In a televised speech, President George W Bush will say good bye to the United States and the world tonight. To his critics he’s the man associated with Iraq, Afghanistan and Katrina. But to his supporters he’s the one who toppled Saddam Hussein, the Taliban , kept America safe after 9/11 and pledged millions of dollars in aid to Africa.
So, at the end of his presidency, what do we have to thank George Bush for? I spoke to a number of people yesterday telling them about the idea we had for today’s program. Some had nothing to thank him for but then some had this to say:
Dr Ngoma in Dar es Salaam ,Tanzania
“When I look at George Bush’s presidency I think what he’s done with HIV is remarkable. The funds he pledged have touched the lives of many people; these people are my relatives, my patients and other people I know these are not statistics, this is real life. I could see these people having hope in life now because of Bush’s contribution to HIV treatments they can get better now and take care of their families. I know that everyone makes mistakes but we have him to thank for the HIV treatment and the lives he’s helped save.”
Colleen in New York City
“George Bush is a great man with great integrity. By going into this suffering country (Iraq), it was to free the people and to draw out radical Islam. Thank you George Bush and Tony Blair for all you have gone through and will continue to go through out of office as well, for your effort for eventual peace. Most of all, for doing all you could to keep us safe.”
And Joe in Nairobi Kenya sent me this
“Dear President Bush,
Thank you for speaking out for the people of Southern Sudan and Darfur when the rest of the world and many in Africa buried their heads in the sand debating about the semantics of the term genocide. Thank you for helping in the fight against Malaria and HIV-AIDS. More children in Africa will live to see their 5th birthday”
RSS feed
BBC World Have Your Say 
Absolutely nothing! Good ridance for bad rubbish
My thank to G.Bush is that, just to hand himself to ICC court in order to face charges about war crime.Because today U.S about 200 year no president like this within 47 US past presidents.
Bush has a lot to answer for and has no admiration or sincerity from us
Hi gang ! :-)… I think that I’m going to miss Mr Bush… I do believe that he’s got an amusing personality, he’s a funny character, the way he talks is funny, his body language is also funny, and I do not remember watching a press conference of his without laughing… So thank you Mr Bush for making me laugh, I’m gonna miss you… With my love… Yours forever, Lubna in Baghdad…
We have to thank Bush for demonstrating that Neo-Conism doesn’t work.
Bush has left us a peaceful nuclear deal on the part of India, a ‘secular democraticaly elected Government in Iraq, Afghanistan, a ‘checked’ Russia, and scoes of legacies which are more than enough to keep him smiling all the way to his grave. Sceptics would like to talk about the failed Govts. in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries but America is one hell of a nation where America’s interest is the foremost and Bush cannot be blamed for that matter. The one who had tried all possible ways to keep Egypt and North Korea from the nukes deserve all the applause a man can ever deserve. His mistakes reflects the human side of man: his achievements/contributions reflects the superhuman side of man. We laugh with him, smile with him and been through all the way with him but can never have enough. And when the curtain closes down on him , we say ”THANK GOD FOR THIS SAVIOUR WE HAVE HAD”.Thank you, President Bush, for all that you have done.
We have to thank him for setting new standards of government – who would have things can be that bad? And we have to thank him for leaving White House, Venezuelans don’t even get this pleasure, seeing their leader leave office.
Bushisms such as misunderestimating him, the internets, the google, etc. On a policy note, his positive was aid to Africa, especially for combating AIDS.
History will be the ultimate judge of outgoing President George W. Bush, but it is safe to say the legacy of his administration will be significantly diminished American credibility overseas, outright incompetence in domestic [i.e. Hurricane Katrina and a lack of economic regulation that has significantly contributed to the expanding crisis] and foreign [i.e. the invasion of Iraq under false pretenses] affairs and an expansion of the gap between the poor and the rich in this country. It is arguably true Bush’s governance over the last eight years has left the majority of Americans more cynical and frankly disgusted with Washington. President-elect Barack Obama has the hope of a struggling nation at his back, and it is with little doubt many Americans are all too quick to bid Bush a quick adieu on Tuesday.
George Bush managed to create a dictatorship within America and destroy its institutions. Thanks to Bush, the USA may disappear in 100 years.
It isn’t an easy job. As far as I was able to discern, Mr. Bush demonstrated only one substantial, though mighty, failing: He trusted people who did not know the truth, or who did not say it. Thus, he was controlled by events and by supporters, rather than being in control.
g
Mostly, we can thank him for leaving office.
Well, i think Bush should just go and reckeck his values. he has really done a lot both positively and negatively but in the end,it s his name that is at stake. Perhaps he cannot undo all that is gone. But today is a blank page for him and everyone of us.It depends on what we write in it ourselves.Akintunde from Nigeria
We have George W. Bush to thanks for showing us just how far politicians can take corruption, manipulation, general skulduggery and get away with it.
We have him to thank for showing us, the people, the electorate, how complacent we all are, how tolerant of this corruption we can become, and the price we pay for it.
We have him to thank for instilling in the younger generation a feeling of absolute mistrust of ‘authority’, ‘government’ and ‘big business’ (including anything that involves a Bank). For the youth of today hold these venerable institutions in disdain.
Yes, we have a lot to thank George W. Bush for.
Maybe one of the things we can thank him the most for is that he created, aided and abetted, such an intolerable situation, globally, that it gave a chance for a new USA President ‘elect’ that might, just might, instigate some changes to the better.
For this we can be truly thankful.
One man’s food is another man’s poison!
Bush can’t be good to all people. Under his reign many were saved, had hope of life, same as many suffered from injustice, and wars. For sure to many Africans Bush has been the best ever, while to many in East Bush was and will remain the worse. Bush is not God, he did what he could as human, the judgment is between him and God.
I feel, though potentially somewhat cynically, that we have soon-to-be President Bush to thank for the election of Barack Obama. If it weren’t for his poor leadership, his leading the nation to destroy the economy,* flagrant disregard of human rights and privacy, and all around decimation of the image of my country, I don’t know if President-elect Obama would have been able to pull off the election. As much pride that I have that the U.S. elected Barack Obama, I feel that it is not as much an embracing of him or his credentials as much a rejection of everything relating to Bush.
*(I’m not trying to incite another debate, nor do I blame the entire economic collapse on Bush or his policies, though I firmly believe him and the neo-con right had a large hand in it.)
(grammar correction: “I firmly believe he and the neo-con right had a large hand in it;” not him.)
It’s the end of an era. While each United States President leaves a legacy and a “feeling” among Americans, and affects non-Americans all around the world with their decisions, it remains a fact that the United States citizens choose their leadership.
That leadership is given a four-year chance to prove their worth and, if they prove worthy, they are given a second four years. Then they retire to private life and start their various foundations, policy programs and what-have-you.
Each President has brought positives to the office, and each has brought negatives. That being said, the broadly dispersed opinions of those positives and negatives are generally broadcast primarily by media — newspaper, television, radio.
The Presidency of the United States is not just about Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, Israel, terrorism, and providing welfare for people who choose to live below sea level in hurricane-prone areas. It does much, much more. See the document of 100 Things Americans may not know about the Bush Administration Record and see if you don’t find one thing that might have been positive about President Bush.
I have much disdain for my outgoing president, but I always given him credit for his efforts to combat malaria and AIDS in Africa. That’s very commendable and noble. That policy, however, was never the focus of his administration.
Beyond the ill-waged wars of Afghanistan and Iraq, the failure on the environment, he hollowed out the enforcement capabilities of all the federal agencies from the FDA to the Justice Department (unless it was trumped up terror charges) to the SEC to OSHA. He decimated the federal budget, saddling my generation with trillions in debt during good economic years and making for an even more precarious fiscal picture going into the future administration.
Whether or not I agree with his policies, there is no argument at all about this: George W. Bush ran the federal government into the ground.
lol, This is one of those topics where WHYS is asking for it. Well I will not take the bait!
WE can thank George for lower hosing prices. If he hadn’t implemented the “ownership society” the loans made to people who can’t afford them would never have been made, and the housing prices could have still been outlandish.
We can thank GW for easing world poverty. Yes, his Tax cuts allowed business to open factories in poverty stricken China, India, and South America. Of course all of the jobs lost in the US because of those same “job creating” tax cuts have caused a global recession. Thanks GW.
I would love to go on, but the length Sensors these days at WHYS are tough.
What do we have to thank Bush for? First, there’s the economy, because it’s doing *so* well right now. Second, he has made our government more plutocratic and elitist than ever. Third, and perhaps most worryingly, he has singlehandedly done an enormous amount of damage to the USA’s reputation with the international community. We are now widely seen as warmongers with no regard at all for international law or opinion.
Thanks, President Bush!
#Peter, Portland
The positive side of the Bush administration was that GW exposed the game going on behind the scenes. I am sure he didn’t mean to. But we got the footage all the same. One outrageous scam after another, with 9/11 being the the hight of Ham Acting one could ever dream to see.
Kennedy and Clinton and the other ‘darlings’ that have held the USA Presidency were also up to scams, but we never got to hear about them.
