My friend Ron of RWorld posted on Bush, expressing his dismay and publishing some statistics that show Bush's accomplishments pale in comparison to Clinton's. I started a comment, but it got so long I thought it better to just put it on my own blog. So, here goes!
It's about time we started talking about Bush again. And it's crazy that republican candidates other than Ron Paul haven't repudiated him because his administration will be totally in the toilet by November.
The latest fiasco is the financial debacle created by sub-prime loans and real estate speculation. This is an example of the "free market" at its worst.
The Bush administration and its regular contributors in the real estate, lending, and securities industries benefitted greatly from the hyper-activity in the real estate market. Sensible regulation could have slowed the inflation and limited the credit risk, but Bush and Co. had been bought by the high rollers. Now the American people, the great majority of whom had no part in any of this, are paying a huge price for the sins of a relatively few.
I have believed for a long time that America's greatest risk is its economy - not the damn terrorists. We can easily defeat ourselves from within by making poor economic decisions, and Bush has taken us well down that road.
When you add up the financial toll on our country from the Iraq war, the imprudent tax cuts (cut taxes when you are running big deficits?),and the sub-prime debacle, the Bush administration has been a financial disaster. I would also add many more billions in cost to our economy from risk premiums on oil caused by his inane saber-rattling.
I would give Bush credit only for attempting to legalize the immigrants who provide so much productivity and vigor to our economy - but his own party torched him!
Why in heck would anyone want to follow him in office? He's going to leave the biggest mess of anyone since Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam - an America in debt up to its eyeballs and verging on a big recession!
Thanks a lot, Mr. MBA (slept through classes) president!
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3 comments:
From what I've read, Johnson agonized over Vietnam and it was a big reason he didn't run for re-election in '68. He had a conscionce, I think. I'm doubting that W does.
I agree with you about Johnson. He got taken in by an agressive military and "hawks" who believed in the domino theory. What was supposed to be another easy conquest turned out to be another Dien Bien Phu. Johnson couldn't stomach the mess he knew he'd made, and I'm sure he was remorseful.
Agreed, agreed. And, like you, I am simply amazed that the Republican candidates aren't doing more to distance themselves from Bush. What else does he have to do, what other results does he have to get, before they decide that his approach might not be worth imitating?
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