Scrambling for a legacy

I came across this article a few days ago, and this sentence, by political scientist Cal Jillson, of Southern Methodist University, stuck in my head:

"There's no way back for Bush on Iraq. He can't run away from that policy. He has to secure something he can plausibly point to as success."

So true. The guy has nothing else to show for himself. If Iraq is a failure, his presidency is a failure (actually, I don't need that extra element of proof, I already consider his presidency a failure.)

Bush has not passed any positively received legislation in his time in office. His much touted No Child Left Behind was left by Bush himself grossly underfunded, which is what has now made it very controversial and fought against by several states (including Connecticut,) since it raises their education bill without providing the money to pay for it.

Besides that bill, what does Bush has to show for almost 5 years in office? Nothing good. His Medicare prescription drug bill is a mess, hated by most seniors, and has increased the federal budget exponentially. He hasn't been able to come up with a Social Security makeover that would satisfy the public's majority (and nonetheless, he hasn't tried to change it, since it's his way or the highway.) His tax cuts for the ultra rich have evaporated the budget surplus Clinton left him with and has put us in the red for decades to come. His energy bill, after saying he wouldn't have tolerated any pork barrel, is so chock full of it, it makes you fat just by mentioning it.

Furthermore, he promised to restore the credibility and honor of the office of the president, and instead, he has done just the opposite. People have much less trust in their government now then they did during the whole Clinton-Lewinsky debacle. Why? Because the president lied to us to go to war (an unjust, illegal, immoral war fought for oil ownership.) He lies to us about what happens in the world, expecting us to believe what he tells us and not what we see (he did it with Katrina, he's doing it again now with Iraq's readiness to defend itself.) He backpedals on promises to hold accountable people responsible for grave crimes (like Rove's compromise of our national security for political gain,) when he realizes that person is one of his closest allies. He doesn't distance himself from corrupt politicians like Tom DeLay, not even after they get indicted, calling them friends and standing behind them for moral support.

And those are just a few glaring examples of the Bush doctrine of government. Like Debra Messing as Grace said, in the season premiere of Will & Grace,

"I'll just close my eyes and do what I want. Hey, I'm George Bush!"