Now, thanks to Sir Tim Brenners Lee for putting a user friendly interface onto what was a very esoteric communications system, we get the facts, the fictions, the blogs, the photographs that would have otherwise been censored…
And Bush played to the audience. He showed the world that an ex-alcoholic, cocaine user, and whatever else not inhaled, buffoon can be President.
It made people look at their own ‘presidents’ in a new light.
Tony Blair starts looking, not like a venerable statesman, but a lying cheat.
Gordon Brown comes over as a bumbling, confused, ineloquent accountant and not a very good one either.
George (fool me once) W. Bush gave us this ability to see the Emperor with no clothes on. Not a pretty sight, but memorable.
Thank you Mr. Bush, I am no longer stuck for example when explaining the pointlessness of government when it comes to managing the hopes and expectations of the public..
A few more reasons to thank GW,
The VFW, American Legion, and like organizations were growing thin on new membership. With two wars that are still being waged, they can count on selling cheap beer to ex-war vets for the foreseeable future.
I would like to thank him for giving the democrats something to say when republicans say, “ERON occurred on democrat’s Watch.” WE can say, “Madoff occurred republican watch.”
WE can also thank old #43 for unwittingly engineering skyrocketing fuel prices that drove the fuel efficiency industry. Sure it had to happen at the expense of the SUV producing “Big Three” that were inspired by the SUV giveaway to produce 3 ton personal vehicles. However, today more people then ever are aware of fuel efficiency.
Speaking of folks to thank for what has so rudely been thrust upon us by this administration, let’s not forget the gaggle of fools who nominated and elected Mr. Bush.
g
Oh one more thing. Prior to George Bush coming into office, the world had too high of an opinion and expectations of the US. Thank you GW for lowing those standards and expectations for us around the world. You would not believe how little the rest of the world expects from the US after 8 years and twice electing the bumbling idiot. Many that once thought democracy was the answer have now rethought their position. Now as an American I can do stupid things abroad and the natives say, “Oh forgive him he is an American, he doesn’t know any better.”
As an American who also has Swiss nationality and who has lived in Switzerland for over 25 years, I have a dual perspective on President Bush. From either perspective, he is the worst president the USA has ever had.
Warren Harding was equally incompetent, but Harding’s failings were of omission, not commission. Yes, no terrorist attacks have taken place on American soil since 9/11—but 9/11 happened on Bush’s watch. Yes, he has given a great deal of money to the fight against AIDS, but he coupled the funding to abstinence-only programmes, which many analysts believe has done more harm than good.
He invaded Iraq on a lie. He filled his administration with cronies as incompetent or ideologically-challenged as himself, thus leading to the bungled post-Katrina disaster management, the gutting of environmental measures, the politicalization of the US Justice Department, and the cynical management, or mismanagement, of US Federal watchdogs, not least of which include oversight of the US financial sector. Almost without exception, he assigned foxes to guard the chicken coops.
The list goes on. As time goes on, I am confident that Bush will be accorded the title of Worst American President of All Time. The only thing we have to thank Bush for is leaving office. Good riddance.
Donnamarie in Switzerland
If there is anything, it is only for thing – No terrorist attacks on US soil after 9/11
I think it was important that his adminiatration proposed a “two-state solution” for the Palestine-Israel conflict. I am also grateful that he did not allow Israel to attack Iran.
The woman from Akron, Ohio USA who spoke on the radio earlier today, the Librarian for an Evangelical church, was a perfect example of the idiocy of fundamentalists in any religion. She was proud of George Bush and said that he had never shamed Jesus. I think this is a preposterous view of a violent man who abused his power. I saw nothing but similarities between her slavish adoration (poor verbal skills included) for Bush as a Christian and the respect fundamentalist Muslims have for people like Osama bin Laden. Crazy alert!
Thanking George Bush for protecting America from another attack on our soil since 9/11 overlooks the obvious: why would al Qaeda waste the price of a plane ticket to the U.S. when Bush sent Americans to a shooting gallery in Iraq where more of them have died since 9/11 than died on U.S. soil on 9/11 itself?
Besides the war profiteers, the man whose factory makes the shoe model that was thrown at Bush is the biggest, single winner from his presidency.
Those in my country who continue to support Bush seem to fall into three categories: 1) the ignorant/uninformed, 2) the faith-based (see #1), 3) those who received obscene power/profits.
Five days until we are all set free! Thank you, U.S. Constitution!
For giving David Letterman and everyone else great material to work with…
I guess I can thank George Bush for making me so unhappy in America that I moved to the UK. Bless him – I do love Socialism!
Over the eight years of the Bush presidency, we have become accustomed to seeing two African Americans as secretary of state. Mr Bush is comfortable with others. At Yale one of his best friends was Roland Betts, who married an African American while he was in law school. The Betts have been very close friends of the Bushes — and probably broadened by Bush’s work as a baseball executive in a sport that is mixed racially, Bush became one can only say comfortable and at ease in an interracial world. He laid the groundwork for our nation of accept an African American president.
We thank Bush for waking us up! He has roused citizens to take back their democracy..our democracy cannot just hum along, doing the right things without citizen involvement and passion for the country doing the right thing. Thanks for making it crystal clear how out of step a government can become without citizens becoming informed and involved. We must be very careful whom we elect…we see it makes a huge difference. The deaths of innocents, destruction and even the financial meltdown were easily brought about because of Bush and his group of advisors. Did not everything become worse? The citizenry have rallied now.
I think it’s foolish to try and find good things Bush has done when he’s wreaked such havoc in the world. He has done possibly irreparable harm to the environment, left the economy in sad shape, undermined the position of the USA in the world, allowed torture, increased the gap between the rich and the poor in this country and, most significantly, has been responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths. Even in his last weeks, he has not ceased to play a destructive role–the death of over 1000 Palestinians can, to some extent, be laid at his door.
I’ve never understood how that man can sleep at night but he remains blithely unconcerned.
Katherine in Ghent brought up Venezuela and alluded to the power of Hugo Chavez. Bush backed the yuppie version of the pump house gang in a failed coup against the elected Chavez. Who is to say how much of Venezuelan history turned on the public reaction to that coup? Meddling can often backfire and have opposite outcomes.
What about Latin America? Major media barely covered it under Bush Junior, perhaps because it was a public relations disaster for the US. This was predictable coming in. His father cast a big shadow to the south. Bush Senior got way too close to torture states as head of the CIA, so you couldn’t fool most Latin Americans when his son became President.
Bush Senior as Vice President: the Contra years. The illegal arming of insurgents. During the Iran/Contra hearings, Max Gomez described showing Bush Senior his scrap book of dead Marxists which exemplified his ‘helicopter concept’ ensuring correct identification of targets. In the waning days of dad’s presidency, Bush Junior was out shilling for ENRON, making phone calls to the powerful to obtain water rights for their corporate interests and vastly to the detriment of Argentina, for example. We see how that worked out.
The Chilean President was herself a victim of torture, and she is the daughter of a murdered Constitutionalist General so she would be a little hard to fool by the neo-con search for bargain client states. Policy on Cuba was made in MIami. Then GITMO and direct US torture of foreign nationals on a Latin American island? Our neighbors need to see radical change to trust us at all.
Our Southern neighbors have been through massive and historic changes during the Bush years and most folks in the US seem unaware. Having struggled through decades of US backed torture states, they are finding their own way and they are watching to see if we can make our way back form the torturers path.
For fricks sake. I drive into work today listening to the BBC world service and on comes the Evangelical kool aid drinker the BBC dug up in support of George Bush. There are a lot of right wing christians who still support Bush while viewing his presidency as flawed. The BBC would have done better by their audience by bringing on a decently informed individual who could articulate their reasons for supporting Bush in spite of his failings. Instead they dredge up a drone like dead ender who contently gives us a rendition of “Jesus of loves Bush this I know b/c my bible tells me so.”
I know Americans are easy to caricaturize, but you could at least put a little effort into not making it a blatant freak show.
Ryan
Barack Obama almost certainly would not have been elected without the legacy of President Bush. So I thank him for that.
Peggy Noonan, speech writer for both Presidents Reagan and the first president Bush observed that “George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party”.
I thank him for that as well.
I hope the American voters never forget what the Republican party agenda does to the economy, our constitution and international law.
Just echoing the sentiments expressed elsewhere, we can thank ‘Ol #43’ for showing us just how important world opinion does matter, and that heroic posturing may have worked in the days of the Wild West (as in John Wayne films), but the civilized world demands more, even in the face of terrifying, terrorist actions.
And about criticisms of the U.S. Christian White Right against European unchurching: the nuanced view should be that after the Crusades, Inquisitions, trials by ordeal, and some 9 centuries of almost continous warfare inspired (at least in part) by religious extremism, most of Europe naturally takes a dim view of utopian Christendom, and religious conversion, in general.
Hi Carolyn
Reyr January 15, 2009 at 14:52
Thku so much. Hamas got the brunt of it. Much of it was destined for Iran.
Iran and Israel will have to sort out their problems on their own. Two practically identical states, common sacrificial rituals, circumcision, marriage rites, many citizens with dual citizenship, speaking fluent Farsi, but simply can’t stand each other.
