During Bush's eight year reign as President of the United States he was faced with some significant crises. Some may use this in defending him, but I feel that the way he has handled the war, Hurricane Katrina, and our failing economy only work against him.
Yes, each of these problems could have occurred during during any of the other presidencies, and I'm sure each would have had a different approach. Bush had no control over the planes crashing into the twin towers, and there was no way he could have prevented Hurricane Katrina, but he did not do well under the circumstances and for this reason, I do not view the Bush presidency as a success. He was the president during this time, and he failed us.
Eight years ago the Bush presidency began with controversy and today many will rest easier knowing the Bush presidency is now left for the history books. Now President Barack Obama faces the challenge of his life-- cleaning up the mess that Georgia W. Bush made. Bush was elected to lead the people of the United States. We put our full trust in him to make decisions affecting our every day life, and we are left disappointed.
Do I think Bush is a bad man? No. Do I think I could do a better job as president? No. Do I think Bush's eight year tenure was a total failure? No. All I am saying is that some bad decisions were made. I look at where we are now, as a country, and I cannot say that I am proud. I cannot look up at George W. Bush, smile, and think to myself that he was the best man for the job.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Tarnished Legacy of George W. Bush
As President Bush leaves office, his years as president are being remembered by the American people as being a rough period. In fact, his approval rating has been the lowest since Richard Nixon. However, the blame that is being placed on Bush is not completely fair.
George Bush was president during an unstable time in America, and there were many events that were beyond his control. But the way he handled certain situations was unsatisfactory, such as the current economic crisis we are facing.
Also, it should be considered that George Bush was not the only one making these decisions; Congress had their say in this process as well. The fact that there was a republican president and a democratic congress made it difficult to get anything done, due to an unwillingness to compromise on both sides. But Bush has been the leader of the country for the past eight years, so it is natural for people to place blame on him, although it may not be fair.
When people criticize President Bush, they should keep in mind that he was elected by the nation, and therefore he deserves the respect of the nation, even if some of us did not always agree with the decisions he made or policies he put in place. Now that he is gone, people have placed high expectations on the new president, Barack Obama, to fix the mistakes and misfortunes of the Bush administration. However, people are often unrealistic about this and they should remember that Obama, like Bush, is only human.
Bad Luck or Bad Man?
Although President Bush did not have much luck during his presidency and received a large amount of criticism during his time in office I don't believe that he failed our nation as some may try to claim. Bush was elected president at a tough time and I don't believe that it was a mistake to elect him the second time as the other choice was much worse. I don't believe that John Kerry could have done any better of a job running this nation than Bush did in the past 4 years. Bush made mistakes and he will be criticized for them for a very long time even after his had ended. His economical blow-outs are the focus of most of the criticism and the war in Iraq has been a disastrous issue from the beginning. I never opposed the war but I think that our troops should have been done and out of there a long time ago and not drain it out and cause more death and heartbreak. I don’t believe bush to be a terrible a president, I think he had the wrong advise and some bad timing to slowly push him downhill in the public view.
How the East Was Won
Maintaining presidency for two consecutive terms evidently mean that you’ve done a great job; but in George W. Bush’s case it’s not a simple supposition. Constantly smiling, he reminds me of a child, and it makes me believe that sending his country in ruins was not in his intentions, but he simply was not fit to govern one. Nevertheless I cannot forgive him for many of the decisions which took the United States in a downward spiral, as they inevitably drew in other countries as well.
During his last speech he recalls the first time he addressed the country, on September 11; from then it would only be a slow ride downhill.
I watched the development of the Second Gulf War with disbelief. The first step that brought Bush great unpopularity in The US, as well as abroad, was his decision to invade Iraq without the consent of the United Nations. He continued to ridicule himself as he initially used the excuse of searching for weapons of mass destruction, and switching his justification of the invasion as an attempt to bring “American Democracy.”
