***(Editor’s Note: In conjunction with the Inauguration of America’s 44th President, “The Thirsty Quill” is publishing a series entitled “Ranking The Presidents.” There is no ‘exact science’ to these rankings other than personal opinion based on such factors as policy, performance, popularity, perseverance, integrity, and legacy. Aside from those Presidents ranked in the top 25% and the bottom 25%, there is a great deal of ‘wiggle room’ for discretionary placement and movement. These rankings are strictly the personal opinion of the Editor of ‘The Quill,’ and should not be regarded as an academic survey of any type. Debate of these rankings is highly encouraged and appreciated.)***

 

#16: George W. Bush (2001-2009)

I’m sure that I’m playing with fire here, so let the critics commence to throwing their stones. I’m ready…

I could write an entire book defending George W. Bush as a Top-20 President. Ironically, his critics claim that they could write one on him being one of the worst. I’m quite certain that the debate will spill out here over the next few days at ‘The Quill,’ as this will undoubtedly be regarded as one of my most controversial rankings.

That’s the thing about George W. Bush right now. People either love him, or they hate him; they applaud his policies and decision-making, or they claim that he was an incompetent leader; they say he was a man of conviction and principle, or that he broke the law and lied. Regardless, there is very little ‘middle ground’ or ‘wiggle room’ among the perceptions of his tenure.

So, let the ‘Tug o’ War’ between admiration and hate for “W” begin…

Let’s start with the 2000 Election. It was one of the most highly-contested and controversial elections in U.S. history. We all remember Bush and Gore going down to the wire, and the “hanging chads” fiasco in Florida. The controversy sparked public distrust for the political process, which I believe was provoked by a liberal media that was drooling over a good story. Motions were filed, and the case ultimately had to be settled by the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in Bush’s favor, and the election was over.

There were accusations of cheating. There were public demonstrations. There were calls for an end to the Electoral College. I find it amazing that people think that the 2000 Election was the only time in American history that there was some controversy surrounding the Electoral and Popular vote. Little do most realize that 2000 was one of a handful of Presidential Elections in which the candidate who won the Popular vote lost the Electoral College. It was as if people expected the Constitution to be changed overnight, completely abolishing the process as set forth by those who had framed the document over 200 years before.

In the end, regardless of who won, the newly elected President was going to begin his tenure with a public that was skeptical of their victory. Not a good way to start for anyone, regardless of party affiliation.

People have debated with me on the issue of the 2000 Election, claiming that Bush “stole” Florida…and the victory. However, I have always been quick to point out one important factor that is often overlooked. The election only hinged on Florida because of the controversial ballots in a few precincts that dragged out for several weeks (long after other states had finished counting). Yet, most Democrats forget that Florida would have never mattered in the final results, had Al Gore won his home state of Tennessee. Capturing Tennessee would have given Gore the necessary Electoral Votes to reach the 270 ‘threshold,’ thus securing the Presidency. Florida (and their controversial system with unreadable “punch cards”) would not have mattered. Gore could not win his home state. That is what cost him the Election of 2000, not a few thousand “punch cards.” Therefore it was Tennessee, and not Florida which carried the election for George W.

Before the dust had settled on the Election Controversy, America would be tested by the event that would shape and define Bush’s remaining years in the White House. Al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist organization under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, used hijacked commercial airliners to strike at targets representing America’s financial, military, and democratic strength. In the end, close to 3,000 innocent Americans had lost their lives in what would be one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.

At that moment, on that day, Bush’s legacy was sealed forever.

The remainder of his Presidency would be shaped by a necessity to deal with a new threat, one not seen at such magnitude in our past…by an enemy without flag, without uniform, and without any regard for their own lives. It was Jihad against the United States, and all other policy, domestic and foreign, would take a backseat to the protection of America from such an attack again.

Bush rallied America. You remember the time, and you remember the feeling. It was patriotism and nationalism like we had not felt or witnessed in 60 years (since Pearl Harbor in 1941). Suddenly, it was once again cool to stand with reverence during the National Anthem. The phrase “God Bless America” could be found on bumper stickers, billboards, and at the corner lemonade stand where your neighbor’s kids were raising money for the victims. There were American flags on every street, on every highway, and on every sports uniform across this great land. We were united by a common cause through an uncommon tragedy. And in the midst of our pain, it felt good to know where America stood.

President Bush’s approval ratings were in the neighborhood of 90% in the months that followed the attacks of 9/11. But oh, how we forget. We are such a fickle and spoiled nation…

America changed its stance. Under Bush’s leadership, we went on the offensive to go get the bad guys before they got us. As a nation, we applauded with rousing support. Red, white, and blue ran through our veins, across our TV screens, and throughout the airwaves. “Have you forgotten?”

