I have not had a lot of time for blogging lately. I retired yesterday, and there were a number of things to do before then. Now, they’re done, so hopefully I will have more time for posting. (I left work at noon yesterday and went to the Cubs game with Susan and Ross. Cubs 7, Diamondbacks 2. Go Cubs Go!)
Here is a first (short) comment. Back in November I talked about the possible 16-year presidency of George W. Bush. Throughout the campaign, the Democrats blamed everything that was wrong with the economy on George W. Bush: it was all Bush’s fault, they said. I was wondering how long it might last. But now it looks like it might be over.
In his weekly address to the nation today, President Obama talked about how much the economy has grown in the last 38 months (note: he has been in office 52 months) and what Congress needs to do it growing. (He didn’t explain what happened to the recession that was supposed to happen if the Republicans let the sequester kick in on March 1.) It sounds like the economy is no longer the responsibility of George W. Bush.
That also seems to be true in foreign affairs. With President Obama’s speech on drones, etc., on May 23, it appears the Barack Obama of the 2008 campaign has finally won the presidency. The foreign policy of George W. Bush, especially on the war on terror, has been defeated. Barack Obama circa 2008 has won, and the war on terror will end. This is true, apparently, regardless of what Al Qaeda, or any other terrorists, may think. According to President Obama (channeling candidate Obama):
“This war, like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. That’s what our democracy demands.”
I did not realize that ending the fight with Al Qaeda was that easy. Just say “our democracy demands [it],” and it’s over. If it was that easy, we should have done it a long time ago. (I apologize for the sarcasm. As I said, I have not had a chance to do much blogging lately. I guess it’s been building up.)
In any case, with the economy doing better and the battle against Al Qaeda being over (at least in our view), it appears that the long presidency of George W. Bush is finally over. It apparently ended sometime in late May of 2013. Which means George W. Bush was president, or at least his policies were, for about twelve years and four months. Longer than even Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But now it’s over. Just in time for the 2016 campaign to start.
Pat, Congratulations on your retirement. Now you'll have more time to watch the Cubbies. Let me know if you will be at the Cub - Cardinal game on July 12th. Larry, Jeff, Tim and I et. al. will be there.
Go Cards!!!!
Mike
Posted by: Mike | June 10, 2013 at 04:09 PM