Bush - Contributions to Conservation and World Peace

July 09, 2008

I've been pretty hard on Bush for some time now. He did this, and he didn't do that - and now look at the mess, etc. etc. .

Something occurred to me the other day however. Bush may very well be the president who finally got Americans to change their gas guzzling ways. Despite Al Gore's dedication and passionate pleas for people to go green, America's prosperity and strong currency brought with it cheap oil and an evolution of ever larger and more luxurious SUV's. Bush term in office on the other hand has brought about the downfall of the gas guzzler, and a mad rush to by small cars.

Now to world peace. Vietnam left a bad taste in America's mouth, and a hesitation to get involved in another war. When people screamed that the 1991 Gulf War would be another Vietnam, and then it didn't turn out so - anti-war people were discredited and bashed as cowards. Although painful, and the loss of life unforgivable, one good that has come from the latest Iraq war is a return to thought that war is not always the best answer.

Could John Kerry have gotten Americans to shed their SUV's? Could he have convinced Americans that war is an ugly tragedy? I'm not sure, but George Bush certainly has.

-- Greg