President Bush got Americans more involved in politics as a result of his:
1. leading the US and world into a phony war with Iraq that has nearly bankrupted the US economy, encouraged Al Queda, and ruined the US’s reputation world-wide
2. attack on the US Constitution
3. approving torture at Gitmo and Abu Gharib
4 approving warrantless wiretapping of innocent American citizens
5. utter failure in handling the Katrina disaster
6. use of ‘faith based’ initiatives that showed the intellectual bankruptcy of the evangelicals and religious right in America.
7. stacking the Supreme Court with right wing, pro business zealots
8. stealing the elections of 2000 and 2004
9. enabling the mean-spirited politics of the right wing and the religious right
10. enabling the complete meltdown of the US economy.
Americans realized that by not participating in politics, they had enabled this war criminal and his team to destroy the country and set Americans against each other.
George W. Bush will go down in history as one of the greatest US Presidents since Abraham Lincoln. The number one reason to thank George W. Bush for is his courage to do the right thing, even when the world was busy vilifying him.
In addition, I thank George Bush for:
1. Not giving into global warming hysteria and rejecting Kyoto.
2. Using aggressive measures such as water boarding to interrogate terrorists, gaining precious information that has saved countless lives
3. Re-establishing the credibility and authority of the Presidency damaged by Bill Clinton’s impeachment and weak response to 7 terrorist attacks on the US during his Administration (First World Trade, assassination attempt on George HW Bush in Kuwait, 2 Embassy bombings, USS Cole, Khobar Towers, attempted plane crash into White House).
4. Supporting Israel’s right to self-defence and stand against terrorism
5. Demanding accountability and testing standards of America’s schools with the No Child Left Behind education reform bill
6. Firmly establishing the objective of American Foreign Policy to support development of Democracy around the world, to the benefit of former Soviet Republics and Middle Eastern countries
7. Enacting the Medicare prescription drug benefit that has created competition among drug companies
8. Ensuring the integrity of the US Constitution and the system of checks and balances by appointing conservatives John Roberts and Sam Alito to the Supreme Court.
9. Strengthening relationships with Asian democracies in Japan, India, Korea and Australia without causing a rift with China.
10. The Surge which was little supported and has resulted the US winning the war in Iraq
He has raised HYPOCRISY to a HIGH ART.
How dare he, or any of his ilk, ever use the phrase “rule of law.”
Under his administration, the rule of law was TOTALLY DISREGARDED. And now, even the incoming administration seems to be carrying out that legacy, as there is little hope of seeing Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others brought to justice.
Right now, I’m listening to the Senate confirmation hearings for the new, incoming Attorney General of the U.S. and everyone is bantering about the phrase “the rule of law.” How hollow and hypocritical this sounds to anyone who has followed the course of the Bush administration.
They have demonstrated to the populace that the “rule of law” is a big joke.
And now, as Bob Dylan sang in “Hurricane,” —-“…..they are free to drink martinis and watch the sunrise.”
History has shown while a US President is still in office, the public knows a very, very small amount about what they have been up to. When they are finally out of office, we learn one hundred times more about what they actually did.
With what we know now about this President’s legacy while still in office, which is atrocious, I am terrified to find out what is inevitably going to be a tremendous amount of disturbing information once he is out of office.
Thank you, George Bush, for demolishing the American Dream and reputation both domestically and internationally.
Thank? ROTFLMHO! I’d thank him to disappear from public life.
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@ Roy
No kidding, Bush made us an international laughing stalk not to mention shameful and difficult to be proud to be an America.
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@ Dwight,
Ditto! LOL– thought you weren’t taking the bait.
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@ Lubna & Janice NYC,
You’re right, I laughed a lot at him, too.
After 9/11 the United States of America had to act and because the Taliban would not surrender Al-Queda then the US had to invade that country to take the only action which the terrorist organisation know so they had to invade to try to kill the terrorists in Afganistan because they are what the Taliban refused to hand over.
The Americans needed to have a central location where they could hold these high value personnel and so it was decided by someone to use the US base in cuba.
Good day all
Rob
The legacy of Bush is a tainted one as he left the image of American presidency as a ‘monster’s position and a symbol of heartless human beings who are thirsty for oil in Iraq and have waged fights with the talebans and other Islamic fundamentalists like the Islamic courts.He has left a reputation of non humane heart for the people of Dafour,eastern Congo,Iraq,Afghanistan,Gaza(while he has had his last chance to redeem himself in the Israeli /Palestinian war).
It is in his time that we are experiencing the economic crisis.Are we expecting Mr. Obama to act more like Franklin Roosevelt during the 1930s economic depression?
Although Pr Bush has contributed to the giving out of HIV/Aids drugs to Africa, he has failed to give hope of fighting poverty and wars(eastern Congo,Dafour…) .
All in Pr Bush cannot be positively be judged now as we have nothing to compare him with but wait for the future to judge him.
I’ve given this question some serious thought, and I honestly cannot come up with one thing for which to be thankful regarding George W. Bush.
Not one single thing.
I wish that the BBC would interview individuals who better represent the view point of the American people. The fundaMENTAList Evangelical, who believes that a man whose is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people is “a good Christian,” is not representative of thinking people in this country. Anyone who thinks that we have anything to thank this president for is either ignorant or ill-informed. How does the BBC always find members of that demographic to interview?
Some say he was easily led by the wrong people. I agree and saw Cheney in complete denial on PBS last night. In watching the awesome series American Experience on the ‘Presidents’ (PBS) and having watched several times the era of LBJ and Nixon then liken it to Bush and you see a strange parallel. In all three cases you see men determined to win. You see a sleepless LBJ manufacturing trouble in Vietnam to win votes over Goldwater who seemed more wolfish. He won and there were 20,000 USA deaths. You see a lying Nixon concoct a Cambodia extension to war to placate the deepening rifts in his popularity. 50,000 deaths. You see Bush concoct further evil dramas they supposedly thwarted in the worst eight years of American leadership. Nixon loved the movie ‘Patton’ and watched the despicable characterization over and over in the White House. Patton states gruffly that ‘America HATES losers’ and they do. They will lie and cheat and slime to retain what they have rather than lose so often? In politics they are capable of the worst kind of lying and cheating to retain the mantle.
I just have to thank George Bush and the neo-cons (he didn’t do this alone) for the following:
* Teaching me to live off the greatly reduced $ that unemployment provides
* Helping me to increase my appreciation for the incredible support of my family/friends while I struggle to find a job
* A nice shiny new resume which took me weeks to polish – even though there are few places to send it
* Added time during the day I’d usually use to go to work, but now get to go online and message WHYS.
Someone once said You have the leader you deserve. I think he was wrong on this one. The American people deserved much much better than Bush.
Bush was a misunderstood man who had good intentions. However the problem was the left wing portrayed him as an idiot. The left wing also owns all the media like CNN. He never seemed to have the rock star appeal Obama or Clinton had.
Here was a compassionate man who if Iraq and Afghanistan had worked out well the critics would have blushed. I wish him the VERY BEST.He cared a lot for Southern Sudan welfare.
In watching the awesome series American Experience on the ‘Presidents’ (PBS). Part two?
What stands out in this amazing series of history unfolding, though is that in each case of disgusting behavior and corruption and disclosure that LBJ and Nixon and Bush could always be assured of arriving back in the USA from any debacle they concocted to sway the minions and including visits to Africa and China and Russia and it was a given that the mighty right would herald them at some military base as though ‘angelic’? “Touch me my president touch me”? Nixon, although he had in his own words been a crook and was taped but still it was ‘touch me touch me’. I seriously believe that had Charles Manson been the elected warmonger of the day, that the militaristic’s would have laid down their lives for him just as some weirdo’s actually did? The love of the celebrity and the love of the military overrule it all?
Of course we have to thank BUSH for all those funny moments and destroying our world!I did actually miss the debate on BBC Channel(If someone can,please do give me a link to that show)…Thanks!
Abhinav
One thing we should thank George Bush for is that he has tilted the world back towards a bi-polar order. Weakening the US economy, democratic culture, global leadership and destroying the global respect we all have for that great country. Now the world looks for an alternative world leadership. I weep , and ask “why did he have to come during my own time”. Its a pity that this man came at the time the US needed a leader not a traitor to the american ideal. He should have come during world war II. he would have made sure Europe was shelled to stupor.
We can thank Bush for graphically demonstrating to a new generation of voters just how important their responsibility is – that each vote does matter, that their emotions can and will be manipulated for political ends (especially fear) and that they can NEVER turn their backs on those they have given power.
Thanks for doing more to bring down the US empire than anyone thought possible.
Akbar, I was not suggesting that the U S presence in Iraq was ever a good idea.
I happen to think that war is a last resort; I have often wondered what would happen if the actual heads of state were required to engage in combat with one another before they were allowed to put their countrymen at risk. How many conflicts would then be solved by negotiation and consensus building? Maybe the world could be more sane and actually have respect for the dignity of other people, and recognize the value of others’ humanity.
I have lived long enough to know that our attention spans are short, and we are easily distracted by the next loud noise or blinking light. We are collectively complicit in perpetuating horrid conditions around the world by our inaction and blind eye. There is surely a middle ground between silence and rage. To find that place, and to effectively address the conditions that kill peoples’ souls would certainly be a revelation.
