Looking back the last few years

[neuvocat]

Back in the day I recall a little known yet very important principle about politics that I learned from my dad. Whatever policies and actions take place in government, very seldom do they take effect immediately (Bush is a huge exception but there are still some parts where this rule is very true). He pointed out that Republicans understood this very well during Reagan's term in the White House. Jimmy Carter's term essentially suffered the blowback all the way back from Dwight Eisenhower's foreign policy mistakes but at least had some of the successes earned by Nixon Administration. However Carter's success was enjoyed by Reagan and Bush.

Americans don't see things in the long term and that especially confounds everyone when it comes to understanding the long term effects of a President's predecessor. One thing that has changed this last election is the lack of foresight on the part of Karl Rove and his ilk. Yes, Bush has brought about immediate damage but there is also the long term problem involved, problems caused by Bush's last 4 years in office. They hadn't looked at the long term consequences and fought tooth and nail to stay in the White House.

Now that Bush has made it well into his final term, it is obvious to just about anyone (even some freepers) that he and the rest of the GOP has made a huge mess. Had John Kerry won the election then he would have wrongly been perceived as the one responsible for the growing quagmire in Iraq. He would likely have stabilized the region and helped to save the troops instead of creating a surge that sends more of them into the meat grinder.

There still isn't much solace in seeing how the election turned out but it is important to understand that had John Kerry actually won, he would have been wholly and unfairly blamed for Bush's mistakes. The GOP lost its chance to redeem itself through falsifications and manufactured BS courtesy of the liberal media. Kerry deserved better than to be put on stage and scapegoated for the nation's woes.