Is this photo going to define the George W. Bush presidency? More to the point, should it?
With the Bush memoirs, Decision Points, soon to hit book stands, it is likely that there will be some serious discussion about what the Bush "The Younger" legacy is going to be. This is particularly so in light of the debacle that unfolded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that devastated the Louisiana coast and New Orleans.
The reality is that Air Force One probably is not the best place to allow yourself to be photographed in doing a flyover of an area that had just been devastated in the manner that New Orleans had.
For some reason, I am thinking that history might be kinder and gentler in hindsight, particularly as the US moves on and away from those years between 2000 ad 2008. It would seem unlikely that the Bush II presidency will ever be considered a great presidency or that Bush "The Younger" will find himself in a list of great US presidents. But, time will smooth over some of the harshest criticisms in much the same way the passage of time has done for President Truman and a few other less than awe-inspiring men who have held the post of "the most powerful man in the world".
Not that any of this really matters on a personal level to me...I am a historian, so it matters to me on a professional level :)
2 comments:
While Bush was repeatedly warned before Katrina that there was a high probability that the Army Corps of Engineers's shoddy levees might fail, and while Bush was warned before invading a foreign country based on false information resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians that there was contrary info., and while Bush was warned of the good possibility of terrorists running in to our buildings with airplanes prior to 9/11, I think the "Mission Accomplished" banner photo would be most fitting for his Presidency.
Many of his supporters including the defense industry, oil and gas companies, conservative media, Blackwater, and other major contributors increased their "earning" many times over while the middle-class and poor in America continue to pay for it.
Paul Harris
Author, "Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"
@ Patriot Paul...
I don't think that I was suggesting that President Bush "The Younger" was ever going to be high on the list of best ever presidents.
But, yeah, the little people always end up paying for the decisions of others who are supposedly representing their best interests. I guess that is the lot of a constituent.
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