I did not vote for Bush in either of his presidential races. The idea that he won a second election was unbelievable to me. Yet, the fact that I did not vote for him does nothing to mitigate my sorrow over lives lost because of decisions he took on behalf of my country.
Be well.
Carolyn
GRACIAS GEORGE BUSH.
For making the world realize that an unprecocious human being can become the most powerful leader.
For making the world realize that a sitting president can get away with political lies and double dealings
For making the world realize that a president who professes to be a born again Christian can expose one of his top CIA spies (wife of an ambassador) just to invade Iraq
For making the world realize that the populace can be educated but their vote doesn’t count in electing who the establishment want to appoint.
For giving aid to Africa but giving it it dictators
For parleying up with the dictators of Libya, Egypt and North Korea. Erasing their terrorist status because they conformed to his rules. But he forgot to appeal to the victims of these countries’ leaders’ political crimes.
For leaving the global political atmosphere in turmoil.
For making the world learn a lesson that the world shouldn’t let a non-intellectual hold such much power anywhere in the world.
We ponder whether ICC would go after Bush after his tenure because it seems a lot of atrocities perpetuated by his government officials are about to be revealed. And would he do a fast one by pardoning all his officials associated with such atrocities?
GRACIS BUSH PERO ADIOS.
Dolapo Aina,
Lagos,Nigeria
Difficult question… I’d say I thank him for not having started another war with Iran in the end. That’s the only thing I can think of.
Well, he took a $559 billion surplus and turned it into a trillion dollar deficit 🙂 He also turned 3.9% unemployment to…what is it again, it’s 8.4% in California.
Also, when Clinton lied, atleast people didn’t DIE, R.I.P. my fallen U.S. soldiers!!!
So thanks for the stress, deficit, and death “Mr. President”
-Anthony, LA, CA
For the Bush naivety in seeing the world in simplistic terms (black & white) and not understanding the wider picture (shades of grey) to use that analogy.
The only thing I am happy that president bush did for us was to wake many Americans up to why the world thinks we are so ignorant, greedy, selfish, and on and on. I think because of Bush many here (in the states) have tried to better themselves and their understanding of world events and politics. I think more understand that we are not the only country of importance in this world and that ruling with a religious, closed-minded ideology will get you no where.
Good riddance G.W.B.
Thanks George for showing the world what Americans is really like. Doing openly what others would want to do but too afraid to do openly but does it privately.
The only thing I have to thank Mr. Bush for is making me almost laugh my gut out when saw video of him dodging a shoe attack in his recent visit to Iraq.
I have struggled all day to think of something good to thank him for. This is all I can come up with.
The guy just loves fighting.
@ Malc Dow
Your first posting hits it right on the spot and I hope many read it and carefully think about what you have pointed out.
@Ibrahim in UK
Thank you, any country deserves a better leader than what we were dealt.
What’s Wrong with America!
US presidents generally do little and talk a lot, but parliaments in Europe keep a close watch on their leaders.
In the case of America, there is a lot of talk of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, but the president does what he likes. Either he overreaches himself and has to be thrown out like Richard Nixon, or misses the mark completely but keeps talking like Jimmy Carter.
Thanks for making me laugh and your bumbling words. Unfortunately I spent more time cringing and being disgusted with his presidency than laughing.
Thank you for showing us how the wool can be pulled over someone’s eyes by declaring you speak to God and thank you for finally leaving office. Please let the door hit you in the @#$ on the way out because you can’t leave fast enough.
thanks to GOD, THAT george did the UNDO AND Melted down every thing in USA .
it is to go back and start from square one.
This is a joke question on HYS, surely?
What do we have to “thank” Bush for? The man who launched two idiotic wars with countries who never even threatened the USA, and massacred their civilian populations? The man who RE-introduced Gulags, on Guantanamo? The knuckledragger who defies every scientific expert on Global Warming? The man who launched a hate-attack on France because they wouldn’t support him on WMD – and who was right George… you or the French, huh???? The man who made idiocy, genocide, and torture fashionable once again? The cretin who took the world back to the Middle Ages??
And we’re supposed to “thank” him????????????
I think we owe Bush a major thank you when he refused Israel the bombs to bomb Iran. He must for once thought about the consequenses, which Israel never do.
It would have started world war 3 .if they had got help.
I don’t agree with Bush and his politics, but by saying ” no way “, he saved the world. Just think what could have happen .
I wrote and thanked him and got an answer back as well, surprise , surprise.
Just think about it, you must agree with,
Lis in Norway
For bringing the war on terror to the limelight, possibly…
Whilst he made some mistakes in which he thought he was right, all leaders have made mistakes during the term of their office. However he must not be blamed for the financial crisis, it would have haappened sooner or later, Alan Greenspan warned that the Americans were living beyond their means when he was in office.
Thank you for going?
I think the ocean reserves he just dedicated will be his legacy.
Bush has been great, he protected us from terrorists! He knows what is going on in the world. He stood up to liberals and radicals and did not care about being popular as long as he is right, and he is right. I will miss Bush, he will be remembered with kindness in the coming years. History will be good to Bush.
I think he is a great person who made bold decsions even though everyone was against him. No one is perfect. Isreal, iraq, guantanamo bay & africom were not good decsion. Bravo bush
i would like to thank him on the global awareness he raises on the threat poses by terrorist, and making america two times safer than it was before sept. 11, and for helping africa in the fight against Malaria and HIV-AIDS in africa.
you will for ever go down in the history as the greatest american president ever, in the most difficult moment of time, thank you pres. bush, and may God bless you and your family.
You know that guy who is left on the stage after all the lights have gone out and there is total silence, he is usually sweeping up taking a crafty cig, because that is against the rules but no one is looking?
That is how I see Bush – a lonely man who now knows what it is like to be detested by billions. I can’t say the word hate.
I think, if anything, we should thank him for quietly closing the door behind him, and gently turning the key to lock himself out.
For those who will miss him – I pity you.
“The evil that men do lives after them ,while the good is often interred with their bones” Wm. Shakespeare. The Bush legacy offers an opportunity for Americans to reevalute the validity of core beliefs,honesty fairness and decency .The people had become a gullible ,self indulgent rable worshiping the Golden Calf and wiillingly allowed Bush et al and the Congress to deceive and corrupt the nation. Recognition of the current disaster ‘s origins in the election of a president who had a clear record of incompetence and irresponsibility now gives Americans the opportunity to accept personal responsibility for governence and show the courage to demand reform .Obama should know that as of January 20,2009 he will have his feet held to the fire with no wiggle room from the expectations he has raised.A way must now be found to punish the corrupt and self serving Congress to have a true true renaissance of American democracy.Out of adversity comes opportunity and that opportunity to renew one’s life is the promise of America to all mankind.
No President Bush, no President Obama, thanks George
I’ve got tons of work so I was going to stay away today, but I just can’t let this one go.
He’ll go down as the man with the reverse Midas touch: everything he touched turned to excrement. Sure, toppling Saddam and the Taliban were good things, but handled in absolutely the most arrogant, ham-fisted, willfully ignorant manner imaginable. I mean, the initial Iraq reconstruction teams were staffed with people chosen not for their understanding of Arab and Iraqi culture, knowledge of institution building, or any other useful skill. They were, instead, chosen based on their loyalty to “conservative” ideology. The results are there for all to see.
Domestically he was just as bad – he seemed to consider it his mission to tear down every force for good in this country, for example FEMA and the EPA. And somehow he seemed convinced he was doing good.
The absolute anti-Midas. I’ll be raging at him until his mess is cleaned up, which means I’ll probably be raging at him for the rest of my life (I’m in my late 30s!).
George Bush have kept Americans in America safe all these years.
Those who do not appreciate our freedom, can try living in oppressed countries and see how they like it.
George Bush is not perfect, but I will always remember him as a strong Leader of the free world.
Most of his critics are typical ungrateful Americans. I am from a foreign country, and I am grateful for the freedom that I cherished her in America.
@James in London: You’re kidding, right?
Listening to the Church Librarian from Pennsylvania, (not Ohio, we don’t grow ’em THAT ignorant, but close to it) made me cringe. She , (and James if he’s for real) embody exactly what’s wrong with this country. The schism the Neocons opened up will be a hard thing to heal. The battle lines are drawn, we now have a Right Wing Christian Fundamentalism to match the bronze age mindset of the fundamentalist muslim. I wish we could just find a desert to let these dingalings fight it out in and let the rest of the thinking world go about its business.
Bush was a tool, (literally and figuratively) and I guess we can thank him for giving us a chance to finally turn this ship away from the brink he’s been so willing to guide us over.
What do we have to thank George Bush for?
WE do have to thank George W Bush for his commitment to Free trade, Free markets and Free people.
His commitment to intervention when he thought there was a need.
President Bush is the only US President who in my opinion is WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. If there was a Democratic president instead of him, then India would have never got the Nuclear deal it has today. I don’t understand why Indians in large no.s flock to the Democratic party when they have only paid lip service to helping India. President Bush is an Action Man.
