Supporters say Bush is a president of vision and consequence whose
administration has expanded democracy, battled the scourge of
terrorism and endeavored to promote world peace.
Critics label Bush's policies a disaster, point to his low approval
ratings, and cite his administration's arrogance and unilateralist
tendencies as the driving forces behind global tension and disorder.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Sep/29/op/FP609290322.html
Each man who has held the office of President of the United States--
from George Washington to George W. Bush--leaves behind a unique
legacy. These men have lead the nation through times of national
crisis and celebration, economic ups and downs, through horrendous
wars and times of peace. Their politics, personalities and leadership
skills have shaped the world today, for good and for bad.
http://www.oup.com/us/collections/president/?view=usa
Presidential legacies are rarely clear and evident during the
President's term, or even at their end. The problem is perspective. It
is hard to judge how the future will see someone when it is not clear
what their term of office actually meant in the context of history.
Ronald Reagan's last years in office were marked by the Iran-contra
affair, which painted him as an old man who did not know what was
going on, yet he is fondly remembered as a beloved President who
helped America win the Cold War. Dwight Eisenhower, a war hero while
in office, nevertheless has had his Presidency viewed as time when
nothing got done. Harry Truman's approval rating was 25%% during his
last term of office, but today we think of him as a strong President,
the coy Southerner where the buck "stopped."
It is with Truman that our current President, George W. Bush,
associates himself most with. Like Truman, he partook in an unpopular
war based more on a belief of a threat then an actual, concrete danger
to America (Truman feared the spread of communism; Bush the spread of
weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East). Both men had very
public spats with the generals who ran their wars, and both Presidents
were regarded as quick decision makers (and very hard-headed with
those decisions).
In time, though, history validated Truman's actions. Standing up to
Douglas McCarthur prevented the spread of the Korean conflict into a
more global war. Protecting South Korea helped stem the spread of
communism on the Asian continent. His conviction to decisions, indeed
his hard headedness, is now seen as an attribute.
George W. Bush hopes for much of the same. Despite his work at home
(such as the No Child Left Behind legislation and his attempt to
reform Social Security) or his stewardship during one of America's
darkest hours (the terrorist attacks of 9/11), Bush ultimately is
going to be judged on what happens in Iraq. If things in Iraq continue
on their current course, with Iraq disintegrating into civil war and
chaos, then Bush will be regarded as unpopular President who dragged
this country into an unneeded war that America was ill prepared for.
If the war creates more hatred toward America, if the next terrorist
attacks come from a group of disgruntled Iraqis, then the blood
spilled will be on Bush's hand.
Yet if Bush's vision is actually realized, if Iraq is able to pull
itself above the turmoil and into a working democracy, and if that
concept of democracy spreads to the other countries in the region,
then Bush will be regarded as a hero. History will think of him as a
visionary, who helped to forever end the threat of terrorism by
providing the disgruntled in the Middle East with a political avenue
to voice their displeasure with the state of the world (instead of the
violent ones currently being employed). He will be viewed as
misunderstood in his time, but a genius for all time, for mankind.
That is the funny thing with history and legacies. In time, with
changing perspectives and context, history can change its view of men.
Revolutionary heroes like Washington and Jefferson are now viewed
through our politically correct society. We question the dichotomy of
the men who fought for the idea of freedom and independence, who
penned "All men are created equal," and then had the audacity to
actually treat men as property because of the color of their skin.
Christopher Columbus, the hero of our grade school songs, is now
chastised for enslaving the "Indians" he encountered in the New World.
Even Truman's military decision to drop the atomic bomb and end World
War II is now criticized politically and socially as an unnecessary
show of force, especially having seen what atomic radiation can do to
the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
That is why George W. Bush's legacy has not, could not, yet been
written. The story of Bush is the story of Iraq's war of independence,
and it is still being penned in the streets and cities of Iraq. An
Iraq that embraces democracy, that ends its sectarian violence, an
Iraq that is no longer under the rule of a dictator who threatened his
neighbors and caused a destabilization of one of the most volatile
regions in the world, this is what will make Bush a hero in time, even
if not in our time. Anything less, or anything far worse, will tarnish
Bush's legacy forever. Only time, and Iraq's future, will tell how
George W. Bush will be judged in history.
http://www.helium.com/tm/255707/presidential-legacies-rarely-clear
