# What has George W. Bush done right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 26, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938 "2006-10-26T03:25:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/81 "2006-10-27T00:50:50Z")
[QUOTE=Age Quod Agis] Does Australia count as a country? Because **John** pointed out that they supported the invasion before it took place. (Also, I think **John** pointed out that Isreal had merely a plurality supported the Iraq war, and not a majority.) [/QUOTE] Just to be clear, the cite I linked to said that a majority didn’t support the war before the invasion, but that turned around briefly after the invasion. I suspect that because things looked pretty good the first few weeks. Anyway, suffice it to say that world opinion was largely against the war, and not by some slim margin, either. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/82 "2006-10-27T01:11:06Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] Poland. Don’t forget Poland. [/QUOTE] And [Rumania, Lithuania, Tonga . . .](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_of_the_willing) 'Course, most of those have now pulled out of the Coalition of the Willing (paging Beavis & Butthead!). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/83 "2006-10-27T01:26:55Z")
[QUOTE=Loopydude] Trust a guy who’s dealing with the cost of fertility meds right now: [/QUOTE] I hope you realize that in the long run, those cost you a whole lot more if they work! 😃 (Just ribbing. Be fruitful and multiply! But not **too** fruitful, or you’ll lose interest in your wife!) ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/84 "2006-10-27T01:33:45Z")
[QUOTE=Age Quod Agis] Does Australia count as a country? Because **John** pointed out that they supported the invasion before it took place. (Also, I think **John** pointed out that Isreal had merely a plurality supported the Iraq war, and not a majority.) If your post is going to be su cite, you might want to be more careful about conforming your post to the facts already shown. [/QUOTE] Yaaaawn… [QUOTE=John Mace] **Anyway, suffice it to say that world opinion was largely against the war, and not by some slim margin, either.** [/quote] Thanks, **John.** Happy now, **Quod**? Or would you like to quibble some more…'cause I’ve got plenty of Quibbles 'n Bits for ya on the popularity of this war. Both before and after. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/85 "2006-10-27T01:36:34Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Just to be clear, the cite I linked to said that a majority didn’t support the war before the invasion, but that turned around briefly after the invasion. I suspect that because things looked pretty good the first few weeks. [/QUOTE] Pretty much the same thing happened in England once their boy’s boots hit the ground. Understandable… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/86 "2006-10-27T01:37:21Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] This suggests that the task of overthrowing the Taliban is somewhat finished. Not only have we not overthrown them, we’ve succeeded in giving them a stronghold and cemented sympathy for them within the borders of a military ally. [/QUOTE] I was following the desire of the OP. I agree that we won, and are in the process of screwing it up. But the thread on what Bush has done wrong would be the longest in Dope history. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/87 "2006-10-27T01:51:58Z")
OP here. I don’t really appreciate the side discussion of the popularity of the Iraq war abroad, although it seems to be winding down now anyway (the discussion, that is). I think Afghanistan has a better chance of turning out “right” than Iraq, but at this point in time it’s underterminable as far as I can see. Does this mean we’ve run out of ideas? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/88 "2006-10-27T01:53:28Z")
[QUOTE=mstay] I don’t really appreciate the side discussion of the popularity of the Iraq war abroad . . . [/QUOTE] You don’t think that’s relevant to the question of what Bush has done right?! ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/89 "2006-10-27T01:57:45Z")
[QUOTE=Dr Deth] None of those support your assertion "There is not a single country (other than the USA) where there was a majority that supported the invasion of Iraq. " I want you to show the “was” part, as going in, the war wasn’t all that unpopular. In fact your last cite has nothing whatsoever to do with your assertion. So, cite please? [/quote] But of course, since you ask so nicely. Tell me, in your world were people cheering all over the place in favor of the invasion and thinking the rest of the world was cheering along with them? Could you send me some of what they were smoking? [February 15, 2003 anti-war protest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15%2C_2003_anti-war_protest) > [@](#): > > The February 15, 2003 anti-war protest was a co-ordinated day of protests across the world against the imminent invasion of Iraq. Millions of people protested in approximately 800 cities around the world. According to BBC News, between six and ten million people took part in protests in up to sixty countries over the weekend of the 15th and 16th;[1] other estimates range from eight million to thirty million.[2] > > The biggest protests took place in Europe.\*\* The protest in Rome involved around 3 million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history\*\*.[3] Opposition to the war was highest in the Middle East,[citation needed] although protests there were relatively small - Mainland China was the only major region not to see any protests. \ > [@](#): > > **The extent of the global spread of protest is highlighted by the fact that even the Polar region saw protests with a group of scientists at the US McMurdo Station in Antarctica holding a rally** :eek: \ > [@](#): > > At the time, many commentators were hopeful that this global mobilization of unprecedented scale would stop the coming Iraq war. The New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were “two superpowers on the planet - the United States, and worldwide public opinion” I also encourage you to read the links at the bottom of the page and come back in a week once you’ve read them all. If you’re a speed reader that is. Then you can get started on these: [Protests against the Iraq War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_2003_Iraq_war) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/90 "2006-10-27T01:58:10Z")
