For all of the criticisms directed toward the Bush administration, I think we need to step back for a moment and put things in perspective. Instead of cherry picking those rather infrequent, one-off issues that some people may find questionable, I think we need to be looking at a comprehensive list of administration accomplishments that demonstrate leadership qualities, competence, character, and truthfulness. Comparisons between administrations will always be made... and each administration will always have its critics... but at least this administration has a proven track record for doing the right thing. With administration comparisons in mind, I offer an abridged list of accomplishments that speaks to the heart of what this administration is all about.
- At least Bush didnt take a month vacation before 911 when the lights were blinking red.
- At least Ashcroft stopped flying commercially in July of 2001.
- At least no one expected terrorists to fly planes into buildings.
- At least Cheney convened his anti-terrorism task force at least once before 911.
- At least Bush didnt sit in a classroom dumbfounded after the 2nd plane hit the WTC.
- At least we now know that duck tape is useful during terrorist attacks.
- At least the admin's timing of the terrorist threat levels didnt coincide with bad news cycles or election schedules.
- At least the 911 commission reports tell us that we are much safer after the Bush administration got busy.
- At least the administration was against the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
- At least the administration was for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
- At least the mission in Iraq is accomplished.
- At least we've turned a corner in Iraq.
- At least we've found WMDs in Iraq.
- At least the reasons to go into Iraq havent changed again and again.
- At least the admin listened to the generals about troop levels.
- At least the admin didnt market cooked intel to get us into Iraq.
- At least Congress had the same intel as the president.
- At least we arent doling out no-bid contracts to companies connected to Cheney.
- At least Bush had the balls to talk to Cindy Sheehan.
- At least we know that Iraq was involved in 911.
- At least we know that Saddam & OBL were close chums.
- At least they got the Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch stories correct.
- At least no one in the Admin advocated preemptive military action long before Bush took office.
- At least our troops had adequate vehicle & body armor.
- At least our troops didnt need to scrounge for hillbilly armor.
- At least there's an exit strategy for Iraq.
- At least the Iraqis want us to stay.
- At least the Iraqis want us to leave.
- At least the number of terrorist attacks has declined.
- At least the 380 tons of powerful HMX explosives at the Al Qaqaa facility was safely guarded.
- At least Iraqi oil exports have paid for reconstruction.
- At least the admin isnt consumed with tax breaks while we are burning thru $6 billion a month in Iraq.
- At least the report on how the administration used Iraq intel will soon be released.
- At least we havent spent $250 billion to install an Iran-friendly government in Iraq.
- At least we've takin out Osama.
- At least we've takin out the #2 man in Al-Qaeda a few times.
- At least administration confidant Ahmed Chalabi wasnt accussed of giving state secrets to Iran.
- At least administration confidant Ahmed Chalabi wasnt providing the US with faulty intel about Iraq.
- At least the admin didnt get snookered by Chalabi's group to the tune of $27 million over 4 years.
- At least the billions in Iraqi reconstruction money hasnt been squandered or mismanaged.
- At least the army isn't near the breaking point.
- At least army recruitment is up.
- At least our British friends didnt say that the US was involved in fixing the intel & facts around the policy.
- At least the admin doesnt use the military as props in rehearsed Q&A sessions.
- At least this administration doesnt smear opponents and challenge their patriotism when criticized.
- At least the Congressional Research Service says that Congress had the same info as the president.
- At least there arent any pictures of prisoner abuse that would increase anti-US sentiment around the world.
- At least this administration doesnt smear military veterans when those people had volunteered and served.
- At least we adhere to the Geneva conventions regarding treatment of prisoners.
- At least the NYT wasnt played like a flute by the admin to catapult cooked Iraqi intel propaganda.
- At least the 'Coalition of The Willing" is comprised of more than 2 countries with over 5000 troops in Iraq.
- At least
Bulgaria, Ukraine, Nicaragua, Spain, Hondura, Norway, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Thailand, Hungary, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Netherlands, Moldova, Tonga are still part of the 'Coalition of The Willing'.
