By the time you read this, there will be less than 100 hours left in the presidency of W. 100. Feel that number. Savor it. Many of us have been waiting for these gleeful last days since the waking moments of November 5, 2004, when a beaming Karl Rove announced that W had pulled off a second victory. Not that I should necessarily call these days gleeful. W’s administration has ruined the country fiscally (-$1.2 trillion), economically (Wall Street & the world), reputationally (Internationally, only 10 percent think US is trustworthy), and literally (New Orleans). 151,000 civilians lie dead in Iraq. 7.2 percent sit unemployed in America. The kindest possible description I can think of for W’s tenure is a failed experiment in neo-conservatism. The worst: the abuse and neglect of America and the world around it by a yo-yo president with special interests at his back. In the afterglow of 9/11, with patriotism and national unity at a high not seen since the end of WWII, W took America like a fool, starting his advances with the Patriot Act, which met only weak resistence, then pressing further with overt fearmongering and lies regarding terrorism and WMD’s, and finally climaxing in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Even as his contempt for the law became increasingly blatant, with the acquittal of Scooter Libby and the U.S. Attorneys Dismissal Scandal, people just shook their heads and cracked “pretzel-choker” jokes. There were few protests, most of which were sparsely attended; European cities gathered protest crowds twice as large as American ones and regularly. Instead of a horror show, the presidency became some sort of outrageous sitcom, with W taking it one step further every week, but always escaping any serious consequences. At Andover, of course, it is impossible to discuss W without remembering that he went to Phillips Academy, class of 1964. In many ways, he was the quintessential Andover student: born into a wealthy Connecticut family, well liked, athletic, and a future Yale and Harvard attendee. The Andover he went to was, of course, a much different place: no girls, few minorities, and very few lower- or even middle-class boys. It is hard to say whether or not Andover had an impact on him; however, judging by many of his comments at white-tie fundraisers, respect and humility were not something taught at the Andover of old (“This is an impressive crowd—the haves and the have-mores. Some call you the elite. I call you my base.” -2000). What could have gone differently if W had attended Andover in 2009, rather than back then? Let’s see. He would have heard Chris Albani’s gripping, first hand accounts of the human cost of torture, and may have tried harder to protect, or at least acknowledge, the rights of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps he would have apologized outright for the depraved and inhumane Abu Ghraib abuses, rather than just presenting tepid expressions of remorse. He would have been subject to the relentless ASM speeches and Academy- wide initiatives regarding global warming and environmental protection. Perhaps here he would have learned to value the Earth, and thought twice before having his administration pass more than 400 new environmental motions, undoing the work of the last 40 years. The Phillipian was around when he was, but he never wrote for it. If he had, he may have had more respect for the press, thinking twice before classifying documents of the public record, staging FEMA press conferences and lying to the press outright. Urged on by classmates and teachers, he may have attended a Café or Women’s Forum meeting, where he would have learned basic respect for women, hopefully averting the infamous impromptu backrub he gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the G8 summit. CAMD would have taught him a lot of things, such as how open elitism affects one’s public image. And as a Lower, he would have attended PACE class, where he would have learned about the dangers of alcohol abuse, and maybe spared his self-admitted “battle” with alcohol. George W. Bush will leave an indelible mark on Andover’s otherwise immaculate record as the most unloved Academy graduate of all time (and that includes George Sr., Scooter Libby, and Bill Belichick). However, his conduct during his presidency is an indicator of the great progress this fine institution has made over the last 40 years. Let us hope never again to send another W out into the world, and rather instill each and every student with enough goodness to control their power. Bijan Torabi is a 3-year Upper from Andover, Mass. btorabi@andover.edu
