WhatFinger


Campaigning for the betterment of Africa, promoting liberty around the world, Raising money for faith based initiatives at home

The Post-Presidency of George W. Bush



With less than seven days before George W. Bush leaves the White House the discussion of his legacy is well underway.

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His legacy however cannot be measured solely by the measures he took while in the Oval Office. It will be measured also by what he does after January 20, 2009. Given the tumultuous period of his Presidency (the September 11th attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 economic meltdown) I believe that Bush, at least for a year or so, will stay out of the public limelight or at least make every effort to do so. We do know that he will settle in Dallas and that he will write his memoirs as will soon to be former First Lady Laura Bush. Unlike former Presidents Carter and Clinton, Bush will not speak ill of his successors in public. I do not believe we will hear a peep from George W. Bush where it concerns Barack Obama despite the temptations. Yet 62 years of age is still a relatively young age to leave politics. Assuming he remains in good health there is every reason to believe he can contribute to the public good in America and abroad over the next 20 to 25 years. There are three areas where I think the soon to be former President Bush will utilize his time and energy. Namely campaigning for the betterment of Africa, promoting liberty around the world as well as raising money for faith based initiatives at home. Even Bush’s staunchest critics cede that his Administration did good work in Africa. Over the past five years, the President’s $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has given over a million Africans access to antiretroviral medicines to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Bush Administration was also vigorous in combating Malaria as well as improving education and liberalizing trade in Africa. Yet there is much work left to be done in Africa. As we know all too well Africa is often treated as an afterthought in the global community. Perhaps President Bush could establish a not for profit organization aimed at bettering Africa. If he were to regularly travel throughout the continent it to draw attention to matters such as hunger, clean drinking water and immunization it would do a great deal to keep Africa on the global agenda. The events of September 11, 2001 strengthened President Bush’s belief in individual liberty. President Bush came to view liberty not as a uniquely American notion but rather as a divine ideal bestowed unto each and every one of us regardless of where we happen to live. “The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to humanity,” said President Bush during his 2003 State of the Union address. Of course, putting such an ideal into action is far easier said than done. Given our ongoing military commitments in Afghanistan and for the time being in Iraq I believe Bush will leave the Middle East to President Obama. There are however, as Condoleezza Rice put it, “outposts of tyranny” in the world that require our urgent attention. One such place is Myanmar (formerly known as Burma.) It has been ruled by a military junta since 1962. Its populace has almost no freedom to speak of and is isolated from the outside world. Yet even the most rigorous military regime cannot suppress the national human desire for freedom indefinitely. It manifested itself in 1988 with pro-democracy demonstrations in response to increased political repression coupled with an economic collapse. This led to elections in 1990 which saw opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi win decisively. Unfortunately, the military junta refused to recognize the results and has spent most of the past two decades under house arrest. Pro-democracy sentiments surfaced again in the August 2007 by opposition activists and the normally reclusive Buddhist monks in protest over the military junta raising fuel prices in what became known as the Saffron Revolution. However, the military junta cracked down harshly and by early November the flame of hope had been again extinguished. The plight of the Burmese people has long been a concern of soon to be former First Lady Laura Bush. She has called upon the military junta to release Suu Kyi on a number of occasions going as far as to write an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal in October 2007. So long as Suu Kyi remains under house arrest Laura Bush will continue to speak out against the military junta in Myanmar. It would not come as a surprise if both Mr. and Mrs. Bush spearheaded an international effort to win Suu Kyi’s release and to take her rightful place as Burma’s President. Myanmar’s military junta is not known for its acquiescence but if the Bushes manage to make Suu Kyi a cause celébrè it would put an unwanted spotlight squarely in their eyes. Of course, President Bush will want to continue to make a contribution here at home as well. One of his best known domestic programs was the Faith Based Initiative which enabled religious based charities and non-profit organizations to gain greater access to federal funding. While Barack Obama has expressed support for expanding Faith Based Initiatives it remains to be seen what kind of support a Democratic controlled Congress is inclined to give him on this matter. Whatever the role of the federal government on Faith Based Initiatives, Bush will find a way to support them. One of Bush’s greatest strengths is his ability to fundraise not only for himself but others. If federal government support for Faith Based Initiatives were not forthcoming it would not come as a surprise to me if Bush were to launch a charitable foundation to raise money and disperse funds to religious based charities and non-profit organizations. I am sure that particular activity would raise the ire of the liberal elites. Then again there will be those people who will hate George W. Bush to the end of his life and beyond. However, for most people, the passage of time allows for a more balanced reflection on how a President served his country while in office and out of it. If President Bush should become looked upon more favorably in America and abroad over the next quarter century I believe his post-presidential activities will contribute greatly to that reassessment. Aaron Goldstein was a card carrying member of the socialist New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). Since 09/11, Aaron has reconsidered his ideological inclinations and has become a Republican. Aaron lives and works in Boston.

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