The Bush Years in Retrospect
Dan Abbett
June 07, 2009
Writers of all stripes seem to find comfort in excusing the growing and obvious incompetence of Barack Obama, by contrasting his popularity with the "hatred" for George Bush. George Bush was only hated by the left, those on the right did not hate the president but they were extremely disappointed with some of his fiscal policies. Additionally, former President Bush was much too tepid in responding to the libel from liberals.
Those who faulted the president for his fiscal transgressions and his reticence to aggressively fight back against his liberal aggressors need to look again at the Bush Years. The intention here is not to focus on policy specifics, rather to focus on governance versus autocratic rule. George Bush practiced the former; our new president is in the process of the latter.
"Moving forward;" that is the mantra of the Obama administration. It is small wonder that President Obama and his administration cohorts avoid the immediate and especially the past, as the ruins of his actions lay in the wake of his policy decisions. It bears attention however, to view the consequences of the current administration with respect to those of his predecessor.
George Bush was excoriated by the left for what they perceived as an abuse of presidential power. They accused him of "spying" on Americans when the surveillance of foreign cell phone calls from suspected terrorists was leaked to the press. No manner of evidence to the contrary would persuade them otherwise. Mr. Bush was said to be totalitarian, a hate monger and akin to Adolph Hitler.
It is Barack Obama however, who has commandeered our financial institutions and set forth limits as to the monetary compensation of its executives. This, even though these institutions are still non-government entities. It is Barack Obama who just created the office of "Pay Czar." Imagine, a government official in the executive branch of government who is going to examine and possibly propose limitations on acceptable pay levels. Simply stunning!
Moreover, President Obama has now effectively absorbed two of the three giants in the auto industry. In so doing, he trampled on bankruptcy laws, contractual agreements, has forsaken bondholders and given majority stakeholder status to those with the smallest investment, the Auto Unions. He has used federal loans to these companies as leverage to mandate the terms of their operations, even though he declares that "he" doesn´t want to run the car companies. Certainly, the president doesn´t want to run the businesses directly, he just wants to mandate automobile styles, fuel standards, executive compensation and the fate of still profitable dealerships.
The most critical of all the policy shifts between the Obama administration and the Bush administration is foreign policy and national security. It was clear as George Bush neared the end of his presidency that the powers that be were going to test the resolve of his successor. Since the inauguration of Barack Obama, North Korea has launched a long-range missile, conducted an underground nuclear test, fired several short-range missiles, is in the process of another long-range test and has threatened to end the armistice that ended the Korean War. And the president´s response? Threaten UN sanctions of course.
Not to be outdone, Iran has slammed the diplomatic door on the overtures by the Obama administration to end its nuclear program. To further exacerbate the issue, Obama has taken a belligerent tone with Israel and that nation´s "legitimate" concerns for a nuclear Iran. And the president´s response? In a strategic counter move, Obama has declared that Iran has a legitimate right to pursue nuclear power as long as it is for peaceful purposes. Again, simply brilliant!
Now, even as he travels to the Middle East to praise Muslim nations for their contributions to the world, while failing to remind these nations of the sacrifices we have made on their behalf, he has succeeded in once again snubbing one of our NATO allies. To date, Barack Obama is making a smash hit with the nations that pose the greatest threat to our national security while insulting the British Prime Minister, breaking protocol with their Queen, incurring the annoyance of the German Chancellor and dissing the French President. What would John F Kerry say?
Yes, looking back, as Barack Obama lays siege to the economic, business, educational, health and energy sectors of this nation, while simultaneously gutting the heart of our national security systems in a flurry of foreign policy faux pas, the bad ol´ days of George Bush seem rational and reasonable in retrospect.
Those who faulted the president for his fiscal transgressions and his reticence to aggressively fight back against his liberal aggressors need to look again at the Bush Years. The intention here is not to focus on policy specifics, rather to focus on governance versus autocratic rule. George Bush practiced the former; our new president is in the process of the latter.
"Moving forward;" that is the mantra of the Obama administration. It is small wonder that President Obama and his administration cohorts avoid the immediate and especially the past, as the ruins of his actions lay in the wake of his policy decisions. It bears attention however, to view the consequences of the current administration with respect to those of his predecessor.
George Bush was excoriated by the left for what they perceived as an abuse of presidential power. They accused him of "spying" on Americans when the surveillance of foreign cell phone calls from suspected terrorists was leaked to the press. No manner of evidence to the contrary would persuade them otherwise. Mr. Bush was said to be totalitarian, a hate monger and akin to Adolph Hitler.
It is Barack Obama however, who has commandeered our financial institutions and set forth limits as to the monetary compensation of its executives. This, even though these institutions are still non-government entities. It is Barack Obama who just created the office of "Pay Czar." Imagine, a government official in the executive branch of government who is going to examine and possibly propose limitations on acceptable pay levels. Simply stunning!
Moreover, President Obama has now effectively absorbed two of the three giants in the auto industry. In so doing, he trampled on bankruptcy laws, contractual agreements, has forsaken bondholders and given majority stakeholder status to those with the smallest investment, the Auto Unions. He has used federal loans to these companies as leverage to mandate the terms of their operations, even though he declares that "he" doesn´t want to run the car companies. Certainly, the president doesn´t want to run the businesses directly, he just wants to mandate automobile styles, fuel standards, executive compensation and the fate of still profitable dealerships.
The most critical of all the policy shifts between the Obama administration and the Bush administration is foreign policy and national security. It was clear as George Bush neared the end of his presidency that the powers that be were going to test the resolve of his successor. Since the inauguration of Barack Obama, North Korea has launched a long-range missile, conducted an underground nuclear test, fired several short-range missiles, is in the process of another long-range test and has threatened to end the armistice that ended the Korean War. And the president´s response? Threaten UN sanctions of course.
Not to be outdone, Iran has slammed the diplomatic door on the overtures by the Obama administration to end its nuclear program. To further exacerbate the issue, Obama has taken a belligerent tone with Israel and that nation´s "legitimate" concerns for a nuclear Iran. And the president´s response? In a strategic counter move, Obama has declared that Iran has a legitimate right to pursue nuclear power as long as it is for peaceful purposes. Again, simply brilliant!
Now, even as he travels to the Middle East to praise Muslim nations for their contributions to the world, while failing to remind these nations of the sacrifices we have made on their behalf, he has succeeded in once again snubbing one of our NATO allies. To date, Barack Obama is making a smash hit with the nations that pose the greatest threat to our national security while insulting the British Prime Minister, breaking protocol with their Queen, incurring the annoyance of the German Chancellor and dissing the French President. What would John F Kerry say?
Yes, looking back, as Barack Obama lays siege to the economic, business, educational, health and energy sectors of this nation, while simultaneously gutting the heart of our national security systems in a flurry of foreign policy faux pas, the bad ol´ days of George Bush seem rational and reasonable in retrospect.