August 31, 2007 11:45 AM
Advisory thoughts on the 43rd president.
By Karl Rove
The Washington Post scorned President Truman as a “spoilsman” who “underestimated the people’s intelligence.” New York Times columnist James Reston wrote off President Eisenhower as “a tired man in a period of turbulence.” At the end of President Reagan’s second term, the New York Times dismissed him as “simplistic” and a “lazy and inattentive man.”
These harsh judgments, made in the moment, have not weathered well over time. Fortunately, while contemporary observers have a habit of getting presidents wrong, history tends to be more accurate.
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President Bush will be viewed as a far-sighted leader who confronted the key test of the 21st century.
He will be judged as a man of moral clarity who put America on wartime footing in the dangerous struggle against radical Islamic terrorism.
Moral clarity?
On torture: Bush condemns world 2003; world condemns Bush 2006The Abramoff Investigation; "better not put this stuff in writing"More Rove in italics (followed by facts):
...he said, will not wait until dangers fully materialize with attacks on our homeland before confronting those threats.
August 6, 2001 PDBThe Pet Goat moment (video)
...the wisdom of removing terrorism’s cause...
"Hang Saddam Hussein because there's nothing else this president can get right." ...by advocating the spread of democracy, especially in the Muslim world, where authoritarianism and repression...
Juan Cole on Bush’s monumental stupidityBush to extend call for global democracy President Bush will be seen as a compassionate leader who used America’s power for good.
Bush offers American flags to Katrina victims.Two years ago today: key moments in Bush admin's Katrina response While the world dithered, America confronted HIV/AIDS in Africa with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which has supported treatment for more than 1.1 million people worldwide, over one million of them in Africa. While most of the globe ignored Sudan and Darfur or refused to act, this president labeled the violence there genocide — and pressed world leaders to take action.
Laura Bush's Promotion of Condoms in Africa 'Evolutionary,' But Advocacy for Abstinence and Fidelity Short-Sighted, Opinion PieSOTU: Bush’s AIDS Policy Is ‘Basically Unworkable’Democrats victorious in dodging attempt to cut AIDS funding A wide range of human-rights issues — from the repression in North Korea, Myanmar, and elsewhere to religious freedom to trafficking in persons — are kept on the international agenda in good part because of this president’s demands for action.
Looks like Bush really did screw up on North Korea.BCCI, Iran Contra relevance: UAE, Saudi, Pakistan, money and Bush family In education, “No Child Left Behind” introduced accountability into our public-education system by ensuring every child’s progress is measured.
No Bush Left Behind His faith- and community-based initiative is encouraging social entrepreneurship to confront poverty and suffering. Billions of federal dollars can now be accessed by such groups eager to serve a neighbor in need. Already, 34 Democrat and Republican governors and more than 100 mayors of all stripes have created faith- and community-based offices to build on the federal initiative.
Christian Coalition losing chapters; "They're a total disgrace." On energy, the environment, and climate change, he is developing a new paradigm. Emphasizing technology, increased energy-efficiency partnerships, and resource diversification, his policies are improving energy security and slowing the growth of greenhouse gases without economy-breaking mandates and regulation. The president who won criticism by rejecting the failed approach of Kyoto has implemented policies that enabled the United States to grow its economy by 3.1 percent and reduce the absolute amount of CO2 emissions (by 1.3 percent).
"Bush's 'parting gift to the coal industry'" ...And he understood the necessity of appointing judges who know the proper and limited role of courts and will provide impartial justice and faithful application of the Constitution.
Abuse of Executive Privilege"For the (SCOTUS), this will be remembered as the year of intellectual dishonesty.""Gonzales, however, chose to function more like the President’s personal legal strategist..." ...President Bush had the political courage to confront the biggest economic challenge America faces.
The Bush Economy (PDF)
8/3/2007
Chart 1: Job Growth Among the Slowest of Any Administration in over 70 Years
Chart 2: Private Sector Job Growth Among the Worst of Any Administration in over 70 Years
Chart 3: The Most Protracted Postwar Jobs Slump
Chart 4: Unemployment Rate up by 0.4 Percentage Point
Chart 5: 1.1 Million More Unemployed Workers
Chart 6: Over 90 Percent More Long-Term Unemployment
Chart 7: Employee Compensation Has Lagged Far Behind Productivity
Chart 8: Real Earnings Growth Has Been Weaker and More Unequal Than It Was in the Late 1990s
Chart 9: Large Projected Surpluses Turned Into Large Deficits
Chart 10: $4.1 Trillion More Debt in FY 2008
Chart 11: Bush Tax Cuts Will Be More Than 100 Times Larger for Millionaires than for Middle Income Households
Chart 12: One of Only Three Administrations with a Decline in Household Income
Chart 13: Real Median Household Income Down $1,273
Chart 14: Real Household Income Has Declined for All Income Groups since 2000
Chart 15: Administration with Second Largest Average Annual Rise in the Poverty Rate
Chart 16: 5.4 Million More Americans in Poverty
Chart 17: 6.4 Million More Americans Without Health Insurance
FOLLOW THE MONEY...more of Rove's delusional hogwash
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