One promoted his career by slandering his fellow veterans.
The other did not "avoid Vietnam", since he was always subject to call up as Guardsmen, especially in the Air Guard, which did heavy service in Korea.
Most business start ups fail, it is no reflection on the proprietor. In fact, as managing partner of his baseball team, Bush was very successful and was widely credited with increasing the value of the team, leading to a lucrative sale.
Bush was considered an outstanding governor, even by many Democrats.
Bush has done a splendid job as president, in difficult times. He took an inherent slump, which was exacerbated by the 9/11 attacks and by the corporate accounting scandals, and managed to keep the recession shallow and brief. Unemployment never got much above 6%, which is historically low for a recession, and has receded to 5.5%, which is very close to what used to be considered "full employment". We have thwarted numerous attacks planned against the United States, either on its assets abroad, or on its home soil. We have captured or killed most of the Al Qaeda leadership, destroyed or appropriated many of their assets, and are dealing with intransigents in Iraq with the aid of the Iraqis themselves. Most of all, we have taken the fight to those who have threatened us, and deprived them of sanctuary.
We have demonstrated the faultlines in various institutions, for example, the United Nations, which cannot take the initiative to enforce its rulings, but must depend on the United States and/or NATO, and made the point that he who does the heavy lifting deserves special consideration in such matters. We have finally made clear that there is a faultline in European institutions, with some nations having a markedly Atlanticist cast, and others seeking to "put us in our place". These are all good things to know and address, because we cannot, and will not, continue to bear the heaviest defense burden in these alliances if we are not given some deference. It is time to be realistic.
In general, Bush has done what I hired him for, and I am a happy camper.......... |
