Bush leaves behind war in Iraq, weak dollar

Poor handling of Hurricane Katrina crisis and close relations with Vladimir Putin, whose policy is not enjoyed by Americans, are to blame for George W. Bush’s low popularity in the United States. Gallup said last spring that George Bush Jr. was named the least popular president over the 20-year history of Gallup polls. Bush is backed by 34 percent of voters, while 98 percent of American historians describe Bush’s time in office as failure.

Jeremy Shapiro, Director of the Europe-US Center at the Brooking Institute, says: “Europeans are receiving Bush while waiting for Obama or McCain to take over”. At the same time, there is an impression that George Bush Jr. has decided to say a friendly farewell to his European “cousins”. He will meet Angela Merkel, Silvio Berlusconi, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy, Pope Benedict XVI and others.

The European Radio for Belarus talked to Uladzimir Matskevich, a Minsk-based political commentator, to evaluate Bush’s years in office from the Belarusian point of view. What legacy is the US president leaving behind?

Uladzimir Matskevich: “He is leaving behind the unfinished war in Iraq. Perhaps, this war was inevitable, but it will be associated with the name of Bush anyway. Secondly, America has seen its international image damaged, because Bush gave reasons to be mocked as an ordinary man with mistakes and weaknesses. Thirdly, he is leaving the US dollar at record lows. I think that some people will keep supporting Bush in the future, because he was containing terrorism and supporting democracy and young democratic countries and fighting dictatorships. With regard to Belarus, a lot has been done, not without mistakes, though.

What is your stance towards the US plans to deploy the elements of the anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic?

Matskevich: “Russia used to (pause) and remains a rather aggressive neighbor. Czechs and Poles should understand that. It is impossible to do without some deterring measures”.