Now that the 43rd president of the United States has packed his things and officially left the building, I can’t help but wonder what the liberal media will do with all of its free time, which was previously spent trashing George W. Bush on every front. Even in his last days in office, the man who dedicated eight years of his life to serving this country’s highest post was still treated with absolute disdain by the press and by the far-left.

I’m convinced the media and far-left activists are actually sad to see him go because they will have to come up with a new story line other than, “Bush lied, people died.”

In the past few years, Bush, noted by White House insiders and personal acquaintances closest to him, was known for his loyalty to his friends and staff. Now, he has seen former confidantes turn against him in attempts to capitalize on the national Bush bashing epidemic. Talk about kicking somebody when they are already down.

When I reflect back on what former President Bush’s legacy should be, I think first of the character traits that defined his administration more than any policy, foreign or domestic. Former President Bush governed based on his values and principles, obviously not by any opinion polls, and for that, at the very least, he should be commended.

Bush never succumbed to the pressure he faced by opposition to pull out of Iraq because he believed in the strength of the U.S. military and the perseverance of the Iraqi people to succeed in a war that could have been declared (as was already being declared by the Democrats) a winless war for democracy.

At the time, even I questioned Bush’s sanity for wanting to pump another 20,000 U.S. troops into bloody Baghdad. But Bush succeeded.

Miraculously, the general U.S. sentiment a little over a year after the surge began was that the surge was a genuine success in securing the nation.

However, some on the left refuse to accept this step forward and insist on continually rehashing the motives for going into Iraq in the first place.

Playing the “if we knew then what we know now” game, I do not think President Bush would have committed to going to war at all.

But knowing that our own intelligence and various foreign intelligence was all pointing towards weapons of mass destruction, I don’t know how he would have slept at night if he did not do something drastic.

Regardless, the world is safer without Saddam Hussein in power, and the world has the United States regime, and George W. Bush, to thank.

The Bush presidency defined itself on Sept. 11, 2001, when it made the commitment to stand up and fight the global war on terrorism at full force. I believe that every single policy decision made after this date, the Iraq War included, was made with the primary purpose of securing the nation from future terrorist attacks. Again, Bush succeeded.

No matter what you think of Bush, we all have him to thank for saving us from feeling that gut-wrenching emotion experienced that Sept. 11 morning yet again.

Bush’s policy to fight the war on terrorism abroad before it could affect us again here was a bold but necessary step to protect the country from further tragedy.

George W. Bush made this, and other difficult decisions, based purely on his convictions to do the right thing to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and not to appease Congressional Democrats and the liberal media.

With one of the largest approval rating spreads in history emerging during his tenure, peaking at roughly 86 percent and bottoming out at 22 percent, Bush’s story has a long way to go before being popularly considered a successful presidency, but I am confident that in time that conclusion will eventually come.

After eight years, I know I am not the first person to thank Bush for his service to the office and his outstanding protection of our country and can only hope that I am not the last.

Lynne is a senior in Business and still has a signed Bush-Cheney 2000 sign hanging in her room.