[Tasaio]

Vote Terrible.

(I realize many Americans will disagree with me, and I acknowledge that I do not live in the US at this time. I may be wrong when citing facts--please correct me if I do. But I believe what I write to be true.)

I truly think this presidency is one the worst in history. After Sept. 11, America was widely sympathized with across the world. Even the Ayatollah of Iran condemned the attacks, and Iran held a vigil for those killed. Saddam Hussein originally implied that the attacks were deserved, but later expressed sympathy for innocent Americans killed the attacks.

Instead of uniting the world against Al Quaeda, and apprehending Osama bin Laden--as he should have--Bush turned his attention to Iraq. As a result of his failure to commit enough to Afganistan, Osama slipped through the US' fingers...again.

Iraq

Then there came Iraq. Whether or not the Bush Administration deliberately used false intelligence remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the administration admitted that the intelligence was flawed.

What's worse, they went in without UN approval. It should be noted that those at the UN voting against authority to invade cited skepticism with Colin Powell's presentation--and whether they truly were WMD factories. Those skeptics turned out to be right.

They did not find the WMDs they claimed were there. Despite this, they continue to occupy Iraq to this day. While it certainly can be argued that chaos would ensue in the US left Iraq, one must measure the benefits of staying. And one must measure how well the occupation is being carried out.

It seems clear that this administration has not done a good job on the occupation. Colin Powell admitted that they should have paid more attention to this side of the invasion.

Relations with Canada (my country)

The US has also not been a good ally to Canada. It would seem that the Bush administration was singularly unhelpful in solving the softwood lumber dispute. Add to that the various threats the US makes about Arctic sovereignty, music filesharing (which was decriminalized in 2003 in Canada), and potential legalization of marijuana (likely, when the Liberal party is reelected).

Domestic

Domestically...Bush is a joke. Perhaps the sagging economy speaks for itself.

He pushed through tax cuts for the upper tier of taxpayers, doubled the size of gov't, blocked stem cell research (several times), and provided a completely inadequate response to Katrina. He's given funding to faith-based progams, tried to ban same-sex marriage, and could not even pass his own immigration reform.

He has a clear problem communicating policies to the public--and no, I'm not talking about his inarticulate speech (something I sympathize with, actually). His presidency is very secretive, having given confused and, at times, contradictory explanations about why things are carried out. ("Hussein is an ally of bin Laden. There is a link.")

Conclusion

Despite their flaws, Clinton, Carter, Bush Sr., Reagan, and Ford all got more done than Bush Jr.. He's one of the least successful presidents, having failed domestically, internationally, and economically. Among the worst in history.