Time for Him to Go

[Teacher Mark 53]

By GAIL COLLINS

Published: November 22, 2008

Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning.

Seriously. We have an economy that’s crashing and a vacuum at the top. Bush — who is currently on a trip to Peru to meet with Asian leaders who no longer care what he thinks — hasn’t got the clout, or possibly even the energy, to do anything useful. His most recent contribution to resolving the fiscal crisis was lecturing representatives of the world’s most important economies on the glories of free-market capitalism.

Putting Barack Obama in charge immediately isn’t impossible. ####### Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We’re desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she’d defer to her party’s incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing.

As a bonus, the Pelosi presidency would put a woman in the White House this year after all. On the downside, a few right-wing talk-show hosts might succumb to apoplexy. That would, of course, be terrible, but I’m afraid we might have to take the risk in the name of a greater good.

Can I see a show of hands? How many people want George W. out and Barack in?

A great many Americans have been counting the days all year on their 2008 George W. Bush Out of Office Countdown calendars. I know a lot of this has been going on because so many people congratulated me when the Feb. 1 Bush quote turned out to be from one of my old columns. (“I think we need not only to eliminate the tollbooth from the middle class, I think we should knock down the tollbooth.”)

This was not nearly as good as Feb. 5 (“We ought to make the pie higher”) or Feb. 21 (“I understand small business growth. I was one.”) But we do what we can.

In the past, presidents have not taken well to suggestions that they hand over the reins before the last possible minute. Senator J. William Fulbright suggested a plan along those lines when Harry Truman was coming to the end of a term in a state of deep unpopularity, and Truman called him “Halfbright” for the rest of his life. Bush might not love the idea of quitting before he has a chance to light the Christmas tree or commute the execution of one last presidential turkey. After all, he still has a couple more trips planned. And last-minute regulations to issue. (So many national parks to despoil, so many endangered species to exterminate ... .) And then there’s all the packing.

On the other hand, he might want to consider his legacy, such as it is.

In happier days, Bush may have nurtured hopes of making it into the list of America’s mediocre presidents, but somewhere between Iraq and Katrina, that goal became a mountain too high. However, he might still have a chance to avoid the absolute bottom of the barrel, a spot currently occupied by James Buchanan, at least in my opinion. Buchanan nailed down The Worst President title in the days between Abraham Lincoln’s election and inauguration, when the Southern states began seceding and Buchanan, after a little flailing about, did absolutely nothing. “Doing nothing is almost the worst thing a president can do,” said the historian Michael Beschloss.

If Bush gives up doing nothing by giving up his job, it’s possible that someday history might elevate him to the ranks of the below average. Better than Franklin Pierce! Smarter than Warren Harding! And healthier than William Henry Harrison!

The person who would like this plan least probably would be Barack Obama. Who would want to be saddled with the auto industry’s problems ahead of schedule? The heads of America’s great carmaking corporations are so dim that they couldn’t even survive hearings run by members of Congress who actually wanted to help them. Really, when somebody asks you exactly how much money you need, the answer should not be something along the line of “a whole bunch.”

An instantaneous takeover would also ruin the Obama team’s plan to have the tidiest, best-organized presidential transition in history. Cutting it short and leaping into governing would turn their measured march toward power into a mad scramble. A lot of their Cabinet picks are still working on those 62-page questionnaires.

But while there’s been no drama with Obama, we’ve been living a Technicolor version of “The Perils of Pauline.” Detroit is tied to the railroad tracks and the train is coming! California’s state government is falling into the sea! The way we’re going now, by the time the inauguration rolls around, unemployment will be at 10 percent and the Dow will be at 10.

Time for a change.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/opinion/22collins.html?em

Edited November 24, 2008 by Joe Six-Pack

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

OH plz, just keep him in for 1 1/2 more months. Gas prices are going down and I like that. Let it be...

[IAMX 3,055]

I just want to see George out. I'm pretty sure any other chimp from the Harvard-wanna-be-flaming-redneck circus could do far better, both at being President and at acting like a redneck.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

OH plz, just keep him in for 1 1/2 more months. Gas prices are going down and I like that. Let it be...

