The Great Squanderer
On the plus side, Bush should get credit for increasing funding for AIDS in Africa. I think he should also get credit for the fact that there have been no additional radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11. He would have gotten the blame had there been more attacks, so I'm willing to give him credit for their absence.
Overall, however, I think Bush should go down as the great squanderer. He squandered a huge budget surplus. He squandered the goodwill of the world he enjoyed post-9/11. He squandered the moral authority of the U.S. by splitting hairs on torture and wiretapping. He squandered U.S. prestige by poor planning for a war of his choosing.
The worst thing: Bush made America uncool. That's inexcusable!
Still - if there is one thing I've learned from this site - Bush is not "out there" - he's part of us, part of me. To that, I say I'm sorry to the world. I'll try to do better with the next leader.
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