George W. Bush: Goodbye 'W' -- and good riddance

Tonight President Bush addressed the nation for a few minutes, with a built-in audience that we now must expect with presidential addresses. It used to be a president sat in the Oval Office and talked one-on-one with us. With this president, we now expect a friendly audience gathered to applaud and support the Speaker-in-Chief.

In this case, Bush spoke from the White House with selected staff, family and aides. They applauded him before and after, although Bush did address the nation in the eye most of the time. He spoke in confident, optimistic tones of the work accomplished in his eight years, starting with his handling of Sept. 11, 2001, and going on from there. He mentioned a cleaner environment, which probably surprised a number of environmentalists. He talked of people paying lower taxes, although many don't have incomes now to pay those taxes on. He went on about other accomplishments.

I was tired. I sat back on the bed and listened, mostly with my eyes closed. Considering Katrina, Iraq, Wall Street excesses and a few other setbacks, I think that is probably how he conducted his presidency, so why should I listen any differently. I do remember when he concluded at 7:15 p.m. CST, I said to myself, "Thank God it is over." I was not just referring to his speech.

Granted, he acknowledged the economy is hurting and he offered best wishes to the incoming president, so I can't be completely negative. But the latest, and last, NBC-Wall St. Journal poll numbers on his presidency show a major negative reflection of the country concerning his approval rating. His father, although beaten, went out with a good approval rating. George W. Bush will go out with the country saying, "Good riddance."

He is probably right that he was willing to make tough decisions and I think he has a moral base in his character. But the downfall of George W. Bush falls under many bullet points: Surrendering foreign policy to his vice president; structuring his office so that he would not hear bad news; allowing politicizing and polarization of day-to-day government operations known for being non-partisan; following the path toward a war that was single minded in purpose in conflict with evidence; favoring fat cats instead of the middle class or lower income Americans; and on and on. His presidency may be the saddest since the days of the LBJ and Nixon years, as those, too, were imperial presidency structures which were doomed to failure.

Now, we have a new president who has the major backing of the country. The WSJ-NBC poll show even among those who don't agree with President-elect Obama, they like him and want him to succeed. We NEED for him to succeed, to recover from the past eight years and to put the country on track. We need him to work out the economy, the war on terrorism, health care and any number of pressing issues.

President Bush wanted to be a compassionate conservative. He talked of being a uniter, not a divider. He failed miserably in the first, and in the end only succeeded in the later in a way he could not imagine. He united the country against Bush and the Republicans. He united us to take a new course in this country. In the end, you can argue for or against Obama. I think the average voter, without realizing it, may not have voted so much for Obama or even against Republican John McCain. He voted against George W. Bush.

In the end, as he packs for Texas, the man known simply as "W." on bumper stickers goes home with an eventful, but failed presidency. The W, I fear, may stand for one thing in the history books: Washout.