He is content with the occupation of Iraq. Bush likes to see it as the liberation of 50 million Iraqis--none of whom asked us to liberate them, and few who welcomed the US and the coalition of the greased palms. Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator, but his removal has made Iraq a magnet for suicidal Islamic warriors. And while our casualty count is in the hundreds, thousands of Iraqis have died since the US occupation. The United States has yet to bring democracy, peace or prosperity to the region. But Bush is happy with the outcome of the occupation, which, by the way continues--so how can it have an outcome?
However, Bush did tell ABC's Charlie Gibson, "I think I was unprepared for war." But it wasn't his fault because the 9/11 attack was unexpected.
Bush is also pleased with No Child Left Behind, which any teacher will tell you is an educational disaster. Teachers now teach the test upon which schools are judged and through which they receive federal funds. For example, if the teacher knows that the test focuses on simple addition, they will not invest in teaching their students anything other than simple addition. The system of incentives and penalties provide strong motives for schools to lie or manipulate data. No Child Left Behind forces schools to ration education guaranteeing mandated skills in reading, right and arithmetic--which pretty much guts programs for gifted children.
Bush is very proud of No Child Left Behind, regardless of what educators say are the serious drawbacks.
George is also very sorry about the financial downturn, accept no responsibility for refusing to crack down on "no money down" mortgages, for ignoring warnings that a financial meltdown was coming, and for knuckling under to the pressure brought about by the same financial institutions who are gobbling up government handouts. Apparently, the banks knew in 2005 that the house of cards was, well, a house of cards and they fought any attempt for regulation. Too bad someone didn't tell Bush--but he's sorry now.