Now, about this whole post-9/11 leadership thingy, how he helped hold the country together in a time of crisis. Utter rot. The nation craved to rally around something or somebody and the Presidency is the natural focus. What is it that he is supposed to have done, other than roll up his sleeves, hug a few firemen and shout belligerent platitudes through a bull horn. An animantronic Lincoln could have done that as well as he. Everyone knows what The Leader is supposed to do during times like that, the script is already written, the critics eager to applaud. He couldn’t miss! (If it were Al Gore, he might well have suceeded in making terrorism boring. But if Bill Clinton were dealt the same hand GeeDubya was, he would be President for Life.) Before 9/11, Bush’s performance was as mediocre as his public standing and he was busily lowering expectations to a realistic level. 9/11 made him The Leader and provoked an avalanche of wholly undeserved approval. The Man Who Fell Up, whose life had been an epic journey from utter failure to mediocrity, now was thought to be a Leader of Men, a Man of Destiny, with previously unrealized genius for statecraft and vision. And, God help us, I think he believes it. If 9/11 transformed a mediocrity into a Man of Destiny, how come he’s screwed the pooch bowlegged ever since? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/91 "2006-10-27T01:59:43Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Be fruitful and multiply! But not **too** fruitful, or you’ll lose interest in your wife! [/QUOTE] Little danger of that, I’m afraid. Fingers crossed, hypodermic out…one shiney apple would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/92 "2006-10-27T02:03:00Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] You don’t think that’s relevant to the question of what Bush has done right?! [/QUOTE] No, because I thought it was pretty much assumed that the Iraqi war has no business being in a topic discussing what Bush has done **right.** I mean at this point I don’t think there are any holdouts, at least on this board…or do you beg to differ? ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/93 "2006-10-27T02:09:58Z")
I find it interesting that nobody so far has nominated Bush’s solitary veto during his nearly 6 years in office, regarding government funding of stem-cell research. I certainly do not claim this as one of his bright, shining moments, but I am surprised that nobody else has either. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/94 "2006-10-27T02:13:01Z")
[QUOTE=mstay] Does this mean we’ve run out of ideas? [/QUOTE] Well, Bush did the best job of [choking on a pretzel](http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blpretzeljokes.htm) of any president I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/95 "2006-10-27T02:17:51Z")
And his dog didn’t go for help. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/96 "2006-10-27T02:44:39Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Now, about this whole post-9/11 leadership thingy, how he helped hold the country together in a time of crisis. Utter rot. [/QUOTE] Well, its a matter of opinion of course. Obviously you have your own opinions on his performance right after 9/11. IMHO he handled the situation well, remained calm but forceful, and generally came out looking more like a regular guy and not like a politician mouthing platitudes. YMMV. [QUOTE=elucidator] If 9/11 transformed a mediocrity into a Man of Destiny, how come he’s screwed the pooch bowlegged ever since? [/QUOTE] This is a strawman, at least WRT the folks in this thread. No one claims that he is a man of destiny. He’s a bumbler…I think we are all pretty much agreed on that point to a greater or lesser degree. But…he HAS done a few things right. Like a blind nut looking for a squirel, Bush occationally falls into doing the right thing. Hell, he’s the best thing thats happened to the Democrat party since…well, I can’t think of a better thing thats every happened to the Dems. Thats got to count for something! 🙂 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/97 "2006-10-27T07:47:04Z")
The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were the right thing to do - public support be damned - and successful. Then he made the mistake of deciding we should stay. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/98 "2006-10-27T09:08:39Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were the right thing to do - public support be damned - and successful. Then he made the mistake of deciding we should stay. [/QUOTE] Gee - I wish my Job Evaluation set such low standards for accomplishment. I’d be VC-for-Life instead of an admin drone. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/99 "2006-10-27T11:39:09Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were the right thing to do - public support be damned - and successful. Then he made the mistake of deciding we should stay. [/QUOTE] These are of course only matters of opinion, yet the tide of opinion has gone steadily one way and it isn’t **Quartz’s** ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938/100 "2006-10-27T11:42:42Z")
Mind you, if you use any acceptable metric, especially those which were asserted before the invasion, then it has been a no contest failure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-george-w-bush-done-right/377938.md?page=6)