Goodbye George

As a record number of Americans plan to attend the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Hussain Obama on January 20, it's time to say goodbye to George W. Bush.

Love him or hate him, the man was after all an elected president of the United States of America and the leader of the free world for eight long years.

Most people around the world see him as America's failed president but in all fairness should the responsibility for his failure lie completely on his shoulders?

Let's not forget that his father's ambition for his eldest son helped George W. achieve the things that George senior expected of his son. And while he may have been a good son, brother, father, friend, businessman, baseball team manager and even governor, the question that arises here is: Did George W.'s arrival as the leader of the free world on the back of his father's immensely powerful old boys network actually do George W. the man, the people of the US and the world at large a disservice?

Also, shouldn't the American people take some responsibility for voting the man to power not once but twice?

I will not speak for the American people since they have acted already in voting for Barack Obama for president because they actually wanted to see real change.

But, I know that around the world George W. will be remembered for the failed war on terror after 9/11 (Bin Laden hasn't been captured yet), the failed war in Iraq (it's a bigger mess now than it ever was), the failed handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, his cavalier attitude to everything and, most of all, for the economic meltdown.

The US economy entered a recession in 2001 and continued its slide until it affected the whole world in December 2008.

It is known that some of the worst Oval Office calamities in US history were followed by the best presidents. I sincerely hope that that knowledge is not faulty because the new president now has the gigantic task of setting things right not just for the US but also for the rest of the world.

Obama's inauguration theme is "A new birth for freedom", a line from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address of November 19, 1863. The two-minute speech evokes the principles of human equality and is dedicated to the struggle for "government of the people, by the people and for the people". January 20 is also the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln and I hope that equality and democracy will stand a fighting chance under Obama's administration.

All said and done, while George W's supporters will forever claim that he was forever ‘misunderestimated' ,I will agree with a colleague who poignantly pointed out that we will all miss him for his "whoops" moments, his "I don't know" style and his gaffes. He really made us laugh, but boy does it hurt.