The American Spectator

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br> Re: Quin Hillyer's Conservatives Must Rally : /p>

In his piece, "Conservatives Must Rally," Quin Hillyer does a nice job of highlighting President Bush's successes. In general, this President has done a much better job than he is given credit for: no major terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 911 and a booming economy are two enormous achievements, as Mr. Hillyer points out. To those I would add, no widespread prejudice or denial of civil liberties to Muslim Americans (something for which Mr. Bush, in striking the humane and reassuring tone he did following 911, deserves some credit and receives absolutely none); ending a genocidal war via a 2005 peace agreement between the Muslim North and Christian South of Sudan and thereby effectively ending a 22-year civil war that had cost millions of lives (and therefore possibly saving millions of lives -- something the U.S. press pretty much glossed over in favor of covering Bush-bash protests and Paris Hilton's sex tape); instituting improvements to airline security that have not only protected this country from hijackings and terrorism on planes, but seem to have improved airplane safety more broadly.

p>Mr. Hillyer's piece provides some perspective that is sorely needed if we are to rise above the unproductive anti-Bush groupthink that has seized this country. br> -- Heather Robinson /p>

I have been a Republican for over 40 years. I voted for Nixon over Kennedy in 1960, my first voting election so I've seen the party go through many hard times and I must admit that I've never been more disgusted with any Republican leader than with George Bush. I think a recent article from "First Things" by Joseph Bottum sums things up better than anything else I've seen. George Bush while he might be somewhat conservative in instinct and whatever "vision thing" he might concoct, is simply incompetent.

Everywhere you look you see wreckage: Iraq -- 6 years of mismanagement and all is left to a final crapshoot that is taking forever to materialize, Social Security reform left in tatters, No Child Left Behind, a truly insane immigration position (it's NO policy), hemorrhagic spending, blown chances to significantly affect the character of the federal judiciary, no improvement whatsoever in domestic energy sourcing and many other examples. Sure you're not going to win them all, but with strong leadership and a willingness to bang some heads, and play real political hardball, you'd win more than a few.

Add to this, the administrative tactical blunders where accommodation of its foes took precedence over support of the very people who worked for and elected them. What peace did it buy for Bush to sacrifice Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Libby, and now we see Snarlin' Arlen Specter, whom Bush supported, shredding Alberto Gonzales for the entirely legal firing of nonperforming federal prosecutors. What was Bush thinking in sending Gonzales up to testify?

Sure we have the tax cuts, but does anyone think they'll survive the next election, especially with the Republican party smashed, leaderless and demoralized? We also have Roberts and Alito, but the next 3-4 picks are likely to be made by a Clinton, Edwards, or Obama.

Bush has been an unqualified disaster for Republicans and he deserves the legacy he's likely to get, but unfortunately the country doesn't. Perhaps his greatest legacy is the crater that is the Republican party, which started his administration with such hope for the future, and now lies moribund for lack of principled leadership.

p>It's really hard to work up any enthusiasm for supporting Bush now.

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