What Leapa Thinks of Bush

A notable point about the supposed errors and mistakes of the Bush administration is that unlike those of the Nixon and the Clinton Administrations, the Bush mistakes are not for Bush's personal gain. They are mistakes about policy, politics, about defense, about the nature of Arabs, Shiites and Sunnis. They are not about Bush's personal needs and wants, and not about winning elections. Even his bitter enemies have not pinned venality on him.

He tries to stand by his friends (Jews and blacks among them, including Ariel Sharon).

That says a lot about his nature and character as a human being.

Bush's single glaring error, in my opinion, was not emphasizing energy research and efficiency (including possible gas tax increases) from day one. His wrong headed approach now makes us a hostage to those who should be scared of us.

And I'm not sure he's really serious about weaning us from petroleum even now.

But in evaluating mortals there is certainly a line to be drawn between their mistakes (which also hinge on the nature of their challenges, and sometimes can only be evaluated over the very long term) and "the content of their character" in the immortal words of Martin Luther King.

File: Bush
energy policy