Predicting the future is a tricky thing, but trying is essential so we won't be suprised by things like no weapons of mass destruction, no appreciation on the part of the populace we "liberated" and the shit storm that's going to follow our stupid actions in the Middle East. After re-electing George W. Bush to a second term,we have no one to blame but ourselves.
I have come to realize that Bush is becoming dimly aware that his "legacy" is going to be regarded as a piece of shit for ages to come. As frightening as this would be to an ordinary person, he feels vindicated because the people who count, "the upper crust," agree with him. Membership in that body of politic is restricted to those who agree with him. As Bush has said, "There are the haves and the have-mores."
Being aware that history is not going to be kind to him, his supreme arrogance will carry him until he leaves the Whitehouse, waving to his supporters without a doubt. About the only task he will consider worthy of his attention he has left is to muddy the waters for Barack Obama and the Democrats.
The first task is to avoid being forced to withdraw from Iraq. It is characteristic of him that rather than act in a manner that acknowledged the opposition of American voters to the Iraq occupation demonstrated in the last mid-term election, he chose to increase the number of troops in Iraq. When Pelosi failed to cut off the money, he knew he had won the battle. At one time, I blamed Pelosi for this, but I have come to realize that Bush holds the American troops hostage to his arrogance. The deal is any withdrawal Bush is forced into will cause him to make sure American casualties are dramatically higher during that withdrawal all the while blaming Pelosi and the Democrats. While Bush can live with playing politics with the lives of our troops, I cannot. Pelosi did the right thing. Bush will keep casualties low until the November election to help complicit John McCain’s hopeless bid for the Presidency. As it stands now, Bush gets to say Barack Obama and the Democrats "lost" the war in Iraq after Barack withdraws the troops. Nobody will believe him but the dittoheads and wingnuts, but he gets the satisfaction of saying it. Game over.
The second task is to deflect the charge that we are in a recession until Barack takes over. This is more problematic than the fuzzy math of the Iraq occupation as the economy is heading rapidly South at the moment and rather than a few of us, nearly all of us are feeling the pain. Bush’s main tool in this enterprise is Bernake, the Fed chief. Bernake, a political shill, will with a straight face maintain, "Even though things are difficult, we are technically not in a recession." He will do this until Bush leaves office. Among the first things Barack should do when he takes office is oust Ben Bernake and appoint a real non-partisan economist to Fed chief. Game definitely not over.
After Bush goes back to Crawford and Barack withdraws us from Iraq, eventually the Iraqis will demand justice and the world will be with them. Mark my words. They will come to our doorstep and ask us for George W. Bush and perhaps others. I think we should give up Bush and any civilians to the World Court in the Hague making clear we will hand over no military men or women. I realize this would be difficult for an American government and unpopular with the American people, but it would be good foreign policy and do much to undo our status as a rogue nation in the world. It would also give pause to any future American despots who are tempted to violate the sovereignty of another nation which is the purpose of justice in the first place.