Bush leaves infamous term behind

With the inauguration ceremony on everyone’s minds, I decided to attempt to focus this column on some other event that (most) people are celebrating even more than the nation’s new president.

You guessed it: Bush’s last day in office.

I’ve seen calendars counting down the years, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds until Inauguration Day, bumper stickers proclaiming “20 January 2009: The End of an Error” and t-shirts saying “Buck Fush” with color-coded letters so one may arrange them to their appropriate meaning.

Instead of inspiring a nation, our former president inspired “Bushisms,” or adventures in “Bushspeak.”

Despite all that went wrong in the past eight years, I do have to say I have respect for anyone who has made it to become president of the United States. 

I can’t even begin to imagine how it would feel to have the weight of the most prosperous nation in the world on your shoulders.

But I also have to admit I believe Bush will go down in history as one of America’s worst presidents—if not the worst.

Yet, Bush had at one point one of the highest approval ratings ever seen by a president—after Sept. 11, three in four Americans felt Bush was a strong leader.

So what went wrong?

In discussing the concept with several people, there seems to be some key theories.

Please keep in mind; these theories are not excuses, but attempts at explanations.

The first, and most common theory I have heard states that Bush was not ready to confront the challenges America faced over the years.

He even admitted this theory in an interview with ABC News’ Charlie Gibson when he said, “I think I was unprepared for war.”

If our own president did not think he could handle the effects of war, no wonder our years in Iraq have turned out the way they have.

Secondly, some believe Bush was just a horrible public speaker.

In a leadership position, one must have many skills, including the ability to communicate with others—in this case, all of America.

The concept of “Bushisms” I mentioned above will forever leave us cringing because, well, Bush once thought Nelson Mandela was dead.

Lastly, our former president ignored his advisors, and when he happened to listen, it was definitely the wrong advice to take.

The biggest example is the Iraq war—arrogance and ignorance gave way to a war full of errors.

I believe each of these theories contributed to the decline of the Bush administration.

In other words, anything that could go wrong did and no one knew what to do.

A president who led the nation into a war should be able to handle it; a president should be able to communicate and make decisions based on what is best for the American people.

The former president and first lady flew back to Midland, Texas Tuesday in the “Executive One,” the helicopter known as Marine One when the current president is on board.

The change of name—as well as the farewell handshakes—must have been a stark reminder to what is left behind.

Whatever theory you might have regarding the Bush presidency, whether it is something complex or as plain as, “Bush just sucked,” it is time to move on and see what the future will bring us.

America is all in this together, and in the words of our former president, “The decisions we make in Washington have a direct impact on the people in our country, obviously.”

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