Good Riddance

George W. Bush is spending his last weekend as President of the United States. For political opponents of an outgoing president, this would normally this would be the time to offer thanks for years of service and best wishes for the future. Whatever conciliatory remarks I could make, they would be in the context that should Bush ever face a criminal trail for things he did while in office, he should be afforded all the protections the Constitution provides, even though he denied them to others.

While I could in no way support either Barack Obama or John McCain, I was happy that the election was a repudiation of George W. Bush. It was eight years too late, but it was good to see.

I am proud to count myself among the many who saw that the emperor had no clothes from the beginning. I couldn’t believe someone with his limited knowledge and transparent posturing could secure his party’s nomination. No way will the Republicans be so stupid as to nominate Bush, I thought to myself at the time, they’ll nominate McCain, who would do much better against Al Gore. But nominate him they did, and Bush managed to obtain the presidency.

While there are many scandals and shortcomings to choose from, I believe that the Bush administration will be most infamous for its ruthless exploitation of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The wreckage of the Twin Towers was still smoldering when the Republican National Committee began circulating photos of George W. Bush from that day in their fundraising letters. A Commander in Chief who managed to avoid service in both the Texas Air National Guard and Vietnam put on a flight suit and landed on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln like a taxpayer-financed version of ‘Top Gun.’ Pathetic.

Bush was consistently dishonest in both his rhetoric and his policies. He racked up more vacations than press conferences, handed over responsibility of important functions of government to incompetent political hacks, and shrugged off responsibility for all of it.

Bush’s glib manner insulted the dignity of his office and exhibited his lack of capacity to hold it. His disastrous policies that did not involve outright crime, corruption or fraud consisted of empty half measures and catch phrases. He was, as they say in Texas, all hat and no cattle.

Thanks for nothing, Mr. Bush.