"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" -Oscar Wilde |
"The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself." -- Proverbs 11:25 |
If we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday at a time of presidential inaugurals, this is thanks to Ronald Reagan who created the holiday, and not to the Democratic Congress of the Carter years, which rejected it.
President Bush leaves office mostly unloved, with some poll respondents saying that they consider him one of our worst presidents ever. This in itself is odd. Generally, our worst Presidents have been one-termers, for obvious reasons: James Buchanan, Jimmy Carter, Herbert Hoover (if you buy into the myth). But George W. Bush was re-elected rather easily in 2004. Thus, if he really was one of our worst Presidents, either the electorate was subject to mass hypnosis, or something must have gone seriously wrong in his second term.
If we strip away the partisan hysteria, it's pretty clear that Bush was a reasonably good President, not an epochally horrible one. Let's start with domestic policy.
Bush took office just as a recession was beginning, a recession that could have been made much worse by the September 11 attacks and the subsequent stock market collapse and business contraction. Instead, Bush's tax cuts gave needed relief to taxpayers and fueled an expansion that lasted almost throughout his terms in office. This is one of several instances where Bush, despite a number of small errors, got the biggest things right.
No doubt reporters, commentators, lefty politicians, and the Obama mesmerized masses will agree.
Before he even opens his mouth and blesses the microphone with his silky voice, people will be calling it a speech for the ages.
Before he utters a word of true substance, he will be hailed as the most eloquent, articulate, powerful, and needed speaker of the last fifty years.
Some, like Spike Lee, have already heralded the Messiah’s coming.
Be sure to listen for such impacting and relevant phrases as, “It is time for all Americans to sacrifice” and “What we need is change” or “Bring back hope to America and the world” then there will be “I want to bring our country together” and “we need to work together” “I promise more jobs” and “I promise more talks with difficult countries”. These slick words and promises will be repeated over and over using slight changes to that will make his admirers swoon. Let’s not forget the obligatory, “______ is the worst in fifty years” comments.
The truth is, he doesn’t have to say anything of substance.
President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.
President Obama swiftly responded to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration's "unconscionable ineptitude" in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims.