Is George Bush The Worst President In America's History?

As the Presidential elections begin to enter the home straight we can take a look at the legacy of eight years of the GW Bush presidency. The popular image of a buffoon in the Oval Office does not necessarily do justice to President Bush. To get a fair assessment we need to look at the evidence and then draw our conclusions. After all an inability to string sentences together is not necessarily an indication of poor statesmanship. This week's Independent www.theindepndent.co.nz
published a very interesting ledger weighing up the legacy of the GW Bush years.

The view of America held by foreigners fell from 58% favourable in January 2001 to 39% favourable in January 2008. But what do non-Americans know about the US? Of more importance is how the Bush Presidency impacted the daily lives of ordinary Americans. The cost of health premiums increased from $US6230 per year to $US12,106 per year; household income actually fell by $1,100. Personal savings rates fell 0.5% compared to an increase of 2.3% to January 2001.

Beyond the household and from the nation's perspective Real GDP growth had been 4% to January 2001 when Bush came into office. Over the past seven years GDP has increased by just 2.6%. The Budget balance went from a $US431bn surplus over the previous three budgets to a $US734 deficit over the previous three budgets in January 2008. National debt increased from $US 5.7trillion to $US 9.2trillion. The number of Americans living in poverty rose from 31.6million to 36.5million.

There are a host of other statistics on the costs of college, price of petrol and the number of new private sector jobs created which all point to a real failure under the watch of the Bush Administration. Sounds like a time for change.

Obama Streets Ahead on Iraq and Education

A very useful summary of the US Presidential candidates positions on major policy issues has been developed by Associated press www.kansascity.com/445/story/765614.html

On the key matter of Iraq Senator McCain: "Opposes scheduling a troop withdrawal, saying latest strategy is succeeding. Supported decision to go to war, but was early critic of the manner in which administration prosecuted it. Was key backer of the troop increase. Willing to have permanent U.S. peacekeeping forces in Iraq."

In contrast Senator Obama: "Spoke against war at start, opposed troop increase. Voted against one major military spending bill in May 2007; otherwise voted in favor of money to support the war. Says his plan would complete withdrawal of combat troops in 16 months. Initially had said a timetable for completing withdrawal would be irresponsible without knowing what facts he'd face in office."

On Education Senator McCain: "Favors parental choice of schools, including vouchers for private schools when approved by local officials, and right of parents to choose home schooling. More money for community college education."

In contrast Senator Obama: "Encourage but not require universal pre-kindergarten programs, expand teacher-mentoring programs and reward teachers with higher pay not tied to standardized test scores, in $18 billion plan to be paid for in part by delaying elements of moon and Mars missions. Change No Child Left Behind law "so that we're not just teaching to a test and crowding out programs like art and music." Tax credit to pay up to $4,000 of college expenses for students who perform 100 hours of community service a year."

Port Nicholson Settlement - A Major Contribution to Justice

The Port Nicholson Block Claims Team have signed a Deed of Settlement with the Crown settling all the historical Treaty claims of Taranaki Whānui at a ceremony at Wellington’s Pipitea Marae.

Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika is a collective that comprises people from a number of Taranaki iwi whose ancestors migrated to Wellington in the 1820s and 30s and signed the Port Nicholson Block Deed of Purchase in 1839.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Michael Cullen said the signing was an important milestone in the relationship between the Crown and iwi in New Zealand’s capital city.

The settlement package includes:

· an historical account, Crown acknowledgements of historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles, a Crown apology, and the innovation of a Statement of forgiveness from Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika to the Crown;

· a cultural redress package featuring the transfer of a number of sites of cultural significance to Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, including the three islands in Wellington Harbour, with public access rights preserved; and

· a quantum of $25.025 million, as well as the opportunity to purchase a number of Crown properties in Wellington city and the surrounding region.


Dr Cullen deserves full credit for settling this claim and for leading the way in beginning a healing process to enable iwi to move forward.

Biden Adds Foreign Policy Strength to Obama Ticket

Senator Obama's decision to have Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate will add further gravitas to the Democratic ticket in the US elections this November. Biden is one of America's longest serving Senator's, with two presidential races behind him (1988 and 2008),and immense foreign policy expertise. In choosing Biden Obama has added experience to his youth, an insider's knowledge to his reputation as an anti-establishment figure, and international relations expertise to Obama's domestic policy background. It will be interesting to see the next few polls comparing McCain to Obama - given this latest news.

Time for Wellington To Grow

Recent statistics on staff numbers show that there has been significant growth in public service jobs. This makes Wellington vulnerable to any major staff reductions in the public sector should there be any significant change to government spending in the near term. Wellington needs to develop additonal sources of growth and employment in the private sector. As many investors are finding at to their cost - it pays to diversify.

Economies of scale are well and good but we need to balance the idea of concentrating development in the CBD. From a strategic perspective having all our facilities concentrated around the CBD leaves us vulnerable in the event of an earthquake.

In an age when carbon-based transport is likely to become more expensive we need to consider alternatives. Light rail, broadband, teleworking are all concepts worth exploring. If the city is going to prosper and grow then we need to be open to the outside world and market ourselves globally. We need to attract the people and the capital to invest in modern infrastructure and we need to sell high value products and services in the global marketplace. Perhaps its time to dust off the proposal for a hi-tech business park in the northern suburbs?