George W. Bush was a bad president.

"I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives." -TolstoyA rant is not an argumentI hope my opponent feels a whole lot better after his concludng rant. If so, he will have gotten something out of the debate, unlike those of us who did not benefit from his exhorting demons. That stuff is for a blog, not a debate.My opponent challenged me to this debate, and he did not respond to my request to make modifications in the challenge. He got the debate on his terms. I think that obliges him to show up, obey his own rules, and to debate the resolution. He seems to me to have conceded on all accounts, particularly in failing to respond to my arguments in a "coherent fashion" as he required. Pro loses conduct for forfeiting, for violating his rules for the debate, and for his abusive response. The primary duty of the president is to protect the United StatesI argued based upon the constitutional oath of office that the primary duty of the President is to defend the United States. The United States was attacked on 9/11 by organized terrorism. President Bush responded by taking the battle to al Qaeda in Afghanistan and by re-establishing U.S. credibility in the Middle East that was sorely lacking.Peace, freedom, and prosperityPro argued for criteria of peace, freedom, and prosperity. I argued each of Pro's claims in those categories. "Peace" does not equate to accepting attacks without response. FDR was not a bad president because be went to war when attacked, and neither was George Bush. When attacked, the U.S. had no Department of Homeland Security and did not have the tools for countering terrorism in place. Bush built that apparatus from scratch.Saddam decided to perpetuate the fraud that he had weapons of mass destruction. He ultimately admitted that strategy. Bush cannot be faulted for putting the interests of the U.S. as the top priority.Pro falsely argued that Bush acted unconstitutionally. The system of detention of unlawful combatants was based on WWII Supreme Court decisions, and was further developed to meet Court requirements. Bipartisan legislation was put in place for classifying unlawful combatants with review by civilian courts. The Patriot Act was passed by large majorities from both Parties, has been endorsed by President Obama, and has passed Court challenges. The primary cause of the financial collapse was the decision by Democrats running Fannie and Freddie to finance vast quantities of low-quality loans. Democrats in Congress blocked repeated Bush Administration attempts to reform the practice. Bush did succumb to pressure to protect the steel industry, but overall he advance free trade with a unprecedented number of new free trade agreements.Through an unprecedented and risky aid policy in Africa, Bush promoted peace and freedom and enhanced the standing of the United States in the world.Not perfect, but not badIt's always possible to use hindsight to craft better policies, but that isn't the subject of the debate. Presidents must deal with the situations presented to them, and President Bush had to deal with very difficult times. My opponents concluding rant shows a deep need to make President Bush into a demon. It's unjustified. Bush was not a bad president. The U.S. was protected against further terrorist attack, and disastrous financial policies designed by Democrats to redistribute wealth through the housing markets could not be stopped so long as they blocked reform. The resolution is negated.