October 18, 2006

The Achievements of the Administration Make Its Errors Look Trivial by Comparison

You know, I'd been starting to think that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are being responsive enough to the voters, and that maybe this needs to be reflected in the upcoming elections, to the detriment of the Republicans. Instapundit has an excellent rundown of the many errors of the Republicans - Terry Schiavo, Harriet Miers, the Dubai Ports deal, GWB's semi-amnesty approach to immigration, William Jefferson, and Foleygate.

But then I saw this video from Braden Barty and Larry Elder :

In this video, Barty and Elder provide a comparable list of the government's achievements. Here are quotes from the video:

• The economy is booming.
• President Bush has increased funding for black colleges by a full 30 percent.
• Bush appointed more blacks to high-level positions in his cabinet than any previous president.
• After 9-11 Majority Americans truly believed there would be another attack on US soil very soon. Despite many thwarted attempts over 5 years, there hasn't been.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average has reached record highs.
• The $260 Billion budget deficit is 2% of our 13 trillion dollar economy. On average it has been 2.7% over the past 40 years. NOW the national deficit is at a low 2% of GDP!
• Interest rates remain low.
• Gas prices have fallen.
• Inflation remains low.
• Unemployment remains WAY low at 4.6%, which is lower than the average unemployment rate of the '70s, '80s, and '90s!!!
• Remember, Bush inherited an economy that was going into a recession.
• Wages are going up.
• Energy prices are falling.
• "A stronger economy leads to the best college hiring market in years." USA Today, May 16, 2006.
• All this while WEATHERING
• • 9-11
  • 2 Wars
  • Hurricanes Katrina & Rita
  • Enron & Worldcom Scandals

( The video also debunks the vicious "Bush lied" argument with quotes from John Kerry, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Kennedy, proclaiming the "need to disarm Saddam Hussein" due to the threat of his "weapons of mass destruction," "secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons", and efforts to "develop nuclear weapons." )

These are all huge, historic achievements - exactly the kinds of big wins we want from our most successful governments. They are wins on both national security and on the economy.

The matters of Schiavo, Miers, the Dubai ports, William Jefferson, and Foleygate, are all serious political blunders, harming the rapport of the government with the people. Yet in comparison to these historic achievements, isn't it apparent that these matters are, by comparison, trivialities?

Instapundit's list also included GWB's semi-amnesty approach to immigration, an issue of the greatest importance to this country. But with the passage by Congress of the bill to build a 700-mile fence, there has been movement on this issue in the direction of enforcing the laws against illegal immigration.