Bush is proof that character trumps all other requirements for a President.

I'll take a leader whos an average guy with a moral compass anyday, over a brilliant man without one.
SteveH | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 7:50 am | #

Well, I respectfully demur, Doc, on Bush as a president in many ways. Certainly as a person I'd rather have him as a next door neighbor than the leading Democrats--especially if it were the Clintons and I had a teenage daughter.

But I think you're right on the main point: on the one overriding issue of our times Bush got it right.

As to intelligence, by the way, you can find Kerry's and Bush's test scores on the internet and it's curious to note that they're roughly the same. In any event, my guess would be that in terms of sheer IQ the highest score of post-war presidents would be Carter's, and look what that led to.
Alex Bensky | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 8:02 am | #

I suspect that George Bush will someday get the credit he deserves for facing down Islamofascist thugs (...)

Let's not forget Dubya's statements about Islam, for example these remarks from 6 days after 9/11, which could just as well have been uttered by a fifth-columnist:

These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. And it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that. (...) The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.

6 days after 9/11, the man who is President of the USA is in effect praising the ideology which caused 9/11 to happen and dismissing its relevance in causing the attack. That's hardly "facing down Islamofascist thugs", it's enabling them to continue their mission unabatedly by concealing the evil nature of their ideology, the ideology being Islam.
Islam Skeptic | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 8:34 am | #

All the tools, skills, intelligence, et al are worthless if you do not use them to face and solve problems. Clinton had the tools to be a great president he just lacked the wherewithal, character, courage, et al to use them. It always came down to what made him look good vice doing good.
Leadership is difficult because one has to make, in many cases, unpopular decisions and put them into action. Having ideas is the easy part it is making them happen that is hard. Most of these decisions will have parts of them which will not be optimal because one is working with imperfect data.
Bush has a number of faults, but failing to attempt problem solution is not one of them which is one of the reasons I like him.
Every leader is going to take the "heat" from others because it is easy to criticize. As they say hindsight is 20/20. When you add to that that the vast majority of individuals have never lead or had to make life and death decisions and be responsible for their actions. It explains a lot about about those who will never stand in the arena.
There is no one living or dead that I cannot make a case for their incompetence including most of those who do the most complaining. Whining is easy. Thoughtful reflection is not.
Dennis | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 8:54 am | #

Doctor Pat,
Once again you state the obvious,
which seems to somehow get right past all the great "intellects" of our time.
I would add one other observation: both
Bush and Reagan loved to work outdoors--
work with their hands, power tools, trucks and livestock. Hard manual labor
often helps relieve stress, as well as put things into perspective.
Excellent and balanced observations and position.
DC
DC | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 8:55 am | #

I couldn't agree more, Doc. What most people don't realize is that the US was never able to win this struggle alone. That has nothing to do with UN support, which had it been given, would have meant only "let George do it and we'll sit back and watch that his actions don't threaten our sence of moral superiority."

No, winning this struggle requires that the Muslim world comes to recognize that Bush'e "thugs" are psychopaths and sociopaths whose utopian promises are hellish in reality. This world also has to learn that its sons, going through the normal phases of self discovery and finding their place in the world, are being brainwashed to serve as cannon fodder. The need to offer positive alternatives to these sons and stop imprisoning them in an unquestioned cultural straitjacket.

Winning this struggle also means that the western world must abandon its superficial preeening about cultural diversity. This world needs a dose of reality that goes beyond mea culpas. It is easy for intellectuals and do-gooders to point out our faults, but they have failed miserably in pointing out our strengths. They have failed to help us find a voice that expresses these strength in terms of common humanity, preferring instead the power they get by identifying and sypathizing with victim groups. They have also failed to recognize that their own condescension has fed the alienation that makes jihadi recruitment so much easier.

Winning this war also means making it clear that we won't be used as the scapegoat for other nations' failings. To this end, we need to show determination and faith in ourselves that won't be shaken by cartoon demonstrations, NYT headines, or Golden Palm-winning films.

It was never possible for Bush to "win" this struggle. His job has always been to stand up for us all until we learn to stand up for ourselves and relegate this perverse ideology to the trash can. He has done his job. The question is, "Will we?"
expat | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 9:05 am | #

Dr. Sanity:
I agree with you on almost everything but your opinion on W. Bush is way off base.
I am a conservative. Not a Liberal masquerading as a conservatived like the W. Bush supporters.
He is on the level of Jimmie Carter as the worst President in American history.

