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 6 of 42)
76. (hand up) atheist here! More importantly, anti-war. I'm one of those people who was against the Iraq invasion from the get-go. The story was already out that Bush wanted to invade Iraq (for oil and for revenge for the death threat against his dad)
BTW, I have been a volunteer in local and national politics since the age of 6. I was also a political science major. So, yes, I do have a background in politics.
Besides, everyone is entitled to their opinion, even you neo-cons.
Linda at 11:37AM on Dec 14th 2007
77. brian said to linda: but your very hateful when people do not agree with you. calling people a dick is not polite for a lady
brian said to all liberals: you liberals are spineless worms who grovel in the muck. clouds without rain. your a shame to manhood and valor and dignity. spineless i tell you just spineless. the greatest generations should have made you a little tougher instead of such whining spineless worms. you have no back bone. instead of berating bush if you don't like him vote for a demon-crat next time.
brian, do you expect ANYONE to respect you or take you seriously based on these comments?
emma at 11:39AM on Dec 14th 2007
78. Christians, I ask you;
What is the justification for the slaughter of at least 88,000 innocent people?
I know it's hard to get your hands and head around this number(that is probably a low estimate by a factor of 6 or 7), but think about it for a second. Few of us have seen that magnitude of death. 88,000 Men, women and children tortured and put to death, blown up, starved. How does this not make our president like any other mass murderer?
Richard at 11:40AM on Dec 14th 2007
79. emma,
liberals are spineless they stand for nothing. the only thing they absolutley hate is george bush. they would rather see us lose this war than to see george bush win. they want him beat at all cost. i do not agree with being there but i don'r agree with bashing gerge bush either. spinless people stand up for nothing but protecting their own small little turf. on this blog most of the time it atheism. you guys are pointedly mean to individuals. isaid liberalism is spineless,it is. i also said if you don't like bush vote for a demon-crat next time. vote don't constantly berate the man. he's your president and mine.
brian at 11:46AM on Dec 14th 2007
80. "...personally there in not one iraqi that is worth one of our troops." - brian
I'm just saying, this is probably the same way Hitler thought.
Ryan Anderson at 11:46AM on Dec 14th 2007
81. "67. EH - Saddaam only killed and tortured his own people right. You cant have it both ways. Are you only against killing if the US does it?" MR
-------------------------------
Do you really think that Saddam's autocracy is the reason for the invasion? So naive.
So, the USA goes in and disbands the Iraqi military, unleashes a violent civil war, without a real exit strategy? For WMD that didn't exist?
So thousands of US lives (we're coming up to an auspicious milestone, we're almost at 4,000 dead or missing) and tens of thousands (or more) of Iraqi lives BECAUSE OF OUR WAR.
And what about the almost 30,000 wounded US who are horribly injured and barely noticed by the present administration. I've been to Walter Reed to see the wounded soldiers.
Linda at 11:47AM on Dec 14th 2007
82. brian says: what respect do you have for people who do not agree with you? you seem to have little. why are you and linda this way. does atheism teach you this? morals? and you berate others for thier views. i guess i am not getting what is moral about you? angry and bitter by your tone,yes, but moral?
I never said I had respect for you. I don't. Not because of your views, but for your blatant hypcritical remarks, illogical and ridiculous accusations and generalization. There are plenty of people who share your views whom I do respect. What I said is that I have respect for LIFE. Atheism doesn't teach. It is a non-belief. I don't know how many times you have to be told the same thing to get it. You don't listen, brian, and you don't think independently. Everything you state in your post shows the mentality of a blind follower.
You equate no respect with speaking ones mind. I have NEVER called you a spineless worm, but you always succumb to the debating tactics of a pre-schooler.
emma at 11:49AM on Dec 14th 2007
83. And Bin Laden sits in his lair and laughs and laughs.
And maybe plans the next attack on US soil.
