This Is Embarrassing

I’ve grown accustomed to people thinking I’m something of a dope but every once in a while, when they least expect it, I surprise them by being right.

But this one is tough to admit.

It turns out I’m one of three people in the country who think George W. Bush will go down in history as a great president.

This isn’t bad, because I’m used to being in the minority.

Last November I was part of a small minority of American voters who felt Barack Obama was highly intelligent, attractive, handsome and spoke beautifully, but in the end he was a phony and a Socialist to boot. I guess the jury is still out on that one—or is it?

Back to my ridiculous thought that Bush will go down as a great president.

In my defense I can say it was the same with Harry Truman.

When Truman left the presidency in 1952 we were in an unpopular war. Truman was accused of getting us into this war (or police action, as it was called) for all the wrong reasons. There were domestic scandals galore. And Truman, whose approval rating was in the toilet, was being accused by Senator Joe McCarthy and the Republican party of being soft on Communism.

That’s why history needs time. Today Truman is considered one of our greatest presidents. Right up there with Washington, Lincoln, both Roosevelts and Reagan.

All this brings me to President Barack Obama. No man in the history of our country entered the presidency with more people saying he was a great president even before he served one day in office.

Well, he’s been in office almost a year, and as some of my good liberal friends are saying these days, “It’s too early to tell.”

It’s kind of funny because they say that sadly with their heads down and they mumble it sort of like a prayer.

President Obama did receive the Nobel Peace Prize and I think, whatever people say about the Norwegians not having a sense of humor, the idea of granting a president who just sent 30,000 more troops to fight a war in Afghanistan a “peace” prize is pretty funny … pretty funny.

And when President Obama went to West Point (a nice touch) to tell us why he was sending 30,000 Americans in harm’s way, he spoke glowingly about “our” (yes, “our”) great success with the surge in Iraq. Never once did he let on he was against the surge as was Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democrats in Congress. No, sir, President Obama spoke about “our” surge.

I guess he probably didn’t think it was the right time to say Bush made the courageous decision while the media, most Democrats and a lot of Republicans were sure it was going to fail.

My favorite part of the Obama troop speech was when he said he was sending the troops in, but he promised that if the war wasn’t over in two years he would bring them back.

Such a great president.

It reminded me of the speech Franklin D. Roosevelt made on Dec. 8, 1941 when he said, “Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941—a day which will live in infamy,” and then he said he was committing our armed forces to defeat the Japanese. But, if the war wasn’t over by 1944, he was bringing them back to the United States and the Japanese could have all of Asia.

Or, wasn’t it Lincoln who said we will fight the Civil War until 1863 and then if the war isn’t over the North will bring all of its soldiers back and the South could have slavery?

This is a great Commander in Chief? Commit the troops not to win but to show both sides you’re with them.

For those who wanted the added troops in Afghanistan, here they are. For those who are against the surge: Don’t worry, I will have them back before you know it.

As a president, Barack Obama is a disaster. Whether it’s his plan for a government takeover of the health care system, thus destroying the quality of health care in the United States, or unemployment, which was 7.6 percent when he took office and 10 percent now.

No matter what he says and how brilliantly he says it, what I always hear him saying to me is, “My friend, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you’ll join me as I try to change it.”

NO WAY!

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