The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace

[TGO David]

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html

The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace

By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

AP

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.

[Guest JPH]

well said sir

and add the congress approval rating is way lower then Bush's but what the hell

[strickj]

Yano,I like Bush,and I think hes done a pretty good job based on the catastrophes thats he been dealt with.

Anybody,Gore,Kerry,or who ever would have seen the same approval from these people regardless of their decisions after the tragedies.

But I guess there is just no pleasing some people!

If a woman wont please them....nothenig will......

[creeky]

Read that this morning. Thought it was pretty well thought out.

Ironic how Truman was at 22% when he left office.

[Guest bkelm18]

People always look at me funny when I say I respect Bush. Honestly, I think he did a pretty good job these past 8 yrs. Could he have done better? Well yeah. Could he have done much worse? Big time. As others have said, the problems we have now were not caused by Bush, he just simply inherited them when he took office and now the world blames him for everything. I saluted him as my Commander in Chief when I was in the service and I would proudly do so again given the opportunity as a civilian.

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

Bush-bashing is fashionable right now. It's what all the cool kids are doing. I'm 100% convinced that the vast majority of it is reactionary, lemming-like vomit. Basically, the same sort of thing that got Obama so much support.

Ask a person on the street why they voted for Obama, and you're likely to get some vague ramblings about "change" and "helping out the little guy."

Ask a person on the street what's so bad about Bush, and you're likely to get the same kind of thing. Maybe a "Bush lied, people died!" chant if they're particularly coherent.

It's not that there aren't perfectly logical reasons for a person support to Obama and/or dislike Bush. It's that actually critically and logically analyzing things is way too much work for the average citizen. It's a lot easier to just like Obama and hate Bush because it's the in thing to do. It's a lot easier to latch on to a belief and then assemble some talking points to rationalize your view.

In the end, it generally ends up going back to the stark black and white, us vs. them mentality people have. If you say anything positive about Bush, you're liable to be labeled as a brainwashed neocon. Same thing goes for Obama as well. Don't like him? You're probably a redneck racist.

Why does it have to be such a rare thing today to find some respect, grudging as it might be, for an opposing position, and then discuss it rationally?

[Angus]

This dude could not win for losing. It is funny how little the public really knows about government and politics, me included. I have talked with peopel and made a reamrk "you know you would have a valid point if we lived in a MONARCHY"...and they still didn't get it.

I feel bad for the dude, he deserves a beer and a long nap.

[NuTcAsE]

San Fran, hmm big lib town. Y'know ya' can't expect much out of democrats. They have no respect for themselves or anyone else. There are some good folks who call themselves democrats granted, but the "mainstream" democrat/liberal/progressive/chickens**t whatever you gotta call it to hide it party. Is a magnet for the slugs, dregs and bottom feeders of our society. They have tried to tear down everything and anyone who has stood for anything that is good and decent in our country. I wouldn't expect those people to do anything different, they are not capable, and am frankly surprised that they weren't wallowing in the sewage when the epiphany struck to name it after W. I guess I'm stupid in the fact that I think the liberals have finally reached bottom with every level of disgust, but somehow they manage to dig deeper and deeper to find that new low. My surprise must come from holding myself to standards I think should be basic manners.

I know President Bush has made some bad calls, some I feel were very liberal and vehemently opposed, spending especially. In light of it all though, I don't know if I could have done much better myself considering what had been set up for failure from Presidents past, the attacks on 9-11, and the following recession. I can appreciate disention, but there is no place for this in a civilized country.

[raydog1]

The average American does not have and will never have access to the White House War Room. We are dependant on the free press for information on Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. This is how opinions are formed of our elected officials. Especially in an atmosphere of distrust. And many of us here distrust most if not all politicians.

O'reilly and Woodward interview showing a good example of this:

[Smith]

What a world we live in where Bush is an enemy and Che Guevara is a hero.

[Guest Ghostrider]

What a world we live in where Bush is an enemy and Che Guevara is a hero.

Now that is sig worthy...

[Volzfan]

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html

The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace

By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

AP

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

There's no wondering why no one really wants this job. How can we,as a country have gotten to the point that we can't show any level of respect for the office of POTUS? I'm embarrassed! The sad part is that now I have to show respect to a man who I detest but he soon will officially be the POTUS!

