The George Bush Legacy

[William Joyce]

While it is very hard to predict what historians will say years from now, there are some indisputable facts with which we have to stew:

(1) The Bush presidency has been one of an exponential increase in government. This administration has been hostile to the ideas of limited government.

(2) The Bush presidency has been one of extreme hostility to the privacy rights of ordinary Americans.

(3) The Bush presidency has been one of the most divisive periods of our history. Whether the GOP or Dems are to blame is yet to be determined.

Notice there is one issue I did not mention: Iraq. On that issue, it's safe to say no one can predict how historians will view the Iraq war in 50 years. To claim that historians in 50 year will view Iraq either favorably or unfavorably is ignorant -- that's one issue which is TBD.

Bush helped to ruin many conservative gains, especially in the public mind. What college kid today, with Bush as an exemplar of "conservatism," would get excited about that movement?