There was Afghanistan and the hunt for the most elusive man in the world. We still haven’t found him, and the American public is dissatisfied. Yet, we don’t even have any evidence as to whether or not bin Laden is still alive. He is aging, and his health was deteriorating long before 9/11 (kidney ailment). Most grew weary of the search when we didn’t find him right away. It took the FBI over 5 years just to find the man who detonated a nail bomb at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996…and he was hiding in the woods of North Carolina. It’s been a little over 7 years since we began searching for the world’s most notorious terrorist in the mountains and caves of Afghanistan.

But there has been progress. The Taliban has been toppled, there is a working Constitution, the people are experiencing freedom and democracy for the first time, and women are unafraid to have an opinion, along with their ability to vote. We cannot forget that.

We then turned our attention to Iraq, and began one of the most controversial military operations in American history. We had changed our stance on the bad guys, and Saddam Hussein had been a thorn in our side for over a decade. In fact, the world had been dealing with Hussein’s antics since it was discovered that he was killing his own people by the tens-of-thousands. The United States had marked Hussein as “dangerous” since he had wiped out an entire village of innocent men, women, and children by using chemical and biological weapons on them in the 1980s. The facts are there.

Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait at the beginning of the 1990s made him a global threat. Iraqi troops used their strong (at the time) military to roll over a defenseless Kuwait. These same troops tortured and murdered male Kuwaiti citizens, raped Kuwaiti women, and beat and deprived Kuwaiti children. Hussein was greedy for Kuwait’s vast natural resources (primarily its oil), and the defenseless and peaceful nation made for an easy target.

The world was outraged. A coalition of dozens of countries (under the leadership of the United States) gave Hussein an ultimatum: get out, or else. Saddam chose the “or else” option, thumbing his nose at the coalition and making threats about turning the United States into a “pile of ashes.” Our troops crushed the Iraqi military in a matter of hours, and turned their focus toward Baghdad and Hussein.

And then, for some reason that will be remembered as one of the biggest errors in world history, we stopped. Hussein apologized, agreed to adhere to United Nations resolutions, promised to dismantle and destroy any stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons plus halt his pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and ultimately “play nice.” We took him at his word. What fools we were to allow him to stay in power…

The elder George Bush should have pushed forward and taken out Hussein when we had the chance (and the evidence in hand) to do so. He didn’t. And when Bill Clinton defeated him in 1992, the “problem” that was Saddam Hussein was passed down to a new President.

When Saddam began to back away from his promises and pledges to conform, the United Nations was at a loss for how to deal with him. Hussein repeatedly kicked U.N. weapons inspectors out, and slowly began rebuilding his confidence to behave in ways that violated the resolutions by which he was bound. As a result, President Clinton was forced to order multiple military strikes against Iraq in an effort to get Hussein to comply. Nothing seemed to work. When Clinton became distracted by his own personal issues, Hussein disappeared from the spotlight and went back to business as usual. Just as Bush had done in ’92, Clinton left office with the Iraqi issue unresolved. I blame the elder George Bush, Bill Clinton, and the United Nations for the problems we have in Iraq today, not George W. Had the earlier leaders dealt with the problem when the evidence was ‘red hot,’ the need for entering Iraq after 9/11 would have never existed, and our men and women would already be back home.

No, Osama bin Laden  is not in Iraq. No, Saddam Hussein didn’t help plot 9/11. I get that. However, when America changed its stance after 9/11, it once again thrust “problem” dictators and regimes that would do us harm back into the spotlight. Thus, we went after the “thorn” who had long since worn out our patience.

Likewise, President Clinton failed to deal with bin Laden after the first Al-Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. Yet no one seems to blame him for not “finding” bin Laden in the remaining 7 years of his administration. Al-Qaeda also bombed multiple embassies and the USS Cole under Clinton’s watch, but nobody remembers those. We have such a double-standard in our perceptions…

This is about the time that I began to realize that George W. Bush was going to spend his time in office picking up the pieces left behind from the elder President Bush and President Clinton.

Then, there was Hurricane Katrina and the accusations that President Bush neglected to deal with the disaster effectively. I will agree that mistakes were made, both before and after Katrina made landfall. Yet, I’m confused by the insinuations that the blame all rests at the feet of the President. No one knew just how devastating Katrina would be until hours before she hit. Both the Federal and State governments made dire warnings, insisting that people get out of its path, either on their own or by the transportation that was provided. The majority (not all) of the fatalities and tragedies that followed were among those who had refused to leave, despite the warnings and mandatory evacuations.

