GEORGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DANCING

If President George Bush had been dancing with the people rather than with his advisors he might have had a chance to leave behind a positive legacy for his presidency but he didn't. The closer the president gets to his final days in office the worse his legacy grows as it appears more and more likely that he never should have been president in the first place. No doubt Bush is a good guy at heart. There were even some things he tried to do that were right. But he was too easily influenced by the relentless right to remember he was elected to serve all the people not just a few.

So here we are, in the twilight of his 8 years leading the most powerful nation on earth, and where do we stand? The leaders of the international terrorist group that brought us 9-11, the worst loss of human life in America since Pearl Harbor, remain free and continue to cause international chaos. Two wars have been fought costing us nearly a trillion dollars to stop them and both wars are nowhere near being won nor the terrorists caught. There is no stability in the Middle East, the same situation he inherited in 2001.

We are back to being suspicious of Russia, more suspicious of China and still waiting for Castro to die. Thanks to the commitment of Bush to carry out NAFTA which was passed under Clinton, millions of manufacturing jobs have moved from the USA to Mexico where poor wages, the lack of health care and high crime rate have caused the number of illegal immigrants to increase, not decrease.

World opinion of America has dropped to the lowest ever while the approval rating of the president is also the lowest ever recorded. With approval for Congress falling far below that of the president it seems government in general has fallen out of favor not only with foreign people but also with the people of America.

Our wars without end have driven up prices for consumer goods, led to a major economic retrenchment nationally, and pushed the entire world to the brink of economic catastrophe. The Bush administration failed to see the futility of war, failed to see the dark clouds in the economy, failed to see the price of oil, gold and food reach historic highs and failed to police the rampant corruption in the housing and financial industries.

On the home front he failed to address immigration reform, one of his top priorities. He instituted a wholesale attack on individual rights and freedom with his domestic efforts to stop terrorism. Every effort to aid big business from tax cuts to the war efforts have failed to accomplish anything except line the pockets of the rich and assure multi-million dollar bonuses for the corporate leaders who stole America blind.

In terms of protecting America he has worn out the heroic members of the military, abused the domestic National Guard by sending them across the world to fight wars, and destroyed families by continuing to extend the time the National Guard was stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With this kind of a legacy Bush might want to see the End Times come fast so his administration cannot be judged to unkindly by historians. Then there is VP Cheney, yet another of the many advisors to Bush senior whose ideas were worn out and totally unsuited to the treacherous waters facing Bush the Younger.

Anyway Jimmy Carter can tell you all about nice guy former southern governor presidents and the price they pay for trying to help out. Don’t get me wrong, it is not as if everything about Bush was wrong. He must have done some good things. Certainly First Lady Laura was a bright light in the long night and his kids were entertaining. The fact Jenna refuses to get married in the White House might indicate just how she feels about life in the fishbowl.

So dance away George and just maybe a few things can go right in the next few months. You really have nothing to lose.