411 Politics Fact or Fiction: Week 116 - GW Bush Out, Jeb Bush's Chances, The Liberal Media, More

Posted by Brandon Crow on 01.20.2009

Come on, click the link! You know you want to read the final edition of F or F under the Bush Era. It's all focused on Bush...Do it! Open it! Wiretap it! Arrest it! Hood it! Torture it! Waterboard it!

YES!!!!! Bush is out and Obama is in today! Let's start this new era off right! Let's get straight to Week 116 of Politics Fact or Fiction. Today, as it is the transition day from Bush to Obama, F or F takes one last look at the man many people around the world would love to forget—George W.

Please welcome former columnist here at 411, Ray Church, and still a columnist here, Mr. "Easy E," Enrique!

Ding! Ding

1. There has been lots of talk about George W. Bush being the worst president ever. Perhaps not all Democrats, but certainly hardcore Liberals think so. But Republicans are quick to bring up Jimmy Carter. Comparing the two, Bush is still comes out "on the bottom" as worse.

Ray Church: FACT. I'm sorry, but the Republican spin of "but what about Jimmy" is just failure envy. I'm not arguing that Carter was a great president, by any means, but Carter's failures were minor league compared to Bush's. Every major failure of Carter is trumped by a failure of Bush.

The 1979 energy crisis? Before half way through his first term a large number of top Bush donors would be indicted for screwing with the California Power Grid. By the end of his first term, Bush's war would send the price of gas skyrocketing, and it may be easy to forget now that those prices have come done, but google some editorials from a year or two ago and see what people were saying.

The Iran Hostage Crisis? While not the finest piece of negotiation, people forget that the release of these prisoners, something Reagan gets the credit for, was actually negotiated by the Carter Administration. Number of people held hostage? 52. Number killed? 0. Number of people held hostage by Iraqi Insurgents since 2004? More than 200. Number killed? 30. Number whose fate is unknown? 21. Now, admittedly, the majority of these were not US citizens, but shall I add the Iraq death toll into those numbers?

Economic Meltdown? Yes, Carter oversaw a time of massive inflation and economic stagflation. Bush oversaw a time where the housing industry collapsed, the US Auto industry came begging for money and a series of events that have set in play a global economic recession. Do you want me to list how much US debt is owned by China?

Other failures? Yup, good old Jimmy was the man partially responsible for arming Afghani militants to fight the Soviets, which would lead to the power base of Al-Qaeda (and I say partially responsible, as this started in the final year of his administration, but was expanded by the "bastion of freedom" Ronald Reagan, an American president responsible for arming more foreign terrorists than any other in US president. see: Nicaragua, Lebanon, Grenada, Iran-Contra). You know, on a side note, this ought to be one possible argument that he was the worst president in US history.

Bush destroyed the public image of the US throughout the world, legitimized the use of torture and the practice of rendition, declared an illegal war under false pretenses and neutered the international justice system by continually undermining the United Nations and the Geneva conventions.

While Carter set in motion the institution that would eventually become responsible for 9/11, Bush's actions lead to a dramatic increase in terrorism around the world. To be an ally of the US meant to be a target of terrorist attacks (see: Great Britain, Spain plus foiled attempts in Singapore), and intelligence reports show that there are more terrorist activities, not less since the invasion of Iraq.

Maybe the answer is that Bush had two terms to be incompetent, but that only means the American people aided and abetted his utter incompetence.

Enrique: FACT. Perhaps Bush is right, and one day history will render a positive judgment on his presidency. At this time, however, that seems a vain hope. Ray's done a fine point-by-point analysis of Bush's failures vis-à-vis Carter's, and while it can be dubious to compare different presidents who faced different challenges, anyone attempting to argue that Carter did more damage than Bush (to civil liberties, to the federal budget, to America's reputation) will find themselves in a very difficult position.

The biggest criticism I have of Carter is that his advocacy for the Palestinian cause has too often resembled apologia for reactionary groups such as Hamas, but that's largely been a facet of his post-presidential life. As far as judging Carter's four years against Bush's eight, I wouldn't disagree that Bush compares unfavorably.

One final note – apparently Bush has declared that the final Sunday of his presidency will be "Sanctity of Human Life Day." And they say irony's dead.

1 for 1. OUCH!! Man, Ray just rips W a new one, and even Enrique, who used to defend Bush, takes a sharp jab at the end…

2. Recently, the elder Bush (# 41), was interviewed by Chris Wallace. When asked by Wallace about the prospect of Jeb Bush running for president, Bush Sr. said he'd like to see that. One thing's for sure, George W. Bush has ruined any chances Jeb—or anyone with the name "Bush"—has for a run at the presidency for the next twenty years.

Ray Church: FICTION. I would have thought the first Bush presidency would have insured no one called Bush could be elected again, but this is the American electorate we're talking about, the same people who voted people like Rick Santorum, Katherine Harris and William Jefferson to positions of power.

It is the same country that almost sent Ted Stevens back to his Alaskan senate seat, despite the fact that he had been indicted on corruption charges. It is the same country that reelected George W. Bush after the revelations that his administration lied the country into war. So can Jeb Bush run? Yes. Should he? That depends on whether you think the only thing wrong with the last administration was Bush's intelligence.

Enrique: FACT. With all due respect to Ray's dim opinion of the American electorate (of which I'm no longer a member), I think the moral bankruptcy of our political class says more about the type of people who run for office than the voting public at large. As is often said, people who are smart enough to be good leaders are also smart enough not to involve themselves in politics. Regardless, I don't believe Jeb Bush could mount a successful presidential bid. The Bush "brand" has been irreparably damaged, as have any possible presidential aspirations on Jeb's part. America just doesn't need the drama.

1 or 2. Extra points to Enrique for managing to work in a pimp for his own column!

Switch!

3. The "liberal media" has been absolutely unfair to "Dubya" for his entire eight year reign, and is a primary reason why he is seen as such a villain in this country.

Enrique: FICTION. Generally, the MSM has been unfair to Bush. For example, the press never gave Bush credit for the 2003-2007 economic boom; rather, the journalistic establishment cried "recession" incessantly until one finally happened. However, the liberal media can't be held responsible for the antipathy many people feel toward the 43rd POTUS.

Bush never met an expansion of government power that he didn't like, and he never felt the need to explain his most controversial decisions—he simply expected Americans and the world to accept his manifest wisdom.

Like most government officials, he thought his good intentions would be ends unto themselves, never mind the consequences. If Bush is seen as a villain, it's because his actions have lent themselves to that interpretation. And while I enjoy taking cheap shots at the liberal media as much as the next guy, it wouldn't be fair to blame them for Dubya's poor standing.

Ray Church: FICTION. Let me start by saying... what liberal media? Honestly, when the media finally started reporting on the bunk Bush was getting away with, talk radio decided the news was biased, but let's just point out that it wasn't until the last three years that you could have an unabashed liberal ala Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann on the air.

Before that, you could be fired for any intonation that Bush and the war were not America's gift to the world (See: Donahue, Phil; Maher, Bill). So while the E. and I are coming to the same conclusion here, let me say that our reasons are miles apart. Not getting credit for 5 years of economic boom? How about getting credit for "keeping America safe" when his administration failed to prevent the "biggest terrorist attack on American soil".

Oh, and that economic boom thing? He got credit for it, a lot of credit for it. But the financial deregulation that enabled that boom was also responsible for the unmitigated financial ruin in the system today.

2 for 3. Again, extra points to Enrique for coining the phrase, "manifest wisdom" as the way Bush governed. And to add on to Ray's point about how "liberals" were treated in the media, see also Chicks, Dixie.

4. "Dear George: Nah, nah, nah, nah…nah, nah, nah, nah…hey, hey, hey…GOODBYE!!"
Affectionately Signed, Your Name.

Enrique: FACT. At least it's been interesting, no? Unlike some people, I never felt the need to ascribe bad faith to Bush—I truly believe that he thought there were WMDs in Iraq, that wiretapping people in America without warrants was necessary to disrupt terrorist plots, that detaining combatants at Guantanamo Bay without due process was essential to national security, etc. But again, good intentions are no excuse for bad governance.

When Bush entered office, the federal government was running a surplus. As he leaves, we're fighting trillion-dollar wars with no end in sight, we've enacted trillion-dollar bailouts with no end in sight, and we're expecting to run trillion-dollar deficits for the foreseeable future, all thanks to eight years of compassionate conservatism.

Even if he weren't term-limited, I don't think we could afford Bush any longer. At this point, it appears the costs have far exceeded the benefits.

Goodbye, George. It hasn't been pleasant. I've carried water for you in the past, and you've done your best to make me regret it. Lesson learned. My only hope is that one day we'll be able to look back on your presidency and have a good laugh.

Ray Church: FACT. Hell yeah, FACT…Signed...Ray Church. This time, I will wholeheartedly agree with E (although I think believing there were WMD is not an excuse for ignoring evidence that there wasn't... see: Wilson, Joseph).

I can't say I'm joyous about it. He's left too much garbage on the way out, and repealing the authority he stole from the other branches of government will be difficult, especially when the next guy is wildly popular. ("Mr Obama, you have presidential approval ratings higher than we've seen in decades. Our first order of business is to remove some of your power").

Goodbye George, but I would say the real shame is that you're going to Dallas to build your library and not to jail. I'm trying to teach my daughter about actions and consequences, but George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condi Rice and the rest of the bastards that tortured the justice system for the past 8 years will never see justice themselves.

3 for 4.

Boo-hoo-hoo...I'm so sad. It's the end of an era here at Politics Fact or Fiction. Yes, there'll be no more Dubya to kick around. And no, he's not a crook, no matter what John Dean, White House counsel under Nixon had to say…

Thanks to Ray and Enrique for being so kind as to participate in this historic edition—the final one under Bush—of F or F. Next week, yet more history—we begin F or F under the Obama Era! See you then!