I found it ironic that he mentioned America as promoter of “human rights, and human dignity,” as the world knows that the Bush administration was involved in the inhuman practices and treatment applied in the detention camps established shortly after the start of the war; the most well-known are Guantanamo in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The treatment of the detainees was so cruel that the US government received criticisms from the European Union, and organizations such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch.
Back at home, American citizens sarcastically thank him for leaving the economy in a dramatic situation after wasting billions in bailouts.
After eight turbulent years, the Bush administration is ready to leave the office to Barack Obama, and we anxiously wait to see what mark he’ll leave in US history.
During his last speech he recalls the first time he addressed the country, on September 11; from then it would only be a slow ride downhill.
I watched the development of the Second Gulf War with disbelief. The first step that brought Bush great unpopularity in The US, as well as abroad, was his decision to invade Iraq without the consent of the United Nations. He continued to ridicule himself as he initially used the excuse of searching for weapons of mass destruction, and switching his justification of the invasion as an attempt to bring “American Democracy.”
I found it ironic that he mentioned America as promoter of “human rights, and human dignity,” as the world knows that the Bush administration was involved in the inhuman practices and treatment applied in the detention camps established shortly after the start of the war; the most well-known are Guantanamo in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The treatment of the detainees was so cruel that the US government received criticisms from the European Union, and organizations such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch.
Back at home, American citizens sarcastically thank him for leaving the economy in a dramatic situation after wasting billions in bailouts.
After eight turbulent years, the Bush administration is ready to leave the office to Barack Obama, and we anxiously wait to see what mark he’ll leave in US history.
Keep the Finger Down
Disaster raging from the earth. Deceit and obsession with wealth that lead to a downward, chaotic spiral in financial stability. Riots against fair votes. War that destroys the innocent with its strategic madness. And death to our values, our hopes, and all the dreams that made America great. Put them all together and it sounds like a pretty good description of the phrase George W. tossed about quite a bit - the Axis of Evil.
It now sounds like mocking cliche. But we fail to see the truth that lies within it.
Bush's presidency is over. As the "light-bringer" comes forth, the man who gave us his life to serve our country for eight years solemnly bows out. Few good words will come from a single mouth, little thanks to him for standing for us in the midst of storm. The most common reply to him leaving office seems to be "good riddance". People see all the destruction that is seeping into our reality as a result of picking a "bad" leader. However, it is not Bush's burden to bear the blame alone.
Bush may have not been the best man for president. Some of his choices led to serious consequences. By his choice, we are still facing war in Iraq. Was it prudent for us to go there? Perhaps not. Was cutting taxes to fluff citizen paychecks a good choice since it helped in widening the deficit? That's doubtful as well. Was the relief response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina adequate and timely? Not exactly. But they were still choices he made and either succeed or fail, he still deserves our respect.
President Bush made choices just the way any other human being would have. But we fail to remember that we are all just that. Human. Our choices reflect our own inner-thinking and sometimes advice from others is incorporated in our judgment as well. Our plans to execute some of our choices will always differ. What he chose, or advice he was given, was most likely what he truly felt was best. That's not to say there were never ulterior motives or questionable actions. But only God knows what was in his heart regarding his intentions. It is the lack of respect from our country that helps me truly point the finger away from Bush.
Do we always focus on what is wrong than what has been done right? He developed a global relief for AIDS, spending billions of dollars on aid in 100 countries. Even though controversial, Bush stood by his view that Intelligent Design should be taught in the classroom beside the evolution theory. It wasn't popular, many people despised it, but it shows one thing - integrity. He didn't say what the people wanted to hear, he said what he felt was right. And even though the war continues on in a world far away from the safety of our homes and every day lives, we have been kept safe from terrorists on our own soil since 9/11.
