George W. Bush Revisited
by Paul A. RaheHe left office a year ago today. He has maintained a dignified silence in the last twelve months — even though his successor denounces him in almost every speech and acts as if he is still running against the man. I reviewed President Obama’s disastrous first year on Saturday. Today, I ask, “What, in retrospect, should we think of George W. Bush?”
The first thing that needs to be said is that he meant well. He is not a vindictive man, and he sought to put behind him the controversies and turmoil of the Clinton years. He thought that his focus would be domestic policy, but, as tends to happen, events intervened.
Had it not been for 9/11, George W. Bush would probably have been a one-term President. He fell short of his adversary in the popular vote but won a majority in the electoral college. He was destined to be weak — but when disaster struck, he was in the line of fire, and he rose to the occasion.
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