I agree with you that on matters of defense, Bush handled things quite well. I thought he handled the 9/11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan well. I didn't agree with the invasion of Iraq, but despite that I can't find a lot of fault with how he handled it.
Post 911 what do you do with a lingering threat.?
12-years, 16 ignored UN resolutions, known to use WMD, kicked out UN Inspecteurs de la Sortie pour le WMD, and trying to assassinate a former president?
Bush went to the UN, he gave Saddam a last chance to come clean. Had he balked after doing this, the standard Clinton move... balk and walk... the idiots of the world would have been empowered beyond belief.
You cannot win a war on the defensive or by Clinton-styled cowering... passing everything to the corrupt UN.
That Saddam wanted war... was his choice. That terrorists flooded in wasn't a bad thing as we had a battleground to centralize a lot of them, their efforts, and defeat them.
I couldn't stand the way he handled most domestic issues though. I hated the fact that he seemed to think that his own personal beliefs should dictate policy. Even so, I don't think he was a bad person, just a bad president.
I didn't like his spending.
I take it you wouldn't have liked George Washington either. Or John Adams.
Bush was a great president where it counted most. National security.
He took a hell of a lot of flak, but he stayed the course.
When he ran for office, he told you where he stood. He didn't hide it... or lie about it unlike Clinton and Obama.
Going to visit the victims of the Fort Hood attack was a good thing to do, and I commend him for it.
I believe it is totally consistent with his character.
America being huge, diverse, a tremendously open society with borders... amazingly porous presents a huge challenge for security. The kooks only need one good day. After 911, Bush had some huge decisions to make, and he made them. We weren't hit at home again... until last week.
What caused it?
Political correctness. We let our guard down, looked the other way once and look what happened.
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