Simple Man Politics

Well folk’s today was the last press conference given by President George W. Bush in the White House press room. It was a fairly sober affair, with President Bush taking questions from the press in an un-rehearsed and personal manner.

Most of the questions were questions that everyone always seemed to want answers to, but were never satisfied when they got the answers they asked for, so the press trotted them out again one more time. However there were a couple of new questions asked, although I’m not sure that they will be satisfied with those answers either.

The President was very direct in response to questions about what challenges President Elect Barack Obama will be facing when he takes office on January 20, 2009. He said that the criticism Obama will face is diminished in light of the “profound” nature of the job.

He said "he's going to have to do what he thinks is right. And if you don't, I don't see how you can live with yourself. I don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics, to -- to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country".

"On the other hand, the job is so exciting and the position so profound that the disappointments will be clearly a minority irritant," the president added.

The President went on to discuss the threats to the nation and the serious enemies that Obama will face who want to inflict damage on us, such as Al Qaeda. He warned that the most urgent threat that Obama would have to deal with is an attack on our homeland. He also named Iran and North Korea as the other major threats that will have to be dealt with during Obama’s first term.

He talked at length about the economy and the seriousness of that issue saying that he had inherited an economy in recession when he first took office and was leaving with a recession that occurred during his Presidency. He did go on to say that while in office the US had experienced approximately 52 months of the most explosive economic growth in American history. On the subject of our current economic crisis he did admit to going against his political ideological belief that the free market economy will fix things, by coming up with bailouts. On this decision I believe him wrong.

Fielding questions about what he thought were mistakes made during his Presidency, he said that putting Mission Accomplished on an aircraft carrier was one adding that the message he was trying to send was one different than what it was interpreted to mean. The failure to find the WMD’s that we know Saddam Hussein had and Abu Ghraib were other mistakes that he regretted, but he didn’t dwell to long on the subject.

He said that with regard to the decisions he made to protect our homeland he wouldn’t worry about popularity. He said he would worry about the US constitution and putting plans in place that would make it easier to find out what the enemy is thinking.

Bush also voiced concern on what is currently happening in the Israeli/Hamas conflict in Gaza saying he would like to see an end to the violence and suffering by the time he leaves office, but put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of Hamas by stating that they need to stop the rocket attacks on southern Israel, and only then can there be a substantial cease fire. He also said that Egypt will need to do its part to stem the flow of supplies and munitions to the terrorist organization through tunnels leading from Egypt to the Palestinian territories.

On the question of the damage done to the moral integrity of our nation he stated that our moral integrity is intact. If it has been damaged at all it is only amongst some of the elite. But that people still understand that America stands for freedom, that America is a country that provides such great hope.

He also discussed the Kyoto Treaty, education reform, social security, border security, and The Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. On all of these positions he stood by the decisions he has made in their regard and said that he would not have dealt with tem any differently.

Overall I think that President Bush’s press conference was informative and enlightening. I agree with him that history will judge him on whether he was a good president and whether the decisions that he made were good ones and good for the country. I personally think that he did what he thought was best for us as a nation and right or wrong, he as taken responsibility for those decisions. Has he made mistakes, well sure he has, but he has also kept us safe. The proof is the fact that we have not had a successful attack on our homeland since 09-11-2001.

With all of the things that he heard him speak about today and his answers to the questions posed to him by the White House Press Corps, I can only say that I am glad I voted for him twice and that it was the right decision for me. I am also greatly relieved that he said he would not be an armchair quarterback on the Obama Presidency. I think it is time for him to take his place as one of the greatest and certainly one of the most controversial Presidents in our short 200+ year history, and let history judge him. He is definitely a man of integrity.

Have a great day all of my friends and I will see you all again soon, CIAO4NOW!!!!!