We wanted a leader, so we got a leader. For better or worse, he was who we asked to lead. But the finger shouldn't be pointed at him for our failures. If you take a good look around, very slowly, taking in all the life before you, you will see that we live among the "Axis of Evil". Respect for our fellow brothers and sisters has gone out the door. Not only do we bash our president, we also neglect each other and bicker over every little thing we don't agree on. We are constantly pointing the fingers to someone else, one who thinks differently than we do or takes stances on things we don't agree on. We refuse to look within ourselves at our own inability to stand up and lead. Clinging to material wealth, socials status, and worldly pleasures we block out the unity that should be forming on the inside of these American walls. The togetherness we should be sewing in order to make our country great once more and join together to keep our land safe yet we pull out our pitchforks and lanterns instead. And we sit behind these bars that we are welding together with hate and greed. Rattling the cage and howling at all those who make a mistake.
We want a leader, and when he fails we take every bit of his dignity and squeeze it in our claws before dropping him to the ground with sneers as was saunter on to the "next best thing". We want a leader. Yes, indeed. But until we can find harmony within ourselves and each other, those that come to lead will eventually be swallowed by the savage tribe that we truly are.
It now sounds like mocking cliche. But we fail to see the truth that lies within it.
Bush's presidency is over. As the "light-bringer" comes forth, the man who gave us his life to serve our country for eight years solemnly bows out. Few good words will come from a single mouth, little thanks to him for standing for us in the midst of storm. The most common reply to him leaving office seems to be "good riddance". People see all the destruction that is seeping into our reality as a result of picking a "bad" leader. However, it is not Bush's burden to bear the blame alone.
Bush may have not been the best man for president. Some of his choices led to serious consequences. By his choice, we are still facing war in Iraq. Was it prudent for us to go there? Perhaps not. Was cutting taxes to fluff citizen paychecks a good choice since it helped in widening the deficit? That's doubtful as well. Was the relief response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina adequate and timely? Not exactly. But they were still choices he made and either succeed or fail, he still deserves our respect.
President Bush made choices just the way any other human being would have. But we fail to remember that we are all just that. Human. Our choices reflect our own inner-thinking and sometimes advice from others is incorporated in our judgment as well. Our plans to execute some of our choices will always differ. What he chose, or advice he was given, was most likely what he truly felt was best. That's not to say there were never ulterior motives or questionable actions. But only God knows what was in his heart regarding his intentions. It is the lack of respect from our country that helps me truly point the finger away from Bush.
Do we always focus on what is wrong than what has been done right? He developed a global relief for AIDS, spending billions of dollars on aid in 100 countries. Even though controversial, Bush stood by his view that Intelligent Design should be taught in the classroom beside the evolution theory. It wasn't popular, many people despised it, but it shows one thing - integrity. He didn't say what the people wanted to hear, he said what he felt was right. And even though the war continues on in a world far away from the safety of our homes and every day lives, we have been kept safe from terrorists on our own soil since 9/11.
We wanted a leader, so we got a leader. For better or worse, he was who we asked to lead. But the finger shouldn't be pointed at him for our failures. If you take a good look around, very slowly, taking in all the life before you, you will see that we live among the "Axis of Evil". Respect for our fellow brothers and sisters has gone out the door. Not only do we bash our president, we also neglect each other and bicker over every little thing we don't agree on. We are constantly pointing the fingers to someone else, one who thinks differently than we do or takes stances on things we don't agree on. We refuse to look within ourselves at our own inability to stand up and lead. Clinging to material wealth, socials status, and worldly pleasures we block out the unity that should be forming on the inside of these American walls. The togetherness we should be sewing in order to make our country great once more and join together to keep our land safe yet we pull out our pitchforks and lanterns instead. And we sit behind these bars that we are welding together with hate and greed. Rattling the cage and howling at all those who make a mistake.
We want a leader, and when he fails we take every bit of his dignity and squeeze it in our claws before dropping him to the ground with sneers as was saunter on to the "next best thing". We want a leader. Yes, indeed. But until we can find harmony within ourselves and each other, those that come to lead will eventually be swallowed by the savage tribe that we truly are.
