Editorial: Bush leaves behind a legacy of failure at home and abroad (Contra Costa Times)

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
Posted: 01/18/2009 12:00:00 AM PST

... Bush inherited unprecedented federal government surpluses from the Clinton administration and turned them into record-breaking deficits. Overall spending under much of the Bush administration accelerated at twice the pace it did under Clinton ...

Then there was Hurricane Katrina. True, there were mistakes at the local and state levels when the storm hit New Orleans. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency grossly bungled its rescue and clean up efforts.

The final year of the Bush administration has been marred with a historic economic collapse. There is plenty of blame to share among members of both parties in Congress. But much of the fault of lax oversight of financial institutions rests with the Bush administration.

As the Bush years fade into history, perhaps some of the lesser failures will be forgotten. But the waste of lives and treasure in Iraq, the abuses of civil liberties, the trillions of dollars of new federal debt and lost years in developing new sources of energy are likely to define the Bush presidency as one of lost opportunity and egregious missteps, foreign and domestic, by a leader who was out of touch with his times.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_11479828?nclick_check=1