The follow-up response was pathetic at all levels. Aid and relief were slow and limited. I do blame the Federal, State, and local agencies for not acting quicker. Does Bush share some of the blame? Of course. But, can we honestly lay all of this at the feet of one man? No. There were many lessons to be learned in the wake of Katrina. Let us hope and pray that they are never realized again…for any President.

The issue of “rights” came up in the years that followed 9/11. The Patriot Act, wire-tapping, and torture seemed to anger many of Bush’s critics. We could debate the role of government in protecting its citizens vs. the rights of suspected enemy combatants and terrorists until we all passed out from huffing and puffing. It wouldn’t settle anything. I’ll leave this issue with a few thoughts and questions: 1) Bush made a pledge to protect our nation after 9/11, using all available resources and by whatever means necessary. 2) How do you define “torture,” especially against someone who is willing to kill innocent Americans? 3) What are the “rights” of a suspected terrorist who is not an American citizen? Are they afforded the same rights and protections as a U.S. citizen? 4) The U.S. experienced NO terrorist attacks on our soil for the remainder of Bush’s terms (’01-’09), despite attacks in London, Madrid, and at countless other locations around the globe. 5) Call it “torture” or a “violation of rights” all you want. I call it “success.”

The economy was the final stumbling block of Bush’s Presidency. Most are quick to blame the recession that has crippled our economy (since the last quarter of 2007) on him. I agree, our economy is in dire condition. Yet once again, we’ve allowed the last year to blind the full spectrum of his legacy. In the summer of 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked above 14,000. This was an all-time high, and came on the heels of an economic boom that had seen our market swell by nearly double since 2001…under George W. Bush. But I guess that doesn’t matter…

I place George W. Bush at a respectable #16 because he was faced with more trials and issues than most Presidents in our nation’s history. And while he wasn’t perfect, he did handle each and every one of these problems with conviction and leadership. He never cowered from making the tough decisions, even when they were going to be extremely unpopular.

He did all of this while watching his approval ratings fall from 90%, to close to 30% at one point. He did so despite a ravenous and unforgiving liberal media that was bent on his demise. Make no mistake, they wanted him to fail. They broadcast his failures and buried his victories like the underworld vermin that they are.

He pushed on despite a society that expected success in the War On Terror faster than we can download the latest song to our iPod, or send a text message on our cell phone. We are a society of short-term memory and spoiled ideology. We showed our asses by the way we treated the man who pledged to protect us…and backed it up…

He never wavered. Despite the polls and disrespect, he always held true to his convictions and never buckled. He made the tough calls and took every ounce of blame we could dish out.

Then, when it was time for him to go, he was above reproach and ever classy in the smooth transition of power, bowing out gracefully to a political adversary. He complimented the incoming President repeatedly, referring to him as “a great American” in what had been “a historic election.” There would be no missing keys from computer keyboards when Bush left office (you’ll have to ask Clinton staffers about that one).

As a student and teacher of America’s past, I realize that the History books will be much kinder to our 43rd President than we have been. They will one day remark about the strides made in some of the darkest spots on the globe…strides that have advanced the ideals of freedom and democracy to those who never knew them before. They will also dedicate a paragraph or page…no, better yet, at least a chapter…to how Americans were kept safe for the final 7 1/2 years of his Presidency. And they’ll marvel at how, despite growing criticism and a society that turned their back on him, he followed through with his promise to “never forget,” when so many others did…

Notable Quotations: “You know what’s so interesting about Washington? It’s the kind of place where second-guessing has become second nature.”

“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”

“Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.”

“Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -the greatest achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time- now depends on us. Our nation -this generation- will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future…we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.”

#16: George W. Bush

#16: George W. Bush

 PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS SO FAR: 

#16: George W. Bush (2001-2009)

#17: John Adams (1797-1801)

#18: William McKinley (1897-1901)

#19: William Taft (1909-1913)

#21/20: Grover Cleveland (1885-89/1893-97)

#22: George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

#23: Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

#24: Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

#25: John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

#26: Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

#27: Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

#28: Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

#29: Zachary Taylor (March 1849-July 1850)

#30: Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

#31: Chester Arthur (1881-1885)

#32: Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

#33: John Tyler (1841-1845)

#34: Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

#35: Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

#36: Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

#37: James Buchanan (1857-1861)

#38: Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

#39: Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

#40: Warren Harding (March 1921-August 1923)

#41: Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

#42*: James Garfield (March 1881-September 1881)

#43*: William Henry Harrison (March 1841-April 1841)

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