April 23, 2013
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Are Americans forgetting the disaster that was the Bush
administration? A new poll could be an indication that President George
W. Bush’s reputation has a chance of being rehabilitated, though it’s
not fully there yet.
Bush is stepping into the public eye after a long hiatus as his
presidential library dedication takes place Thursday
at the Southern Methodist University in Texas. Thousands of invited
world leaders and dignitaries, including President Barack Obama and the
four other living ex-presidents, will be on hand. And a poll released
from the Washington Post/ABC News reveals that Americans are slowly beginning to warm back up to Bush.
“Days before his second term ended in 2009, Bush’s approval
rating among all adults was 33 percent positive and 66 percent
negative. The new poll found 47 percent saying they approve and 50
percent saying they disapprove,” the Washington Post reports.
“Among registered voters, his approval rating today is equal to
President Obama’s, at 47 percent, according to the latest Post-ABC
surveys.”
Iraq remains the albatross around Bush’s neck. 57 percent
told pollsters that the invasion of Iraq was a bad idea, though that’s
down from 65 percent in 2008. But more and more Americans also approve
of Bush’s economic performance. 43 percent approve of Bush’s economic
policies, up from 24 percent in 2008. This statistic indicates that some
American citizens are forgetting that Bush’s economic policies--tax
cuts for the rich and deregulation--helped contribute to the economic
crash. His administration was also responsible for bailing out Wall
Street--a hugely unpopular decision.
His advisers are busy trying to rehabilitate his image, and one told the Washington Post
that the Iraq troop surge and the bailout were decisions that reflected
“strong presidential leadership and, as we now see in retrospect,
excellent judgment.” Some historians doubt a full rehabilitation of
Bush’s reputation will take place, but the poll numbers show a slow
inching towards that.
It’s a clear as day indication that Americans suffer from
some serious historical amnesia. The disasters of Iraq, the economy and
Hurricane Katrina are serious blots on Bush’s historical record. It’s
baffling that nearly half the country now says they approve of his
presidency.
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