The Parade

As we near the end of the presidency of George W. Bush, it is tempting to join the chorus of criticism that is being piled upon our hapless 43rd President. The consensus emerging among historians, pundits, and analysts of various stripes seems to be that the best one can say that the Bush presidency is that it was consequential. The harshest assessment is that Bush will be judged by history as one of the worst American presidents ever. Either way, he seems destined to leave a lasting legacy in his wake.

My take on Number 43 is somewhat different: as the first President of the Age of Consequences, Mr. Bush is notable more for what he did not do than what he did. Additionally, but no less significantly, his presidency tells us a lot about the role of the Baby Boomers in our modern predicament. But let's begin with a recap of our current president's accomplishments.

What Bush did principally was start two bottomless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with all their collateral damage, including over 4000 dead American soldiers (plus 30,000 wounded) and a $3 trillion hole punched through the nation's financial coffers. Whether these wars will be judged to have been worth their high cost – i.e., whether they are 'winnable' ultimately or produce democratic governments in two nations notorious for their repression and political instability, only time will tell. Recall that the original justification for the invasion of Iraq was Saddam Hussein's supposed stash of weapons of mass destruction. In any case, a substantial amount of Bush's legacy will rest on the outcomes of these two conflicts.

What is clear, however, at least  to  this  observer,  is  that  the