Copyright 1008 by Tony Klimas
In the aftermath of a campaign that saw both sides making sport of blaming every problem today on the current President, maybe with some time, people will take a moment to reflect on what has really happened during the last eight years. We can start in Africa, where President Bush has done more to fight AIDS and poverty than any previous President. Between the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Millennium Change Accounts you will find millions of people across the third world better off today. We can find this same caring and compassion closer to home as well. The No Child Left Behind Act and the President's embrace of faith based charities have raised educational standards and finally partnered the government with private charities in a manner of mutual respect.
When it comes to the economy, the last time I checked, it was the Congress that failed to regulate Fannie Mae and the Federal Reserve that encouraged easy money. And while the economy might be in the first quarter of a recession, I'm better off than I was eight years ago and all I did was work hard like I always do which is all you can do when you come from a family that started over with nothing fifty years ago. A little bit of research on the root cause of the housing crisis will also show that much of the pressure on lenders to lend to people with poor credit originated in the Clinton administration and while the ownership society of our current President is partially to blame, there is plenty of blame to go around and the fact that we have had tax cuts and incentives for businesses has done nothing but soften the blow.
And then there is our role in the world. Let's not forget that President Bush was not in office when Islamic terrorists first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, nor when they struck again in 1995 killing US Servicemen in Saudi Arabia and again in 1996 at the Khobar Towers. He wasn't President when the Islamists attacked our Embassy in Tanzania in 1998 nor when the USS Cole was attacked in 2000. But he was President on September 11th, 2001, when the war of terror came to our shores and I for one am glad this was the case. It's interesting how quickly people forget, but I will never forget, perhaps because I knew several of the people killed at the Pentagon including one of my classmates from Navy. I do remember how President Bush held our country together during this terrible time and I remember him standing at ground zero on September 14th showing resolve and commitment that we all rallied behind. He wasn't hiding in a cave - he was standing at ground zero in NYC. And unlike the weak responses to previous terrorist attacks, he had the fortitude to do what was required and go after the Taliban in Afghanistan and the madmen in Baghdad. Anyone who claims these wars were unjust or should not have been pursued is arguing that the world would be a better place today with the likes of Saddam Hussein and Chemical Ali still in power and the Taliban raping and torturing at will. All you have to do is ask the young men and women who wage these wars and they will explain it to you. I say this with confidence because I was there when it all began.
So to President Bush, as you leave office, I pass on the traditional farewell of the US Navy. May you have fair winds and following seas and a bright star to guide you. There are plenty of us out here who still admire you for what you have done and who you are.
