Don't forget Bush's accomplishments
Bailey McBride
Issue date: 11/7/08 Section: Opinion
I think it is important to mention the fact that I voted for Barack Obama on Tuesday and have been a staunch critic of the Bush administration since Sept. 11, 2001. But to not do President George W. Bush justice for all the he has accomplished is simply wrong.
An article in the Wednesday edition of the Traveler about Bush's legacy completely failed to mention the good things that have happened over the last eight years, only mentioning the actions that are widely perceived as bad, without actually saying they were bad.
This article failed to address the significant progress Bush has made in the U.S. support of Africa. After the president's visit in 2003, significant efforts were made to accelerate economic development and fight global HIV/AIDS, malaria and other treatable diseases, all through U.S. programs.
The U.S. plans to increase its aid to the continent to $8.7 billion by 2010.
The President's Malaria Initiative, launched in 2005, is estimated to have already reached 25 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa to help fight against malaria.
The president also has sponsored programs to distribute goods like food and textbooks to people that would have no other way of acquiring them.
Beyond Africa, Bush has fought against partial-birth abortions, unified the Department of Homeland Security and helped raise significant questions about the education system.
When we look back on a presidency, we don't always just see the bad.
Even after Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, Lyndon Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War or Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, we still look back and can see the good they did for the nation and the world.
I hope Americans can look past all the bad of the Bush administration and take the good along with the bad and the ugly.
McBride is a staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
An article in the Wednesday edition of the Traveler about Bush's legacy completely failed to mention the good things that have happened over the last eight years, only mentioning the actions that are widely perceived as bad, without actually saying they were bad.
This article failed to address the significant progress Bush has made in the U.S. support of Africa. After the president's visit in 2003, significant efforts were made to accelerate economic development and fight global HIV/AIDS, malaria and other treatable diseases, all through U.S. programs.
The U.S. plans to increase its aid to the continent to $8.7 billion by 2010.
The President's Malaria Initiative, launched in 2005, is estimated to have already reached 25 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa to help fight against malaria.
The president also has sponsored programs to distribute goods like food and textbooks to people that would have no other way of acquiring them.
Beyond Africa, Bush has fought against partial-birth abortions, unified the Department of Homeland Security and helped raise significant questions about the education system.
When we look back on a presidency, we don't always just see the bad.
Even after Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, Lyndon Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War or Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, we still look back and can see the good they did for the nation and the world.
I hope Americans can look past all the bad of the Bush administration and take the good along with the bad and the ugly.
McBride is a staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Virginia Harris
posted 11/09/08 @ 3:03 PM CST
Now that the 2008 election and its historic high turnout is history, there is much greater appreciation for the privilege of voting.
But most people don't realize that out of 44 American presidents, only the last 15 were elected in a truly democratic fashion by all of our citizens -- men AND women. (Continued…)
Paul Richins
posted 12/24/08 @ 5:01 PM CST
Bailey McBride's defense of Bush's accomplishments was weak. If assisting Africa is Bush's major accomplishment, that says volumes about his failed administration and his total lack of accomplishments. (Continued…)
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