Mea Culpa to Bush on Presidents Day
By Al Neuharth
USA Today
Our great country has had 43 presidents. Many very good. A few pretty bad. On Presidents Day next Monday, it's appropriate to commemorate them all.
I remember every president since Herbert Hoover, when I was a grade school kid. He was one of the worst. I've personally met every president since Dwight Eisenhower. He was one of the best.
A year ago I criticized Hillary Clinton for saying "this (Bush) administration will go down in history as one of the worst."
"She's wrong," I wrote. Then I rated these five presidents, in this order, as the worst: Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, Hoover and Richard Nixon. "It's very unlikely Bush can crack that list," I added.
I was wrong. This is my mea culpa. Not only has Bush cracked that list, but he is planted firmly at the top.
The Iraq war, of course, has become Bush's albatross. He and his buddies are great at coining words or slogans. "Bushisms" that will haunt him historically:
· "Shock and Awe," early 2003.
· "Mission Accomplished," May 1, 2003.
· "Stay the Course," June 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.
· "New Strategy," 2007.
Another term historians may weigh critically is "Decider."
Is he just a self-touted decider doing what he thinks right? Or is he an arrogant ruler who doesn't care or consider what the public or Congress believes best for the country?
Despite his play on words and slogans, Bush didn't learn the value or meaning of mea culpa (acknowledgement of an error) during his years at Yale.
Bush admitting his many mistakes on Iraq and ending that fiasco might make many of us forgive, even though we can never forget the terrible toll in lives and dollars.
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3 comments:
It takes a real man to admit he was wrong. Yes Hillary just said what everyone in the world knew. What's sad is Bush doesn't know anything about American History so he might not get it. As for Cheney he could care less as long as he's allowed to steal and torture. Daddy Bush will be crying alot more as his idiot son deep the US deeper in this mess. Journalist are now saying lying is not a crime when done under oath, in hopes that the Libby jurors read it. Now lying is a crime if done by Bill Clinton or any Democrat but not if done by a GOP. Abramoff, Duke, Skilling and make believe dead Kenny boy are all waiting for the jurors verdict in the Libby trial. If the jurors say lying isn't a crime those guys will appeal their convictions on the grounds that lying is legal. Yes even Kenny will return to the US to be a free man as he explains that his fake death was a surprise to even him. Parents will have to tell their children if your Republican lying is legal if your Democrat it's a crime. Chavez is laughing so much about this.
.......yes, stay the course running the country to the ground and waging the war on the middle class
"It takes a real man to admit he was wrong."
That leaves out the Gerbil.
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