Miss Me Yet? – In Review

I came across a NY Times article earlier today in which the author asks this famous question, with reference to former President Bush. “Miss Me Yet?” From the beginning of Bush’s second term in office pundits have been giving their two cents about what the Bush legacy will be. Any judgment then and now is premature…and most likely wrong. It was fashionable to hate Bush (not to mention Cheney) and desire “Change,” but it seems that the glitter and appeal of slogans might be giving way to realism.

What is mistaken about the “Miss Me Yet?” question is that it is assuming that things have changed. However, if you really look at the major policy initiatives undertaken by President Obama, it becomes apparent that he is firmly in line with the Bush administration in almost every single one of his decisions (excluding the half-dead health care reform).

1. Continued American presence in Iraq
2. Escalation of Afghanistan Operations
3. Guantanamo is still open
4. He continued with Bush’s bailouts

Perhaps it is best summed up by the author of the NY Times piece:

“Meanwhile, Bush’s policies came to seem less obviously reprehensible as the Obama administration drifted into embracing watered-down versions of many of them. Guantanamo hasn’t been closed. No Child Left Behind is being revised and perhaps improved, but not repealed. The banks are still engaging in their bad practices. Partisanship is worse than ever. Obama seems about to back away from the decision to try 9/11 defendants in civilian courts, a prospect that led the ACLU to run an ad in Sunday’s Times with the subheading “Change or more of the same?” Above that question is a series of photographs that shows Obama morphing into guess who — yes, that’s right, George W. Bush.”

This leaves two things to be said: Obama has not truly been ambitious in his domestic policy agenda, which was heralded as the next best thing to the “Great Society.” And, as the Obama-loving wears off, Americans will not be tricked into accepting the policies that voted out the Republican Party. Obama’s face and oratory skills can only sugar-coat unpopular policies for so long…

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