The Bush Legacy

"We wuz robbed! Robbed by fate! O, unkind Fortune

that toys with us, and brings our plans to naught! "

My father has come around to thinking the Bush Administration has long overstayed its welcome. He was a Bush supporter for a long time. What changed his mind is an article in the National Geographic about the extinction of animal species, and the fact that even the National Geographic finally has to say how little the Bush Administration has done. Indeed, this administration has been an obstacle to progress. But what could one expect from an administration that saw fit to appoint religious hacks to important positions in Space and Science agencies? Science, Space, the Environment, all of these were nothing but fields in which to reap political benefits. We may ignore the fact that by impeding the progress of science, we effectively act against our continued leadership in science, and , by direct causality, our economic well-being. However, he did say that you have to give Bush one thing: there has not been another terrorist attack on American soil since 2001. Of course, I resisted giving Bush this, because the overall logic is fallacious, just like everything about the neoconservative right-wing and their lackeys. Everything is a fallacy. If I were to admit that it is true that Bush is responsible for the lack of further attacks, then I would be essentially giving some sort of validity to a process of "giving credit". This immediately implies an acceptance of the validity of "giving blame". So who is to blame for 9/11? If I give someone credit, I must logically assign blame somewhere also. If I assign blame on a Democrat, I immediately drop my mask of impartiality and am discovered for what I am, a partisan of a political view. Therefore, my observation that credit is due Bush is a rhetorical device, and cannot be held to be a proposition that may be true or false. If I assign blame to Bush, who was the President at the time, every nitwit eager to give Bush credit for the lack of further attacks would immediately disagree with me, and denounce me. Thus, there would be no possibility of agreeing on any of the credit/blame propositions. It is complex. If it is complex to assign blame, giving credit is equally complex. Remember that only a year or so ago, Bush wanted to take credit for the economy! On July 19, 2007, to be quite exact. Look it up. Now the silence of Bush on Gaza will threaten our future, not make it safer. They believed in Power and the Sword; they were defeated by greater Power, ironic reversal of arrogance. But then name one thing that the Bush bunch done to encourage our lives, our fortunes, and our pursuits of happiness?