Linda at 11:50AM on Dec 14th 2007
84. Richard at 11:40AM on Dec 14th 2007, I assume you are talking about the Iraqi's civilians deaths. As all deaths to innocent people, one is to many, but to blame all of these deaths on the US involvement on the war in Iraq is not correct. Most have been caused by Al-Qaeda some by the Shite and Sunnies power struggle. There has been mistakes in running of the war, no doubt. What I do believe Dsouza is saying is that retreat at the time when public opinion on the war was at it lowest would have been bad. We are starting to see reconciliation between Sunnis and Shites. No one on either side of the debate can be sure how things will turnout, but I am sure we all can hope that it turns out for the best for all of the Iraqis.
pd at 11:56AM on Dec 14th 2007
85. support the troops,
question your political leaders.
hate war,
love the American warrior.
Richelle at 11:59AM on Dec 14th 2007
86. No one on either side of the debate can be sure how things will turnout, but I am sure we all can hope that it turns out for the best for all of the Iraqis.
____________
Yes, let's hope, because it certainly hasn't turned out for the best for Americans.
I have to say this, pd, even though I disagree with you on both religion and politics, I find it commendable that you recognize the mistakes as well. I wish GWB had that capability.
emma at 12:03PM on Dec 14th 2007
87. So now dnesh of God has unabashedly merged his hate-faith and its attendant paranoia with the neofascism of the republican party. His faith seems to demand victims – atheists as he calls them – demons or devils or something exotic.
He imagines or at least pretends to imagine an army of atheists out to get him and now he wants to infest government with this hatred of science and progress and information?
What culture is THAT supposed to come from?
I‘ve lived here 64 years and have never witnessed anything REMOTELY like that here in my America.
This would at some point pit the government against ANYONE not of his faith. This is in my estimation treasonous thought, in that it would serve to foment internal religious strife in America where there was none. It is far too much like what I recall of living under McCarthyism.
There is something distinctly alien in this kind of thinking. I know McCarthy was just insane, but this registers very differently – it just isn’t American!
Now that Dnesh of God is also Dnesh of God and Law, his agenda is pretty clear and prompts me to comment:
From now on, whenever this purveyor of the philosophy of America’s enemies attacks those of you who don’t share his faith, HE BURNS YOUR FLAG!!
I think this person of VERY questionable loyalty to American principles and constitutional law may be actively attempting to foment civil unrest between our citizens. I can’t think of any moral reason to continue to let him do this without calling him at every turn.
Would you call Dnesh of God and Law a loyal American? He pits citizen against citizen! What does he stand for besides spreading chaos?
I find him morally repugnant. I doubt he’s ever been treated by any American the way he treats EVERY American who disagrees with him.
It’s like he sees us as belonging to castes. He disrespects what we love and he makes that very clear.
His thinking is the product of some foreign culture, it seems to me – he just doesn’t value being an American the way most of us do – he trades what can’t be traded. If he grew up here, it must have been under radioactive foreign culture indoctrination.
II think he’s motivated by notoriously non-American philosophy and now that he fancies himself part of government I’ve had about enough of keeping still about it out of politeness. This man has no grasp of the American ideals that defeated what he preaches in WWII and guided our country until 1980. He only sees the ‘me’ advantages of this country and could give a mongoose’s ass what the cost to America is.
Clif Kuplen at 12:03PM on Dec 14th 2007
88. pd, you raise a good point.
You observe that most deaths are caused by al-quaeda. Listen closely;
THERE WAS NO AL-QUAEDA IN IRAQ BEFORE WE GOT THERE!
And weather it be al-quaeda, or pure sectarianism that killed half a million people makes no difference. They would not have been tortured and killed had WE not invaded.
Richard at 12:06PM on Dec 14th 2007
89. ryan,
are you for the war? i would not have wasted one of our tropps over there. what do you not get kind sir.
richelle,
if you don't like the political leaders vote them out. don't spew stupid venom like some of these blog-monster,who hate and despise gerge bush. and then call themselves tolerant. its so crazy these people, how can you stand the non-sense
brian at 12:09PM on Dec 14th 2007
90. brian,
i fail to see how i am spewing stupid venom! what part of what i said was stupid and venomous?
Richelle at 12:12PM on Dec 14th 2007