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Remember him? Bush begins Middle East tour

"He is the forgotten leader, scorned by his people, disowned by his party. This week George Bush has a last chance to undo the damage done by his presidency as he begins a Middle East tour

Voters in the United States may have switched their attention to the contest to find his successor, but George Bush will embark on an ambitious nine-day tour of the Middle East tomorrow in a last desperate effort to salvage a legacy from two terms in office overshadowed by a catastrophic foreign policy that has earned him the distinction of being one of the worst presidents in the country's history.

The Bush legacy will not be peace in the Middle East nor an end to conflict in Iraq, but it could be a political earthquake among voters so dismayed by the mess he has made of America's foreign policy and fearful of economic recession that they are deserting his party in droves.

As he prepares to board a plane for Israel and wrap himself in the tattered flag of victory in Iraq, Mr Bush's real legacy to the American people is evident in the disillusionment on display in New Hampshire. Enraged Republicans are switching sides to support the Democrat Barack Obama. Others are backing Mike Huckabee, the maverick Christian conservative hopeful. Both triumphed in the Iowa caucuses on a platform of "change".

So begins a piece in The Independent. Read the full article here. Meanwhile, over at the IHT, Mark A. Heller a director of research at the Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv University, reflects on the whole Bush trip and what, if anything, it might achieve:

"If Bush truly wants his nine-day excursion to the Middle East to make a difference, he should consider going to a place that is not on his announced itinerary - Iran.

With all the hoopla surrounding primary elections, it's sometimes difficult to remember that George W. Bush is still president of the United States. One good way for him to remind people of that fact is to go on a foreign trip.

After all, the president retains his authority, especially in foreign and defense affairs, until his last day in office, and high-level, high-profile meetings with other world leaders are a potent signal that incumbency still matters. So it is not surprising that Bush is following in the footsteps of others in the last lap of their presidencies - not just lame ducks like Bill Clinton but even dead ducks like Richard Nixon.

Still, as Bush embarks on a nine-day excursion that will take him to seven different destinations in the Middle East and the Gulf, there is good reason to wonder if this trip is really necessary. There are no major agreements to sign, no negotiations needing only a final presidential push to succeed, not even - barring an unannounced detour to Iraq - any troops to be visited and praised. And given the nature of a traveling president's retinue - hundreds of advance people, security details, advisers, journalists, friends, supporters and assorted other hangers-on - this will hardly be a carbon-neutral event."

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