I doubt that Karl Rove’s defense of Bush’s record will persuade many people who aren’t already fans of the President – though Rove is right that posterity may view Bush differently than we do today. Because it is mostly ineffective, I’m not going to comment on Rove’s essay in detail.
But I will say that it takes real chutzpah for Rove to praise Bush for “understand[ing that] free markets provide the best path to a more hopeful tomorrow,” while simultaneously praising Bush’s massive prescription drugs boondoggle. The Bush-sponsored 2003 prescription drug bill was the largest and most expensive new federal program in decades, and one that will be a millstone around all our necks for many years to come. And unfortunately the prescription drug plan was just the most egregious example of the Bush Administration’s predeliction for massive government spending – including spending completely unrelated to the war or counterterrorism activities.