The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrac

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrac
152
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 5:20pm

The time when I have been ashamed of modern America...

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years— and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty—a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

Source:

Wednesday, November 5, 2008
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | OPINION
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
What must our enemies be thinking?

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 5:42pm

I read that yesterday and my reaction today is the same as it was then:

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. 

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 5:42pm
That is the truth. I have my differences with President Bush, just like a lot of people, but I think he has been treated horribly. I do believe that history will be kind to him.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 5:47pm

A lot of the problems he has had with conservatives revolve around all of his reaching out to Democrats, with liberal ideas and actions.

Also, he was the first president that I can ever remember who didn't fire the entire staff from the previous administration when he took over. Instead, (unwisely) he keep many of the Democrats from the Clinton administration on duty. Each one has stabbed him in the back.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 5:49pm
Can you name some?
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-27-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 6:03pm

Bush has destroyed this country and people are telling us to feel badly for him.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2006
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 6:27pm
If history is kind to Bush, it will prove that history is a bunch of B.S.
Avatar for devenvasko
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 6:51pm

I don't know why anyone is surprised. I do agree it's rude. But, seriously, in 4 to 8 years, Obama will be blamed for everything too.


It's usual. It's historical.

Deven, homeschooling mommy of Kol, Jul, Elle, Liv & baby #5 due 11/16. Three Sweethearts in Heaven;

;-P Not bad for 11 years of marriage!

http://fromthedepthsofacreativeheart.w

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-10-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 7:05pm
you reap what you sow....
Photobucket


Than

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 7:24pm
So Obama has earned respect?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 7:27pm

I agree too chilly.

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