8 years of Bush finally ends

I'm 32 now, so in my lifetime, I've gone through the following US Presidents.

1. Gerald Ford, the man who helped restore dignity to the office of President after the chequered career of Richard Nixon.

2. Jimmy Carter. A decent man, but circumstances went against him, despite knowledge and wisdom. He was perceived as weak by both the Soviets and the Middle east. As a former President his record has been excellent however.

3. Ronald Reagan. He was inspirational in facing down the Soviet Union. Over the course of 8 years he restored Americas self confidence. On the downside, on the economic side he was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster, and left behind a deeply fragmented society.

4. George Bush Snr. The Bush Family legacy in US politics and business is one of cronyism, self interest, and recession that would make John Major, Charles Haughey, Mahathir, Ahmed Badawi, Thaksin Shinawatra, and the Lee family in the little red dot appear honest. His son carries on that ignoble legacy. Its a disgrace that they are even naming an Aircraft Carrier after this man. USS George H W Bush.

5. Bill Clinton. I cannot praise this man enough. Give me a man who gets a blowjob in the oval office to the hypocritical Bible Basher that followed. He also gets enormous credit for good economic management, foreign relations (with the screwup of Yugoslavia excepted), and for helping the peace process in Northern Ireland he gets my credit.

6. George W Bush, or Dubya. I was in Antigua when he won, and Americans winced, the world cringed at the debacle in Florida. He then won again in 2004, but John Kerry had the charisma of a wet blanket, a parallel of Dukakis in his fathers time. After 8 long years of seeing Americas name dragged through the mud. After 8 long years of seeing freedom reduced, airline travel become more restrictive and unpleasant. After 8 long years of corruption, mismanagement and cronyism unparralleled since the era of Calvin Coolidge back in the 1920's, the world finally breathes a deep sigh of relief.

So lets pray that Barack Hussein Obama is lucky Number 7 in my lifetime.

Meanwhile, that reminds me. Next time I am in Ireland, I am heading up to Charles Haugheys grave in Glasnevin cemetary. I need to urinate. Badly.