Presidential addresses always begin with what I think of as frosting. A bunch of inconsequential fluff, shout outs, and thanks. Bush's farewell address last night was no different. It was three paragraphs of "a final opportunity to share some thoughts," "best wishes to President-Elect Obama," and "I am filled with gratitude" came before we got through the vanilla cream flowers and our fork hit cake. And the flavor of the cake the president served last night was "OHMYFREAKIN'GOD!"
Bush went straight to 9/11 -- which should, in any sane world, be seen as his worst failure. The response to Hurricane Katrina would be a close second, but 9/11 would have to be the crowning screw up of his presidential career. Make that domestic screw up. The prize for foreign policy screw up goes to Iraq.
This evening, my thoughts return to the first night I addressed you from this house -- September the 11th, 2001. That morning, terrorists took nearly 3,000 lives in the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor. I remember standing in the rubble of the World Trade Center three days later, surrounded by rescuers who had been working around the clock. I remember talking to brave souls who charged through smoke-filled corridors at the Pentagon, and to husbands and wives whose loved ones became heroes aboard Flight 93. I remember Arlene Howard, who gave me her fallen son's police shield as a reminder of all that was lost. And I still carry his badge.
As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.
I'm not much of a historian, but off the top of my head, I can't remember a farewell address that reads so much like a defense of the speechgiver's presidency. With polling showing the occupation of Iraq as less popular than measles, Bush actually decided that now would be a good time to brag about it. "Iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of America to an Arab democracy at the heart of the Middle East and a friend of the United States," he said. He wasn't entirely stupid, however; this was the only mention of the event the largest percentage of Americans believe he'll be remembered for. One sentence for the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