His "War on Terror", no called "The War on Extremism" is a joke.
We cannot fight an enemy we do not name.
We cannot fight an enemy when the vast majority of Americans are indifferent because of the poor leadership and lack of education presented by the bullypulpit of the Presidency.
The rules of engagement shows he cares more about political correctness than about the lives of our soldiers.
Finally, pertaining to Afghanistan and Iraq, all we are doing is rebuilding societies which, when they recover, will join the jihad against the West and attempt to destroy us.
We would be far better off if we let the Iraqis and Afghans kill each other so they can't kill us.
Islam is a totalitarian death cult which will never reform. Using Western logic, if Allah gave the truth to Muhammed, than the Koran cannot be changed.
It is insane to think that Muslims will ever be our friends when they are commanded in the Koran (over 700 passages commanding them to kill infidels) to convert, subdue or kill us.
We should be getting the Muslims out of the West and isolating Muslims countries. I have no wish to convert them or kill them. Only a strong desire to ensure their barbaric death cult has no influence over us.
K. Hlousek | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 9:33 am | #

"...a normal man muddling along in trying times."-Dr. Sanity

Really Doc. Perhaps if you called him "a billion dollar trust fund baby," or "a dynastic heir to a royal political family," or " a man whose patrician connections opened doors firmly locked to all other citizens," or "a man that never worked a real job," or maybe even " the jackpot winner in the Powerball of life," muddling along in trying times, but where is normal?

Does normal mean letting brave border agents languish in prison for enforcing drug laws?

Does normal mean derision of patriotic Americans as vigilanties because they demand enforcement of our laws?

Does normal mean "lefty-style" pandering to seniors with an un-sustainable "free" drug intitlement?

Can you say you're normal when you back "lady killer" Ted Kennedy's immigration [reform?]

Is it any wonder that George and Teddy see the same America from atop their mountains of un-earned cash?

Yes, I voted 3 times for Bushes because I respect their wives and felt they were the lesser evils, but never normal.

And, as present tense tells us, no normal person runs for elective office.
Oracle of Delaware | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 10:55 am | #

"We cannot fight an enemy we do not name"

You should direct your ire towards the State Department for this, not the President.

"We would be far better off if we let the Iraqis and Afghans kill each other so they can't kill us."

For several decades, with the exception of stopping Saddam's invasion into Kuwait, we gave peace a chance yet we were attacked anyway.

With regard to the PC culture, it is extraordinary that President Bush was able to defend America by taking the fight to the enemy instead of following the International Community's demand that we submit to the corrupt United Nations by waiting to be attacked again.
syn | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 11:23 am | #

There's just something about a guy who after seven years in office, when introduced, the applause still makes him blush.
I love that guy!
The left has done their level best to cut him off at the knees since day one. He has been disparaged in the worst way. Whenever he speaks, the opposition piles on, yet he does not stoop to their level.
'The President proposes and the Congress disposes.'
We can talk all day about implementaion of policies, things we don't like, but all in all his Presidency is nothing but providence.
4/30/08
32% approval rating
vs
22% Congressional approval rating
xqqme | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 11:25 am | #

One more thing, perhaps the misguided multi-cultural, Marxist idea pounded into our brains for decades that 'only white people are Nazi's and commit genocide' is one of the main reasons why Islamic Jihadism, both in Middle East and Europe, have been so successful at empowering their desire for world domination.
syn | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 11:29 am | #

K. Hlousek

I'm skeptical too but don't be so sure Islam can't be reformed. Look how much we've "reformed" the Christian faith in the U.S.

Remember, Reverends Wright and Sharpton allegedly represent the Christian faith in the black community.....the don't sound much like the Bible to me.

Most mainstream Protestant churches overtly all but reject the Bible today anyway.
Why not the Koran?

Unless you think the Koran is more divine than the Bible?
Wr_guy | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 1:43 pm | #

Further, it seems GWB has staked it all on the ability to "evangelize" the Muslim religion.

I'll agree it's a big gamble, but certainly one which a Christian would be motivated to take.

