What will history make of George W Bush’s presidency
"The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones" (Shakespeare)
With the departure of George W Bush from the world stage, many, including the man himself, are thinking about how history will eventually see him.
With the departure of George W Bush from the world stage, many, including the man himself, are thinking about how history will eventually see him.
There is a strong body of opinion that says that he was one of the worst presidents that the US has had. BUT history may take a kinder view. Certainly his popularity rating is abysmal, but supporters point out that that was also true of Harry S Truman when he left office. With the benefit of hindsight, Truman is now generally held to be among the top dozen presidents.
Writing in The Australian, British historian Andrew Roberts warns:
In the avalanche of abuse and ridicule that we are witnessing in the media assessments of Bush's legacy, there are factors that need to be borne in mind if we are to come to a judgment that is not warped by the kind of partisan hysteria that has characterised this issue on both sides of the Atlantic.
The first is that history, by looking at the key facts rather than being distracted by the loud ambient noise of the 24-hour news cycle, will probably hand down a far more positive judgment on Bush's presidency than the immediate, knee-jerk loathing of the American and European elites.
He describes Bush as:
… [a] charming, interesting, beautifully mannered history buff who, were he not the most powerful man in the world, would be a fine person to have as a pal.
The newspaper's foreign editor, Greg Sheridan, takes a different tack. He claims that:
… continuity in US foreign policy under Obama would vastly outweigh the change… In truth, there is no greater compliment in political life than for a political opponent to adopt his predecessor's policies once he gains office.
By implication then, if we think that Obama knows what he's doing, Bush was a pretty sound president.
Writing in The Australian Financial Review on January 20, veteran correspondent Tony Walker explains why history developed a more favourable view of Truman's time in office. Like Bush, Truman's term ended while the nation was engaged in an unpopular war. But, writes Walker:
Truman's achievements include the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (the cornerstone of Western security)…
He was instrumental in the establishment of the United Nations, he initiated the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war and was an early supporter of Israel.
On the domestic front Truman integrated the military, putting an end to separate black and white units and risking a schism in his party. In light of history, and leaving aside his controversial decision to use the atom bomb against Japan, the Truman record, like a respectable vintage, has got better with age.
Perhaps Shakespeare's Mark Antony got it right. He did say that:
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
But it is clear that that was not what he had in mind at all. Both the evil and the good live on. What will the balance sheet ultimately reflect for George Walker Bush?
