Posted by
Tom G. on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 12:00:00 AM
George Bush will be judged by history, but today he will be judged by me!
The overall impact on history by the Bush Presidency will largely be determined by the results of policy that will transcend his life(time). We can look at various decisions, both those he made and was forced to make.
It is easy to look at IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN and say, what will the landscape of both nations be in the forseable future...It is safe to say that IRAQ will continue to improve and the resultant impact this form of democracy will have on subsequent generations both inside Iraq and the region. Afghanistan is less definable...but will likely have a similar result. Yet, this will not be is ultimate legacy. It will be seen 20 or 40 years as his finest acheivement(s), despite the missteps, obstackles and mistakes.
Yet, the ulitmate definition of this President will be his NCLB (No Child Left Behind) legislation! WHY?
Becuause it directly impacts more people than any other decision. It has helped to secure George as a Republican Socialist. A soul who has not a direction philosophically.
Having campaigned on the viability of the DOE in 2000, once elected, Bush used Education to mark his Presidency as a soft Democratic, in tone.
The overall domestic spending rose counter to all his campaign rhetoric. Yet, perhaps the most discouraging aspect of this spending was the increase by 36% over his term. Going from wanting to dismantle to growing by more than a third. The Bush legacy is clearly one of a soft socialist...increasing the burden of government upon all our lives. The change can largely be placed at the feet of the Bush NCLB goals.
WE can focus on the disasterous TARP, Bail Oot, SOCIALIST paradigm shift in his last months in office, but the course was well under way, all the way back in 2001. Before 9/11...before the Iraq War, the footprints of Bush on DOE is the crucial moment and shift from campaign rhetoric, to bad policy.
The GOP as a whole, can rest the failures on two elements moving forward from 2001...
1) Federal Spending---pressed by increases in DOE, and moving like weeds across the Federal Budget Lawn
2) GOP brazen cockiness...power corruption that led to malfeasence
But, Bush set the course of this mighty river of spending by the gross amounts of increases during his tenure...Federal K-12 spending is at 9%, NCLB is 41%, increasing Special Education funding by 68%...sadly, the President who had the political power to use a friendly Congress to abandon the failed Federal Education Experiment, failed his first test of office!
Failing to VETO a single Spending Bill for the first 7 years was crazy, but the allowance of the atmosphere of no adult supervision in D.C. led to the decline of our Political System, our Economic System and perhaps our Republic (this, only time can tell).
No one doubts that President Obama will, with support from the DEM Senate and House, move us further towards full Socialism. Obama will not miss the opportunity to federalize our HealthCare, deepen our Federal role in most aspects of our lives and weaken the Constitution further...but IF President Bush had done what he had promised to do in 2000...today it would be a lot harder for President Obama to acheive his radical Socialist ideals/ideas!
But we can thank our Education President, George! (for this is where it all started)