EDITORIAL – The State of the Union, eight years later

“Accountability is incredibly important for the school systems. People shouldn’t fear… “Accountability is incredibly important for the school systems. People shouldn’t fear accountability, they ought to welcome an accountability system as a useful tool to make sure no child is left behind.” – President Bush, 2002

“Our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short-term.” – President Bush, 2002

“America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished.” – President Bush to U.S. troops, 2003

Here’s an education system in poor shape, a sorely weakened economy, a never-ending and unreasonable War on Iraq.

Against this backdrop, President Bush will deliver his final State of the Union Address on Monday. As his last and official farewell, many look forward to the speech as a celebratory event signaling the end of an era of one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. For almost eight years, the president has made promises and broken them, purported facts and been proven wrong, disenchanting the American people and leading the country down a disastrous road.

Recently, Bush secured a political, economic, cultural and military agreement with the Iraqi government. He also agreed to give the House of Representatives access to its wiretapping documents to save telecommunications companies that aided the Bush administration in wiretapping from civil lawsuits – all efforts to make last-minute impacts before he leaves office.

On Monday, President Bush will undoubtedly make a final attempt to try and save his already broken legacy. Through his cringe-worthy “Bushisms,” the president will make an effort to push his economic stimulus package, and he will certainly emphasize the growing threat that Iran poses as a state sponsor of terror.

But during his term in office, the president has not proven to us that he is a reliable and trustworthy leader. His last State of the Union Address, like the ones that preceded it, will be full of empty promises. Unfortunately, we have no reason to believe in what he has to say.

In many ways, Bush’s final address is irrelevant. As an essentially lame duck president, the most he can probably do is sit in the Oval Office and wait until January 2009, when the next president is sworn in.

We are, however, interested to see how he will recall his years as president. Will he paint a bright picture of America today? Or will he admit his past mistakes? Will he address the promises that he failed to keep? Will he try to make his final year as beneficial for the United States as possible?

And more importantly, how will America remember this president? When it comes to Iraq, we see an unnecessary war grounded in lies. When it comes to children, we see an education system that desperately needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and millions of kids without health care. When it comes to the economy, we see gross mismanagement and a deficit that keeps growing. When it comes to the environment, we see an inability to take necessary action to combat global warming.

The list goes on and on, only showing that the State of the Union is unhealthy and the president’s legacy is not one to be proud of.