Reader comments
Charles Krauthammer: History likely to recognize Bush's internal fortitude

Kevin | 7:56 a.m. Sept. 21, 2008

History will also recognize Bush's disregard for the U.S. Constitution. That will overshadow any vindication for the war.

stevo | 8:07 a.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Sorry Carlie, History will see Bush as the worst President ever: Brother can ya spare a trillion?

Himself | 8:47 a.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Folks like Krauthammer love Truman and use him as the example for the leader misunderstood in his time.
They make the assumption that the Truman historical model will apply to any other president.

Truman served in combat in WWI. He was a long term senator and was called to be Vice President. Left in the dark by Roosevelt he never the less finished the job of WWII and rebuilt Europe and Japan. The North Korean invasion was dropped in his lap and he committed the US to that vicious fight. He won a reelection everyone was sure we would not. Factual
accomplishments.
Unless George Bush has a secret list of his own hidden in his desk he will have to stand on the record that is all too obvious. Iraq, Katrina and now the disastrous response to the housing bubble collapse. These failures alone will condemn him to the basement of history.

Comments continue below

William N. Grigg | 8:48 a.m. Sept. 21, 2008

What the estimable Dr. Krauthammer refers to as "equanimity" is more accurately diagnosed as the pathological composure of a sociopath.

This is something that the columnist, as a former practicing psychiatrist, would have recognized, were he not so enchanted to be given a personal audience with the Grand and Glorious Omnipotent Decider Guy.

I vividly recall a column written by Krauthammer a number of years ago in which he chastised those who claimed to understand the hidden logic of "history." Now he deploys the "history will redeem the Dear Leader" riff with the dutiful reverence we'd expect to see in a North Korean state-employed propagandist.

Bush's legacy is two failed and unnecessary wars, the evisceration of the Bill of Rights, and the demolition of the economy.

Voice of Reason | 12:05 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

The real observation worth noting here is all of the blindly partisan Groupthink on display in these previous posts. This has become far from a surprise and all too common from the Bushophobe left, which long ago concluded that they wouldn't let historical fact get in the way of a good Bush Bash.

Fact: We haven't been attacked by terrorists on our soil since 9/11.

Fact: Bush removed the world's worst living tyrant from power, against the self-serving wishes of a few countries with under-the-table deals with hte monster.

Fact: The entire world's intel agencies were almost completely certain that Saddam had active nuclear, chemical and/or biological WMD programs underway.

Fact: Saddam had broken virtually every UN Resolution passed against him, even those promising removal from power if he did so. Bush was leading the way in COMPLYING with those Resolutions in taking Saddam out and liberating Iraq.

Fact: The current investment banking meltdown is directly traceable to the bad loans that the Democrats demanded, through law, that the financial industry make to supposedly discriminated groups. What we are seeing is the direct result of what happens when you force banks through socialist government meddling to make bad loans.

Hey Voice of Reason | 12:37 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Your facts are opinions. For example, the "bad loans democrats demanded through law" is a fantasy in your own mind. 80% of the bad loans were made by totally unregulated financial institutions and weren't forced by anyone to do anything.

Voice of II | 1:20 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

The facts that voice of reason presented along with the accurate, reasonable, articulate column Krauthammer wrote has inflamed the loony left as is expected. Get a grip President Bush accomplished his job as Commander in Chief. You have been kept safe inspite of those who have invested so heavily in the defeat. (Kerry, Shumer, Biden, Reid, Obama, Kenedy,Peosi, Murtha just to name afew. If Presidet Bush had committed an impeachable offence, he would have been impeached long ago. Fact he broke no law. Which of you detractors even batted an eyelash over Sandy Burglar's theft of national security documents by stuffung them down his pants? When you start condemning your pals for that kind of behavior, you'll have a bit more credibility.

Michael | 1:55 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Krauthammer is impressed by Bush's stubborn belief that history will judge him well. I think he is way off base.

The Iraq War has created more enemies than it has destroyed. People who uesd to admire the USA now hold is in contempt- and are more sympathetic to the terroists than to the cause of freedom. The new Thomas Friedman book "Hot, Flat and Crowded" exlains how the US has let our foreign policy be misguided by our addiction to oil and this had empowered our enemies- and Bush has really fed into this.

It is also quite dubious that the government which remains when we leave Iraq will be sympathetic to the US at all- they side more with Iran than America currently. We pay our enemies in Iraq not to attack us. What will happen when we leave.

History will correctly judge Bush about the way most Americans do now- at the bottom of the trashheap.

