Thank You, Mr. President

You kept us safe, you fought our enemies, and you stood up for this country time and time again.  You bore the criticism and the hatred so we didn't have too, but kept the single-minded determination that this country must never be attacked again, and we weren't.  You refused to stop fighting even when others did, and for that we thank you.  May history be kinder to you than your country.

Comments

[Loudoun Insider]

Thank you for almost single-handedly destroying the republican Party.

He also kept us safe from an asteroid strike.

Good riddance. Maybe the GOP can now resurrect itself.

[200 Grande]

The Republican Congress gave more than a helping hand toward destroying the Republican Party.

[Loudoun Insider]

Agreed.

Thanks alot, guys. Way to go!

[Chris]

LI your a drama queen. 2000, 2002, and 2004 he helped the GOP win elections and win Congress. Things went bad, part his fault part just general malaise from so long of GOP control. The fact is Bush was the most successful Republican president in years. No GOP president held Congress that long since the Harding-Coolidge-Hoover years.

The last two three years were a struggle, but the fact of the matter is that he defined our enemy when so many others are afraid too, he talked of much-needed social security reform when nobody else would, he has helped win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (so far), he kept taxes low, and he fought for a culture of life in this country. Its trendy to bash George W. Bush on both sides and its also easy to do it. Its lazy.

It also doesn't help the party when we have bloggers running around thinking that running people like Tom Davis will save this country.

I voted for this man twice, and not a day goes by that I don't regret that vote. Not once.

[Loudoun Insider]

I wish I had time to refute you point by point. I'll do a post soon.

One quick response - yeah, he kept taxes "low" while running up HUGE deficits and nearly bankrupting future generations with BS like his Medicare plan enhancement.

Call me whatever you like, he was a horrible President.

[George Templeton]

At 12:02 p.m. Jan. 20 the GOP recovery began. Thank you Mr. President for protecting us since 9/11/01 and thank you for commuting the sentences of agents Campeon and Ramos (although I would've preferred a pardon) but pardon me if I say that I am glad to see the back of him.

[Chris]

LI, i'm not saying he was a perfect president but you know what, I would have voted for him again. Part of our weakness as a party grew from our willingness to join the Dems in bashing Bush. I'm proud to have voted for him, he stood up to terrorists, to the media, to Democrats, for life issues. Yeah he wasn't great on the economy, we all know that. But the real reason Deomcrats took power was over Iraq, but it was (and is) the right war and he pressed forward to victory even in the face of defeat at home. I'm not saying George W. Bush didn't make mistakes, far from it, but from where I stand politcally I thank god we had his eight years compared to what Al Gore or John Kerry would have done to us, and what Barack Obama is about to do to us.

[novamiddleman]

There is so much I can say. but it boils down to this

I can't believe how many partisans there are out there. Chris God Bless you man but its the 20% percenters out there like you that I am frankly scared of to be honest. I am more scared of the 20% on the left but still.

Try original thoughts and seeing the forest through the tree every once in a while.

For some reason I thought that there was a way to fix the party but I have come to the conclusion its impossilbe. I have better things to do with my time than trying to convince the 20%

Go Herrity.

[Loudoun Insider]

NMM, I'm quickly arriving at that same point.

MC, if you think the key to rebuilding the GOP and putting Republican majorities back in Congress is to continue to defend GWB, you best be prepared for eternity. Don't get me started on all of the f-ups in Iraq that we're still paying out the ass for.

As NMM points out, you're firmly in a small minority that wants to defend this guy to the end. Maybe you have good reasons, maybe it's simple blind partisanship. Either way it's a losing proposition. The GOP recovers much faster if you realize what a failure GWB was on so many fronts.

[PWConservative]

Bush was a great President who got a bum deal, We are Safe because of Him.

LI
You have no principles, You belong with the democrats.

[Loudoun Insider]

Keep shrinking the party, moron! Brilliant move!

[Chris]

I'm afraid I haven't been clear. My purpose in defending Bush isn't to rebuild the party on his principles (not entirely) but to defend a man who does not deserve the scorn he gets. The utter contempt.

I'm working as hard as anyone to rebuild the party, but to do it we have to be true to our principles. The fact is when we run true conservatives who artiuclate our beliefs, we win. When we run squishes who try and have one issue there, one issue here, we don't.

That was John McCain's problem. There was no central theme, no intellectual consistency in his thinking or in how he portrayed himself to the voters. Bush had it, and so did Obama frankly. This idea that somehow conservatives need to move to the left or to the center to became relevent again is frankly laughable.

Part of it also is just the general historical ebb and flow of politics that goes back and forth. But the Republican party can only be victorious when we are the conservative party. We can't be the John McCain Party nationally or the Tom Davis Party locally, where we ignore half our base because we don't think religion should be in politics.

Thats why a ticket of McDonnell-Bolling-Cuccinelli is so good for Virginia because its so intellectual honest and conservative.

Bush did not do a lot of things right . . . federal spending, the way he couldn't connect with Americans in the second term, and thats what we are bearing now. But my point is that there are so many people trying to turn this guy into Nixon that its just not right. Its not. And I will stand by my votes in 2000 and 2004 until the day I die because I knew he was a good man and I knew that on many issues he lead and he was right. I'm not going to let the Obama disease infecting this country change that truth.

[10 kt]

Hey, everyone, great discussion. I actually blogged about it at:

http://fairfaxareayrs.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/parting-thoughts-on-the-bush-presidency-the-state-of-the-republican-party/

I still think Bush spent way too much (along with the Republican Congress).

One purported motivation for this was to maintain support for the Iraq war. Up until 2006, many commentators recounted that Bush could not openly disagree with Congress, on budget and spending items, because it would show weakness in the Party and undermine Republicans’ power.

I do not think this has worked very well for the Republican Party long term prospects despite Bush's motivations and successes.

[thegools]

RE: Chris' comment on January 20:

"the Harding-Coolidge-Hoover years"... How did that run turn out?

I am not sure the comparison to the Bush years is very positive, but perhaps it IS spot on.

Don't worry the GOP will rise again. Wait until Obama and co. turn the economy around and prosperity returns, then people will be able to afford to vote for the GOP again.