George Bush: Good Candidate...Bad Timing

First, The President of the United States, ideally SHOULD be able to properly handle any unexpected tasks, however, the idea that this is the case is unrealistic. I would argue that there has never been a president qualified to meet every single task. No man can be so well rounded. That is the sole purpose of the president's cabinet; to advise him on issues of which he is ill informed. In Bush's case, he was ill informed about how to deal with a foreign threat, so he relied on the advice of Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney. If anyone deserves the blame for the current situation in Iraq, it's Rumsfeld, not Bush. Second, the idea that Bush knew before hand that the 911 attacks were going to occur is full of conspiracy theories, exaggerations, and misunderstandings. Every day Bush receives intel of possible threats, even before the 911 attacks. The US has hundreds of enemies. Hundreds of these reports run past his desk and few ever result in disaster. Also, given the vague information supplied in the alleged report, Bush had little if any power to prevent the attacks from occurring. Tighten airport security? Pre-911 Americans would have had a fit. He had no idea of the possible targets. He had no idea of a possible date, and he had no real grounds to tighten security even if he felt like it was a good idea. He had no power at all. It would be like someone giving you a note saying "You might get stabbed by someone sometime" …what are you supposed to do about that? Say prayers… Third, you discussed bush's failure to maintain the success of our economy. To use that as an argument that Bush was an awful president ignores a portion of my point. Bush could have conceivably been much more beneficial to our economy had he had the opportunity to pay more attention to it. Bush was blind-sided by the tragedies that occurred during his presidency and consequently was unable to pay much, if any, attention to our economy and other domestic issues. It is not unreasonable to suggest that Bush would have been an excellent economic president if the 911 attacks and the war in Iraq hadn't ever occurred. The economy was, after all, the issue he was elected on. Had he just focused on the economy and never had to deal with tragic foreign issues, he may be going down today as a successful president. One also needs to remember that the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq are two VERY separate wars, started at separate times for separate purposes. The war in Afghanistan was fought to remove the Taliban from power and to hunt down and destroy Al Qaeda. The war in Iraq was fought to prevent Iraqis from developing nuclear weapons and the overthrow a ruthless dictator who threatened our country. There is no connection between the Iraq war and 911. To call Bush a liar is simply based on another conspiracy theory. Furthermore, Bush did not choose to go to war alone. At least half of this country supported him. His cabinet supported him. Congress itself voted and passed a declaration of war. Congress sent us to war, not just bush. Also, the decisions Bush made were not necessarily his own. Again, Bush is advised and makes his decisions based on what he is told. The entire strategy for Iraqi invasion was Rumsfeld's… The idea of even going to war with Iraq was pushed by Cheney. Blame for our current foreign troubles belongs to Rumsfeld, Cheney and others. Bush himself carries only a portion of this blame. Bush only did what the "experts" told him was the best course of action. Moving onto domestic issues, Bush has had some blunders, but again, I believe these blunders are the result of neglect caused by the foreign wars. Also, the increase in spending is equally the responsibility of two parts. First, the Iraqi War, something bush could have handled better. Second, I would argue that most of the spending is the result of domestic issue that are largely unavoidable. Baby Boomers are hitting social security. We are pouring out billions to tax fraud, medical fraud, uninsured patients, illegals attending our schools and obtaining scholarships. These together easily at least equal the wars if not surpass them. These are issue that could have been handled better had Bush not been distracted by the 911 attacks and the Iraq war. Lastly, anyone can mention every bad thing a president has done. How about the good things he has done. Lightened the tax burdens on middle-income Americans Very successfully secured our country after 911 Responded very well and very quickly to the 911 attacks Captured Saddam Hussein Overthrew the Taliban Passed the economic stimulus plan, which could be considered the first Bi-partisan effort in a decade Presided over the largest increase in military enlistments in the last 30 yrs Didn't sleep with Ms. Lewinski Passed no child left behind which has helped thousands of less fortunate children graduate Improved the situation in Iraq with his troop surge, a plan that was HIS idea, not Rumsfeld's Most of all, he had the courage to wake up and work relentless to serve people who hated him. I'm not saying, Bush isn't at some fault, but to name him a terrible president is unfair. Too many people forget his successes. Too many people forget his misfortunes, and very few could have held up as well as he did under all this pressure and crisis I know I couldn't have handled all the stress of a failing war, and sudden and unexpected attack, and powerful hurricane, and the hatred of 75% of my people. Bush could and did. That alone makes him something more than terrible president. People should have a little more respect for what he has gone through to protect what he thought was in our best interests.