William N. Grigg | 2:25 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

1) It's hardly necessary to attack our country from without if our government is demolishing it from within. Remember Osama's statement that his mission was to drive the US into economic collapse? Well, that's one mission the Bushling has accomplished (with much help from corrupt people on both sides of the aisle).
2)Saddam and his execrable sons were willing to abdicate *before* the invasion through the mediation of the Arab League. Bush was aware of this, but determined to wage an illegal aggressive war anyway.
3)Every intel agency, including the CIA, was intensely skeptical of Bush's claims regarding Iraq WMD, but willing to take the word of the US President on the matter. A liar can't claim his lies were vindicated as truth simply because they were believed.

Leftist groupthink is almost as obnoxious as the Bushcult equivalent, but not as deadly. I'm not a leftist of any sort; I'm a philosophical constitutionalist and practical libertarian. Most importantly for this discussion I'm a lover of my country who is mortified by what that inbred little corporatist tool and his claque have done to it.

re:voice of reason III | 3:28 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

I too think Pr. Bush has done well as president. I do feel safer with him at the helm than the democratic hopeful in this election. He has made decisions that made him unpopular but I still believe they were the right decisions and time will tell. Our grandchildren will probably hear a different version of Pr. Bush than what is being said about him now. I am very concerned with the hating left that can't see anything good in Pr. Bush. That is a real problem.

keith fitzgerald | 4:58 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

History will judge Bush as a fool, who was in charge as America became no more.He will leave office with the country burdened with massive debts and only a huge war machine to show for it.He leaves us with 2 wars going on and no real end in sight.He leaves us with western America taken over by South America immigrants.He leaves with a large part of American citizens having no health insurance.He leaves with the richest 3% adding 500% to their portfolios while he was in office.He leaves us with the real prospect of America being a real 3rd world country where a few super rich constantly rip-off the poor.He leave with 2 million Americans(mostly poor) in prison or jail..which is more than China and Russia combined.

Anonymous | 5:42 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

The guy who dodged Vietnam is a font of intestinal fortitude? Sorry, chucky, intestinal gas pains maybe. And one of the lowest watt bulbs ever to hold the office, a two term filmore. As for reason, well, we haven't been attacked since I got my 97 caravan, a few years back, something I feel is at least as attributable to this lack of attacks as anything bush has done.

mitigated disaster | 6:05 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

If not for the two Supreme Court justices we got out of the deal (and we had to revolt to get W to drop the Harriet Myers nomination)I'd say Bush has been a disaster. Primarily because he ruined the Republican rallying cry of limited Government. What kills me about the Democrats is that they don't even recognize that Bush is a Democrat - or at least what a Democrat used to be before they were respectable and not hijacked by the left wing kooks (Gore, Dean).
Any terrorist worth their salt uses an attack to accomplish an objective - not just for random mayhem. The purpose of the 9/11 attacks was to draw us back into the middle east and (hopefully) trigger an uprising that would overthrow the King of Saudi Arabia and overthrow the powers in the middle east that (tolerated and did business with) America. Osama's plan failed in that regard. We did fall right into the trap however.
I don't put a much stock into the fact we haven't been attacked again. The next attack will be nuclear and they just don't have that capability yet but they will and it's going to be ugly.

wrz | 6:13 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

William N. Grigg | 8:48 a.m.:

"Bush's legacy is two failed and unnecessary wars, the evisceration of the Bill of Rights, and the demolition of the economy."

But he saved your sorry butt from a terrorist attack since 9/11. Of course, that would also count as a negative Bush accomplishment.

The first unnecessary war, Afghanistan, will be in the Obama column (if elected). He's already taken on that mantle. The second, Iraq, is a win.

Bush's effort re the Bill of Rights was to make sure that terrorists could not get access to the benefits of our own Constitution and by so doing, finish us off in a bloodless war.

wrz | 6:15 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Hey Voice of Reason | 12:37 p.m.:

"Your facts are opinions. For example, the "bad loans democrats demanded through law" is a fantasy in your own mind. 80% of the bad loans were made by totally unregulated financial institutions and weren't forced by anyone to do anything."

You've never heard of the liberals' anti red-lining policy?

Mike Richards | 6:34 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Those who consider President Bush "a fool" actually have the luxury of sitting at their computers and writing a comment about the Government after the attack on 9/11, which shows that he is a successful President. They are safe. The Nation is safe. Historians, at least those who bother to check facts instead of being prone to histrionics, will also view him favorably.

wrz | 6:39 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

Keith, Reading your post I think you must be talking about the US Congress.

Massive debt - As I read the Constitution, the US Congress is in charge of the national budget/debt.

Two Wars - Here again, declaring war is the bailiwick of the US Congress. And they did. Read the joint resolution "Authorization to use Force in Iraq." The Afghanistan War was a NATO action.

South American takeover - Your only salient point. the Dumbocrats would have accomplished it much faster.

Nationalized health care - Hillary tried this and America rejected it. Why would Bush be stupid enough to try it again? Besides, most of the "Americans" with no health insurance are illegal aliens.

Richest portfolio - Robin Hood died a long time ago. Many say he never existed until the Dems came on the scene to redistribute wealth.

