IN a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted between Aug 21 and 23 , respondents were asked the following question: "Since the start of 2001 when George W. Bush became president, in general, would you say his presidency has been a success or a failure?"

Of the 1,016 adults surveyed nationwide, 69 per cent considered his presidency to be a failure. A statistic which, to most of us, may come as very little surprise. What never fails to astonish me, however, is the 27- odd per cent of Americans (four per cent were unsure) who believe that the last eight years have been, in general, a success.

I find that staggering because I can't even begin to understand what those 274-and-a-third define as successful.

An unmitigated disaster, President George W. Bush has presided over what has to be the absolute nadir of American politics, both foreign and domestic. And in so doing, the Bush administration has successfully dismantled Ronald Reagan's Republican Party. Reagan's cohesive ideology, which at one time united the Republicans, inspired good feelings in all, and won him the 1980 election, has been all but proven wrong.

So much for that conservative canon of lower taxes, limited government, less regulation and a strong military that you do not use promiscuously. The Bush administration took the "Reagan Doctrine", that "sweeping application of American political philosophy and morality to the conduct of international affairs" and went into overdrive.
The Bush administration has, after 9/11, squandered the greatest worldwide outpouring of goodwill towards the United States since World War 2, by misleading the public about WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) and ties to al-Qaeda and pursuing a go-it-alone invasion of Iraq.

It has transformed universal support into widespread condemnation. It has rendered the United Nations all but irrelevant. And it has left a colossal mess for the next guy to clean up. It has single-handedly ruined America's standing in the world, casting an almost irreversible blight on its credibility.

And then there's the economy. After inheriting a budget surplus of US$230 billion (RM800 billion) and a thriving economy, the Bush administration has, through massive tax cuts, a rapid increase in federal spending, deregulation and fighting a war on two fronts, transformed it into a US$438 billion deficit.

The national debt is so high (around US$10.2 trillion) that they had to remove the digital dollar sign on that clock in Times Square to make room for the "1" in US$10 trillion. In 1989, when the clock was created, the national debt was about a quarter of what it is now. The economy is in such shambles that economists have actually stopped using the term "slowdown".

And then there's New Orleans, where through the unconscionable negligence in the handling of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration presided over the total devastation of what is arguably one of America's greatest and most vibrant cities.

It has failed to reduce America's dependence of foreign oil, failed to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons, failed to control America's immigration issues and completely and utterly neglected the environment.

One in six Americans goes without health insurance. Nearly one in five American children lives in poverty, with more than one in 13 living in extreme poverty. People are losing their houses. People are losing their jobs.

Layoffs, foreclosures, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae. Wire taps, Patriot Act, secrets, lies, Abu Ghraib, torture ties.

"Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide, foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz. Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law, Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it any more. We didn't start the fire. It was always burning since the world's been turning..." (Billy Joel).

But other than that, how did you enjoy the play Mrs Lincoln?

So on Sunday, as all of us breathed a collective sigh of relief, forever thankful to the founding fathers for their hatred of all things monarchical, and never again questioning the virtues of a two-term limit, President George W. Bush entered the last 100 days of his presidency.

But all Hallelujahs aside, I am left wondering as to the efficacy of a lame duck. Is everything indeed over for President George W. Bush and his merry men? Is his fate all but sealed? Will his legacy be one of abject failure? Will the question of the "Unqualified Successes of George W. Bush's Two Terms in Office" be, as Dave Halbur cleverly portrayed, nothing more than a swath of empty space?

And if it is, and with the world falling apart, where does that leave the rest of us?

But maybe all is not lost. Maybe, it isn't about how much time you have, but what you do with it that matters. Rescue the global economy, get out of Iraq, salvage Afghanistan, find Osama, end terrorism once and for all and bring peace to the Middle East. There are still 98 days left. There is still time to save the world. Kennedy did it in just 13. So what are you waiting for? On your mark, get set, go!