Thank You, President Bush

By Caomhin

It’s now less than 12 hours until President George W. Bush leaves office.  It’s hard to imagine it’s already been 8 years since he took the oath of office for the first time.  It’s amazing how fast time goes, something I’d often heard when I was a bit younger and summer break couldn’t come fast enough.   I’d like to share a few thoughts on President Bush’s tenure as our nation’s leader.

President Bush came to office and faced an incredible amount of animosity and scrutiny since the day he arrived from the left wing.  There was never a day during his tenure that protestors and liberals were committed to truly giving him a fair shake.  Criticism flew constantly at him and yet he persevered politically.

We faced an incredible challenge on September 11^th and President Bush responded by creating the Department of Homeland Security and thwarted what were most likely uncountable threats against us.  The intelligence services of our nation were revamped, the military overhauled, and veteran benefits enhanced.  He made strong stands against forces that are in complete and total contrast to those of free people.  Popularity means nothing in life, really, it is our freedom that means everything and no matter how difficult the choice, he always chose to protect freedom.

President Bush was a staunch defender of human life.  One of his final acts in office was to declare, once again, National Sanctity of Human Life Day.  He actively sought ways to lower the number of abortions in this nation and was proven right with regards to his position on stem cell research, as run of the mill adult cells can be developed into embryonic stem cells without the need of a fetus.  Despite the criticisms, he again persevered and was correct in his judgment.

President Bush was a friend of religion.  Not just Christianity, but of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and every major religion.   The funding of religious charities with federal funds was largely a success.  With particular care, after the terrorist strikes of September 11^th, President Bush defended the Muslim faith from the fanatics of a political ideology that used a radical strain of Islam as a means of control and prevented a national wave of anti-Islamic crimes.

President Bush stood tall with the Israelis in the face of numerous and constant assaults by terrorist organizations while simultaneously standing with the Palestinian people by advocating a two state solution.  He pursued free trade agreements with the Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE.  He stood by the Iraqi people and the Surge has now created an atmosphere where the Iraqis now have a young, functioning democracy, which will soon have another round of elections with a swelling number of candidates and voters.

President Bush repeatedly made efforts to work across the aisle with Democrats on a wide range of issues from education to immigration.  While the some of the efforts succeeded, and some did not, he was not bashful about doing so.  He did so in a public fashion, one many politicians would never even consider, let alone pursue.

While there are many issues that I disagreed with President Bush, by and large, when we needed him, time and again, he stepped up.  Selflessly, he constantly threw himself in the way of the punch, taking the blame and the heat when things did not go as planned and deflecting praise on others.  That’s the mark of a leader.   When actions needed to be taken, when he felt that a strong course of action needed to pursue for the good of the nation, he did so, poll numbers be damned.  You can tell by his words, his actions, and his emotions that he truly loves our nation.  He deserves our respect and our thanks.  With all that he has faced, a lesser man would have buckled under the pressure long ago.  Thank you President Bush, for all that you have done for us, and all that you will continue to do for us in the future.  May God bless you and your family.