Legacy of a “W”

Is ex-president Bush hard of hearing?

At a recent SMU sypmposium he had the opportunity to take questions from a number of midwestern students, whose residencies ranged from Fargo to Texas. The moderator, C Span’s Brian Lamb said “we have enough time for one more student question”….

“Their questions aren’t stupid….”

Thinking it was a joke, Brian quickly explained I said….”S T U D E N T” question….

As if nothing was said at all, …. “I think they’re pretty good questions. Not stupid at all…..”

The host stayed silent…..

“In fact, their questions are better than yours …….” …

Things moved on… Those of us watching kinda laughed a little, remembering some episodes along both campaign trails and in front of cameras… Some things never change….

But there are a couple of things to ponder. When asked what he was most proud of, his rapid response was to increase money to help Africa with AIDS.

He did, over the dead body of his party, pursue and get passed, large increases to fight AIDS.

“It was a national security issue, or one that would become one in the next generation. Imagine a child seeing his parents dying from AIDS, and the richest country, with unimaginable wealth relative to him, stood by and offered nothing?”

“We had the capacity to do something, and with little sacrifice to us, .. we did it.”

This, not only is a window into the soul of a man but also illuminates that which makes the soul of this country, great. This nation, which was at the time preparing to unilaterally invade another country while unprovoked, was simultaneously funding the largest amount ever voted, to help impoverished African countries combat a killer disease. In other words, the US is not all bad.

And secondly, the Bush tax cuts made it two more years beyond their expiration. That is a lasting legacy. Even though I argue those cuts are the sole reason this nation’s economy is in the bed it’s lying in, even though the opposite party held all the cards, they still got a buy for two more years. That means something. One can’t say they were a worthless mistake that bankrupted the government, railroaded through both chambers by ignorant Republicans at the expense of our country.. …. because we passed them again.

All one can say now,….. it that our government is economically illiterate.

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