foreign policy may yet Salvage the Legacy of President Feorge W. Bush

“Barack Obama! Change! Wooooo!” A recent episode of South Park featured Randy Marsh, Stan’s irrepressible dad, celebrating Barack Obama’s electoral victory by drinking himself into a stupor. The episode highlighted a certain trend lately of people blindly supporting the first black President. The flip-side to this, of course, is a massive chorus of scorn for the still-current president George W. Bush.
Which is too bad, because tucked away in the scandals, blunders, and malapropisms that characterized his two terms are a handful of redemptive gems that just might merit a re-appraisal of his presidency.
For one thing, even his harshest critics can’t deny that, whether by accident or design, he’s kept America safe from further terrorist attacks. Yes, the cost was heavy. To achieve his goal, he employed several dubious and potentially illegal means such as mass wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, torture and two bloody wars. Nevertheless, the end result was seven terror-free years of security.
Nor can one discount his leadership in the battle against the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. After witnessing the tragic horrors that the virus has visited upon the region, he backed up his words with cash. In 2003, Bush provided $15 billion to the war against AIDS, and topped that up in 2008 with a commitment of $39 billion over five years. Because of American investments, nearly two million people today have access to anti-retroviral drugs (as compared to only 50,000 in 2002) and millions of orphans have received life-saving treatment and care. Under his watch, the United States has also become the leading donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
On the timely issue of immigration, Bush went against the most fervent, xenophobic elements of the Republican Party and opposed the detention and deportation of millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. Instead, he offered a path to citizenship and integration into society for undocumented workers. Though the bill was defeated in Congress, his stance on the issue saved the country from a potentially disastrous attempt to deport over twelve million people.
Finally, George W. Bush managed to return a semblance of basic dignity to the office of the President. Sure, there were plenty of embarrassing gaffes, but at least he didn’t turn his administration into a late night showing of “Deepthroat” a la Bill Clinton. Many of us can still recall the incessant jokes about interns and the President’s philandering on late-night TV, which nigh on irreparably savaged the credibility of the highest office in the free world.
These days, while it’s oh-so-hip to be an Obama-lovin,’ W-hatin’ leftist, there is always more to the issues than one-sided ideology. Don’t mistake my position. From Iraq to the Patriot Act, climate change to Palestine, there are serious criticisms to be levied against many of his presidential policies. But, while we may not fully agree with his actions, nor his vision, we may one day, be obliged to forgive him.