A Tribute to George W. Bush--Any Regrets?

I caught some of the George W. Bush "farewell tour" across America, and the world on the news this week. For those of you losing your jobs, homes, or settling into a general state of concern about the current economic environment, our current President has been busy giving interviews, and touring the country and the world, reminiscing about his time as President. And he is proud of all of his many accomplishments, although he does have some regrets. Nothing significant, of course, but some things he wishes had turned out a little differently.

I thought I'd mention a few things I wish turned out a little differently over the past 8 years. Since I can't change the election results, I will have to settle for actions and policies.

Office of the Vice President--I regret thinking that Dick Cheney would be a Vice President in the way he was a Secretary of Defense under Bush 41. Deferential, a good soldier, competent. I regret watching him consolidate power, and push policies over 8 years that may have harmed this country in a way we have never seen. That's true regret.

Interior--I regret the selling off of public lands in the West, making water rights a more difficult issue, and of course, making mining next to precious Natural Landmarks (anyone ever heard of the Grand Canyon?) a reality. I really wish that had turned out a little different...

Justice--The selection of a hyper-partisan to run Justice, in John Ashcroft, and then, for good measure, one that nearly destroyed the public's faith in the letter of the law, in Alberto Gonzales, is something I "regret". Certainly the justification of torture, and the firing of 8 Federal Prosecutors because they wouldn't put party ahead of the law, was certainly regrettable. So was the hiring of Monica Goodling and the rest of the Jerry Falwell Liberty crowd. There is nothing wrong with hiring applicants from that school. But let's choose the best lawyers for the department this time around. Whaddya say?

Defense--Rummy, we hardly knew ye. You were only there, what, 6 years, until the voices from your own party got too loud for W. to keep you? Oh, that whole light footprint in Iraq, installing J. Paul Bremmer in as "viceroy in chief" in Iraq after the war, Abu Ghraib, the "firing" of Eric Shinseki, allowing Paul Wolfowitz and his team to run wild at the Pentagon stuff. Why is everyone so judgemental? It's not that big a deal. Maybe something that we regret in retrospect, but everything turned out okay, right? After all, The Surge worked, right?

Eduction--No Child Left behind was the best unfunded plan ever established. Too bad our education system still gets absolutely no funding, and our leaders want to blame it all on a lack of Charter schools and vouchers. I regret we couldn't improve on our track record of absolutely ZERO accomplished in this area. But hey, you only had 8 years to accomplish something.

State--I regret the fact that there may not be a SINGLE part of the world that is better today than it was 8 years ago. Palestine in better shape? Iraq? Iran? Pakistan? Zimbabwe? Sudan? How 'bout Russia? How's our relationship with China these days, anyway? Heckuva good job Condi. Everyone hates us. No regrets here...

Energy--Yeah, we had a policy. I regret letting it fall into the hands of Dick Cheney, Ken Lay, and the rest of the Oil Community. Look what it has wrought. Oil prices are down...for the moment. But are we really going to let ourselves get back to the position of begging Saudi Arabia to pump more oil, because we can't figure out how to make a fuel-efficient car, or use something other than oil to heat our homes, or run our electric grid? I regret that our leaders didn't challenge us to strive for better.

Transportation--Just how are our roads and bridges doing? How's Amtrak these days? Yeah, that's what I thought. Regrettable...

Health and Human Services--About the best you can say about this group was its fantastic consistency dealing with the Anthrax concerns, and the Bird Flu concerns:

Step 1--Publicize the issue to make everyone aware of it.
Step 2--Scare the heck out of everyone about the implications of it.
Step 3--Do nothing to prevent it from happening
Step 4--Make the point later that it was really a long-shot concern, that was never really an imminent threat, and why did everyone panic?

No regrets here...

Treasury--Hey, let's put the head of a Train Company in charge. No wait, let's put the Aluminium King in there. Wait, I've got it. We'll put someone in who will ignore the country is in recession, then when things start to deteriorate, bail out the firms he was closest to (AIG, Goldman Sachs), while doing just enough NOT to help the others (Bear Stearns, Lehman, Merrill). Let's get Congress to give us $700B, to stave off the end of the world, but let's hold the Car Makers hostage for their request of $17B in loans and $18B in Credit lines. Hey, anyone know where that first $350B for the TARP program actually went? Truly regrettable.

Homeland Security--Heckuva job, Brownie. Just the name Katrina is now regrettable in the American vernacular. Just the name Chertoff is regrettable in the chills it sends up my spine.

Veterans Affairs--The only regrettable thing here is how the shameful lack of funding for Veterans affairs is so under reported. The fact that it is underfunded is just par for the course in this administration.

Honestly, do we need any more regrets in the past 8 years? Just remember--One man is responsible for this. One man puts these people in positions of power. One man refuses to hold others accountable. One man is remembered in history as the most incompetent of all time. His past 8 years have been the regret of a lifetime. Is there really no way to move up the date for the transition of power to, say, tomorrow, 3pm?