Going Out With Guns Blazing

President Bush must have a great deal of confidence in whoever the president elect will become. The bleak economic situation America is facing as well as a continued war in Iraq seem not to pose a big enough challenge to whichever candidate will come to power in the November 4th election. To make the job truly challenging, American troops launched an attack on a target within Syrian borders. Syria has aided the United States on it's borders with Iraq. In the last month Syria has been particullary co-operative. Though the details on the attack are still hazy it is believed that special operations ground forces and possibly helicopters entered Syrian borders and launched an attack on a building believed to be harboring millitants. During the attack there were no American Casualties though 8 were killed including 4 children. This attack not only came at a surprising time (given recent Syrian cooperation as well as the proximity to the election) but also poses a significant danger to the shaky base on which an American presence can be maintained in Iraq. Some writers, both domestic and abroad, are touting this attack as a final play by Bush to anger Syria with whom he was at ends for many years.

Bush meets with the President Sirleaf of future international powerhouse Liberia

On October 22nd President Bush met with President Sirleaf to discuss their countries' relationship. Though they seemed quite cordial to each other, i felt that the two presidents were in a bragging competition. Bush talked about Liberia's bright future but was not scared to say that Liberia was in need of the United States's help. President Sirleaf then shot back at Bush and talked about the strength of Liberia and how it was growing ever stronger. In the midst of the economic crisis currently going on in the US, Sirleaf's comments were a slap in the face. As President Sirleaf stated "We've been able to put our economic and financial house in order; tackle our debt; begin to rebuild our infrastructure; put our children back into school; bring some water and electricity to a country that hasn't had it for over two decades. And so we're just so thankful for the encouragement, the support that we received from you.". Though they have received our support I don't think that will stop them from conquering us. Watch out America, here comes Liberia.

Summit Meeting

The current economic crisis has extended beyond the bordered of the United States. Indeed the entire global economy is being brought down. President Bush has called for a meeting of the leaders of twenty major countries whose economies have been effected by the current economic hardship. The leaders will meet on November 15th in Washington D.C.. The date of this meeting is extreemly interesting. President Bush will, bearing polling fraud and controversy, know who his successor is to be. President Bush said that he will involve the president elect heavily in the meeting however neither Obama nor McCain has said that they will attend and participate if elected.

Bush Signs Andean Trade Preference Act Extension

This week, on October 16th, Bush signed the Andean Trade Preference Act Extension in order to promote economic growth in the Western Hemisphere. Like he has done in many other speeches in which he addresses the bills he has signed or plans to sign, Bush commended the legislative branch on its bipartisan voting practices. Bush states that "Now that members of Congress have ensured duty-free access for American -- South American products entering our markets, they also need to ensure duty-free access for U.S. products entering South American markets. Congress has a good opportunity to take a step in that direction by approving our free trade agreement with Colombia." Bush claims that 90 percent of Colombian products that are exported to America, not counting the drugs of course, are completely duty free but there is still the problem of the high tariffs on the American goods being exported into Colombia. When Congress comes back to Washington Bush hopes that this, along with similar agreements with Panama and South Korea, will be one of their priorities. He believes that these agreements will strengthen America's relationship with its allies while also benefitting the economy of said allies. 

Bush Trys to Boost Confidence of Americans

President Bush, while considered by many to be a lame duck, is not fading from the face of politics. The President has been very busy in the last few days. On Monday he welcomed Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi to tour the United States. Italy has been one of the more committed European nations in the War on Terror. Bush took an interesting approach to instill confidence into the Economy. On Wednesday Bush had two meeting to deal with he financial crisis. The first was with his cabinet which included the presence of Secretary Paulson. The President acknowledged that extraordinary action had been taken in order to resolve what he deemed "an extraordinary situation". After seeking the advice of his cabinet Bush addressed the people of Ada, Michigan. Staying true to the average American attitude which arguably got him elected, met with the people in a local deli. He responded to questions posed and attempted to instill faith of average Americans that the economy will fully recover. Bush has had some fun recently however. On Tuesday afternoon he invited the Detroit Red Wings to a celebration in honor of their Stanley Cup victory last season.

Bush Discusses Economy with G7 Leaders

Today, George W. Bush met with the G7 Financial Ministers(Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan) at the White House to discuss the state of the US and World economies. With all of the many actions the United Sates has taken in the past few weeks, including the Wall Street Bailout, to push the country out of a rescission, it was important for President Bush and Secretary of the Treasury Paulson to explain the United States' plan.

Bush stated that

"In my country, it is important for our citizens to have understood that which affects Wall Street affects Main Street as well. And all of us recognize that this is a serious global crisis and, therefore, requires a serious global response for the good of our people. We resolve to continue our strong efforts to return our economies to the path of stability and long-term growth. "

Source:http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081011-2.html

Election Update

In terms of the election, Bush has stayed out of the news in the past few weeks. He has not spoken much about the campaign, possibly realizing that any association may damage the campaign. The actions Bush is taking to pull the economy out of recession and talk to global leaders could help to improve the image of the Republican Party, but it may be too late in the game. Stay tuned

Bush signs United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act

Today, on October, 8th 2008, his majesty, President Bush,  signed the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act. For the past three years Prime Minister Singh, of India, and President Bush have been working on this such agreement as a way for both nations to cooperate on nuclear energy. Bush believes that this agreement will strengthen global nonproliferation efforts and reduce the danger of nuclear proliferation around the world. Bush believes that "this agreement sends a signal to the world: Nations that follow the path of democracy and responsible behavior will find a friend in the United Staes of America." This statement was followed by a large applause. During this Speech, Bush also talked about the benefits of nuclear energy while thanking his fellow government officials including a women who seems to hate him with a passion, Nancy Pelosi. He also thanked the Foreign Affairs Committee, which just happens to have Senator and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden as a member.

To see the full transcript of this speech go to: whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081008-4.html