The legacy of George W. Bush

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-16-2009 16:11

Pledging limited governance, he leaves behind a startling level of economic intervention. Promising a humble foreign policy, he exits after launching wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. HE is George Walker Bush, the 43rd president of the United States.

U.S. President George W. Bush walks from the podium in the  White House East Room at the end of his prime time live  television address to the nation in Washington January  15, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

As he enters his final days in the White House, we look at what the president leaves behind. Recession, war, and the now infamous Iraqi shoe attack.

For a president who toppled Saddam Hussein, this seems like a huge insult.

But for people around the world, the moment depicted President Bush and the legacy he left behind.

40 days after the Iraq invasion in 2003, Bush declared "mission accomplished". Years later, the president admits he made a mistake.

George W. Bush, US President, said, “Clearly, putting a ‘Mission accomplished’ on an aircraft carrier was a mistake. It sent the wrong message. Not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment.”

The regret came too late to save the lives of more than 4,200 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. And it came too late to save Bush's plummeting popularity.

After the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, Bush's popularity hit 90 percent in an opinion poll. Three months before leaving office it was 25 percent.