I would like to say it’s amazing to hear the rhetoric on President George Bush. I’m thankful for not only giving the military a raise in their income and lowering taxes. It’s unfortunate that his appointed advisers and elected officials have not worked well with him. Yet, President Bush is held accountable for everything. When well people stop looking at the President and look at their State’s elected congressman and lobbyists?
Bush has many flaws but like it or not he has protected the people who hired him from attacks on thier home land for 7 seven years. His tactics were sometimes questionable but the results speak for themselves. The questions are has his tactics put the US in future danger? How far should one go to protect their own? What responsibility does the United States president has to the rest of the world?
I think both Bush and the people who would like to destroy western civilisation are idealist in a world that would be better if run in a pragmatic.
I am thankful that President Bush was there when 911 happened. I think that others would have wilted under those circumstances.
Also, I am thankful that he had the relationship to the Saudi Royals as it made the possibility of being allied with them in the Gulf Wars. His CIA background has made him a much better person to deal with the problems in the Middle East and Africa, as he had at least some idea about what the bigger picture is like over there.
Bush has created an atmosphere of distrust and anger in the world. But, on the other hand he was so disliked that we now have a very promising future with the new administration.
The George W. Bush presidency legacy is mixed. Mistakes were obviously made with the reasons to not to increase troops as initially recommended by General Shinseki. The reliance on Secretary Rumsfeld for advice sadly proved to be poor judgment.
I think this Administration was far more honest and transparent than the Clinton Administration particularly when it comes to personal finances. Thank you for bringing dignity back to the White House.
Your London guest blames the US occupation for the violence in Iraq, when the US has nothing to do with sunnis and shiites killing each other. Bush me have lots of blame, but he has nothing to do with a 1600 year old civil war.
Bush attacked a country based on fraudulent information.
He increased military spending. He weakened the legal system in the U.S.
He created Guantanamo prison and so on..
While he is profoundly incompetent. I believe Bush acts in what he believes to be an honorable for the greater good way. It is the puppeteers behind the puppet we have to thank for the horrific acts, the loot and pillage administration his face will forever be the symbol of. Cheney and the others are the true architects of unbridled greed to the detriment of their country and the world. Bush may have given aid, but Cheney and his cronies have been profiteering on the very misery they created. Reconstruction contracts awarded to companies with barely a thin attempt to veil administration connections. Attempts to gut the endangered species act to benefit these same profiteer at any cost organizations. This administration maybe best remembered for it’s greed and unabashed power hungry avaris. Cheney what is in those huge safes you keep in your office? Maybe someday, I pray, you too will have to tread lightly where you travel like Kissinger for fear of having to answer for your crimes against the world.
lol, @ kim Johnson,
Great, I have never feared a terrorist taking my house. But the bank after I lost my job, because of the “Bush Tax Cuts” enable the industry in the area to move its operations to China cheaply? Now that is a fear and a reality far worse of a fate then a couple of guys with butter knives. I would risk another terrorist attack if I could afford to send my kids to school, keep my children healthy, and pay for a dignified roof over my family’s heads.
All of these things have been made impossible for millions of Americans, many of them serving vets, during Bush’s and the republican “reign in terror”. Everytime I hear the statement, “where are we going to get a trillion dollars?” my mind wonders to the question, “is there any place we have spent a trillion dollars over the past few years that could have been better put to use?
All Presidents have made some mistakes. The only thing concerns me is the disproportionate bashing of Mr. Bush. Regardless of the. mistakes, Bush still is very popular in Africa. The world will some day appreciate the good things Bush has done.
President Bush’s approval of billions of dollars to fight AIDS in Africa seems at first positive gesture. However, on closer inspection we find that the contract securing the HIV / AIDS drugs requires the drugs to be NAME BRAND, whereas the GENERIC drugs (which cost a fraction of the price) are no longer available through this program. The net outcome is that huge drug companies made a great deal of money, and fewer people in Africa can afford the drugs.
Thanks for nothing, George W. Bush. Your incompetence an embarrassment to the American people.
It is truly a surreal experience to hear apologists for George Bush expressing themselves to a world audience on the BBC, and to realize that such people still exist.
I can only thank Bush for one thing: for vacating the White House while the world is still in one piece (if not at peace).
I, an African American, thank President George Bush for his work to improve health conditions on the African continent. I thank him, too, for his economic policies that allowed many to taste what it’s like to live the economic good life, even if the experience fast deteriorated. At least many people can dream based on a life they have had a brief taste of, like home ownership, investing and entrepreneurship. Now, we can begin to learn ways to sustain their dreams long term.
I think we should be saying thanks to Dick Cheney!!!
Thanks for the found WMD…oh wait….ok, well then thanks for winning in Iraq in 2 weeks like the origional plan….oh, well thanks for “Mission Accomplished”….oh, ummm….thanks for Halliburton stock rising so much 🙂
-Anthony, LA, CA
Dear George Bush,
Many thanks to you for Africa especially West African state of Liberia because you free us from Charles Taylor. Additionally, you make us save in the United State of America. History will tell that you called the World attention to fight the terrorize. However, not everyone in this World will appreciate your hard work but after few months years and weeks from now they will join us to say Thank You George.
Best regards,
Gibson G. Zarkar
New Jersey
USA
I will at least thank President Bush for his legacy which has tought world leaders and even non leaders that, no man is island. You need people and people also need you.
We should thank Bush for clearly showing us how “Reaganomics” of free market and de-regualtion works.
Bush will always be used as a leeson in future on how not to ruin a country with bad economics, and war mongering.
OK Bush has done some good things in Africa. He has severely crippled the American economy……….
I here alot of the callers talking about what Bush has done around the world. Under this administration my standard of living and options for my future have been drastically reduced. What kind of leader looks out for everyone except his own people.
Thanks for Bushisms a tribute to the american educational system.Thanks for allowing the demolishion of the twin towers they were a real eyesore.(loosechange911) Thanks for proving by example that intelligent design is a myth.
Thanks George you were a hoot
Your guest blaming Bush for Darfur made me choke on what I was eating! Thanks! I think he has more problem with Bush than the people committing the genocide in Darfur, and did you notice him deflect the conversation to Israel and trying to claim that’s a genocide?
I do not understand why people keep saying we are safer since 9/11. Before 9/11 the last attack on US soil was Oklahoma, 1995, and the 1st attempt on the WTC in 1993. Before that we went decades without an attack on US soil (1975). Attacks against the US in other countries has INCREASED since 9/11 (16+ attacks since 9/11 world wide 2002-2008, versus 7 from 1988-2001). If anything, the US is considered a greater threat/problem now than before Bush took office.
Dear BBC: You should get bush bashers that don’t have to rely on conspiracy theories to make arguments. That was pathetic. Bush supporting the Janjaweed? This show is making Bush look good based upon the comments that are made condemning him for things he has nothing to do with!
It’s amazing how quickly G.W. Bush forgot the circumstances under which he came to power. He pledged to be an inclusive president, but ended up becoming the most divisive president of all. Enough said.
I have to thank George Bush for making it possible for many Americans to vote for Barack Obama, someone with some black in his blood. If Bush had not made such a mess out of this country and much of the world, Americans would have not voted for a change to his desastrous policies. Thank you Bush for giving us Obama.
Luis Garrido,
Bonita Springs, Florida USA
I think the people I have been hearing on BBC radio are misrepresenting how Americans feel about our departing president. He has ruined the image of the US in the world, the economy is in shambles largely because of his lack of oversight, and I think his extraordinarily low appoval rating (or is that very high disapproval rating) shows most of us are happy he is going, and have very little to thank him for, except perhaps our very unified increased interest in voting, the direction of our government, and the accountability of its leaders.
I have much respect for the smooth transition President Bush is leading in handing over the leadership of the United States to President-Elect Obama. This demonstrates the generous side of President Bush I wish we could have seen more of these past eight years. For those not in the United States it is unprecedented how much President Bush is doing to make the transition as smooth as possible, both openly and behind the scenes.
A couple examples are: holding a lunch with President–Elect Obama, himself, and all former (living, of course) U.S. Presidents (Carter, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama.) Also when asked at his last press conference whether he (Bush) would be asking for the remainder of the funds for the banking “bailout”, Bush responded (paraphrasing): “if the President-Elect would like me to, then I will make the request.” Hours later Obama called President Bush and asked him to make the request, which he then did.
Such co-operation, especially when the outgoing and incoming leaders are from different political parties is truly unprecedented, and I admit I did not expect this.
But, I also hope that what the largest lesson of the Bush Presidency is not something he actually did himself. My hope is that the U.S. Supreme Court has learned to never again make a such obscenely political ruling as they did in making their ruling regarding the Florida recount in 2000. If not for that political ruling it’s more than likely we would have inaugurated President Al Gore on January 20, 2001 and who can predict what the world would look like today. (But I think we can guess about a few things such as: global warming, …)
–Robert
San Diego, CA USA
It has been more than 7 years since the attacks on September 11, 2001. We have had not one attack on US soil since then. Bush deserves credit for that. I worry that, within the first few months of Obama’s presidency, this safety string will end because he will be perceived as being weak by Islamic fascists. I hope I am wrong but I have inkling that it is almost certain.
