No More Bush

With Jeb Bush dropping out of the race for President, this might be the end of the Bush dynasty. His poor showing in the primaries was the final nail in the coffin with the dream of more Bushes in the White House. This is a good thing...... I find it very hard to really mourn the failure of Jeb Bush making it to the Promised Land. The Bush family has had more than their share of romping in the halls of the Executive Mansion. The legacy of Father and Son George running this country is not a strong one. In fact, it is appalling on several levels, starting with the savings and loan scandal under Bush Senior, to the Iraq War under Junior's command. One scandal cost billions in currency, the other thousands, perhaps, millions of lives. The Iraq War that Junior fought was the extension of the Gulf War that Senior fought, with the remnants of Saddam Hussein being dealt with. The case could be made that had George Sr. completed the Gulf War---- which, the military people wanted but the politicians ultimately decided no on----- then, it is very likely that the Junior created Iraq War would never have happened....... But, this is all hindsight. The Iraq War happened, and it does no service to anyone to continue to point out the obvious that it never should have occurred. The hornest's nest of problems---- most notably, the birth of ISIS----- is the sad legacy of this conflict. George Jr. either was badly advised into going into the region, or, was advised against doing this and ignored the warnings from his people. The story supports both sides as the participants scurry around covering their asses while blaming him. And, the blame must go to him because, ultimately, it is the President Of The United States who makes the final call to arms. And, George W. Bush must live with this decision til his dying day.......... Historians often say that it takes a good twenty years to judge a Presidential performance in office. Evaluations are put off this long because the ripples of a Presidency usually take generations to see the effects of. What may have been a disappointing Presidency, in hindsight, can, sometimes, be an outstanding achievement when measured against its results in history. Harry Truman was a joke in the White House. He was ridiculed mercilessly as being an unsophisticated hayseed, not very smart [kinda like George W. Bush is portrayed. That is wrong. He is a smart man, just not articulate with the public] and a failure as President. But, time has been good to him and he is now regarded as a damn good Chief Executive. John F. Kennedy is the opposite. because of his glamour and good looks [and, tragic demise] JFK is always high in the ratings in the public's mind. History experts judge him differently. Richard Nixon was reviled and loved. Now, his enemies see a damn good Presidency that could have been legendary. But, Watergate and other tricky dealings tainted Nixon's legacy, tarnishing a tenure that would have been among the finest we have ever known........ George Herbert Walker Bush can be judged fairly now. He started off strong because he had the glory of the Reagan years to ride the crest of. The economy was perking along nicely in 1988, along with many successes in foreign policy decisions[ the dealings and treaties with the Soviets, most notably]. When George Sr. easily defeated Michael Dukakis in 1988, the promise of carrying on the achievements of Reagan seemed rosy. Then, the savings and loan scandal erupted. In a nutshell, many prominent businessmen on Wall Street, and in high finance---- in cahoots with the shifty banks----- nearly brought the Federal Reserve to its knees and lost many people their savings. This was done through false entries in bank records, questionable government deregulation bills, and defaulting on loans knowing full well that the taxpayers would foot the bill [ And, we did. To the estimated tune of 135 billion dollars]. Some of the guilty had fingerprints directly touching George Bush Sr., with a Ronald Reagan chaser. That Bush later pardoned many of these thieves--- like Lloyd Davis and Edwin Cox, both men given prison time for bank fraud----- speaks of his knowledge and skullduggery. And, Jeb Bush was not innocent in this, either. He defaulted on a 4.56 Billion dollar loan and paid next to nothing back in penalties. Guess who did pay off his loan, though? If you said Barbabra Bush, you are wrong.........The fact that politicians are in bed with the shysters in business is as old as the beard on the face of Moses. But, through pulling punches at the Department of Justice [when it came time to prosecute the hooligans] Bush Sr. protected his buddies in high finance. Some found their time in jail but most did not. The ''Friends In High Power'' fraternity saved his friends. But millions lost millions........ Then came the infamous Gulf War, or ''Desert Storm''. This was our first made-for-TV conflict. Suddenly, overnight, Saddam Hussein, who had been our ally for many years, became the Devil Incarnate, akin to Hitler, and someone we must dispose of. Part of it was fact. Hussein was a mass butcher, executing with glee anyone who came within his vision. He was a monster. But, the U.S. has supported many monsters throughout the years. Why, the question went in 1990, did he need to be toppled when he served our purposes for so many years in the region? The answer was in the question: he served our purposes. Now, he was expendable. The reason given was because he invaded Kuwait, a small but very rich country specializing in oil. When Evil Saddam went into Poor Kuwait, Big Bad George Herbert Walker Bush felt righteous indignation. He must be stopped, Bush told us, before he strikes again and destroys the world. Thus commenced, in January 1991, the Gulf War. It lasted five weeks. I've been to parties that lasted longer. With full support of a united, United Nations, America, with George Sr. riding shotgun in the pilots seat, swept Iraq out of Kuwait with a mighty swat. We drove the Iraq army so back into its own country that victory was at our grasp. But, then, mysteriously, we stopped. By military estimations, only a few more days and we would have had Hussein and his henchmen. However, we stopped....... Why? That has always been the elephant in the room when talking about this ''war''. Why did we stop and not complete our objective? Why did we leave Hussein in power, for after all, he was an evil bad man who must be disposed of? The military wanted to complete the job. Even those who were against the war felt that, as long as you have done this, why not go all the way into victory? The failure and the dark suspicions would hover over George Bush Sr., following him into his reelection campaign in 1992. When the Gulf War ended in February 1991, Bush had an extraordinary 90% approval rating. By election time in 1992, he was hovering in the 30% level. Why had he fallen so hard so fast? Simple. The economy tanked. And, Americans, regardless of what they say in polls, always vote what is in their wallets. In the fall of 1992, the economy was in a heavy recession. Plus, Bush Sr. had been haunted by the ghost of something he said at the Republican Convention in 1988. Remember the famous, ''Read my lips. No New Taxes.'' line? Well, voters in 1992 did remember because Bush DID raise those taxes and it was the middle class who felt the pinch the most. Come election day 1992, Bush would lose to shady Bill Clinton with the help of third party candidate Ross Perot, who siphoned off many votes from Bush. When George Bush Sr. left office in January 1993 [on the way out he made sure to pardon his Iran Contra buddies like John Poindexter], history promised to not treat him kindly in retrospect. It hasn't........ The 90's saw the family retreat into the background of politics. But, the family was gearing up to grab the brass ring again. The obvious candidate was Jeb Bush, the Golden Son. He was smart, articulate, and hard-nosed. But,  he was passed over for George W. Bush Jr. It is another why question. Why pass over the better son to take a chance on the son most vulnerable? True, George Jr. was Governor of Texas and had cleaned up his wilder, party-boy days of his youth. Still, he was a huge gamble for the family. However, the family did rally around him and he became President in 2000 after a legendary dirty election. The fact that he only won by several hundred votes has always been an open question of honesty. Al Gore, that great example of a fetus living after an abortion, won the popular vote [lets be honest, all of you liberals. Do you really think all of Gore's ''found'' votes in Florida were any better than Bush's?] but lost the electoral vote, which is how we elect Presidents in this country. Until we have solid proof that Bush stole the election, we must concede he earned the job. And, until September 11 2001, he stumbled a little with yet another faltering economy. He cut taxes, which put us into a hole, deficit-wise. But, nothing major came his way....... Until, 9/11....... Again, we must disregard the rumors of ''what he knew and when he knew it.'' That is for his enemies to prove. And, yes, the famous scene in the Florida classroom, as he learned of the terror attacks, with him sitting immobile for a few crucial moments, is disquieting. However, he did recover quickly and his leadership in the days and weeks after the attacks was quite splendid. I remember watching him during this time and thinking, ''He has grown into this job now''. And, he did. George Bush Jr. did everything right after 9/11, from assuring a shaken country and world in a memorable address to Congress, to identifying the cowards who did this and promising to punish them. He wisely took his time before going after the Taliban in Afghanistan. Like a skilled General, he took his time, was not rash, and sent his awesome military power after the bastards. Initially, he was successful, driving the Taliban away and aggressively hunting Bin Laden. As the months rolled on, a sense of normalcy came back to us. Bush Jr. seemed to be going after the bad guys....... Then, in March 2002, in front of Congress, George W. Bush took a fatal step. He announced that Iraq had, once again, Weapons Of Mass Destruction. This was one of the big selling points that his old man had used in the Gulf War.  Bush Jr. was certain, he told America---and, by extension, the world--- that Saddam Hussein was up to his old tricks and needed to be stopped. The Bush administration also let it be known that there was a connection between Iraq and 9/11 [there wasn't]. Like millions of Americans, I believed this rhetoric--- sort of. After all, I thought Bush had done the right job after the terror attacks. Still, as I supported his contention of a connection between Hussein and Bin Laden, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. Iraq? 9/11? Oh, well, he was right about Afghanistan, so, he must know about Iraq. Lets get Hussein, too!! And, those pesky Weapons Of Mass Destruction!!!........ Well, in March, 2003, we did go after him. And, just like a decade earlier, we sent them running for cover in Iraq. Within weeks, Saddam and his government were all done, with only their capture to be the final chapter. For the rest of us, we decided to sit back, enjoy another victory, and wait for the discovery of those pesky WMD'S....... There was just one big problem: those weapons were nowhere to be found. Anywhere. Perhaps, they had been moved. Maybe. There was no evidence that they had, though. To this day, no weapons Of Mass Destruction has ever been found in Iraq...... How could this be? How could we have been so wrong? The British thought Saddam had them, as did the Russians, the UN. Was everyone wrong here? The answer is overwhelming: WE WERE. And, a lot of blood was shed finding this out......... Within Iraq, chaos was happening. Now that the murderous Saddam was gone, there was no one to run the store. Thus was born various small but deadly terrorists groups, namely, ISIS. These groups, murder fiends to their slimy core, took apart the country and set their venom against the U.S. soldiers still occupying the region. It became a horrible news story every day hearing about how many casualties fell victim to these fuckers. And, with this total came the sad and angry realization that we, as a country, had been sold a bill of goods by the Bush Administration. Not only was Iraq not succumbing to our military might but we were also to learn that the Iraq/9/11 connection was bullshit. Saddam Hussein, despite all of his villainy, was not in with any planning or execution on our Day Of Infamy Part 2. So, the question must be asked: Did Bush lie about us going to war? Yes, I believe he did. Unlike his enemies, though, I do think the administration lied not to finish the job that his father started----although, that was a bonus---- but rather to box in Iran, who is the real enemy in that area. The way of thinking is, if we conquer Afghanistan on the right of Iran, and Iraq on the left, we will have the Iranians right where we want them. Or, to put it bluntly: WE WILL HAVE THE OIL.....So, we touched that hornets nest in that most irrational of areas in the world and we have seen what we have reaped. It is even more dangerous and deadly there than any time in history. Yes, Saddam is gone---which, is good---- but a bunch of little Saddams has replaced the original. And, they are all devils. I'm not saying to have Saddam Hussein in there now would be a wonderful thing. But, sometimes, it is better to have the Devil you know........More failures came with the Bush Presidency, most notably, Hurricane Katrina [''You're doing a great job, Brownie!'']. Not having enough troops in Iraq. Letting Bin Laden, once so close in our sights, escape. The connections to Enron and Halliburton....... Writing this, I am hard-pressed to find much positive in his time in office. I suppose, to foreign enemies, he was somewhat feared for his not sitting back and doing nothing, like Obama. He was the Cowboy riding into battle with his spurs and horse and shotgun, ready to take on any challenger. And, he was, surprisingly, a strong advocate against the universal fight against AIDS. Particularly, in Africa. This fight should have be celebrated by even the staunchest liberal. But, it has been ignored.......... When George W. Bush left office in 2009, the economy again was on shaky grounds, thanks to the mortgage crisis. The debt was in the trillions. The good word of the United States had been besmirched by the tragic folly of the Iraq War. Afghanistan had no end in sight. The Republican party was at war with itself. The country was so disillusioned that we elected as our next President a man who never had a real job in his life. While it will take twenty years to fully grasp the second Bush Administration, the short term report card does not look strong. It is poor, very poor. Maybe, history will change in the decade ahead and it will make sense. Maybe....... The pundits in the media say it is this memory of the George W. Bush mess that haunted his brother, Jeb. They call it the ''Bush Hangover''. What that means is, that the people have such a bitter taste in their mouths about the Bush Family, the thought of another Bush in the White House makes their skin crawl. Jeb Bush had to unite the Republican Party in his quest, to get the voters under one roof, to undue the damage that his brother caused. He couldn't make a mark. From his initial announcement upon entering the campaign, he was dead in the water......... The irony for me is that I like the Bush Family. Not as sitting Presidents but as people. I don't know them, obviously. Still, there is a likability to them, a certain southern country charm. They seem like the type of people that it would be fun to have a beer with [non-alcoholic for Jr.]. I sense a decency with them, so different than the treacherous Clinton hillbillies. I just wish I found them to be better Presidents....... I have many conservative friends who sing their praises and point to successes. I disagree. I see only failures, many of them painful.