Farewell President Bush

It has been eight long years filled with strife and discord for President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Conditions and events which are almost unprecedented in our history have been met and dealt with in a professional manner with strength and resolve. I have been generally supportive of the administration – particularly on the War on Terror of which the Iraq conflict is a major part.

I was disappointed with the manner in which then candidate Obama demonized the President during the campaign as a way to discredit candidate McCain. But the real dismay has been the manner that the liberal media has continued to personally attack the President and Vice-President since the election when there was no further purpose to justify their venom.

So it has been with some pleasure that I have finally seen President Bush speak in his own defense on some of the controversial points of his administration. It has been too long in coming, but was refreshing to hear. He has spoken of the events of 9–11–01 and the necessity for military and diplomatic response to take on the world terror networks. He has discussed the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns, the challenges of electronic surveillance, aggressive interrogation techniques and enemy combatant detention. And he has spoken of the necessity for placing fine young men and women of the military services of our country and our allies in harms way. He has spoken about his solemn obligation to protect the homeland from further attack and how he is a changed man for it all. The President has talked about the unprecedented measures taken in response to world wide economic pressures and the challenges that will be faced by the man who will follow him as the 44^th President of the United States next Tuesday.

The small minds of the media have continued to carp and attack, calling for the criminal arrest of the President and the Vice-President. I am repulsed at the vicious and false actions of the media and some of the Congressional leadership who have, in my opinion, been willing to damage our country in pursuit of their political and social agendas. In the center of the storm stands President Obama who, after the rhetoric of the campaign, is now receiving the same daily threat briefings as President Bush. The extent to which the new President finds it expedient or essential to continue certain of the Bush-Cheney policies for the protection of America will be instructive and will determine how soon the American public begins to finally understand that they have been misled by the media and the reputation and the judgment of our political leaders for the last eight years will begin to improve in the minds of the public they served so well.

Charles Krauthammer has begun to speak of the rehabilitation of Bush and Cheney. And he cites the foremost element of the new respect for the leadership of the last eight years: President-Elect Obama. In a fascinating editorial, Krauthammer describes the new realities that are coming to the man who stands on the brink of his own administration and the power and awesome responsibilities of his office. In his editorial, Krauthammer speaks of “startling early signs of a newly respectful consideration of the Bush–Cheney legacy…”

“Not from any change of heart. But from simple reality. The beauty of democratic rotations of power is that when the opposition takes office, cheap criticism and calumny will no longer do. The Democrats now own Iraq. They own the war on al-Qaeda. And they own the panoply of anti-terror measures with which the Bush administration kept us safe these last seven years.

Which is why Obama is consciously creating a gulf between what he now dismissively calls "campaign rhetoric" and the policy choices he must now make as president. Accordingly, Newsweek -- Obama acolyte and scourge of everything Bush/Cheney -- has on the eve of the Democratic restoration miraculously discovered the arguments for warrantless wiretaps, enhanced interrogation and detention without trial. Indeed, Newsweek's neck-snapping cover declares, "Why Obama May Soon Find Virtue in Cheney's Vision of Power."

Obama will be loath to throw away the tools that have kept the homeland safe. Just as he will be loath to jeopardize the remarkable turnaround in American fortunes in Iraq.”

The entire Krauthammer article may be viewed < here >; at WashingtonPost.com.

George Bush and Dick Cheney are leaving Washington in that most American of traditions – a peaceful transfer of political power to the new Administration – with grace, integrity and strength. I salute them both as the great Americans that they are. As the new President evaluates their legacy and their policies in relation to the challenges and decisions he will face, I hope he will realize that the structure that they leave in place for the conduct of the war on terror and the response to our economic emergencies can serve him and our country well. The ultimate goals of the last administration are shared with the next administration. President Obama has my best wishes for his personal success and that of my Country. I hope that we can all rise above the partisan destructiveness of recent years to channel and direct the potential of America against the problems we all face together.