They are few and far between, I was a fan of the the fact that he let the assault weapons ban expire in 2004.

As far as terrorism in the U.S. there have multiple terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11. I don't think he can make that claim.
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I'm not exactly a great fan, but I believe the man does have a few accomplishments that deserve credit.

Firstly, immediately after 9/11 he did a good job of rallying the US and the world. In particular he made sure that US Muslims weren't unduly the target of hatred, which would have been both wrong and made the whole problem much worse.

I'm not sure preventing any further terrorist attacks on the US can be scored to his credit though. There weren't any successful attacks for many years before 9/11 either. And pretty much everyone agrees that the mess up in Iraq has made the terrorism threat worse, not better.

A second big achievement is that he has given a lot of backing to African development, and especially fighting HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Millions of people are getting treatment as a result, and I guess a lot of people are alive today that wouldn't have been otherwise.

Bob Geldof and Bono have praised him for that big time, and neither of them are exactly right-wing republicans.

The third achievement I'd credit him with is that after the initial disaster of Iraq, he did finally get it right by appointing Robert Gates, and implementing a strategy that is helping make things better. There were a lot of worse options, and it wasn't politically easy to go the way he did.

Finally, he has handled the transition to the Obama presidency very well. As an Obama supporter, I couldn't have wished for a more gracious handover.


On a lighter note, although perhaps it's not a major accomplishment, I have to say I've enjoyed some of the Bushisms. "Misunderestimated" is now a part of the language for instance.

And when I am concentrating on making money, it gives me pleasure to think that I am helping "to put food on my family". Call me strange, but I get a real kick out of that! :)
Source(s):
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717934,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1714383,00.html?iid=sphere-in...

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Though her appointed Michael Brown to director of FEMA, he did end up firing him over the debacle in New Orleans, although I'm not sure he had much choice in the matter. But it was the right move and he waited till the right time to do so (not in the middle of the situation, but wait till its over)
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This was quite idiotic. Already having powerusers on Mahalo Answers.
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I'd just like to say that I think that's a great pic in the question. Nicely done!
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Sadly, everything that he did in office was either the wrong thing to do or else done wrongly. It will be a while before historians can take an unbiased look at his presidency; but, I'd bet that they will conclude it was one of the worst ever.
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Dodging a F@#$%NG SHOE LIKE A NINJA.
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Okay, I have disagreed with Bush about almost everything, but there have been highlights...

5. Choking on that pretzel:

You can always count on the Bush presidents to give you weird, hilarious health mishaps.

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/14/bush.fainting/

4. Hugging that girl who lost her mom on 9/11:

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/06/hug.jpg

This was a really effective, touching moment. Reminds you that politicians presidents are also just figureheads, iconic but remote figures to whom we can attach a variety of meanings.

3. Getting Oliver Stone to make a movie about him already:

Nixon left office in 1974 and Oliver Stone didn't get around to making a movie about him until 1995. That's over 20 years. Stone made a movie about Bush while the guy was still in office. Totally unprecedented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fevUp9j1DHc

2. A conservative Supreme Court:

I don't think this is a positive achievement, but if you're a conservative, you would really have to appreciate how Bush managed to stack the courts in your favor. Harriet Miers debacle aside, Roberts and Alito have really contributed to a lot of key decisions thus far and their presence has made an impact on how this country is governed. Plus, they're both on the court for decades to come.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/01/Toobin.scotus/index.html
http://www.newsday.com/iphone/ny-usbush115995160jan11,0,6169344.story

1. "Mission Accomplished" Flight Suit:

This was certainly a big accomplishment. Quite possibly the most foolish, nonsensical, audacious, inappropriate political photo-op of all time. You will never appear in a photo this iconic or memorable.

http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/upload/2006/12/FlightSuit.jpg
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1. Decision in 2001 to jettison the Kyoto global warming treaty.
2. Enhanced interrogation of terrorists.
3. Rebuilding of presidential authority, badly degraded in the era of Vietnam, Watergate, and Bill Clinton.
4. Unswerving support for Israel.
5. No Child Left Behind.
6. Declared in his second inaugural address in 2005 that American foreign policy (at least his) would henceforth focus on promoting democracy around the world.
7. Medicare prescription drug benefit, enacted in 2003.
8. John Roberts and Sam Alito.
9. Strengthened relations with east Asian democracies (Japan, South Korea, Australia) without causing a rift with China.
10. The surge.
Source(s):
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/986rockt....

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I believe that Bush managed to avert a war with Iran. Bush also prevented another terrorist attack on the United States.
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Well, Bush's best thing that he did in office was highly underreported. Israel was in talks with the USA to attack Iran's nuclear facilities in an airstrike. Bush made the right decision to not attack because we are already overextended.
Source(s):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1543726/Israel-seeks-all-clear-fo...

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