Dear President Bush,
Thank you for your 8 years of national public service, and your years prior, serving on the state level. You have presided over some very difficult times in our great country. Some, mired in partisan rhetoric, blame you fully for those problems. Some (very few these days), stuck in the same trap, blame you for none. As in much of the political world, the answer probably lies somewhere in between.
My personal observation, however, is that you served this country the best way you knew how. Your response to the greatest terrorist attack in U.S. history was initially universally lauded. Perhaps that response grew into something that it should not have, but the fact remains that on our own soil in the years since, Americans have remained unharmed.
While many of your opponents saw you as simple-minded, I instead saw you as single-minded, which at times proved to be detrimental. But I personally have never wavered in my belief that your personal motivation for whatever actions you took while in office came from a belief that you were doing the right thing for the United States. First and foremost, that needs to be the motivation for all who hold your office.
As you leave office, history, rather than partisan positioning, will be the judge of your presidency. I suspect that future generations will view you in a better light than does our present, polarized, frustrated, media-driven and beleaguered society.
Did you make mistakes? Of course. Perhaps your greatest failure was an unwillingness to readily admit to them. Your public relations skill admittedly left much to be desired. But you also championed causes, some of which were even unpopular with your own base, which will in years to come prove to have a postive impact on many millions of people in this country and around the world. During your post-Presidential years, please dwell upon those with satisfaction, and let the current criticism roll off your shoulders. You cannot undo that which has already been done.
Thank you also for the gracious manner in which you have handled the transition to your successor's administration. The position you have held for the past eight years is too important to allow it to be burdened with pettines, something some of your predecessors failed to understand. Based on its current problems, our country needs the new President to hit the ground running, with as little partisan bickering as possible. Your actions have allowed this to happen as much as is possible in today's political climate. Additionally, you have proven yet again to the rest of the world that despite all of its flaws, the United States of America boasts the most righteous model of government in the world today, one that allows for a peaceful transition of power between two very idealogically different leaders, based upon choices made by its people.
Mr. President, thank you for being an American who was willing to serve your country. As you leave office, please pray for the man who will occupy the office you are vacating, a man who now needs all the help he can get. I am convinced that you will do so.
Originally Posted by BigRedJed