George McLaughlin
Providence, Rhode Island USA
This is how you properly Bush bash my friends: I appreciate Bush’s presidency because it makes me realize no matter how badly I do in school, how stupid I am, money can buy me anything.
It is curious the number of comments thanking Mr. Bush for protecting US soil from terrorist attacks. They certainly haven’t done so since 9/11; but no administration has done more to swell the numbers of people who would like so to do.
g
I lost friends in the attack on 9/11. I’m thankful that America had a president with the guts to move the battle abroad rather than have our schools, public spaces and homes be the battlefront. Continue to enjoy the Pax Americana as a result of his leadership and vision……………………..
I again, am shocked by some comments on the air. He blames George W Bush for the islamisation of somalia? It was in his Father’s presidency that US troops entered to stop the Islamic militias, and it continued into Clinton’s administration, when Blackhawk Down took place. Somalia beeng a failed state has nothing to do with Bush.
I think his legacy is complicated…you can point to money for AIDS, but it was about abstinence which means more people become infected. The money was also used to buy high cost drugs rather than generics cheaply produced, as I understand it. As for Iraq, well hundreds of billions of dollars, thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead when a diplomatic solution could have been done, all to impress his father. As well, the corruption of the way the war was funded has also helped to bring down the US economy. The US is an empire, which can be a wonderful thing, but if the 8 years ends the empire, what comes after us is instability around the world.
George Bush wasn’t all bad, but He did manage I think to be the worst President of The United States. He used propaganda and lies to start the war not even listening to Colon powell’s advice then executed it horribly, Dropped the ball on Afghanistan, Tortures prisoners, and domestically manage to drive the economy into the ground and waited until it was so bad to realize it was going down. Along with a host of endless domestic scandals too many to mention
Being Great is not always popular.
Standing for what is good for many is not always popular.
Standing up for freedom is not always easy.
It is, however, easy to blame everything to George Bush.
I will remember George Bush as a Great Leader of the world.
Why don’t we have callers from Iraq calling in, who best could express how it feels to be ‘liberated’ by the Americans? We saw at least one example of ‘gratitude’ offered by an educated journalist in the shoe throwing incident. Could someone chime in…
In California, we are happy that the Bush era is ending. I will applaud his efforts on how he handled 9/11, but there is little else. James’ (the Republican living in London) blamed local governement for the mishandling of Katrina and praised Bush. I disagree. When local government is overwhelmed by a natural disaster, the Federal government needs to step in. Bush did nothing – he sat there paralyzed, watching as Air Force One did a flyover.
Internationally, his administration’s arrogant stance on world affairs, the invasion of Iraq, the snubbing of the Kyoto Protocol, etc. have isolated us from the rest of the world. Isolationism does not work in a global economy. Can we blame him for the economic meltdown, too? Perhaps, he is not entirely to blame, but this happened under his watch and it will forever be a part of his legacy.
As the election results showed, our country wants change and we are once again hopeful that we can overcome the mistakes of the Bush administration and reunite once again with the rest of the world.
Geoge Bush for me is the great prophetof change, a positive change in the world because –
1. he contributed greatly in spreading democracy in the world. he was the one who toppled the taliban and bringing democracy in Afghanistan. he brought closer largest democracy of the world, india, and oldest democracy of the world the usa through historical nuclear deal.
he was the one who brought democracy in iraq, which can be the flag bearer for the democratization of middle east in future.
2. i do support his leadership, especially he know how to stick with his guns, i do believe that history will judge him as a great leader.
one thing we can thank Bush for is setting a favourable environment for Barack Obama to become the next US President with such a large majority
I want to say that “You can’t please everybody”.
Whatever Bush has done for the world I am thankful to him(Like in Africa).
Bush has endangered the whole world with his fundamental cristian attitude. I feel he has turned his back on the Isrealies and let them off the lead to hit the palestines… And his attitude to the use of torture. Also his action in the financial world has been disasterouse.
@ Anthony
LOL, yes, I guess anyone who invested in Halliburton in any form should be tremendously grateful.
Hi WHYSers!
President Bush has done some remarkable things, no doubt – in terms of spending for AIDS and limiting the fear of terrorists in mainland USA and, possibly, elsewhere. However, I just wonder though at what cost?
@ James in London
Was that all from memory or did the republicans send you a script?
George Bush Deserves no thanks from anyone, except maybe from Dick Cheney for being his patsy………….
Honestly all I can thank him for his all the great material he and his administration have given comics for the past 8 years.
Bush’s own reflections on his time as US President, especially where he admits to ‘mistakes’ and seems aware that the economic crisis hit while he was in office, are heartening. However, the ‘War on Terror’, notwithstanding its gains leaves me especially conflicted, both in terms of the actual cost in money, as well as human lives. The price of ‘freedom’ is, indeed, not free! Countless numbers of Iraqis have paid dearly for this bite out of terrorism. This, coupled with war costs and the collapse of international credit have had a heavy toll.
What do I have to thank George Bush
Security and electronic intrusion to my privacy.
Hiding behind the buz word, antiterrorism
bjay
I think George was a genuine guy who sometimes listened to bad advice. He was kind to some and generous to others. In Iraq he will be thanked by the marsh arabs in the south for the restoration of their marsh homes which were destroyed by Saddam when the marshes were drained
.
President Bush did not have the time and political support ( with elections ) coming to spend months or years to obtain an consensus and support from the Europeans and the World.
Would France and Russia with their interests in Saddam’s Iraq really have ever supported an invasion or toppling ?
I thank President Bush for restoring security in the world. he domolished all terrorist networks in the world by invading irag. we would be living in an extremely insecure world had he not taken courageous steps. Bravo Bush, you have done what no one else would
War on terror was the right thing to do. It has brought awareness of this evil to the world. I have no problem with the airport security check. Our homeland is safer, though the terrorists’ threat remains.
I love analogies. So any of you MMA or UFF fans and know who Royce Gracie is you can appreciate without the description. Horace would run in and strike his opponent forcing them to strike back after them. he would always take the bottom position making it look like he was loosing. Meanwhile he would wear down and eventually strangle and submit his opponent, the whole time looking like he was loosing. He would never lay another “strike” on his opponents the rest of the match. I doubt any of them as they were being submitted would think, “at least he never hit me again”.
The same can be applied to the Islamic Extremists. They struck the US hoping to initiate a war in their county on their terms. IT worked. They have successfully submitted us. They have strangled us economically, ideologically, and even militarily. But hey, at least we are on top of them.
And people would thank George Bush for this?
Thank you President Bush for turning me from a Republican leaning Libertarian to a “Socialist” Democrat. That’s the most sincere “thank you” I can do!
The idea of thanking Bush for keeping us safe made me laugh. I’m surprised some people still think he did a good job! If anything I feel less safe: Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib…way to recruit more terrorists!!
Oh wait! One more thing…thank you President Bush for giving The Daily Show some great material (better to laugh then to cry).
Laura A
Wooster, OH USA
Bush invaded Iraq to get rid of WMDS, any other justification is just Republican historical revisionism. And we knew Iraq had no WMDs even before the Invasion.
President Bush had to face all the headaches left by his father. He should have removed Sadam Huzain along with the liberation of Kuwait. He helped Taliban when Benazir Bhuto warned him saying
that he is creating anoter Frankenstien to the future world. It has come true. He helped Sadam Huzain attack iran. if not for his father’s mistakes he would have become a popular president.
George Bush started two wars and finished neither. He did not topple the Taliban as an earlier speaker commented—They are not at all toppled. The Taliban are stronger now than in 2001 simply because he started a vengeful war in Iraq and lost sight of the Taliban. As for his accomplishments in Africa he’s done great things with Aids but there are plenty of dictators and war lords there as well that haven’t been toppled why Iraq and why then? I can add torture the tens of thousands of dead Iraquis etc…
In first couple of years of his reign I had a naively sceptical attitude about George W Bush. But when he into law legislation to outlaw most unsolicited telephone marketing calls to our home phones by means of what’s known as the “no call list” I cautiously proclaimed that at last he had done one thing that was good – even though I was at a loss to understand why.
Silly me, I soon learned that it was just to make it easier for his wire-tapping spies to monitor my calls with less trivial conversations to listen to!
Tonight when we hopefully see the last of him I will have a stack of shoes near of the TV!
As to aids in Africa; Bush prevented the distribution of family planning information and so condemned Africans to continued deaths by famine and poverty.
Shame on Bush!
I want to say that “You can’t please everybody”.
Whatever Bush has done for the world I am thankful to him(Like in Africa)
We must remember, he is the President of the United States, not the ruler of the world. While he has done beneficial things for various other countries, he has also neglected the US in ways that are now having a negative effect throughout the world, namely the econmic state of the US and numberous countries of the world.
George Bush was not solely responsible for the response to Katrina. The mayor and the governor did not get enough “credit” for their terrible mishandling of it. The mayor and the governor have been subsequently heralded as relatively good leaders, while bush has been vilified. Hmmmm.
Yes, I believe we Americans have to thank President Bush..because of his policies, the misinformation campaign, the disgraceful state of our economy, etc. led to my compatriots being so fed-up and ready for change that we now have the first black president. Bush’s administration has given us the opportunity to show the world that despite the problems that we may have in America our diversity and willingness to change is why we are one of the greatest, if not the greatest country in the world.
