Letters to the editor

Reflections on Bush

Brian Kernan's piece "Farewell to George Dubya" in the Oct. 30 issue motivated me to write a slightly different opinion on the coming end of the Bush presidency.

It is difficult, even for the best historians, to write about the present because they offer the least objective opinion.

Those who lived through the Lincoln, FDR or Reagan presidencies probably assessed those times in vastly different ways from contemporary historians, but some assessments of this one can be made.

An immediate success and failure occurred after Sept. 11, 2001. The homeland was secure (and remains so), but bin Laden was still at large.

Whether or not his capture would have been symbolic or practical, it is nonetheless a dent in the Bush legacy.

Arguments about the U.S involvement in Iraq will persist, but the world is an infinitely better place without the genocidal dictator in power.

The reasons for entering were unclear and immediate failures such as the shortage of troops (about 19 percent of the total U.S. armed forces) and disbanding of the Iraqi Army led to a brutal insurgency which now seems to have hopefully slowed down.

Domestically, the economy has crashed from its tax-break induced ecstasy of the first six years of the Bush presidency, and no matter what institutions are to blame for the current crisis, the President should acknowledge his responsibility in this regard.

It is a combination of failed leadership and flawed economic policies.

Perhaps the President's greatest and most under-publicized achievement will be the $50 billion aid package to combat HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

As a resident of South Africa for over 16 years, I was surrounded by the devastating impact of this epidemic which affects more than one in five South Africans.

If this can be viewed as the President's greatest success, then perhaps one can argue that his greatest failure will be his inability to sell himself and his allowing others to shape the narrative of his policies, and now his legacy.

Historians and regular people will continue to debate over what Bush established and what he destroyed, but the final verdict on the Bush Presidency may only be known by our children.

Timor Brik

Political Science '10