Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
--Theodore Roosevelt
Listening to the fatuous Al Gore claim his undeserved Nobel Prize and maunder on about how America is ruining the planet makes me realize how fortunate America is to have as its president George W. Bush. Yes, Bush has his ample share of failings. He occasionally speaks at the fifth-grade level. He is too willing to surround himself with cronies and sycophants. An unsupple man, Bush sometimes reminds me of the toy soldier who walks into the wall and keeps going.
Bush's weaknesses, however, are more than compensated for by his one great strength. This is a man with unbelievable tenacity. No American president in my lifetime, not even Reagan, had Bush's guts. Perhaps one would have to go all the way back to Franklin or Teddy Roosevelt to find comparable determination. On the international stage, Bush's stamina recalls that of Churchill. Consider: when Bush was elected in 2000 with the tiniest conceivable margin--a margin so slender it required Supreme Court intervention to place him in the Oval Office--I was sure that Bush's proposed tax cuts were dead. But no: Bush pushed ahead and got most of what he proposed. And the subsequent health of the economy--low interest rates, low unemployment, steady growth--has undoubtedly been nourished by Bush's tax cuts.
Then in 2006, after the midterm debacle, I thought that Bush's Iraq policy was finished. And you could hear the pundits and the newly-elected Democratic congressmen and the pathological Bush-haters gleefully declaring, "Now he's going to have to start pulling out of Iraq." Instead Bush pressed for an increase of 20,000-25,000 troops. Incredibly, he got it. Congress shrieked and howled but went along. The American people were very doubtful, but Bush serenely told them to "wait and see." Bush has seemingly singe-handedly pursued his vision for Iraq even when his allies both at home and abroad have dwindled or lost their nerve. And once again Bush's policy seems to be working. Iraq is becoming more peaceful, and apparently there are Shia and Sunni leaders cooperating with the Americans. The Bush-haters are still with us, but the wind has gone out of the antiwar movement.
Bush has had a tough second term in office. But I think history will be kinder to him than the opinion polls, at least in the past couple of years, have been. When the country looks back at Iraq and sees a standing, even if fragile, democracy, Americans will see that when they became impatient, Bush forged ahead. When they were ready to give up, he was undeterred. And as a consequence the Middle East has its first Muslim democracy, and a pro-American democracy to boot. The lesson of Iraq may well be: Thank God we didn't listen to those advocates of defeat on the left; if we had, it would have been Vietnam all over again.
The diplomat Clare Luce once wrote that history, which has no room for clutter, will remember every president by just one line. I'm not quite sure how Bill Clinton will be remembered: perhaps his only distinguishing mark will be the one that Paula Jones identified. As for Bush, he will go down in history as the president who refused to back down, and if staying the course in Iraq proves to be the right move, then Bush could be remembered as one of America's great presidents.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 42)
31. Mr. D'Souza, You are wonderful!
You are enlightening and intelligent!
Are you married, sir???
lapdog to bush and dinesh at 10:17AM on Dec 14th 2007
32. no you guys hate bush and would love us to do nothing but lose over there to vilify your own hatred for bush . we should have never went over there,but that said,we are there, what good does it do to berate bush. and then, humerously, you have no better word than hate for me when i aptly say your spineless. you are!! you people are just petty people. vote different but don't rant on. i forgot you got nothing better to do,sorry
brian at 10:18AM on Dec 14th 2007
33. You lost me on the first sentence.
I am assuming you wrote this to get a rise out of people. It must be a joke.
Yawn, boring...
Michaelene at 1:13PM on Dec 16th 2007
34. Thank you , Dinesh! You are wonderful! I agree completely!
can't think for myself at all at 10:19AM on Dec 14th 2007
35. why is it everyone who disagrees with your views on this blog are labeled as hate-mongers? is there some intelligent response to that. you spew venom like nobodies business and call others hateful,how bizarre
brian at 10:20AM on Dec 14th 2007
36. ATHEIST
Reply to: When the country looks back at Iraq and sees a standing, even if fragile, democracy, Americans will see that when they became impatient, Bush forged ahead. When they were ready to give up, he was undeterred. And as a consequence the Middle East has its first Muslim democracy, and a pro-American democracy to boot (end)
Nice Fairy Tale.
Saddam Hussein was President for one reason.
His political party was the largest in Iraq.
When American troops leave and democratic elections are held, guess who is going to win?