Bush has done a lot for Africa. During the presidency of Bush Africa as a whole recieved more Aid from USA than even when Clinton was the presisdent. His support for rolling back malaria through provision of mosquito nets has been remarkable especially in my home country Zambia. Lets not demonise Bush and as matter of fact he is genuine friend of Africa. Im Kelvin Kamfwa at Makerere University.
Thank you, George W. Bush for being so inept, so corrupt, so blindly ideological that the United States was willing to embrace the most qualified candidate even though he is African American.
Thank you, George W. Bush, for implementing the neo-con ideas and proving with some finality how wrong, inhumane, anti-community building, and destructive they are.
Thank you, George W. Bush, for awakening millions of U.S. citizens to the frailty of our democracy and inspiring us to be once again be the watchdogs of the Constitution. May generations never forget how close we were to being a fascist country.
Thank you, George W. Bush, for maintaining your health so diligently. May you live a long life to see how history judges you, and may that be from a prison.
The Bush administration made possible a peace deal between Raila and Kibaki in Kenya. He even sent Rice to convince the two to iron out their differences early last year.
For that action, I as a Kenyan is indebted to GW Bush.
George Bush was a complete waste of eight years.Only in america George Bush
would could have made it as president.He was very bad for the world.
The world owe Bush very much particularly in fighting terrorits!
The world needed somebody who could not beg terrorists! If it were not for him it could be worse.
His contribution to the African countries. Bush has always remained to his principals and done what the world wanted him to do.
I don’t understand when people say they’re thankful for him for keeping America safe since 9/11. If all security praise goes to him for everything after 9/11, shouldn’t he carry the blame for security failures on that day?
For those who attribute George W. Bush for the “safety” of US citizens after the attacks on September 11th, please consider: I painted my living room a new color in late September 2001 and intend to never change the color because I believe – in terms of timing – it has protected us from terrorist attacks. Or maybe it was the lucky penny I picked up on September 12th.
How many terrorist attacks in the world have occurred as a result of the Bush administration’s policies?
I believe that George Bush’s shortcomings as President lie in his unwillingness to address climate change or advances in stem cell research. While he may have done good things for people in Africa and the Middle East, I can’t help but wonder if his interest was genuinely diplomatic and humanitarian. The bottom line is that he is a Christian and he focused his energy on the areas of the world where Christians direct their efforts. His strength of character is admirable; but I believe a President needs more accountability and flexibility than he possessed. While he may not be the worst President ever, I do not think that he was a good President.
I think it is a good thing, with all due respect that Bush…I think that I am not thankful for any positive things he {Bush} has done in Office….
~Dennis Junior~
What shall it profit a President who won all wars but lost his economy and his popularity.
teryila from abuja
While George Bush has inherited one of the most notorious reputations as the worst president in United States history, we still may thank him for helping us to realize how weak we are as a people. When the American population saw what had happened to their economy, a new energy was invoked in the United States which will hopefully result in more civic participation on the behalf the American citizen. We have seen over these last 8 years how much can take place regardless of our endorsement, and in this last election we saw more participation on behalf of the younger generations. George Bush helped us to realize how much power has been taken from the people, and the true density of the beauricratical system we are subject. It is difficult for an individual citizen in the United States, to find practical avenues to changing political ideology, and current legislation. Let us hope that in the wake of George Bush, we will see a true grassroots movement that changes the image of the United States from the aggressor, to a center for international support, and diplomacy. More and More the information age is allowing us in America to realize that we live in one of the only places in the world where the horrors of war can still be an anticipation.
Thank You,
Christopher Pezza
23 yr old American Citizen
Boulder, CO
George W. Bush can be thanked for using the guise of 9/11 for pushing through corporate-friendly, pollution-friendly rules that make Americans less healthy, for marginalizing and criminalizing dissent in the U.S., for violating the civil rights of Americans not only by actively spying on them but by supporting and benefiting from the Republican manipulation of our election system, for unilaterally waging war against a country without provocation and with intelligence the gov’t KNEW was false, for orchestrating the manipulation the intelligence to suit his policies, for ignoring information and wise counsel to “follow his gut,” for supporting torture and thus violating international law, for diminishing the already compromised reputation of the U.S. in the eyes of the world, and for murdering thousand upon thousands of people. Thank you, Mr. Bush. I only hope that the god you believe in as as just as you believe, because he will have a special room waiting.
We have to thank George Bush for the War on Terror!
Despite all the flak directed at George Bush we have to keep in mind that many people are unable or unwilling to express their direct support for the War on Terror due to whatever reasons.
The support may be implicit but it is still there! That should give a boost to the forces fighting the War on Terror and a definite setback to those looking for ephemeral virgins!
Long Live George Bush!
McLauglin:
“It has been more than 7 years since the attacks on September 11, 2001. We have had not one attack on US soil since then. Bush deserves credit for that. I worry that, within the first few months of Obama’s presidency, this safety string will end because he will be perceived as being weak by Islamic fascists. I hope I am wrong but I have inkling that it is almost certain. ”
I hear this so often….Come on……how often a decade do they have to pull down the two most iconic buildings in the world……we do and will bleed over it for 50 more years……get real……if they can’t better it they will savour it?….they need do nothing and still gloat???
Mr. Bush has been a carnival: the greatest disaster on earth.
Everything he has touched has turned to dust: the slaughter in Gaza is supposedly because he tried to get Fatah to defeat Hamaz and was shipping them weapons, but Hamas struck first; the devastation of Lebanon by Israel in 2006 was encouraged by USA (they wanted Israel to attack Syria but Hezbollah was consolation prize). The invasion of Iraq was the most corrupt and strategically insane acts by any Western leader in the last half century- it created hundreds of thousands of radicals and terrorists, killed hundreds of thousands, destroyed a modern 1st/2nd world country, and made America hated by the world. He ignored specific warnings about Al Qaida and 9-11, didn’t supply the resources to get Bin Laden, then treasonously pulled troops out for his insane dishonest Iraq Invasion. His and the Republicans deregulatory obsession ensured no oversight of Wall Street and allowed this spectacular preventable man-made economic collapse to cause a worldwide depression. His mindless rejection of science waged a war on the environment and lost 8 years in the struggle to stop global warming. He created more deficits than all the Presidents in history (and the new depression has doubled that) in an unprecedented transfer of wealth to the rich with obscene tax cuts and breathless corporate corruption. Hundreds of billions were wasted in the disastrous “reconstruction” of Iraq, theft, waste, and greed never seen before. He violated the oldest US prohibitions on torture and spread it throughout the military.
Even his “successes” were tainted- in Africa lying about the ineffectiveness of condoms to promote abstinence has spread AIDS and killed thousands. His unlimited support of Georgia encouraged them into a reckless adventure in Osettia that has almost lost them their independence.
Lastly, the one crucial security concern- stopping Iran’s nuclear program, was never accomplished.
Bush’s legacy is one of stupidity, carelessness, ignorance, incuriousity, arrogance, contempt for the Constitution, and corruption. He should be in a prison breaking rocks.
WE can thank George Bush for answering that rarely asked 2nd question when people ask, Who can be president? The answer in the US is, “Anybody can be president.” However rarely but occasionally it is asked, “but should ‘anybody’ really be president?” Now we have our answers.
in George’s own words. “To all of you C students, you too could be president.”
Ramesh January 15, 2009 at 14:50
If there is anything, it is only for thing – No terrorist attacks on US soil after 9/11
—-
Ramesh, 9/11 was not a terrorist attack, it was an incitement.
# 151 Brook – Rye New York January 15, 2009 at 19:01
Very well put. Polite, but cutting.
Actually bush is not coming out of this very well. I am glad I am not he!
Mark Okello from Tanzania:
“The world owe Bush very much particularly in fighting terrorists!”
But Bush and his administration are terrorists!
The terrorists of all time!
Tell me not!
as a young journalist from Ghana getting to understand some tenets of true democracy and the interesting game of politics….affectionaley called politricks in my area, i would say that Bush has done his part in politricks…thanks for his support for Ghana…the Millenium Challenge thing-that money i heard was really big(hope it will be used as supposed)- like we were all made to believe…i hope it was really an unconditional support.Big ups!
most of our streets were blocked when he visited Ghana with his wife…..interesting i thought i was!
Thanks? Whatever 100 things the Bush administration has done right, it has done it by lying fiercely and consistently, increasing cynicism about American values around the world.
As an example, Bush has talked about freedom and democracy in an unending loop while stealing at least one election and violating the human rights of so many.
He insisted that the war in Iraq was related to 9/11; he unilaterally redefined words such as torture; and he smugly insisted that he cared about American citizens while neglecting the economy, eviscerating regulations that would protect the banking system and its customers, dismissing the impact of Katrina and other disasters on real people, and proudly proclaiming “my way or the highway” to the rest of the world.
Thanks? No thanks.
