by Martha R Gore

Created on: November 06, 2008   Last Updated: November 18, 2008

When historians and world leaders refer to the Bush presidency, it is with phrases such as "catastrophic leadership, a calamity, a historic failure." When Americans re-elected him to a second term in 2004, the world asked, "What were they thinking?"

Bush's presidency is one of the worst, if not the very worst, in American history. The list of his failures and follies will provide fodder for articles and books for the next generation and beyond. Among them are the weapons of mass destruction; Guantanamo; Abu Ghraib; waterboarding; wiretapping; habeas corpus, deficits; Katrina; cronyism, to name just a few. He can only be compared to Richard Nixon, who left the office in disgrace. The difference between the two is that Nixon was forced to resign but Bush leaves office, even after evidence showed he was a failure, after completing two entire terms.

In spite of all that, he still has a small cadre of supporters who maintain that he laid the strategic groundwork for the fight against Islamic terrorism and made democratization part of his foreign policy. They maintain that Bush did make a difference in the new campaign finance law, a domestic security law, and the creation of the Homeland Security Department. There are few other positives that can be applied to his presidency. Perhaps he will be remembered much as Jimmy Carter is today, a mediocre president who will soon be forgotten except by the party faithful. Some have said that his wife, Barbara, would have made a better president than her husband. She was one of the few positives in the White House and remains beloved by Americans. She stands out among the names of Bush's cronys who have either left in disgrace or been discredited for their behavior in such things as the Libby scandal. Mrs. Bush gnerally remained above the fray, sharing her background as a librarian as she fostered Love of Reading for children. She was always well-spoken, maintained her high approval rating and was held in high esteem throughtout the eight years she served as First Lady.

Unlike his wife, Bush mangled the English language in in a way no other president has done. Among his most famous mispronouncements are: new-cue-ler (nuclear), Mericans (Americans), tear (terror), suiciders (suicide bombers), sassnations (assassinations), recrudiments (recruitments),gubner (govenor), to name just a few.

When Bush walks out of the White House for the last time as President of the United State, he will leave behind an economy in crisis, higher oil prices, a housing subprime mortgage scandal that resulted in millions of Americans losing their homes, rising unemployment and a deficit beyond any past debt. He will pass on all the unsolved problems associated with his presidency. While Iraq shows some signs of improving, he will leave those such as Iran, Israel, the Palestinians, North Korea, global warming, nuclear proliferation, health care, entitlement costs and immigration.During the next two months, perhaps there is somethng that President Bush can do to redeem his presidency. If not, he will be remember as bringing American to its knees domestically and internationally.

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