Tuesday
Nov112008
A President's Regret
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:47PM
"I regret saying some things I shouldn't have said," Bush told CNN's Heidi Collins when asked to reflect on his regrets over his two terms as president. "Like 'dead or alive' and 'bring 'em on.' My wife reminded me that, hey, as president of the United States, be careful what you say."
With the end of his presidency in sight, President George W. Bush is now voicing the thoughts his critics have been making public for years. Many of the statements President Bush regrets represent the boldest and often most controversial aspects of his presidency, and in many ways, these regrets are something of an indictment of many of his administrations policies.
We alll remember watching President Bush give a speech on board an aircraft carrier parked just out of sight of San Francisco under a "Mission Accomplished" banner, well, he regrets that appearance. But does he regret the statement, or the policies that have led to the last fice years of the continuing occupation of Iraq and the presence of our military forces in Afghanistan? I wonder about his regrets becayse on the surface he appears to regret a few statements, not the arrogant policy decisions made by himself and members of his cabinet that put our military in these situations.
The President regrets calling for the delivery of Osama bin Laden "alive or deead", but does he regret the failure to capture the mastermind of the attacks of September 11, 2001? This administration has had over seven years to track this man down, and while they have managed to kill many of his highest ranking affiliates, bin Laden continues to be just out of his grasp. Does he regret pulling troops out of Afghanistan to invade Iraq, a move that hindered the forces in Afghanistan and is most likely part of the reason that bin Laden managed to slip out of Tora Bora.
The President told CNN's Heidi Collins in an interview that he was reminded recently by the First Lady that "hey, as president of the United States, be careful what you say." I agree whole heatedly, although it's obviously advice that President Bush could have used six to seven years ago, before challenging Al Qaeda and all of America's enemies to "bring it on." Perhaps President Bush is trying to do some damage control as he prepares to leave office as the least popular President in U.S. history, or perhaps he is genuinely regretful, I can't honestly say. My hope is for the latter, but I suspect, that like all politicians, his legacy has become the foremost concern of the 43rd president of the United States.
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Reader Comments (7)
He appeared humbled in some parts of the interview, almost human in his way; but then he suddenly began to suggest that he doesn't watch popularity polls because they do not mean anything to him, and basically, he's going to make his decisions regardless of whether the population agrees with them or not. This interview is one of precious few that Bush has allowed to take place over the years. I have a feeling that Obama will be more forthcoming and honest with the press.
I don't think history has judged Clinton fairly, and I fear that it will be perhaps too lenient on Bush, just to save the nation some face.
Clinton is remembered more often for scandal than his accomplishments as President, however, he is one of only two presidents to be impeached.
What President Bush seems to have forgotten is that those popularity polls represent the feelings of the people of this country, and we are ultimately his boss, not the other way around.
I hope that history remembers him not for the charm of his good old boy image but for the unfortunate decisions he made as president that have garnered the lowest approval ratings in the history of the presidency.
TO be honest, humble in one interview doesn't make up for eight years of conceit, arrogance and the utter inability to admit the mistakes of his administration.
[...] A President’s Regret “I regret saying some things I shouldn’t have said,” Bush told CNN’s Heidi Collins when asked to reflect on his regrets over his two terms as president. “Like ‘dead or alive’ and ‘bring ‘em on.’ My wife reminded me that, hey, as president of the United States, be careful what you say.” With the end of [...] [...]
Yeah, I hear ya. Pretty much any disaster sent his way was mishandled to the max.
I hope one of the first things Obama does after taking office will be to repeal the Patriot Act and replace it with the Constitution.
He has no other choice than to be humble, some of the choice made by his admin. really f--k up The U.S. credibility abroad! F--k Bush he's a proven idiot! Money spent in Afghan and Iraq could straighten out some of the problems here.
Well, hopefully President Obama will work to restore some of the privacy that the Patriot Act strips away, but based on his vote on the FISA bill earlier this year, I wouldn't get your hopes up.
A government rarely rescinds powers that it has been granted, regardless of who leads it.
I suppose he could simply be defiant and give the country a big middle finger salute, but I don't think that would do much good for his legacy as president.
I agree that his administration has done a very poor job, but the American voters are just as much to blame as the Bush Administration. We as voters (all of us, not just Republicans) need to remember that elections are our chance to cast a referendum on our elected officials. President Bush's philosophy hasn't changed so much in the last 4 years, but our willingness to tolerate it has.