Wow. A rational assessment of Bush II on DP. Who'da thunk it?
Needless to say, I completely agree. He's probably going to be remembered as just another President.
He set the tone for the 21st Century.
And even though it wasn't a perfect tone nor a perfect administration, it was more right than wrong and more effective than not and more conciliatory and hopeful than many of his haters deserve.
Here's another example of something Bushy did which NO ONE EVER talks about.
He kept Muslims safe in America after 9/11 when the Bubba Force was ready to target every Muslim in sight.
He made nice with Jihadists (either in ignorance or as a deft act of political wisdom) in the White House after 9/11 and convinced most Americans not to see Muslims as the enemy inside our country, even though, technically, they are.
And to really issue a chill pill to even the most reactionary US Patriots, he enacted the Patriot Act.
It was a STRONG dose of medicine which even made loyal Americans ill (figuratively?) because of its intrusiveness, and it was strong enough to convince those who might have otherwise taken the law into their own hands, that there was no need to do that. The Federal Government was taking aggressive action to keep us safe from jihad.
Only that was sufficient to keep a lid on domestic Patriotic tempers.
Every single Muslim in America owes his and her safety since 9/11 DIRECTLY to W's actions and decisions and policies.
He was a better president than most of us realize and better than most deserved.
And as a bonus benefit, anyone who has read or viewed enough of Dr. Bill Warner's work knows that the Koran mandates that Muslims come to the aid of other Muslims who are under attack especially when they are attacked for their religion and especially under attack by "Amerreekan Christians".
If hundreds of Muslims in America were killed by Bubbas every American Muslim would be compelled to go active Jihadist as their religious duty requires and Jihadists from all over the globe would go on the war path.
And that would have been ugly and life affecting for every one of us and in ways you can not even imagine.
Bushy deftly avoided ALL of that.
How much more significant could a POTUS be?