Dear President Bush,
We can’t say we’re sorry to see you go. The fact that we’re saying goodbye to institutionalized torture, suspended civil liberties, UN defiance, dissolved international treaties, lie-based wars and economic meltdowns (though, to be fair, the ones you got us into won’t be resolved anytime soon), and grammatical – er – idiosyncrasies, is the best news we’ve heard for the past eight years.
Still, we can’t help but feel a little sorry for you. Your final approval rating is the third-lowest in U.S. history, and that can’t feel good. No one seems to understand you anymore, and we can empathize with that. So we decided to compile a list of some of the great things you did for your country and the world during your two terms in office.
Your President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief, a $15 billion international program to fight HIV and AIDS, was the largest global effort in history to fight a disease. In 2003, when PEPFAR was announced, an estimated 50,000 people were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, while today, PEPFAR supports treatment for more than 2 million people in the region, including orphans and vulnerable children.
However, let’s not forget that last August, you proposed a new regulation that was protested by 13 state attorneys general, which claimed to prevent pharmacy and clinic workers being forced to participate in abortions. Because of its vague wording, the regulation would allow providers to deny any treatment that someone in their practice finds objectionable, including contraception, family planning and artificial insemination. Those against the regulation have said it “completely obliterates the rights of patients to legal and medically necessary health care services.”
We’d also like to remind people of your recent environmental effort that led the Washington Post to dub you the “conservation president, at least at sea.” On Jan. 6, you granted monument status to three areas containing rare and valuable marine life in the South Pacific. Along with other designations throughout your time in office, including the 138,000-square-mile marine national monument you created in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands two years ago, you’ve successfully protected more ocean habitat (333,000 square miles) than any of your predecessors.
Keep in mind, though, your efforts to squash the Endangered Species Act. In November, you submitted a rule that would allow federal agencies to begin logging, mining, drilling or highway building without requiring government scientists to assess the development’s impact on imperiled species. It would also prohibit federal agencies from taking climate change into account when considering the impact of projects that increase greenhouse emissions. So long, polar bears.
When looking back on the past eight years, we realized you truly did some good, Mr. Bush. Your efforts to fight AIDS and protect valuable marine life were admirable. However, all those instances of failed foreign policy, environmental neglect and federal fund squandering could turn out to be the most important actions of all that you took. Because if you hadn’t effectively ruined our country and its reputation, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. Now, we’re truly ready to swear the first black man into the highest office in the country and look to equality, sustainability and diplomacy to get us out of this mess.
So, thank you, Mr. Bush. We appreciate it.
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