I'm reminded of the movie "Full Metal Jacket" where the Major says they are fighting because "inside every Gook is an American waiting to come out."

We'll see......
Wr_guy | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 1:58 pm | #

Dr.,
Thank you for this post. One thing that differentiates a conservative minded person from a liberal minded person is that the conservative can see the good one does while holding that same person to account for the bad he does.

Is President Bush perfect? No. But I believe he is the right person for the job during this time. Yes, his spending is not what I like. His stand on illegal immigration is wrong, and he signed into law a terrible bill in McCain-Feingold.

What President Bush did was to hold a country together at a time when it could have gone into a full panic. That was strictly due to the type of man the President is.
Mekan | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 2:02 pm | #

"I am a conservative. Not a Liberal masquerading as a conservatived like the W. Bush supporters."

...he says, then quotes the Democrat talking points.

Gosh, how many times have I seen that this decade? Not long after Moby presented his little brilliant plan, methinks.
Patrick Chester | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 2:21 pm | #

A thrilling post. Thank you, Dr. Sanity. Your faith in GW's goodness bolsters my own.
Sissy Willis | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 3:49 pm | #

Thank you for standing by President Bush. I agree with your remarks.
bob agard | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 7:19 pm | #

Let's see:

Doubling the national debt - good move.

Invading Iraq, where al-quaeda wasn't, losing track of afganistan and pakistan where al-quaeda was/are - stroke of genius.

Invading Iraq with absolutely no scintilla of a plan about what to do once Sadam split. F'ing brilliant.

Invading Iraq and blindly expecting a secular democracy to spontaneously erupt when a glance at the religious and ethnic factions there clearly made that impossible - great!.

Standing by and instructing regulators not to regulate during the biggest fraudulent credit bubble the world has ever seen (Clinton bears major guilt for setting the stage for this, but it actually happened on Dubya's watch). Right, that was a good one.

He had one good idea - going after the terrorists in Afganistan. But *any* president was going to do that - they'd have been impeached for not doing it. His execution has been uniformly terrible.
bobn | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 8:01 pm | #

W will be remembered as the very best of our 2nd-tier presidents, i.e. right below Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan--alongside Teddy R and Ike. And deservedly so. He has 3 virtues:

1) He cares about his country more than himself.

2) He learns from history.

3) He only accomplishes what is possible.

The first is, of course, the key.

An amazing man. His due may well come while he's alive-when his peers retire and the internet destroys mass media.
jeff z | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 8:47 pm | #

Impressive article, Doc. To me, George W is incredible. He’s an imperfect man (redundant, I know) after God’s own heart.
Loyal Eagle | Email | Homepage | 05.01.08 - 10:54 pm | #

Well, I am a conservative and not a liberal. And even Ronnie Reagan was a bit to liberal for my tastes.

I do not agree with everything that Pres. Bush has done, expecially his involvement in the immigration debacle, no child left behind, etc. But just imagine the horror if Al Gorebull had been elected.

Personally, I would welcome him back to Texas with a swift kick in the ass for him bending over and taking it from the libs on those programs, and for not defining mooslims as terrorists.

And bobn, screw you and the horse you rode in on. Nobody cares about your stupid ass demoncrapic talking points. They have ALL been proven false time and time again. Why don't you go play with yourself in a dark corner somewhere, you pedantic, perverted, little, misandrist.
peedoffamerican | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 12:15 am | #

Outstanding, Dr. Santy.

And, as usual, your little comments lab here shows us exactly the points made in your lecture, once again.

Gee, when I flew for USAF, I received paychecks. For my job, I mean.

Didn't know George flew for free...


!
The Machine | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 12:40 am | #

Those afflicted with BDS will go to their graves without a single moment of appreciation for the man.

The freedom from attack we've enjoyed here since 911 will be a coincidence in their minds. The humiliation of Al Q. in Iraq will be swept under the rug, at best a side show resulting from a bad strategy and an "illegal" war.

The birth of freedom in the heart of darkness will find in them, noone watching.

The right man at the right time for humanity's survival won't strike any wondrous chord.

