Goodbye to Bush: Saint or sinner?
- Articles
- Pictures
- Graphics
- Add comments
President Bush's last full day in the White House marks the end of a period in which America has confronted terrorism on its doorstep and reflected on its standing in the world.
On the surface it would be easy to say that his presidency has ended in abject failure. His domestic approval rating is the lowest of any post-war US president, while the country is in recession and continues to fight enemies on two fronts.
But the reality may be more complex. Bush's tenure can be seen to be dominated by one single event - the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001. And to many Americans the fact that there has been no repeat of the atrocity will form a large part of his legacy.
Bill Galston, former adviser to President Bill Clinton and a senior fellow at the respected Washington think tank Brookings Institute, believes that the way President Bush dealt with the attack will form the basis of his place in history.
Mr Galston said: "There is no question of the fact that Bush's reaction to the events of 911 set the country on a course that will have long-standing repercussions that will not end with the termination of his presidency.
"It is a fact that has dramatic and international ramifications."
He continued: "It has led to profound changes in the relationship between the US and the rest of the world - changes that the majority of Americans deeply regret.
"We know what the consequences of his policy has been for America's standing in the world. Its standing is at a low ebb.
"The US is regarded much less favourably than it was eight years ago."
Guantanamo Bay and the abuses at Abu Ghraib have damaged the US's reputation, it has been argued.
"When we are not regarded as a moral exemplars, that makes people in the US very unhappy," Mr Galston said.
More than not being seen as a moral light, to many Bush came to represent all that was wrong with America. Effigies of the president were common at anti-Iraq protests in capitals around the globe.
But Dr Robert McGeehan, US foreign policy expert at the Royal Institute of of International Affairs in London, believes that to many, Bush was merely a convenient hate figure.
He said: "If you were anti-American, Bush was perfect - he gave you everything you needed. He was the 'Toxic Texan'."
But he agreed that the US's standing overseas had slipped during the Bush years:
"The reputation of the US has not been enhanced by eight years of George W Bush.
"He made some terrible mistakes in foreign policy - letting Pentagon and the neo-conservatives run the aftermath of the Iraq invasion was a mistake."
The Bush legacy may now be linked with the future of that country. Lasting stability in Iraq could see history judge the Texan more favourably than it would otherwise.
Dr McGeehan said: "Iraq is now a fledgling democracy. People said the surge would never work, that it was a waste of American lives and money. But it did work."
But Bush's policy in the Middle East failed to bring about peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Meanwhile environmentalists will point towards Bush's stance towards the Kyoto Protocol and binding international carbon emission targets as his true legacy to the world.
Domestically, Bush's last days in office have been dogged by economic woe. His tenure as president will end as it started, with recession. Whether earlier action could have staved off the downturn is something that can never be known.
Nonetheless, it is likely that the finger of blame will be pointed at the republican administration. Questions are increasingly being asked over the regulatory regime in place under Bush.
Dr McGeehan said: "From a political standpoint the downturn in the economy will be blamed on the administration. Likewise the successes will be attributed to his policy."
But the US expert suggested that in the views of Americans at least, his legacy will be tied to security and not the economy.
"The most lasting legacy is what didn't happen, after 911 there were no attacks on American soil," Dr McGeehan said.