George W. Bush. US president: January 20, 2001 – January 19, 2009. Born of privilege. Unimpressive by every measure. A history of underachievement. Chosen by big money. Arranged through electoral fraud. Installed by the Supreme Court. Empowered by a dubious "terrorist" act, and ending with a record unmatched by the worst of his predecessors. Assessing the Bush legacy – from its illegitimate birth; through its lawless, belligerent years; to the world potentially on the brink at its end. Exploring it fully as a change of command approaches, and an unenviable task awaits the new incumbent.

 

As Texas Governor

 

Looking to Election 2000, big monied interests knew what they wanted and got it in George W. Bush. In his 2000 book, "The Dirty Truth," Rick Abraham (a former Texas environmental law enforcement officer) documented his record as Texas governor from 1995 – 2000 when "he championed the agenda of the state’s biggest and worst corporate polluters," according to commentator, author, and former Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower. In return for huge political contributions and jump-starting his presidential bid, he:

 

— lobbied for a national radioactive waste dump in Texas;

 

— told the public it was mostly for x-rays and other hospital waste;

 

— solicited nuclear power waste from other states;

 

— corrupted the state’s environmental standards to accommodate polluters;

 

— failed to provide protection from industrial pollution, air toxins, and hazardous wastes;

 

— did it all secretly;

 

— stripped municipalities of local control over land use and environmental protections;

 

— let state parks languish in decay and disrepair, and this was only his environmental record.

 

He was staunchly pro-business, anti-civil liberties, unresponsive to public needs, and presided over more state executions than any other governor in the nation since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. His own aides at the time called him a man who enjoys killing, and not one to trust with the presidency as it turned out.

 

Elections 2000 and 2004 – Tainted by Fraud

 

On December 12, 2000 the Supreme Court hijacked an electoral process that was deeply flawed and rigged to elect George Bush. It coronated him president after three days earlier halting the Florida vote recount on  the spurious grounds that it violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. It was the first time ever in US history that the High Court reversed a popular vote (5 – 4) to install its own preferred candidate.

 

For its part, the media cheerled the process and wholeheartedly approved. They, too, got their man in Washington. The rallied around him ever since, ignored his high crimes and misdemeanors, the economy in disarray, and continue to support him in spite of his lowest-ever approval rating for any president. He  surpassed Harry Truman at the depth of the Korean War and Richard Nixon during Watergate, and will be judged by history as our worst and most disgraceful president ever.

 

Election 2000 made it possible. Investigative journalists like Greg Palast documented how mostly poor African- Americans and Latinos were removed from voter roles for having falsely been "identified" as ex-felons and thus unable to vote in states like Florida. Various other obstructions were also used. Ballot boxes in African-American districts were missing and uncounted. State troopers were positioned near polling sites in black precincts to intimidate and delay voters by searching their cars and setting up roadblocks. Some precincts demanded two photo IDs. Florida law requires only one.

 

African-American students at schools like Florida A&M signed up in force as first-time voters but were obstructed at polling stations. They were turned away because they couldn’t show a registration card or drivers license. However, Florida

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