The Bush Legacy

For seven years George Bush has kept this nation free from terrorist attack. For this legacy every single one of us owe him a debt of gratitude. For those seven years as commander-in-chief he demonstrated a focus, a resolve, a constitutional emotional balance, a self-possession that was not disturbed by the most trying of circumstances.

The President’s strength and his dedication to his country were distilled in a 20 minute speech of Jan/10/07 that announced a new initiative designed to win in Iraq. The speech was not greeted with applause. Few within the administration supported what now has become known as "the surge". The Joint Chiefs of Staff were not in favor, nor was Gen Casey, the American commander in Iraq, nor was Centcom commander John Abizaid, nor was Condy Rice, nor was the foreign policy establishment led by the Iraqi Study Group. Yet that day the President wasn’t looking for affirmation. He was not, Clinton–like, directed by the polls. He was focused solely on victory; he decided to spurn public opinion and political pressure and fly by his own lights. He was right. That decision can be regarded as the single greatest of that whole series of decisions that successfully confronted an enemy whose creed is nothing more than an atavistic inheritance of the dark ages. As Charles Krauthammer reminds us, "The surge...effected the most dramatic change in the fortunes of an American war since the summer of 1864."

We are reminded too by Ann Coulter of the western classic "High Noon". The sheriff is about to leave office just when a gang of toughs ride into town. He could leave but he waits to face the killers. All his friends and all the townspeople who supported him during his years of keeping them safe, slowly abandon him. In the end, he walks alone to meet the killers, because someone had to.

In an interview George Bush noted with some pride that he has bequeathed to his successor the kinds of powers and institutions the next president will need to protect Americans. Yet despite this heritage he leaves as an unpopular president. Krauthammer confirms that, "In this respect Bush is much like Truman who developed the sinews of war for a new era (Dept of Def, CIA, NSA), expanded the powers of the presidency, established a new doctrine for active intervention abroad, and ultimately engaged in a war (Korea) that also proved to be highly unpopular." So unpopular that Truman left office disparaged, persecuted by both sides of the aisle as if he were some sort of nefarious character. History has revised that verdict. There is no doubt that Bush will be the subject of a similar reconsideration.

Robert Craven