by Jacob Moore

Created on: November 07, 2008   Last Updated: November 18, 2008

On January 20th, 2009, at 12 noon eastern time, the Bush Family era of American politics, that's lasted for 56 years, will come to an end. And as much as it is a great opportunity to look to the future with a hopeful eye, it is a perfect opportunity to assess the past with an adjudicating glance. It could be argued, though, that the most distant point in time from the present is the most recent past. Biased opinions formed from living through history tends to blur one's vision. I will attempt to aviod any preconceptions.

George W. Bush's legacy is extremely complex. He has recorded the highest and the lowest approval ratings of all time. His time in office started with the most controversial election ever, and continued with a war in Iraq, a war on terrorism, countless scandals, insufficient government response to the worst natural disaster ever, little response to global warming, the worst economic down turn since the Great Depression, and the most devastatingly tragic attack on American soil outside of Pearl Harbour.

The Bush Presidency started with a tax cut he promised. It faced strong opposition from Congress and Secretary of Treasury, Paul O'Neill. Eventually, O'Neill resigned, and Bush got his wish, the largest tax cut in the history of our country was passed. $1.35 trillion in tax cuts. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of a recession, but his words fell on deaf ears. Bush believed the tax cuts would stimulate the economy by creating more jobs, despite what the experts said. It didn't create jobs, the national surplus turned into an increasing deficit, unemployment rose, and many more problems were being hatched that wouldn't be seen until Bush's second term. The outlook was dire for the insiders, but for the general population, things were progressing forward. That was until everything came to a halt.

Eight months in, America faced an unimaginable tragedy. September 11, 2001. We know the story all too well. Every day after this was going to be different. The city of New York responded instantly. Every man and woman there acted with out hesitation. The rest of the America soon followed. The entire nation was united. Bush wanted to respond, he had the highest approval rating in the history of U.S. Presidents. His decision may never be clear to the public. He declared war on Iraq.

Every thing that followed, for the next eight years, was completely dictated by these two actions, the tax cut and the declaration of war in Iraq. The response to Hurricane

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