I've heard from friends with ties to Columbia, that conditions have dramatically improved across the country, although impressions of that nation's difficult past still linger around the world. Tonight during Anthony Bourdain's show about Columbia, I watch as he visits Medellín and interviews locals - many of whom suffered enormously during the Pablo Escobar period of the 1980s. The people appear proud, hopeful, even happy. Mr. Bourdain says something to a local that reminds me of a rueful Richard Nixon speaking to White House staff in the final hours of his presidency:
"Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."
Showing posts with label Richard Nixon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Nixon. Show all posts
Monday, November 09, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A president's farewell
I felt sorry for him as he approached the lectern with a sheepish smile.
As Kissinger reminded Nixon, history will treat him better than his contemporaries. His policies precluded another attack since 9/11. To conclude otherwise is to posit that the other side simply stopped trying to harm us after 9/11. The President deserves credit and at least grudging acknowledgement from his political opponents for stalwart efforts to fight terrorism and protect Americans.
I'm reminded of another parallel with Nixon. Richard Nixon asked readers this question in one of his later books: if America does not lead in this world -- who will?
I repeated the question in one of my columns and a rebuttal came from a letter writer who declared that the correct answer to this question is -- the "leaders" of other countries. Unfortunately, the world has always been replete with 'leaders' like Stalin, Hitler and Hussein that refuse to back down.
This President did not have the luxury of presiding over a relatively peaceful world and the safety of American citizens has been this President's overriding concern. That fact will endure as a positive part of his legacy, even if the Iraq invasion does not.
Finally, his administration failed to stem the profligate federal spending we have seen during the last eight years -- punctuated with a new drug program we can ill afford; but that's a trend the new administration appears destined to continue.
As Kissinger reminded Nixon, history will treat him better than his contemporaries. His policies precluded another attack since 9/11. To conclude otherwise is to posit that the other side simply stopped trying to harm us after 9/11. The President deserves credit and at least grudging acknowledgement from his political opponents for stalwart efforts to fight terrorism and protect Americans.
I'm reminded of another parallel with Nixon. Richard Nixon asked readers this question in one of his later books: if America does not lead in this world -- who will?
I repeated the question in one of my columns and a rebuttal came from a letter writer who declared that the correct answer to this question is -- the "leaders" of other countries. Unfortunately, the world has always been replete with 'leaders' like Stalin, Hitler and Hussein that refuse to back down.
This President did not have the luxury of presiding over a relatively peaceful world and the safety of American citizens has been this President's overriding concern. That fact will endure as a positive part of his legacy, even if the Iraq invasion does not.
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| George W. Bush |
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