What Went Wrong With George Bush, Richard Cheney,Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice.

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In his two terms in the White House, US President George W. Bush presided over a fall in America's reputation around the world. History is likely to judge him a failure. Now, his successor will have to dig the US out of a deep hole. (HOPEFULLY THAT PERSON WILL BE BARACK OBAMA) In Western Europe, the US's popularity has declined by almost half, and in Turkey by 75 percent. The numbers are even worse when it comes to Bush himself. Even the citizens of our two neighboring countries, Canada and Mexico, consider George W. to be about as likeable -- and as dangerous -- as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to a recently published BBC poll, a majority of people worldwide believe that Washington's activities have in fact strengthened the al-Qaida terrorist organization. Absurdly, al-Qaida has a better image than the United States in Egypt and Pakistan, two countries that are the recipients of especially generous US financial assistance. (DO A GOOGLE SEARCH OF "UNITED STATES AIDE TO EGYPT AND PAKISTAN") After seven years of Republican dominance in Washington, Bush's fellow Republicans now avoid him like the plague. Republican presidential candidate John McCain gave Bush all of 14 seconds of public togetherness, 14 seconds on the tarmac in front of Air Force One, on a day in May 2008. An armored black limousine pulled up to the plane, Secret Service agents opened the doors of the car, Bush and McCain came together briefly in a carefully choreographed moment in front of cameras that had been set up in advance, the president pinched the candidate's wife on the cheek and shook hands with his fellow Republican, but then McCain turned away, as if fearing pursuit. Bush jumped up the steps to the waiting aircraft, and the 14 seconds were up. Verdicts are already coming in. In a new survey of 109 historians, 107 call his presidency a failure, while 61 percent see George W. Bush as the worst president of all time. "We've never seen a presidential meltdown like this…. This is a terrible loss, and a dangerous one, for the whole world is watching," writes Peggy Noonan, the speechwriter for former Republican President Ronald Reagan. According to historian and author Douglas Brinkley, Bush's "legacy is disastrous. He is a gambler who bet everything on Iraq." (FOR SOME REASON HE BELIEVED WHAT THE NEOCONS WERE TELLING HIM AND IT WENT AGAINST THE WILL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE) Like a man possessed, Bush ignored all warnings on the subject of the Iraq War. -------------------------------------------------- Vice President Cheney, 67, has something in common with Bush. He too had problems with alcohol as a young man and, like his later boss George W., was arrested for drunk driving and lost his driver's license. But Cheney, who comes from a middle-class, white-collar family, did not have a prominent father. He fought against his weaknesses with an iron will. He was interested in big business (BIG OIL) and politics, and in combining them in ways that were as lucrative and career-promoting as possible. He was always a man of few scruples. He met Donald Rumsfeld, who was of similar makeup, in the 1960s. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Cheney's friend Rumsfeld, 76, a former navy pilot, a hawk and a proponent of war, was considered a star in Bush's cabinet for some time. He was quick-witted, funny and cynical. But then the mismanagement of the Iraq war came crashing down over his head, and he was also held politically responsible for the human rights violations at Abu Ghraib prison, even though he never actually admitted to that responsibility. By November 2006, Rumsfeld had become too much of a liability to be kept on as defense secretary. At Rumsfeld's farewell ceremony, Bush praised the outgoing defense secretary as a "superb leader during a time of change," and as a man who made the "world a safer place." -------------------------------------------------- Condoleezza Rice United States Secretary of StateRice, 53, brilliant, goal-oriented and as well-versed on nuclear issues as she is in classic diplomacy, is nevertheless -- or perhaps precisely because of her qualifications -- one of the biggest disappointments of the Bush years. She looked up to the president without voicing her criticism, instead of waking him up from his dangerous dreams. She fed Bush talking points instead of correcting him. The United States could not wait to be attacked by its enemies, she said. Referring to the risk of Iraq obtaining a nuclear weapon, she said: "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud," and she characterized the invasion of Iraq as "anticipatory self-defense." She exculpated the United States, the world's number one polluter, by called the Kyoto climate protocol "dead on arrival." She spent time with her boss at family events on his ranch, went fishing with him and helped him complete crossword puzzles, and even sang hymns with him on board Air Force One. But when push came to shove, she said nothing and nodded. She proved ultimately incapable of standing up to the president. Only in the last few months, when it was already too late, did she gain some stature in the Middle East with her sharp criticism of Israel's settlement policy, which is in violation of international law. I HOPE THAT I'VE SHOWN YOU THE MAKINGS OF A FAILED PRESIDENCY. SOMETIMES EVEN THE MOST POWERFUL MAN ON THE PLANET MUST LEARN TO LISTEN. IF GEORGE BUSH WOULD HAVE JUST LISTENED TO THE WILL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, HE AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WOULD NOT FIND THEMSELVES IN THE POSITION OF MAYBE LOOSING THE WHITE HOUSE, THE CONGRESS AND THE SENATE. Lloyd