Bush: An American Failure

Just finished Bob Woodward’s latest book on Bush.

Read it if you want to be depressed/frightened/enraged.

I’m not going to rant about Bush, his personal history, or the basic dishonesty of the Republican Party that got him elected and aided and abetted the disaster of the last eight years.

Rather, I’m simply going to offer my list of some of Bush’s “accomplishments.”

Then, it’s your call on how you judge him.

 National debt from a surplus to + $500 trillion.
 Largest increase in size of government since WWII.
 A drug plan written by the big drug companies that mostly benefited the big drug companies, not people.
 Energy bill written by big oil, guided by Cheney. Gas +$4.00 a gallon.
 Katrina and the failure of FEMA that caused the permanent destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf States and the nation’s ability to respond to a national disasters. Millions of Americans had their lives, if not ruined, then nearly destroyed.
 Iraq: 4,100 Americans killed; 30,000+ seriously injured; 50,000? 100,000?, 250,000? American soldiers and their families suffering PTSD, broken homes, and the crippling psychological effects of fighting a needless war.
 1,000,000 men, women, and children killed in Iraq.
 America’s moral leadership destroyed.
 Thousands kidnapped, tortured, and imprisoned.
 The Constitution ignored.
 The opportunity to unify the country after 9/11 wasted.
 “Signing Statements” making a joke of the legislative process.
 Theocratic policies displacing lawful government and the Constitutional concept of separation of church and state
 Tax breaks to the wealthy.
 $700 billion bank bailout.
 Abandonment of government oversight of banks, brokerage houses, and hedge funds resulting in the near destruction of the world’s financial systems.
 The “Ownership Society” as official government policy, authorizing reduction of lending standards to implement the policy; and the destruction of the American mortgage industry and destruction of millions of American families and their lives.
 The power of Dick Cheney.
 The “Unitary Presidency.”
 Rendition (kidnapping) as official US policy.
 Waterboarding (torture) as official US policy.
 Privatization of Social Security (thank god that didn’t happen).
 Carl Rove running government.
 Millions of White House and government records/emails/memos destroyed so no trace left behind.
 No Child Left Behind: bad policy and then never funded.
 Global Warming denied.
 An election stolen.
 Americans’ phones tapped and private calls monitored without legal warrants.
 Miners killed because of deregulation/de-emphasis of OSHA mining safety regulations.
 Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court
 “Mission Accomplished”
 WMD’s
 “Bring it on!”

There’s more, I’m sure. But this is draining.

Go ahead….add to the list.

And if you want an even longer list in four years, vote McCain/Palin.

I dare ya.