Bush II’s Finest Moment

For my money, President George W Bush’s finest moment was also one of his worst moments as president.

He took this nation to war based on the belief that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction.” Our troops got in there and found — guess what? — no weapons of mass destruction!

Why would I think that this was President Bush’s finest hour?

Because he didn’t lie about it.

He didn’t try to fake weapons of mass destruction.

He told us the truth.

Sad to say, that is as rare as hen’s teeth in the American presidency of the past few decades. Of all the things George W Bush did as president, some of which I agreed with strongly and others which I opposed adamantly, none earned my respect like the way he took it on the chin over the lies that got us into Iraq.

I am convinced that there were deliberate lies involved in this; lies told by what President Eisenhower called the “military industrial complex.” This “complex” appears to be always hungry for another war, and always willing to do whatever it takes to create one.

But President Bush redeemed himself and his intentions, at least in my eyes, by telling the truth.

Now, he did try to soft-soap the whole thing with talk about how “evil” the dictator of Iraq was. He did his best to shift attention away from this awful mess he’d made by invading Iraq. But he didn’t lie and he didn’t try to shift the blame. He let the buck stop with him.

For that, hats off, President Bush.