are based in a quagmire of propaganda while yours are on a solid foundation of cool reasoning and fact. If you can get your eyes clear of the fog of hate and extremist hysteria I would ask you to look around. See if you can answer these questions: 1) How is the economy doing? 2) How are the rights of the individual doing? 3) Are we now looked upon by the rest of the world as an oasis of freedom anymore? 4) Is there still a war going on?

Sound familiar?

One the of the other things history will remember Bush for is moving away from traditional partners in the world to new ones, such as strengthening ties with Brazil and India. Not to mention he has done more to bring an end to the AIDS crisis than any other human so far.

Just FYI, the first Gulf War ended 20 August 1988 after Iraq invaded Iran in 1980. You are referring to the 2nd Gulf War.

Believe what you like; history will be the final judge, even though you deny it.

My use of humor is an old and mild way of making a point.

Have you considered learning about humor? Try Googling it to start with. Later you might go on to see what others have done with humor; like Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt.

In case you were wondering the previous paragraph was humor too.

I was hoping for something new, an insight. Perhaps I should not criticize you for not showing me this. One can not show what is not there.

If anyone does have a thoughtful view please let me see it.

My judgment is not based on who I wish to be in power, but the amount of pointless suffering, loss of international respect, arrogance of power and indifference to the cost to a nations future generations.

We live in the now, not some hoped for future of vindication.

Well, in all fairness I wouldn’t compare Bush to Lincoln or either Roosevelt in stature. But he’s a good president, far from being one of the worst. And history will give him better ratings than today’s polls.

History is a better judge than contemporary politics.

As for “If the Iraq War had been handled properly and ended in 2004/2005, if Osama Bin Laden had been captured, Im sure people would be saying that George Bush was who we needed in this time.
Luck o’ the draw fellas” yes, if he had done something properly we would have said he was wonderful. He didn’t though, did he. He screwed up.

It’s hard, if indeed not impossible, to get a big stick from a bush.

His motto was “Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick”. That was his style of diplomacy, and he was not afraid to use military strength.

His stance on minimum wage and social security was very controversial, and expanded the role of the government DRAMATICALLY compared to what it was before then.

He was the first president to really open up free trade among the world, and he did it by “walking softly and carrying a big stick”. AKA pulling up the entire US Navy to a countries port and saying “We need to talk”

Different from Bush, however, is that he had a likeable character, and enjoyed public support throughout much of his presidency. Also, as has been said, he was a strong environmentalist. I wouldnt have said conservationalist, because he wasn’t really about conserving resources as much as he was about conserving wildlife.

In any case, he was what America needed at the time. If the Iraq War had been handled properly and ended in 2004/2005, if Osama Bin Laden had been captured, Im sure people would be saying that George Bush was who we needed in this time.

Luck o’ the draw fellas

My bad.

He charged up Kettle Hill. He was the only one horseback as the horses were still on the boats, and he had to dismount to charge up the hill anyway. Thus the Rough Riders were really the Rough “Walkers.”

On a hunting trip, he refused to shot a bear that had be clubbed and tied to a tree, but instructed it to be killed to put it out of its misery. He never kept a lion at the White House.