November 15, 2008

The bar has been set, Dems...

I think it is about time to update my list of the accomplishments of President George W Bush. Just so we will have a baseline to judge other presidents of the new millennium...

Global War on Terror

  • Moral clarity!
  • Willing to FIGHT. Sticks with decisions when weak sisters are whimpering and caving.
  • Two of the worst tyrannies in the world overthrown...50 million liberated! (He's the REAL anti-fascist!)
  • Supported the "Surge" and Gen. Petraeus, against Dems who wanted to hand victory to al-Qaeda.
  • No domestic terror attacks since 9/11.
  • Many successful attacks on Al Qaeda and other terror groups, and their funding.
  • Iraq Campaign has utterly transformed WOT, as Islamist groups were forced to react to OUR move, forced to fight us where we have our best forces. Also, Iran now has US forces on both sides.
  • Patriot Act, and improved foreign surveillance for the wireless age.
  • Work begun on Missile Defense. Outdated Cold-War Missile Defense treaty ended
  • Bush Doctrine: Updated the Westphalian system, establishing the principle that national sovereignty is dependent on democratic legitimacy.
  • PSI & Caspian Guard. Libya out of the WMD game.
  • Syria out of Lebanon. Democratic stirrings all across the Islamic world. (These, alas, have been undercut by pro-tyranny Dems.)
  • Refused to deal with Arafat.
  • Expressed appreciation of our military in countless small and large ways. (Often privately, without any publicity.)
  • Established a template for the WOT, which future presidents will follow. (I predict.)

Foreign policy and trade

  • "Axis of Good". Major new alignment with traditional Anglospheric allies, and also Poland, India, Brazil, Indonesia, a newly-militarizing Japan, etc. Moved away from reliance on dying nihilist Europe. This will be comparable to the North Atlantic Alliance of the Cold War era.
  • Especially, the alliance with India. Game changer!
  • Rejected ICC
  • Openly said we will defend Taiwan.
  • Strong push to stop sex-trafficking and slavery
  • Big push against HIV/AIDS in Africa
  • Strengthened alliance with Colombia. Gave them aid against communist terrorists.
  • Many free trade agreements, which get almost no notice, though everyone screamed about the (soon ended) steel tariffs.
  • CAFTA. Free-trade agreement with Chile
  • Reformed foreign aid to focus on results, accountability, transparency, and anti-corruption and pro-democracy requirements.

Economy and "Ownership Society"

  • Ownership Society initiatives. [link, link]
  • Numerous substantive tax cuts--result, economic recovery. ---[Yes, I know about the current problems---those were mostly caused by Dems, (read this) and our economy will sooner or later shrug them off and continue the astonishing upward trajectory that began with the Reagan tax cuts. Unless Dems increase taxes] The rich are paying a higher percentage of taxes than when Bush elected.
  • Supported tort reform
  • HSA's are now a reality, after being blocked for decades by Dems.
  • Attempted to start to fix Social Security. (First president ever to have the guts to.)

Life, Faith

  • Moral clarity!
  • Faith-based initiatives: Fought the notion that "separation of church and state" should mean atheism as our state religion.
  • Signed Partial Birth Abortion ban and ban on funding abortions through UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund).
  • Restored Mexico City agreement.
  • Stopped Fed funding for new lines of embryonic stem cells; a strong symbolic victory for the Culture of Life. INCREASED funding for stem cell research.
  • HHS pushed into abstinence education.

Science, Health

  • Ended the hypocrisy of "supporting" the Kyoto Treaty, which was rejected by the Senate 95-0 during Clinton's time.
  • US carbon emissions decreased.
  • Healthy Forests Initiative

Judiciary

  • Justices Roberts and Alito!
  • Nominated many excellent appellate judges.

White House and Executive Branch

  • Restored dignity to White House! No more sleaze and scandals, pardon-selling, or frat-boy antics. No jeans in WH.
  • forced "merit" hiring and promotion onto a big chunk of the Fed bureaucracy. Made it much easier for private firms to bid for work now done by Civil Service.
  • First president ever to have a VP doing real work in the administration--in fact the Cheney's are a whole amazing family of conservatives working for us.

Education

  • NCLB, which is now starting to have real positive effects as public schools are forced to meet standards. (More improvement in reading scores in five years than in the previous 28 combined)
  • Put federal weight behind teaching of Phonics.
  • Vouchers for DC, and for Katrina victims.
  • Pushed federal arts funding away from nihilism towards.....art! (Farewell Mapplethorpe, Hello Shakespeare)

Politics

  • Defeated two wretched Democrat candidates.
  • Saved us from having John McCain as Republican candidate in 2000! (Now we see! Thank you Karl and George.)
  • Gave us a smart bookish First Lady we can be proud of.
  • Campaigns not only to get himself re-elected but also to help other Republican candidates

Bush: Saving your ass, like it or not
I forgot who sent me this...maybe it was Mike P. ---Thanks!

* Update: Note, I owe many people for items on this list. Especially Orrin Judd. Also Russ M____ Cardiff-by-the Sea, Ca, Michael Novak, Karl Rove, Jim Miller, and Beldar.

* Update: Of course there are things about the Bush Administration I disagree with or would change. But that's another topic.

Posted by John Weidner at November 15, 2008 9:27 AM
Weblog by John Weidner