People always look at me funny when I say I respect Bush. Honestly, I think he did a pretty good job these past 8 yrs. Could he have done better? Well yeah. Could he have done much worse? Big time. As others have said, the problems we have now were not caused by Bush, he just simply inherited them when he took office and now the world blames him for everything. I saluted him as my Commander in Chief when I was in the service and I would proudly do so again given the opportunity as a civilian.

bkelm18, I agree with you. Ronald Reagan was the last president who really made things happen while in office and Bush #1 continued the progress. Bill Clinton got the credit for booming economy and the things that were begun in the 12 previous years while he was beginning the events that would cause Bush #2 the problems that he had to deal with over the last 8 years. I'm sure that there was more that he could have done but without the support of either party he was doomed to take the fall.

I can only pray that the American public will realize the mistake that has been made this week and vote him out in 4 years.

[TGO David]

Volzfan, keep in mind my friend that you're showing respect to the office and not necessarily the occupant.

I will go a step further and recommend that if you're the praying kind, that you say one daily for Obama and ask that God use him for good. There are plenty of accounts in the Bible of that very thing happening; a bad ruler used for good purposes.

[Guest Valkyrie]

I read this last night and had a lengthy discussion about it. Definitely a good article.

[Guest nraforlife]

The average American could be a rats rump about anything other than their own narrow self interest. The Hell with the country as long as I can get the latest IPOD mentality has serious put holes in the USS United States. Only hope that the frickin rats drown with the ship.

[Guest 2Old]

Very good article. I believe that most people fail to see the big picture... I fear that this great country of ours has let the far left liberals take it over to the point of no return. We've stood by and done nothing while they've kicked God out of our schools and out of much of our daily lives and made a mockery of common decency in general. Our great country is morally bankrupt... how then can we appreciate a President who tries to do the right thing?

[Guest Centennial]

Excellent article. It's about time that someone said those things. While it's currently very trendy to bash Bush in some circles, I respect the man and appreciate the leadership he has shown this nation during the last eight difficult years.

[Guest rlrm777]

What is really amazing is going to some of the blogs and listening to the lefties whining about anything negative (even tho it's all true) said about the Messiah.

The same rats that have printed the most disgusting things about Bush.

Liberalism is truly a mental disorder.

[Volzfan]

Volzfan, keep in mind my friend that you're showing respect to the office and not necessarily the occupant.

I will go a step further and recommend that if you're the praying kind, that you say one daily for Obama and ask that God use him for good. There are plenty of accounts in the Bible of that very thing happening; a bad ruler used for good purposes.

+1

Respect is for the office but BO will be the beneficiary.

Edited November 9, 2008 by Volzfan

[patbax2]

Great article. It's sad that its taken so long for someone to say this, though.

[Guest flyfishtn]

Great article David, thank you for sharing.

I work with someone who doesn't like Bush yet he can't pinpoint anything and then proceeds to bring up big oil and tax benefits for the rich, etc. So blind to everything he has done positive and myopic in the view of what he inherited to clean up and run.

[Mark@Sea]

Big Oil? So, the big price drop I'm hearing about, thats' Bushs' fault, right?

[Oh Shoot]

...keep in mind my friend that you're showing respect to the office and not necessarily the occupant.....

Totally agree.

That's why I think Dubya should at the least be in prison.

For malfeasance, cronyism/graft, obstruction of justice by abetting perjury, and mass murder, just off the top of my head.

Other charges pending.

- OS

Edited November 11, 2008 by OhShoot
syntax

[Mark@Sea]

Personally I think Obama should be in the Marion federal pen for money laundering, rico violations, and treason.

I'd actually have an easier time proving my charges in a court of law, but hey, thats' the great thing about spouting off unsupported BS on the internetz. No actual, you know, proof is needed.

[Smith]

Totally agree.

That's why I think Dubya should at the least be in prison.

For malfeasance, cronyism/graft, obstruction of justice by abetting perjury, and mass murder, just off the top of my head.

Other charges pending.

- OS

You are one crazy old man!