Are you suggesting that Bush is responsible for bringing the gas prices down? He actually might be but only to the extent that he's responsible for the crashing economy. I'd rather have the economy getting back on track soon. ** a few pennies at the pump.

For the record, Bush's overall impact on gas prices is that they went up from 1.19/gal when he took office to whatever they'll be come the long awaited Jan 20, 2009.

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

Great job President Bush, would've loved to see you run the world for another 8 years.

[Teacher Mark 53]

Great job President Bush, would've loved to see you run the world for another 8 years.

You tell him Shpat!

[Shpat_Argjira 0]

This new guy Obama is a fluke.

[britty 1]

OH plz, just keep him in for 1 1/2 more months. Gas prices are going down and I like that. Let it be...

Are you suggesting that Bush is responsible for bringing the gas prices down? He actually might be but only to the extent that he's responsible for the crashing economy. I'd rather have the economy getting back on track soon. ** a few pennies at the pump.

For the record, Bush's overall impact on gas prices is that they went up from 1.19/gal when he took office to whatever they'll be come the long awaited Jan 20, 2009.

It just pure comedy

[Ban Hammer 13,656]

OH plz, just keep him in for 1 1/2 more months. Gas prices are going down and I like that. Let it be...

Are you suggesting that Bush is responsible for bringing the gas prices down? He actually might be but only to the extent that he's responsible for the crashing economy. I'd rather have the economy getting back on track soon. ** a few pennies at the pump.

For the record, Bush's overall impact on gas prices is that they went up from 1.19/gal when he took office to whatever they'll be come the long awaited Jan 20, 2009.

i don't see the president being responsible for them going up or down.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

OH plz, just keep him in for 1 1/2 more months. Gas prices are going down and I like that. Let it be...

Are you suggesting that Bush is responsible for bringing the gas prices down? He actually might be but only to the extent that he's responsible for the crashing economy. I'd rather have the economy getting back on track soon. ** a few pennies at the pump.

For the record, Bush's overall impact on gas prices is that they went up from 1.19/gal when he took office to whatever they'll be come the long awaited Jan 20, 2009.

i don't see the president being responsible for them going up or down.

Right. At least not directly. The post I replied to seemed to suggest that keeping Bush in the White House longer would make the gas prices go down more. That's nonsense.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

OH plz, just keep him in for 1 1/2 more months. Gas prices are going down and I like that. Let it be...

Are you suggesting that Bush is responsible for bringing the gas prices down? He actually might be but only to the extent that he's responsible for the crashing economy. I'd rather have the economy getting back on track soon. ** a few pennies at the pump.

For the record, Bush's overall impact on gas prices is that they went up from 1.19/gal when he took office to whatever they'll be come the long awaited Jan 20, 2009.

It just pure comedy

I know britty. The buck doesn't stop in the oval office if Bush is the one occupying it.

[alienlovechild 75]

An article about truncating Bush's Constitutional reign in favor of hastening the rise of the Messiah from Chicago- hmmm. First, most of the current crisis of confidence comes from the collapse of the housing industry. I've said it before but Obama managed to have a prominent hand (number 2 in campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie) in crafting housing policy with other key Democrats in destroying $11 trillion dollars in a financial cascade effect. Now, the answer is not to just give Obama the untested more money to trump Bush's bailout but to do so before January 20th. I don't think Obama's mere presence or that of his economic advisors is going to do jack since his election hasn't led to any more confidence in the market so far.

Obama- Change nobody believes in and can't afford.

[HAL 9000 96]

yawn

[britty 1]

An article about truncating Bush's Constitutional reign in favor of hastening the rise of the Messiah from Chicago- hmmm. First, most of the current crisis of confidence comes from the collapse of the housing industry. I've said it before but Obama managed to have a prominent hand (number 2 in campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie) in crafting housing policy with other key Democrats in destroying $11 trillion dollars in a financial cascade effect. Now, the answer is not to just give Obama the untested more money to trump Bush's bailout but to do so before January 20th. I don't think Obama's mere presence or that of his economic advisors is going to do jack since his election hasn't led to any more confidence in the market so far.

Obama- Change nobody believes in and can't afford.

too true ALC

[IAMX 3,055]

Too true. That's why the people voted for him.

Edited November 24, 2008 by SRVT