Reality Liberation Front

Just yesterday, I was writing about the Bush Administration’s attempts to re-write history in an attempt to somehow “heal the President’s legacy.” Well, it turns out that Bush and friends are not merely content with the occasional interview or soundbyte: the Los Angeles Times has received a copy of a two-page memo titled “Speech Topper on the Bush Record,” sent by the Bush Administration to Cabinet members, staff, and other officials…TELLING THEM what to say if asked about the “Bush Legacy.”

Sadly, the Times has not released the actual memo, but here are some highlights from their coverage:

-Speakers are to say that Bush “‘kept the American people safe’ after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”

Very safe…unless you count Sept. 11 itself…or Hurricane Katrina…or his failure to catch the men who masterminded Sept. 11 and the attack on the U.S.S. Cole…or his attempt to put a Dubai firm in charge of U.S. port security…or his failure to prevent North Korea from becoming a nuclear power…or his removal of Iraq as a check against Iran, allowing Iran to work towards becoming a nuclear power…or his failure to stabilize Afghanistan…or the way in which his policies have actually helped terrorist recruitment efforts worldwide…

…other than those things, I feel much safer, don’t you…?

-They may comment that Bush “lifted the economy after 2001 through tax cuts.” Also, “speakers are invited to say that Bush cut taxes after 2001, setting the stage for years of job growth….as for the current economic crisis, the memo says that Bush ‘responded with bold measures to prevent an economic meltdown.’”

They’re going to mention the tax cuts? I don’t know about you…but I imagine the $300-$600 most people received was spent and forgotten about long ago. Meanwhile, while handing out a paltry amount to each citizen, the National Debt continued to skyrocket, the value of the dollar plummeted, and Bush watched as bankers, lenders, and investors speculated wildly with little oversight or regulation. And what “bold measures” is he talking about, and what exactly was “prevented?”

Yes, in hindsight, the plan to give $750 billion dollars of our money to his Treasury Secretary, who can then use the money however he sees fit…I guess you could call that “bold“…or perhaps “insane.” And then said Treasury Secretary handed a third of the money to banks and housing lenders…who hoarded it and did not give out new loans…oh, and the oversight over the banks and housing lenders…never created. The icing on cake was when the Treasury Secretary came out a month later and said essentially, “yeah, that wasn’t really the way to go…that money’s gone…I’m given the rest of your money to all kinds of lenders, but I’m not promising anything.” As far as the “meltdown” that was “prevented?” Several banking and investment giants went under, the market has tanked, the auto industry is on the verge of bankruptcy, businesses and individuals are unable to get any kind of credit, and 500,000 people lost their jobs last month alone. Good times.

-Another talking point proposed is that Bush “curbed AIDS in Africa.”

True, the amount of money given to prevent AIDS in Africa has gone up DRAMATICALLY. Unfortunately, because of an adherence to an “abstinence-only” mindset, the amount of money given to organizations that distribute condoms (a REALLY good way to combat the spread of AIDS and better received than the “tell-them-to-stop-having-sex” method) has been severely reduced or cut altogether.

-One accomplishment speakers may cite: “He promised to raise standards and accountability in public schools — and delivered the No Child Left Behind Act.”

I can’t believe with so much negative publicity regarding No Child Left Behind that they’re going to use it as a positive talking point. In short, the Act was never fully funded by Bush…so it was never fully implemented. And if you ask most seasoned educators, they’ll tell you that it’s a good thing that it wasn’t fully implemented as it emphasizes rote memorization and “teaching to pass a test” while using a “one size fits all” approach to education, which has proven to be THE WORST APPROACH POSSIBLE according to every educational study I’ve ever read on the subject (which is to say, many, many studies…I have a Masters in Secondary Education). It’s been called a “test-and-punish” methodology based on an “overly narrow curriculum” and I can find no fault in either criticism.

-The memo, “closes with a reference to Bush’s 1999 memoir, ‘A Charge to Keep’: ‘Above all, George W. Bush promised to uphold the honor and the dignity of his office. And through all the challenges and trials of his time in office, that is a charge that our president has kept.’”

Setting aside how Bush’s often “buffoonish” public behavior might reflect on the “honor and dignity” that he has maintained, I will propose that his politicizing of the Justice Department, his deviations from Constitutionally-protected freedoms in the name of law enforcement, his actions in convincing the Congress and the American people into believing that a war with Iraq was necessary, and his explicit support of torture (I will NOT engage in an inane discussion of whether or not waterboarding is torture – rationalizations to the contrary are an insult to reason AND law)…all of these elements prohibit any claim that President has done any service to the office, or kept his charge.

-According to the Times, the memo does not mention “the collapse of the housing market and major financial services companies, the flawed intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina or the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.”

Of course it doesn’t…

SIDE NOTE: Everyone appears to be hopping on the “let’s rewrite history” bus. In an interview with Glenn Beck on his radio show, Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher indicated that campaigning with McCain made him feel “dirty.” Also, after talking with McCain about the current bailout, he was “appalled” and “angry” and even “wanted to get off the bus.” When asked why he didn’t do so, he said that “Barack Obama as president scares me even more” and that McCain was “kinda the lesser of two evils.” Oh…but he still loves Sarah Palin. The audio and original article may be found here. I don’t know how much of a response this deserves except that perhaps the only thing worse than a partisan zealot/hack…is an ignorant fame-seeker using partisan hackery to get on the campaign bus, pursuing a record deal and book deal, then throwing his former compatriots under the campaign bus. I’d support any petition to start calling him “Joe the Douchebag.“