Third world - Wait'll Osama get in as pres. if you want to see third world in the US. The white House will be painted a different color and moved to Kenya.

Americans in prison - A large share of inmates are illegal aliens. Are you suggesting that Bush should have turned them loose?

Hypocrisy | 10:18 p.m. Sept. 21, 2008

@ 12:05 pm

Fact: 60 years had passed from Pearl Harbor to our latest attack on American soil. Celebrating how Bush has kept our country safe is pointless since attacks on American soil aren't very common.

Fact: So Saddam is gone, Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for 9/11 is still alive.

Fact: U.N. Security Council just prior to the war, made reference to the aluminum tubes. But a report released by the Institute for Science and International Security in 2002 reported that it was highly unlikely that the tubes could be used to enrich uranium. Powell later admitted he had presented an inaccurate case to the United Nations on Iraqi weapons, and the intelligence he was relying on was, in some cases, "deliberately misleading."

Fact: We were misled into the Iraqi War.

Fact: Fighting wars with every little country that disagrees with us, has a different form of government, or has a dictator, is not smart. It is both expensive and unrealistic. We cannot continue to succeed as a world power if we continue to act as the lone policeman of the world.

Fact: Our current economic status is not the direct result of just one political party.

@10:18pm | 12:01 a.m. Sept. 22, 2008

its fighting the politically correct wars that are costly. If we fought wars simply to win, like we used to--WW1, WW2, we would be outa there already.

Truman | 12:24 a.m. Sept. 22, 2008

At the time, Truman was given a pass for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed at least 220,000 people, half of them on the days of the bombings.

Truman was plagued by influence-peddling scandals during his administration. In the aftermath of the WWII, under Truman, inflation was rising 6 percent a month for a time.

The 'Truman Doctrine' to counter communism was directly responsible for both the Korean War and, later, Vietnam.

The 'Marshall Plan,' which rebuilt Europe, came not from Truman, but from George Marshall, then the Secretary of State, but before that the Secretary of Defense during WWII.

[During WWII, both Churchill and Stalin wanted Marshall to be the Supreme Allied Commander. But Roosevelt appointed Ike instead, because he couldn't bear to lose his most trusted advisor].

In other words, Truman was a mixed bag as President.

So, too, was Lincoln. Lincoln was the only president to suspend habeas corpus.

And, of course, Roosevelt put 110K Japanese in internment camps for 3 years.

We leave it to history to judge presidents because when you just lived it it's all a little too fresh for any of us to be very unbiased.

wrz | 12:24 a.m. Sept. 22, 2008

To Hypocrisy @ 10:18

Fact: Muslim terrorists have promised many more attacks on American soil. Most people who know, report that they fully expected another terrorist attack within one year from 9/11.

Fact: If Obama is lucky enough to get Osama, another will rise to take his place. I personally don't think Obama will go after Osama. They could be related.

Fact: Saddam had WMD. The dead Kurds can supply proof. End of story.

Fact: Congress authorized the Iraq war.

Proof: The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are against world-wide terrorism. Fact: Clinton's preemptive war in Serbia/Kosovo was to come to the aid ethnic Albanian Muslims.

Fact: Senator Chris Dodd, head of the Senate Finance and Banking Committee and Barney Frank, head of the House Finance and Banking Committee screwed up. They are responsible for policy and laws governing the finance industry.

Hypocrisy | 8:12 a.m. Sept. 22, 2008

Fact: Muslim terrorists promise many things. Your point in that our protection or lack of terrorist attacks on American soil due to Bush is baseless and actually rather hypocritical. For you blame everything that's bad on the Demos and on Congress and give praise to Bush for everything that's good. Congress had to pass the protection laws, so wouldn't Congress actually be responsible for the Terrorist-Attack-Free US? Hehe, you can't have it both ways friend! No double standards!

Fact: So in other words, it's pointless to capture the most wanted man in the world since another will just take his place? Right...

Fact: Where are the weapons of mass destruction again? Prior to the war, weapons inspectors found no weapons of mass destruction. You could even look it up on Wikipedia, even Colin Powell(republican) admits that he misled Americans and Congress for the war.
Even if Iraq had and hid them(which no evidence of them having such weapons was found prior to the war), we've had plenty of time to find them!

Fact: Again, our current economic status is a mix of greedy corporations, poor regulation, bad investments, dumb Americans, loss of jobs overseas, wars, bad leadership, justto name afew.

iconoclast | 8:52 a.m. Sept. 25, 2008

If Bush had cared about the security of the USA he would secure our borders and seaports (instead of trying to put seaports under the control of Saudis, remember that?)

Whether as a fool or knave he will be remembered. If as any kind of a hero, it will not be the first time that history books have told lies.

I don't support Obama either. We must free ourselves and our thinking from partisanship.

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