- At least the SOTU speech writers didnt ignore 2 CIA memos & a call from Tenet and place the Niger story in the speech.
- At least no one in the administration outed a covert CIA agent.
- At least no administration official was indicted in the Plame scandal.
- At least Bush fired everyone involved in the Plame scandal.
- At least the oil industry leaders didnt meet secretly in closed-door sessions to write energy policy.
- At least the oil industry leaders were forced to give sworn testimony to Congress.
- At least anyone wishing to attend a Bush townhall meeting can do so.
- At least Bush holds frequent press conferences to answer for his administration.
- At least the media challenges the administration's talking points instead of reporting them as gospel.
- At least Bush & Rove didnt have to stoop to homophobic scare tactics to get re-elected.
- At least the admin didnt clandestinely pay people to shill for the No Child Left Behind program.
- At least the admin isnt producing imitation news videos promoting Medicare legislation.
- At least the admin isnt spending hundreds of millions of $ to get Iraqi papers to publish news articles.
- At least the admin doesnt give press passes to male escorts so that they could loft softball questions.
- At least these same male escorts didnt have numerous visits to the WH when no media sessions were held.
- At least the Republican-led Congress is providing oversight.
- At least there is judicial oversight regarding intelligence gathering policies.
- At least Republicans didnt propose rules changes to allow indicted members to remain in leadership positions.
- At least the Republican house leader had not been indicted on criminal charges of conspiracy to violate election laws.
- At least Bush didnt comment on the Delay case, like he wont comment on the Plame case.
- At least the Deputy White House Chief of Staff wasnt fired from a presidential campaign for planting stories.
- At least the Deputy White House Chief of Staff didnt discuss a CIA agent's identity with reporters.
- At least the Bush mandate was greater than a 51% to 49% split.
- At least the Medicare Act of 2003 did not prohibit the Feds from negotiating discounts with drug companies.
- At least the President wants to go to Mars.... bitches.
- At least Republican staffers didnt download thousands of Democratic computer files.
- At least the Senate Majority Leader isnt providing medical diagnosis by viewing patient video footage.
- At least the Senate Majority Leader doesnt rule on legislation which impacts medical companies of which he owns millions of dollars worth of stock.
- At least the Senate Majority Leader isnt being investigated for insider trading after his trust sells his company shares just prior to poor earnings reports.
- At least Republican Party officials werent convicted of felony charges of paying a firm to jam Democratic Party phone banks.
- At least duck hunting with the Vice President doesnt preclude supreme court judges from ruling on Cheney's energy task force case.
- At least the Administration's response to Katrina was immediate and effective.
- At least Bush didnt give critical FEMA management positions to cronies with no disaster mgt experience.
- At least Brownie had adequate time to eat his lunch.
- At least no one expected the New Orleans leavees to breach.
- At least the admin isn't hiding anything by failing to release documents pertaining to Katrina.
- At least Bush had no dealings with Jack Abramoff and really doesnt know who he is.
- At least Bush is forthcoming regarding his relationship with Jack.
- At least Bush isn't worried to the point of scrubbing pictures of him with Jack from the public domain.
- At least the Dems are not being ignorantly (at best) or intentionally slimed (at worst) as being involved w/ Jack.
- At least no Republican congressional representatives are caught up in the Abramoff scandal.
- At least the administration is not warrantlessly spying on Americans.
- At least the administration went to the FISA court instead of circumventing it.
- At least the FISA court's high warrant rejection rate proves how much an impediment FISA is to the Justice dept.
- At least the Congressional Research Service says that admin briefings to Congress on spying didnt violate the law.
- At least the admin didnt first state that the FISA regulations were working well and then later say the opposite.
- At least the admin went to Congress to change FISA due to limitations with FISA the admin voiced in 2002.
One regret when compiling a list like this, its inevitable that some accomplishments are inadvertantly left out. Plus, as we march through the second Bush term, there will be new accomplishments that warrant review. But you have to start somewhere. Goodnight and God bless.
