By the time you’re reading this, Barack Obama will have been sworn in to serve our country as president. As college students, it is important to take an interest in politics, and now is as good a time as any to start.
Having run on a platform as vague as “hope” and “change,” I have no doubt that Obama will chart his own course. But, before we look to the future, it never hurts to look to the past.
Former President George W. Bush has had quite a tumultuous career as the leader of our country. All presidents have a series of good and bad events that define their presidency, and in the end, few leave with huge public support. As John Adams once said, “No man who ever held the office of president would ever congratulate a friend on obtaining it.”
Unfortunately for the president, he inherited a failing economy. A recession left over from the Clinton administration, the bursting of the dot-com bubble and then the 9/11 shock left the economy in shambles. However, the 2003 tax cut became the high point of his economic policy, when the jobless rate fell from 6.3 percent in June 2003 to 4.4 percent in October 2006, yearly growth averaged 4 percent over the next three years and real wages began to grow.
Although the economic success of these tax cuts received little attention, perhaps the defining image of the Bush presidency is one of freedom.
The failure of his predecessors to take action resulted in the catastrophic terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Bush took command, promising nothing like 9/11 would happen again under his watchful eye, and created the institutions necessary to fight this new war on terror.
He started by creating the new Department of Homeland Security and a director of National Intelligence. Next, he oversaw changes in the FBI and Justice Department that allowed them to better defend against the threat of terrorism. He also turned NATO into an expeditionary alliance from a defensive alliance. Today, NATO is leading the fight in Afghanistan. He ousted the ruthless dictator Saddam Hussein and gave self-government to the Iraqi and Afghan people.
Bush had to make some difficult and unpopular decisions that ultimately resulted in good for the American people he looked out for. Marc A. Thiessen of The Wall Street Journal also brings to light: “President Bush signed the Patriot Act, breaking down the walls between intelligence and law enforcement. He created a terrorist surveillance program. He directed the CIA to detain and question captured terrorist leaders. He drove al Qaeda from its Afghan sanctuary and put America on the offensive. As a result, more than seven years have passed since 9/11 without another attack on our soil. That’s an achievement few thought possible when the rubble of the World Trade Center was still burning.”
Bush also passed the No Child Left Behind Act, which pushed for student vouchers and enacted the first school-choice program in Washington, D.C. He also showed his respect for life by outlawing the horrendous practice of partial-birth abortion.
In the end, Bush had to lead America during a difficult time, but he stepped up to the challenge. I believe history will grant him the place he deserves as a man who used a set of core values to ensure American safety during a time of fear and uncertainty.
Ryan Rougeau is a junior majoring in computer engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].