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Last Updated: Apr 8th, 2008 - 05:36:19
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The Many Failures of George Bush – Part 1
By John McGinnis - Altoona, PA
Mar 3, 2008, 07:27
The title of this piece and its future companion pieces was inspired by a situation comedy that ran from 1959 to 1963 called “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”. Dobie Gillis was played by Dwayne Hickman as most young men are: eager to do something, particularly with the opposite sex, but not quite understanding how to accomplish that task. Thus, Gillis was constantly having unsuccessful enterprises and relationships. The main difference between Dobie Gillis and George Bush is that Gillis was able to actually think about his failed experiences and learn from them.
The Bush presidency seems much in the spirit of the Dobie Gillis show except without the humor. When Bush gets something right, which is seldom, it requires the complicity of others to overcome his initial instincts. When he gets things wrong, which is the usual case, he has an air of imperiousness and resoluteness that prevents him from any future thought on his chosen course of action. It’s “Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead”, even though there may not be any torpedos and he may be headed in the wrong direction. Thinking and rethinking about situations is the mark of a reasonable and reasoning man. George Bush does not possess such abilities.
As it turns out, one metric of a president’s performance in office is, perhaps surprisingly, the price of gold. Gold has always been considered a precious metal despite having few useful applications. People value it highly only when other opportunities and assets have little value and they disdain it when there are ample chances for real investment and economic growth. Thus, the price of gold is inversely related to the economic and political environment: When it goes up, it is indicating a reduction in economic opportunity and an increase in political instability; when it goes down it is indicating an expansion of economic opportunity and political stability.
When Jimmy Carter took office in 1977, gold was $150 an ounce. By the time his disastrous presidency ended it was at $640 an ounce. After eight years of Reagan, the price of an ounce of gold had gone from $640 down to $430, one of the many leftist trends Reagan managed to arrest. With Bush the Elder, gold prices stayed fairly steady finishing at $420 an ounce. Under Bill Clinton, gold declined further to $265 an ounce as the American economy resumed its Reagan boom and a Republican majority created political stability through gridlock.
George W. Bush was able to stop the Reagan boom and much else that Reagan had moved in the right direction. After taking office with gold at $265 an ounce, Bush policies and decisions have created a stark economic environment where gold is now very close to $950 on ounce50% higher than when Carter was president. That’s hardly the only measure of the weakening of the American economy on his watch. The Euro was priced at $1.05 when Bush took office, while now it takes more that $1.50 to purchase one. In effect, the value of American currency has plummeted by 35% in relation to the European currency and, trust me, Europe is no giant of economic wisdom or performance.
In future essays on this topic, I will detail the mistakes of the Bush presidency and their consequences for America. I would like to point out that I have no animus for Mr. Bush, but only worry about the damage he has done to the advancement of conservatism in America, and what is more important, to America itself.
The opinions and ideas expressed in this essay are those of John D McGinnis and should not be considered representative of WRTA.com, any institution with which McGinnis is associated, or anyone else. He can be contacted at drjohn@theradiocampus.com.
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