Since George Washington printed a letter in the papers as his "Farewell Address" after 8 years of governance, it has become somewhat of a tradition for presidents to give some sort of presentation of their parting thoughts. Last night, George W Bush gave his. I will admit that I did not watch it live, but used the linked text of the speech to review his farewell. I would argue the key paragraph is this...
As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before Nine-Eleven. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our Nation. And I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.This is the Bush presidency, at its worst and best, in a single sentence. Every unexplained decision, every failure of philosophy, every frustration for liberals and conservatives alike is explained by this. For GWB, 9/11 was the defining moment for everything that came after.
It will be interesting to see what a post-9/11 president looks like in Obama. Or if he will be eventually pressed into the same mold.
1 comment:
This is exactly why I never lost faith in him and continued to support him. The reality of terrorist threats and the fact that our nation has remained safe from them for these years has been foremost in my mind.
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