This is just my view on his run as our leader. I KNOW many folks will disagree, and that is fine, but there are always 2 sides to a story:
While I am aware of his work with AIDS, “freeing” Iraq, consider this:
Back in 2000, long before he won the elecion that year, I knew if he won, you-know what would break loose. And it did. I knew he would go after Saddam (because his dad couldn’t get the job done), and I was VERY wary of him offering us Americans that tax relief check. (didn’t do much, did it- he did it a second time and it failed then as well) Then came 9/11. I lived in New York at the time. Was I scared? EVERYONE was, I was not alone. And keep this in mind: While 62 million folks voted for him in 2004, the Iraq war was still in its infancy. He KNEW voters would elect him based on that alone. NOW? 2-thirds of Americans believe it was wrong, and the troops should come home.
And consider this: If Bush REALLY wanted to do something SMART, he would have done the one thing his successor does better than anyone in my generation: COMMUNICATE. All those billions pumped into a senseless war could have been pumped INTO our schools, our infrastructure, our healthcare, the elderly, the housing market..need I continue? And yes..it IS a senseless war, becasue all that bloodshed, all those soldiers, all those innocents, lost their lives for…WHAT?
And so NOW, Barack Obama has to go in, fix his mess, and hopefull he will be here for a second term. Maybe in 4 years Bush will be forgotten. Maybe not. But know this: His shadow will not be leaving the White House any time soon.
Thanks.
Ron S. From Ft Myers
With all the interesting and detailed comments, I still maintain that
HYPOCRISY
is his main legacy.
In my earlier comments, I need to revised them; And, say I am grateful for something that Bush did while he was in office—MEDICARE (prescription drugs) for the elderly and the disabled persons in the United States…..
PS: My grandmothers both received the programme in the forementioned comments….
~Dennis Junior~
As an Egyptian born Australian I wish Mr. Bush all the best of luck for the future.
I am sure that history will be a lot kinder to him than those of our friends on the left side of politics. He will be forever remembered in history and by the unborn generations as a hero and defender of international peace, justice, and democracy. Moreover, he will be highly noted as one of the world leaders who stood and continue to stand in defense of the weak against the strong and the oppressed against their oppressors. Indeed, Mr. Bush is a true liberator, tyrants are his worst enemies.
President Bush is a hero. YES , It takes a courageous man to wage war on terror.
Let me finish by saying ,God bless Mr Bush…. God bless America
I think the greatest part of his legacy that 90 out of 100 people might agree on is this …
He created an environment in which sentiment was driven so high, that people simply will not put up with the same ole dung anymore. He gave us without a shadow of a doubt that there has got to be a better way to do things. He is the reason Obama’s initial message of hope rang true. So, next time you see him, say ….
here’s to you … off the hip, leap before you look, wheelin dealin, phrase murdering, cowboy under the gun ….. you have opened the world’s eyes, on what not to do.
This pun’s for you.
No matter how bad the situation, you can always say “At least something worse didn’t happen.”
That’s the best thing that Bush can say about his own presidency.
If there is anything to commend Bush about, I guess it will be the fact that he brought the issue of terrorism to the front burner of international politics.
Moses Pila
Lagos
Yes he leaves a legacy of being a criminal, Killer, Warmonger,Terrorist and a pretender of love and peace but a cowrd to isreal at the expense of the palestine
surely to be honesty i have nothing to thank Bush in all his eight years as a US president.
thank you, sir for standing up to those whose desire is to destroy your country; which is their first step to taking over the world; which Clinton and Carter refused to do there causing so much problem for you. God will continue to bless you and everything that’s yours and everything you hold dear. We part to meet again.
We can thank Bush for not starting more wars and therby saving lives and suffering.
I must admit that I have never been able to like Bush especially on his Foreign policy in Iraq, indeed its this war that has made Republicans loose the election. However, I must confess that Africa has received more funding during his tenor than in any other time. His African health concern tells us more of his concern in realizing development goals.
Millions of dollars have been made available to African government and it is only being naive not to acknowledge his support and commitment to less fortunate in Africa and outside. “Mr President thank you, thank you, thank you!
For the incoming President-elect Barrack Obama, we are waiting to see what you gonna do with the so gravious policies you claimed has maimed US. Mr president elect, i however fear you may become the first and last black American president.
Thank you President Bush for keeping us safe, for doing everything you can to protect us. Thank you for not worrying about your popularity and just wanted to do the right thing for your country which you did. You are a good patriot and history will be kind to you. God bless you.
i think, the american president proved that the job of a leader is not to sied with the majority or band wagon who mostly likely are wrong as their thinking is based on emotions.
the job of a leader is rather to convince the majority, who are worng of what the few think and which is right.
the man really showed the world that even terrorism can be controlled. at least he kept the extremists and terrorists on check.
clearly, his presidency i think was the most difficult and so will it be for barak obama.
he could be a better shoulder to lean on or a better advisor for mr obama as he takes over.
but alike, there is no leader who will get away with everything as being good but there will always be some wrongs.
no one is perfect.
even clinton had his own merits and demerits but one thing you can never take away from him is that he did contribute to what emrica is today than what it was yesterday.
bravo the the great american son, please do enjoy your retirement.
It’s not Bush we have to thank! It’s the electorate, for having elected Bush to office and allowing him to pave the way for President elect Barak Hussain Obama, the first African American to be elected to the office of President.
Now, thank you Pres. Bush for leaving office so that Pres. Obama can begin the job of righting years of wrongs.
Hello again
President Bush was no better and no worse than all the other presidents. They are all elected by the people but they serve the corporations. The corporations not only own the president but also the means to make the population feel good when the interrests of the USA are to be defended. This defence always seems to take place in other people’s countries and is always accompanied by massive blood letting.
Jim
Hello again
I’ve just read Abi’s comment. What a feast of poetry and delusions.
Thank you Abi
Jim
Bush should be thanked for making Americans wake up before it is too late.
Because of bush, there is more mistrust between nations and people. I do not know what miracle should be employed to change this, as the world can not live in peace without trust.
I will definately miss his IQ though
NOTHING!
George Bush’s success in Iraq.
It seems to be forgotten that the war in Iraq was originally about “regime change”.Ttangible results of that could be the following:
Safety for Shi’ites in Basra from saddam who tried to destroy them
Re flooding of the southern marshes allowing Marsh Arabs to return to their homes
Justice for those gassed in Halbja with nerve gas(a weapon of mass destruction) and the safe return of those who had become refugees
The establishment of an inclusive democracy that respects its neighbours
Training of a modern army that respects human rights
Removal of Scud missiles aimed at nearby states(Kuwait, Israel)
Probably more benefits will become clear in time.
Take heart Mr Bush, the world is like a swimming pool. All the noise comes from the shallow end !!
Tanks Bush.
Nada, here too!
I am thankful that Bush left a few buttons unpushed.
Thank you for being such a good friend to Denmark!
Our Prime Minister went in with you whole hog on Iraq, on Afghanistan and on the War on Terror. I even think that the Cartoon insults to Islam was cooked up to make you and your cronies happy.
Now that you are leaving office, would you please take our Prime Minister back with you to Crawford?
Nothing, apart from thanks for losing the presidential race.
Everyone’s cynicism and expressions of hatred for Bush aside, his administration’s policies freed Iraqis from a heinous dictator and gave them a chance to set up a modern country. It’s up to the Iraqis ultimately to go forward from the opportunity given them, especially at such a sacrifice in American lives. His unwavering support of our friends in Israel, his further activist roles in mid-East, central Asian and African countries, and the stepped up efforts to thwart not only terror groups, but smugglers of drugs, women and refugees over borders are other examples of positive policies during Bush years. Lower taxes on the domestic side for the middle class is also something Americans can thank. There are certainly negatives, but they weren’t the focus of the question.
NOTHING, absolutely nothing of any good that is!
For all of you who post here and are deluded enough to think different, I feel real sympathy for such a narrow mind set and tragic attitude to life and anything other than “The Good Ol’ USA.” We all know where you real redneck and bigoted sympathies lie.
The immense harm George Bush has done to international relations is incalculable. Even those leaders who would have openly expressed admiration, hope and above all displayed respect to an incoming president are as a consequence of the Bush years are having to rein in their comments and interpretation of how the USA will now approach foreign policy, and conduct itself on the world’s stage, with Obama as president.
The numbers of those who have died needlessly as a result of the illegal invasion of Iraq and intervention in Afghanistan and the so called “War on Terror” has been an utter failure and just led to more fear and exacerbated an already fragile situation before he came to office, to levels and one that I and the world as a whole could never have conceived of previously.
Gosh, I hate to have missed this show. After a lot of thought, I came up with a few good things, or non-disastrous things, that Bush has done. He cut taxes. He expanded the (already bankrupt) Medicare program (loading it up with even more free stuff for old people, who on average are richer than young people and who not coincidentally vote more reliably). He sent many billions of dollars (ours, not his) to Africa to fight AIDS (with restrictions that prevented its most effective use, because of his dumb-bunny yokel religious mania).
Most of all, today, I thank him for permitting a peaceful transfer of power that will relieve us of his malign rule in 90 minutes. It’s a relief to see he didn’t cobble up some “national security” reason to stay in power.
I can’t wait to see him and his pals in leg irons in the Hague. Good thing he doesn’t have a taste for foreign travel.
For going !