Goodbye George Bush, It's Been Awful

George Bush has less than a week left in office. Finally, at long last, his reign of sheer incompetence and criminal stupidity has come to an end. I, however, have been likened in the past few weeks to a child who has had her favourite toy taken away, bereft of my favourite pastime. Indeed, railing against the many mistakes of George Bush has become the staple in my life, much like rice or potatoes in the lives of others. I worry sometimes that Barack Obama is much too placid, moderate, calm and unlikely to make the monumental mistakes that one has come to expect from the White House in America. While that may be a good thing for America, and most of the world in general, for those that have made a life out of skewering the American President, it presents a serious issue. I imagine Jon Stewart and Jay Leno sympathise.

In his last days, George Bush has sparked many comments, some close to sympathetic, most not. He has also chosen to launch a farewell tour, like Cher, giving interviews to any idiot that will place a microphone in front of him. In these interviews, we have not seen a contrite or a saddened Bush. We have instead been witness to someone who refuses to acknowledge his failures as such, and who still believes that he will be judged well by history. He comes off as a rather avuncular, genial figure, cracking jokes about the press 'misunderestimating' him.

Around the world, Bush's last days seem closer to Armageddon, or a bad horror movie. Israel has launched a disproportionate offensive against Hamas in Gaza, killing more than a 1000 people, more than a third of those being children. The United States has done little to prevent this, and even abstained from an UNSC vote to condemn the attack. Zimbabwe is in a position where if it imploded and collapsed into the sea, it will be amongst the least tragic things that could happen to that country. The financial world, led by the United States, has all but collapsed. Russia, Iran and Pakistan are all baring their teeth. There is still more than one genocide on in Africa. Al-Qaeda still exists, and has managed to spread its tentacles into Pakistan, while Osama Bin Laden is very much alive, living in relative luxury in a cave somewhere. The once seemingly invulnerable Indian and Chinese economies, rather than picking up the slack for the rest of the world, are strained. South America is still a hotbed for drug and gang activity. Human trafficking is still major business in many parts of the world, and children are still prostitutes.

For all of this, George Bush is at least in part to blame. Which is why I don't think he should be allowed to slink away like a thief at night. I think he should be held responsible, I think he should be made an example of. He can claim incompetence and stupidity only up until a certain point. People should be made to feel the consequences of making the world so much worse. And while we are at it, Dick Cheney should be shot, if it will help Jon Stewart and Jay Leno, we could get the guy who Cheney shot in the ass to do it.

So, here's the thing, jokes apart, the world is a much worse place than it was in the year 2000. While all the problems that we face can not be placed at Dubya's doorstep, many of them can. And no one who has done that much wrong, whether out of sheer idiocy, or out of wilful malice, should be allowed to get away with it. On that note, however, let me say, Goodbye George Bush, it's been awful.