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the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq on 16 October 2002 after it passed both houses of the legislature. Now with the mandate to depose Saddam Hussein and enter Iraq as a "liberating force", Bush pressed ahead. Redeploying many of his soldiers from the front in Afghanistan to the Iraqi theater, the government stretched its resources ever thinner as it sought some elusive conclusion to its self-declared "War on Terror".

Four years later, the words of vice-president Dick Cheney ring eerily clairvoyant. As the Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush, Cheney declared in 1991:

"Once you get to Baghdad, it's not clear what you do with it. It's not clear what kind of government you put in place of the one that's currently there now. Is it going to be a Shia regime, a Sunni regime, a Kurdish regime? Or one that tilts toward the Baathists, or one that tilts toward Islamic fundamentalists? How much credibility is that going to have if it's set up by the American military there? How long does the United States military have to stay there to protect the people that sign on for that government, and what happens once we leave?"

As American involvement in Iraq has continued, it has largely amounted to a struggle merely to remain alive for U.S. troops stationed in the region. The deposed Baathist hierarchy is in fear of retaliation from the new Shia majority. Saddam Hussein has been executed for his crimes from decades past, becoming a martyr for Sunni insurgents and fueling greater sectarian strife in a nation without a national identity.

With two years remaining in his presidency, it is hard to imagine the legacy Bush will ultimately leave for historians. But if the general trend that has flowed through his presidency remains constant, Bush will continue to be a president which consistently oversteps the boundaries of his office. Much like the nave president-elect of six years previous, Bush is still attempting to interpret laws and morality for the American populace and for the greater global community as a hegemonic ruler. The tactical flaws that have become ever-present will provide a cautionary tale for future American presidents on how not to conduct oneself in office. As the mawkish leader continues to pander to partisan interests, polarizing an already-divisive democracy, Bush only soddens his reputation more for the archival record.

Bush entered the presidency amidst doubts that he even belonged ensconced in the Oval Office. He will leave the office in January 2009 with few doubts that he indeed was the wrong man for the post. Much like Nixon previously, Bush entered the presidency in troubled times and will leave with the initial problems appearing mere bookmarks in the tome of atrocities committed throughout his term. Using his supposedly-ignorant innocence to charm the voters, he has proven that he both knows the duties of the executive and is willing to overstep and extend those duties to the fullest extent.

Learn more about this author, Zach Bigalke.
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