The presidency of George W. Bush will forever be viewed as a negative point of the United States economical and foreign policies. I whole heartedly do not agree with this opinion. I also think to myself that the circumstances Bush was faced with early in his eight-year tenure of presidency were much higher in magnitude then any presidential affaires that I have witnessed while I have been alive.
It began with the terrorist acts on September 11th, 2001 directed at the World Trade Center Towers in Lower Manhattan and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. He handled this situation the best he could and retaliated with force much like any other president would have in that position. Bush was then faced with a collapsing economy. Yes, spending billions of dollars a day didn't help this problem but there was no other way around the war in the middle east. Also to be honest, this economy was begin to out sell its self much like it did in the 1920s, over supplying the demand of the people. I view Bush as a heroic man due to the fact that no matter what came at him and what people thought of him, he did what congress thought was in the best interest of the people. I wouldn't be able to handle Bushes affairs any better then he and you should thank him that the war that assisted in his low approval rates isn't on our soil.
Will Bush be a Sore Spot in U.S. History?
If you voted for Bush you may be disappointed in the public's election of Barack Obama. You must look at all the facts, however, surrounding the Bush presidency. He has become the most unpopular president of all time and he comes by that honestly. Looking back it's not hard to see the major mistakes in the last 8 years.
One major mistake was declaring "Mission Accomplished" to the entire country. Here we are years later and lives are being lost daily George W. Bush should never have gone that far without the facts. He has to have known that NO mission had been accomplished, Osama Bin Laden is still free, after all. Reassurance is what the people needed. We needed to know exactly what was happening, the facts. We were withheld that information and it looks as if President Bush was too.
Another huge mistake was not doing the research required to be sure that there actually were weapons of mass destruction being held by the enemy. He obviously was not checking facts which is a must when becoming the President of the United States. This is a serious job and one can't go about it flippantly.
No one knows what will happen with the new President and if his so-called change will actually happen, but it seems as if the countries outlook is positive given the last 8 years. The American people have been misled on too many occasions and hopefully Barack Obama will be the man to gain back the trust of us all.
One major mistake was declaring "Mission Accomplished" to the entire country. Here we are years later and lives are being lost daily George W. Bush should never have gone that far without the facts. He has to have known that NO mission had been accomplished, Osama Bin Laden is still free, after all. Reassurance is what the people needed. We needed to know exactly what was happening, the facts. We were withheld that information and it looks as if President Bush was too.
Another huge mistake was not doing the research required to be sure that there actually were weapons of mass destruction being held by the enemy. He obviously was not checking facts which is a must when becoming the President of the United States. This is a serious job and one can't go about it flippantly.
No one knows what will happen with the new President and if his so-called change will actually happen, but it seems as if the countries outlook is positive given the last 8 years. The American people have been misled on too many occasions and hopefully Barack Obama will be the man to gain back the trust of us all.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Assignment Due Wednesday, Jan. 21
President Bush is leaving office with the lowest approval rate in recent history. In his final public address from the White House, President Bush recalled the ups and downs of his eight-year tenure and said he was willing to make the tough decisions. What is your view of the Bush presidency? Remember to write an interesting lead, give your opinion early and clearly, and support it with factual information and interesting detail. Also, there is not a hard and fast length requirement, but most Navigator articles run about 300 words.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Welcome Students of MCOM 220
Welcome to the blog for MCOM 220 Writing for Newspapers and Magazines, Spring 2008. This is where you find your blogging assignments and post your responses. To view blogs written by previous classes, see
http://220fall08.blogspot.com
http://220spring08.blogspot.com
http://220fall07.blogspot.com
http://220spring07.blogspot.com
http://220fall06.blogspot.com
http://mcom220.blogspot.com and
http://simon220.blogspot.com .
http://220fall08.blogspot.com
http://220spring08.blogspot.com
http://220fall07.blogspot.com
http://220spring07.blogspot.com
http://220fall06.blogspot.com
http://mcom220.blogspot.com and
http://simon220.blogspot.com .
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)