I didn’t get a chance to watch President Bush’s farewell address live, but have since watched the video and read the transcript of his final address to our nation. While I haven’t always agreed with his policies, especially some of the things that he did in his second, I am thankful for his service.
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He has kept us safe, no one can deny that we have not had another attack since 9/11.
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I’m appreciative of his Faith and Community Based Initiative which the ministry I work for has benefited from.
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His position on life enacting policies that helped protect the pre-born which mainly revolved around funding, but he also signed the Partial Birth Abortion Act into law and has used his bully pulpit to promote life.
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Tax cuts – I’m proof that the middle class did indeed benefit from them.
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Taking the fight to the terrorists which is one reason why I believe we haven’t been attacked on the homeland.
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The respect he commanded from the military – when ever you watch videos of him with the troops you can see they love him. I would hope that our next Commander-in-Chief would earn the same respect. They will always respect the Commander-in-Chief, because it is their duty to do so, but will they love President-Elect Obama like they did President Bush? Time will tell. By the way, I’m not claiming that everybody in the military loves President Bush, but he has connected with them well.
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He has done much to pave the way forward with the War on Terror.
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Also his promotion of abstinence education.
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Principled, rather than political, leadership.
I’m sure there’s more, but those are things that immediately come to mind. I didn’t agree with him on No Child Left Behind (for different reasons than the left), some, not all, aspects of the Patriot Act, illegal immigration, not making changes in Iraq sooner, and most recently the bailout. I don’t like how spending was increased and the size of Government increased under his watch.
With all of that, however, I do believe that President Bush was the right man to be at the helm when 9/11 occurred. I am thankful for his service. I am appreciative of the class and grace he has shown when being constantly attacked. I am impressed with how he is handling this transition.
So thank you President Bush for eight years of service to our nation. I pray that God will bless you and Mrs. Bush in this next stage of your life.