A Mainiac's Summation of GWB

Here's a friend's summary of GWB. I haven't asked permission to use his real name, but in the interest of attribution I will call him "Lord Jeff '39".

"If I were a blogger, this would be my blog for the day:
Last evening George W. Bush gave his Farewell Address to a select group of friends and others in the White House. To make it a really intimate affair it was broadcast by all the major networks.

I have never been comfortable watching either GWB or his father. Both seem to me to be superficial, unimaginative and blighted men who find their confidence in their inherited position in life and who are bent on maintaining it. My reactions of course are chiefly influenced by this bias.

From the reports of good observers GWB is a charming, warm and gracious man in his personal relationships. There are many stories of generosity and thoughtfulness in his treatment of people whose case or plight has come to his attention. Unfortunately, little of that attractiveness comes through in his public appearances. Last evening his face wore a fixed Cheshire cat grin - a shit-eating grin in the vernacular - during most of his talk. It took away from the solemnity a more sober expression might have allowed.

Bush says he has acted throughout his regime only with the best interest of the American people in mind. He asserts a firm belief in the necessity of all the moves he made to safeguard the country after 9/11 and cites the absence of other terrorist attacks as proof of the success of his administration.

That of course can not be denied, but graver questions are left untouched and that is an example of the superficiality of the man. There is no conceding that some of the basic principles of the Constitution he was sworn to defend have been sacrificed, no retreat from a hard-headed notion that only results count, not ways and means. Deep principles have been violated and he admits no doubts of his actions. A bigger man would show less certainty.

The fact is GWB has learned nothing in eight years as the most powerful man in the world. He went into office with a set of convictions and nothing has happened to cause him to question those convictions. This isn't surmise; it is his own testimony. It is a terrible indictment of an eight year period in a human life. It is also disturbing because it reflects a strong view in the country - that one forms one's convictions early and the hero is the one who fights for them all his life.

I don't find that's the way I have lived my life. I'm a lot older than GWB and I still find my convictions changing. Right there is the reason I can't possible make a fair judgment of George W. Bush.

Now Obama comes in. I hope he'll learn something as president. I bet Lincoln did."

Great minds do think alike.

Leanderthal, Lighthouse Keeper, aka Lord Jeff '59