(+) Enlarge this image

Op-Ed Digest: Students reflect on Bush legacy at end of era

In his farewell address Thursday, outgoing President George W. Bush said he always did what he though was right for the United States, approval numbers, protesters and shoe-throwers be damned.

With only a few days left in his two-term presidency, many people are still wondering how history will regard the nation’s second President Bush.

While college newspaper columnists are largely angry about the ineffectiveness and global impact of Bush’s stint in the White House, some maintain that the president should not be pegged as the only contributor to national troubles over the past eight years.

Click for a Topic
Bush leaves ugly Oval Office legacy
Bush’s legacy will show he had successes, failures
Bush made strides during his two terms
Bush not only player in national problems

Bush leaves ugly Oval Office legacy

Where Bush went wrong
Source | Daily Toreador
I remember when my “Countdown to Bush’s Last Day” calendar said that it was over 300 days until the end of President George W. Bush’s regime. The calendar on my wall now says it is less than one week until Bush leaves office. One week couldn’t come soon enough. I wish it would be acceptable for me to just rant and rave about why I think Bush was an absolute disgrace to America. However, that would not be enough. Instead of just remembering his reign over the American people as a total failure, we should look at the reasons it will be seen as such. Read more.

A look at Bush’s popularity decline
Source | The BG News
His tenure as head of state of our nation is at a close, and Bush will soon enter the annals of history as the retired 43rd president of the United States – with a permanently tarnished reputation, that is. Whatever one’s political views or opinions on George Bush’s leadership and time as president may be, it cannot be denied that Bush will almost assuredly go down in history as one of our nation’s worst and most unpopular leaders. I’m not saying these things merely to be harsh on Bush. I’m saying them because based on his polarizing and controversial actions during his tenure as president, history will not look kindly upon Bush’s legacy. Read more.

Countdown-in-chief, thoughts on Bush’s legacy
Source | The California Aggie
For President Bush, his time in office, from his disputed 2000 electoral victory to the history-altering attack of 9/11, must have at once been equally shocking and surprising. The events that occurred under his watch have been monumental. His responses, however, have not. To be sure, President Bush wasn’t solely responsible for America’s many predicaments – events are the consequence of confluent, independent motivations, from historical to cultural to accidental. But the greatest presidents adapt to the problems, devise unique responses and implement solutions. Here, President Bush was a disaster. He was rigid as the times demanded flexibility and dynamism. Read more.

Bush’s lawless legacy will outlast his presidency
Source | Arizona Daily Wildcat
The air of relief at George W. Bush’s impending departure from the presidency is so palpable that it seems churlish not to join in the imminent celebrations. After all, when Bush walks out the White House doors on Jan. 20 and passes out of our lives forever, most of the country will rush to forget about him. Read more.

Bush’s legacy will show he had successes, failures

Mixed feelings about President Bush’s legacy
Source | Indiana Daily Student
I feel, based on all the things he’s done to this country, its people and the rest of the world, I should hate the man. I think Bush has been a terrible president and that Barack Obama is going to have a hell of a time cleaning up the mess Bush left behind. I just can’t bring myself to hate him, though. Whenever I hear him talk, I believe he honestly thought the things he did were the best things to do for this country. Read more.

Bush left his conservative mark successfully, despite other mistakes
Source | Rocky Mountain Collegian
As far as his accomplishments for conservatism in America are concerned, Bush left his mark with the appointments of both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Having these justices on the bench in our nation’s highest court will likely prove invaluable to conservatism in America, especially in years to come with the Democratic Party controlling both of the remaining branches of our government. Read more.

Bush made strides during his two terms

Despite poor ratings, Bush was an effective president
Source | Daily Bruin
The left wing of America has little sympathy for President George W. Bush and the extraordinary nature of the challenges he faced. Critics declared the Bush Doctrine defunct long before it had a chance to succeed. The thought of denying “human rights” to – gasp – terrorists was simply unimaginable. Of course, our pursuit of stability in the Middle East has been far from orderly or perfect. But there is nothing if not nobility in overthrowing a fascist dictator to spread democracy. And that’s what Bush did. Read more.

Bush might have positive legacy
Source | The Crimson White
George W. Bush may be remembered positively in the history books. There, I said it. I haven’t been a big fan of Bush 43, and, I’m glad he’s got less than one week left on his contract. But I also think he is the type of president and has made the types of the decisions to which history may nod (if not truly smile). The country isn’t in shambles. There are some positive signs coming from Baghdad, and Bush gets to leave office without an Iraq in total disarray. Read more.

Blemishes won’t ruin Bush’s legacy
Source | Daily O’Collegian
George W. Bush’s presidency ends at noon on Jan. 20, and many Americans will be glad to see him go. However, Bush is leaving behind one of the greatest presidential legacies, and history will view that legacy positively. History shows us that presidents are remembered for their defining issue. Lincoln freed the slaves. Hoover did nothing while Americans built their shanties. FDR made the New Deal and the Second New Deal, and moved Americans out of their Hoovervilles. Bush went to war with Iraq, and the war will greatly overshadow the economy. Read more.

Bush has a legacy to be proud of
Source | The Harvard Crimson
President Bush strived to serve all Americans, whether working with Democrats on No Child Left Behind or the Medicare prescription drug benefit, or in appointing the most diverse group of top advisors in history. When the dust settles and historians begin to analyze the Bush Presidency, they will recognize his successes. Read more.

Bush not only player in national problems

In retrospect, Bush blame can be spread
Source | The Daily Gamecock
For many, the day Bush leaves office has been anticipated for quite some time. One discussion that will run rampant as Obama begins to enact policy is about Bush’s legacy. How have his two terms affected America? Where will he go down in history with regards to the other former presidents? Believe it or not, Bush may not be the worst president in the history of America. Has he made mistakes? You bet. But not all the mistakes of the last eight years can be laid at his feet entirely. Read more.

Bush, Congress share blame for war in Iraq
Source | The Lantern
We’ve been in Iraq for five years and counting. The United States has spent roughly $550 billion and lost more than 4,000 of its finest men and women. Was the decision to invade Iraq a mistake? If it was, then it wasn’t just Bush’s mistake, it was the entire government’s. Congress authorized the invasion of Iraq in late 2002. An outright majority of the Democratic Caucus in the Senate voted in favor of authorization, including Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John Kerry and Harry Reid. Yet still we are bombarded with the rallying cry of “Bush lied, people died.” Read more.

Cheney secretly the puppet muster
Source | The Pitt News
Many of the inner workings of the Bush administration were hidden away from us – the normal, everyday Americans – these last eight years. To many people’s surprise, many interviews with White House invaders suggest that Vice President Dick Cheney might have actually been pulling strings. Gasp. Read more.