Can Bush Ever Escape His Iraq Legacy?

First Read: “To be sure, Bush supporters tout his accomplishments, such as the No Child Left Behind education law, the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, the Africa/AIDS work, and the Roberts-Alito appointments to the Supreme Court. Other events — like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 financial crisis — would have challenged any president.”

“But it’s the Iraq War that Bush will find hard to escape. After all, it was a war of choice that resulted in the deaths of thousands of U.S. soldiers, the deaths of many more civilians, the destabilization of the Middle East (think Iran would be the threat it is today without the Iraq War?), and the election of Barack Obama in 2008 (who essentially campaigned against Bush in his two winning elections). More importantly, the war’s primary justification — Iraq having weapons of mass destruction — turned out to be incorrect.”