William Hays at 10:21AM on Dec 14th 2007
37. ATHEIST
Dinesh hasn't mentioned the intolerable political situation in our own country.
Due to circumstances beyond our control....
it now appears impossible that Hilary Clinton will be able to choose Oprah as her Vice President.
William Hays at 10:23AM on Dec 14th 2007
38. That tenacity you believe you see in Bush is nothing more than a man whose mind has long since been addlepated into obliviousness by a myriad of past abuses and chemical dependencies.
For example, your boy Bush will be vetoing a bill banning the use of torture in our interrogation of prisoners. By doing so, your boy Bush will effectively demonstrate that, not only does he condone torture by America, he is nothing short of a common war criminal. And, as Bush is the representative for all Americans on the global stage, we citizens have no choice but to embrace the now-justified animosity Bush's actions have wrought upon us.
In the end, sadly, your boy Bush will be remembered as nothing more than an incompetent, worthless, bungling fool who simply did far more harm than good for his nation and the world.
We will be apologizing for this greedy, self-righteous, fear-mongering lunatic for generations to come, Dinesh. The fact that you worship the ground upon which this immense failure walks, clearly demonstrates that you care far less about peace and the nation in which you live, and considerably more about your own petty, ignorant grudges.
Sadly, your words do no good Dinesh. You simply move humanity in no other direction than that of a continued and growing anti-intellectualism by preening your ignorance in such a way as this. You are nothing more than a simple comedy, D'Souza.
Dan at 10:27AM on Dec 14th 2007
39. dont kow what you,ve been smoking but the dead troops families wont havea white christmas , oraq is peace ful aslong as you pay the sunni militia to work for the ustroops at 600 amonth yes bbc reported we are paying the iraqs to come over to our side even the neighbor hood security guards get paid two hundred amonth to turn in suspicious characters the surge is working while we bribe the militias what happens when we leave and stop paying mordidas to the iraq rebels same ole same ole crap family fued warring sectarian tribes
eh at 11:02AM on Dec 14th 2007
40. dont kow what you,ve been smoking but the dead troops families wont havea white christmas , oraq is peace ful aslong as you pay the sunni militia to work for the ustroops at 600 amonth yes bbc reported we are paying the iraqs to come over to our side even the neighbor hood security guards get paid two hundred amonth to turn in suspicious characters the surge is working while we bribe the militias what happens when we leave and stop paying mordidas to the iraq rebels same ole same ole crap family fued warring sectarian tribes
eh at 10:28AM on Dec 14th 2007
41. I hope all the neocons enjoy Bush dragging his party down the tubes. All on account of his "tenacity."
I will give Dinesh some credit here though, he doesn't just blindly sing Bush's praises like some folks on these blogs do.
But Bush and Churchill? An insult to Winston Churchill for sure.
David S. at 10:29AM on Dec 14th 2007
42. I don't understand how someone that claims "christian" values can endorse a foreign policy that has caused the death of a minimum of 88,000(us gov figure) and probably as many as 500,000(independant eu est.) innocent people. Key word here being "PEOPLE"! These were real people with real families that have been brutally murdered often after gruesome torture. These were not alquida soldiers. These were civilians that happened to belong to the wrong sect at the time. You may call it sensational, but gwb is in the same leauge as many of the other tyranical, murdering world leaders. How is this "christian"?!
Richard at 10:31AM on Dec 14th 2007
43. It seems odd to me that an avowed agnostic like Dinesh would support Bush. No surprise though that he idolizes someone who can't admit defeat in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The two of them have that in common.
a born atheist at 10:35AM on Dec 14th 2007
44. the iraqs government has to learn to crawl befor it can walk and we havent seen any signs of maliki doing as bush wants yes we have surpressed the violences for now but what happnes when we get thru the [process of vietnamization in iraq as in south vietnam acountry like north vietnam willswallow up iraq as for bush haters bush has been nothing vut a disaster since he was appointed by his dads ussc appointees nice job dinesh you need to grow a brain cell, but bush hasnt done really anything iniraq the militias are waiting us out we dont have any staying power or the troops sorryu i dont agree with you disney world fantasy mickey mouse bushit
eh at 10:39AM on Dec 14th 2007
45. It occurs to me that one reason so many people think DD is a christian is for that very reason. DD keeps thinking he is right or 'won' in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. How's that for feeding the fire lol.
a born atheist at 10:39AM on Dec 14th 2007