I know there has been a diary or two already about Tom Friedman's uncharacteristically....enjoyable? readable? editorial today.
I found myself laughing or at least shaking my head in agreement while reading it. I applaud Mr. Friendman for not drinking the "everything is fine" Kool-Aid like the rest of his Republican friends. This is a big deal.
But let me point out one problem (and quote some more, so that those who don't subscribe can piece together more of the article).
My problem is this: Bush has a ruined legacy, Mr. Friedman, not a third term. It is too late for third terms. And oh, by the way, the world is round, not flat. And while we are at it, mustaches are out this season....
Come with me below the fold.
MY favorite part of the article was the beginning:
"President George W. Bush has just entered his third term. That's right. He's a three-term president. His first term was from 2001 to 2004, and it was dominated by 9/11, which Mr. Bush skillfully used to take a hard-right Republican agenda on taxes and war with Iraq, which was going nowhere on 9/10, and drive it into a 9/12 world.
His second term was very brief. It lasted from his re-election in November 2004 until Election Day 2005. This was an utterly wasted term. It was dominated by an attempt to privatize Social Security, which the country rejected, political scandals involving I. Lewis Libby Jr., Tom DeLay and Bill Frist, a ham-fisted response to Katrina and a mishandling of the Iraq war to such a degree that many Democrats and Republicans have begun to vote "no confidence" in the Bush-Cheney war performance."
Now, personally, I think Bush's "First Term" ended the day he stood in front of the Mission Accomplished banner, proclaiming victory when the only thing he had really brought was disaster. And his second term ended with Terri Shiavo.
And now, I'm sorry Mr. Friedman, but there is no third term. Bush is already nothing more than an ex-president. Only instead of strengthing diplomatic relationships, he is now walking around destroying them. And instead of pitching in to help cleanup after natural disasters, he is throwing gasoline on them and then dropping a match. Instead of reading books, he is reading indictments.
Not only is he ALREADY the worst president ever, but he is already the worst Ex-President ever.
And along those lines, when he finally does fade into the sunset, I am prepared to work night and day to make sure his legacy reflects the pain and destruction he has caused us all. And we should start with his Library.