At least for them, the grave will be a familiar place, never having left it- when they had the chance - at birth.
Katina | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 12:45 am | #

I chalk up Bush's low approval rating to half the country wanting to be full fledged communist, and the other half pissed off that such a notion isn't vigorously attacked by our President.
SteveH | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 6:44 am | #

As a recovering alcoholic, I think the thing I appeciate most about GWB is his clear belief in a power greater than himself. This shows a humility I want in a president. I don't think you could say the same about many other politicians-- especially, Hillary, whose faith seems to lie solely in herself and omnipotent government.
schaffman | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 7:51 am | #

schaffman,
I call it courage.
GW has the physical and moral courage to face down all his demons.
Demons are pissed!
xqqme | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 6:04 pm | #

President Bush does understand the jihadist mind; we don't stir up fanatics that want us dead anyway. The worst thing you can do is make idle threats that you won't act on; that these monsters always see as weakness. Why the leftist defeatists in this country tolerate a fundamentalism that would end their lives, yet condemn a faith that defends them, shows a serious disconnection with reality.
Tom TB | Email | Homepage | 05.02.08 - 7:11 pm | #

> 6 days after 9/11, the man who is President of the USA is...

...And yet, as the Doc put it, "he muddled along" -- perhaps one of the reasons he said what he said was to soften any ire against Islamic people who had nothing to do with it, here in the USA.

Perhaps he wanted to avoid being told by the people to draft his own Executive Order 9066, certainly not America's finest moment.

As PotUS, he sometimes may have had to say some things to discourage FUD from overcoming reason in the populace as a whole -- because there are very few things more dangerous than a mob.

His statement clearly did not dissuade him from grasping that it was no longer time to talk, but to act -- because, for the first time, International Terrorism had struck, and struck hard.

Castigating him for statements made to make sure that the actions of people were cool, calm, and well-reasoned is patently foolish.

You may not believe that there are "moderate muslims" out there. I've known at least two. Those may well be the only two in America... but I'm not betting that's the case, and neither should you.

There may well come a time when we have to force all of Islam to pick a side -- but that's not here yet... esp. when we can't even get the majority of our OWN people to do so.
O Bloody Hell | Email | Homepage | 05.03.08 - 3:22 am | #

> Invading Iraq, where al-quaeda wasn't...

...But Three of the Six known terrorist training camps in the world were, including the only single one with a complete airframe, for training in plane takeover situations (No, no way that was used by the 911 terrorists for training purposes... Nawww.)

... But Saddam had multiple programs, which, by the UN Weapons Inspectors' own reports, were 90 t0 180 days from being able to produce weapons grade Anthrax and Botulism, as soon as the sanctions were lifted.

... But Iraq also had a much more advanced nuclear weapons program than Iran, such that he would have nuclear weapons by now, in addition to the above bioweapons.

Naww. None of that is relevant at all.

Saddam was a clear and self-evident threat to the USA.

He financed and trained terrorists by the thousands... He was approaching the ability to have both bio and nuclear weapons in his hands, had shown no compunctions about using either. He clearly hated the USA almost as much as he hated Israel.

He had violated, repeatedly, and in multiple ways, the treaty terms which had allowed him to remain in power after invading the sovereign state next door. He thus abrogated any claim to rightful rulership of the Iraqi people for external reasons, in addition to the vast array of internal reasons (you know, the kind which got the US into Bosnia... which, you'll note we still have troops in more than 10 years later).

This included gassing his own people, as well as indiscriminate torture, rape, and murder of same.

But no, there was no reason -- no reason of **ANY KIND** to take him out of power.



You liberals are a really kind, compassionate, and caring bunch, aren't ya: "F*** 'em, I don't care about 'em if the Dems aren't the ones in charge!!", sez you.




"Just go sit in the corner and STFU, you useless male sexual organ!", sez me.

.
O Bloody Hell | Email | Homepage | 05.03.08 - 3:47 am | #

I was glad to see that clip but annoyed that Bush has kept that part of himself hidden for so long. Those of us who have supported him these long years might have had an easier time of it if he had defended himself once in a while. That said, I will miss him when he leaves office and I have the most awful feeling that he will be the last "real" president in "real" America, if either of those Dems gets into office. McCain would only be a stopgap measure. What am I saying I already miss Bush.
Thea | Email | Homepage | 05.04.08 - 12:38 am | #