The scant coverage given to GW's speech and other remarks in the last days of his presidency have caused me to think about the man and his time in office. While he's made some major mistakes, he's also changed the world forever, something that I think will take ten years for historians to sort through and get right.
He's had more vitriol and hate directed at him than even Ronald Reagan, yet he never shot back at the media or his detractors. He kept his cool and his dignity. The same cannot be said about Clinton, and there are signs that the same will not be said about Obama.
He's had a lot thrown at him the last eight years, perhaps more than any president since FDR. The WTC attacks, the mortgage meltdown, the financial markets meltdown, Katrina...all of these and more taken together are burdens that almost no other president has had to face en masse.
Barack Obama based his candidacy upon attacking Bush at every turn and for everything. Yet, when the time came to turn over power, Bush took every measure to make sure that the transition was smooth and expedient. I can't think of another president whose administration went to such lengths to pave the way for the incoming administration. He certainly didn't do this out of love for Obama, but for the sake of the country in difficult times.
That, I believe, is what has defined his presidency. Everything he has done, right or wrong, has been for the sake of the country. I've seen no signs of him doing things to enrich himself when he leaves office, or to stroke his ego. (The "war for oil" crowd and the Halliburton conspiracy theorists have been crazy all along).
I'm sure there will be many, many on this forum who will disagree with me, but give it ten years. Wait until the smoke has cleared and we can look back with objectivity. I have no doubt that George W Bush will be regarded as one of the most important and influential presidents in our country's history.