Let's Talk About a Legacy

President Bush will be remembered well

Editor's Note: Thomas's commentary is in blue and Marcie's is in purple.

With less than a month to go in his final term in office, speculators are already sizing up one of the most historic Presidencies in this nation's history. His critics and supporters are lining up like opposing armies across a battlefield and the fight over how he will be remembered has commenced. Will he be seen like Herbert Hoover -- inept and inefficient -- or will he be remembered like Abraham Lincoln -- cool, calm, and willing to risk it all to protect a nation? Historians will say (and the Left will ignore) that he really can't be judged for at least a decade or so, but we'd like to take a look at his presidency now, and nip some of the revisionism in the butt before the Left gets carried away.

President Bush's time in office will be marked by the most significant turning point in this nation's history -- September 11, 2001. Not only was this the most devastating attack on our nation ever, but it set the tone for the rest of his tenure in office. President George W. Bush came into office wanting to be a peacetime President, not one that would take this nation to war. He could have pulled a Bill Clinton and treated the attack like a law enforcement issue, but he opted to stand up to those who chose to attack us. So we invaded Afghanistan and removed the enablers of al-Qaeda as well as scattering our enemies across the globe where we engaged them on every field of battle we found them. From Africa to the Middle East, we set about the task of dismantling and eliminating the threat al-Qaeda posed to the United States, and to the West. Despite many critics we have succeeded on that mission and al-Qaeda is in shambles. Though they are not eradicated, they are substantially weakened, and few nations will welcome them within their borders thanks to what has been termed as "The Bush Doctrine" of preemption.

We expanded the war to a nation that the greatest amount of critics claim we had no business invading -- Iraq. Those on the Left whine and moan about the reasons why we went into this nation -- notably citing the WMD argument -- but they overlook the primary reason laid out by the President himself, namely Saddam Hussein's support of terrorist groups in the Middle East, including al Qaeda. We not only removed one of the most oppressive dictators the world has ever seen -- his hands bathed in the blood of innocent people -- but we liberated a nation that had been under his boot-heel for over twenty years. And despite our initial mistakes in the theater with the removal of the bulk of our soldiers after major combat operations were concluded, we turned the imminent defeat into victory with the surge strategy derived by General David Petraeus. Now US combat deaths are at record lows, as are those of the Iraqi civilians and security forces, and al Qaeda is all but gone from Iraq. Historians will argue over whether this was a wise move on his part, but it is clear to us that he is greatly appreciated by Iraqis for doing what needed to be done; for taking the stand against tyranny that he chose despite all the political risks he faced with that decision.

When he first took office President Bush was facing the beginning of a recession in the nation thanks to the feckless economic policies of the previous Administration. Taking a page from Presidents Kennedy and Reagan he instituted sweeping tax cuts across the board, and it spurned the economy to explosive growth. Home ownership reached record heights, as did the stock market, and the populace took the money they saved in taxes and put it into the economy. Unemployment dropped to record lows, and small businesses popped up across the nation. Thanks to the tax cuts more people were able to stay home with their families, and they created new businesses that they ran from home. Granted his one drawback for the economy was rampant spending by Congress that he allowed to go through, which prompted record pork spending by the Congress, but despite that the economy grew at a record pace. It should also be noted that under him the stock market hit a record mark of 14,000 for the Dow; this just two short decades after the crash in the late 1980s. Thanks to the tax cuts we witnessed economic growth of near-unprecedented proportions.

Another feather in President Bush's hat is the one that has been the bane of Republican presidents over the past two decades: Supreme Court appointments. Let's face facts about these choices. They haven't exactly been stellar for our side of the aisle. But with President Bush he chose two of the finest legal minds that could have been picked. Yes, before he picked Samuel Alito he wanted his longtime friend, Harriet Miers, on the high court, and it took a grass-roots effort by bloggers and talk radio to end that nuttiness. But his choice of John Roberts will usher in a more originalist approach to jurisprudence, and the high court is secure. Sure, Barack Obama will appoint liberal justices to the bench, but it will be the liberal ones retiring before anyone on our side of legal interpretations do. We firmly believe that President Bush's two choices for the high court will stave off the descent into jurisprudential darkness for the nation. Both have already left their mark on several cases decided by the court, including those pertaining to the detainees in this war and on abortion. The previous session did see the end of partial-birth abortion.

Can either of us find fault with President Bush? Of course we can. We did not agree with everything the man did, but we do agree with the majority of it. And as we have laid out his legacy as President of the United States will be looked at favorably. He will likely be compared to President Harry Truman or President Dwight Eisenhower with their wartime prowess, and still balancing the domestic agenda of the nation. No President is perfect. They all make mistakes, and President Bush is not without fault, but he will not be remembered as liberals would like. He will not be remembered as an "illegitimate" President, or an "imperialistic" one. Compared to the two very faulty candidates he ran against he was the right man, in the right place, at the right time in history to lead this nation into the 21st Century. His legacy will one that will be remembered as a Presidency devoted to freedom, liberty, and democracy, and their defense around the world.

He is a scholar of history, especially American history, and the United States Constitution. She has finished her undergrad studies, graduating with a BA in English and history and will move onto law school this fall where she will specialize in Constitutional Law. Together, Thomas and Marcie form the vanguard of conservative opinion at Hamilton, Madison, and Jay -- a blogging site devoted to advancing the conservative cause by challenging the liberal lies and deceit spread by the media, and espoused by the Left in general. Both are expert debaters, and have beaten many liberals into submission with their collective wit, and unmatched knowledge. The pair is married, and resides in Arizona

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