History will judge Bush more kindly

Roanoke
Posted: Jan 7, 2007

There seems to be a rush to judgment among present-day liberals to portray the war in Iraq as a lost cause.

A recent letter stated, "I, for one, have had quite enough of staying the course and allowing more troops to be killed." Another writer voiced the opinion that Bush's presidency would be judged poorly due to the war.

If this type of philosophy had prevailed a few decades ago, we would not have taken Iwo Jima (more than 6,000 deaths) or won World War II (more than 400,000 deaths).

Today's liberals would have invoked their now infamous strategy of "cutting and running" before the job was finished.

Likewise, Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Reagan could never have attained their current level of esteem by historians given such a rush to judgment.

We quickly forget Truman's unpopular and controversial decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan or the harsh criticism Reagan received regarding his tough stance against communism. Nevertheless, both actions by these embattled leaders were eventually successful.

Admittedly, Iraq is a different war in a different time. But the final judgment will be made by history, not by those pushing a particular political agenda or prematurely declaring a presidential obituary.

JACK SCALES
ROANOKE