George W. Bush fulfilled the only legacy he probably cared about. He killed the beast of federal government by burying it under decades of debt. He took care of Big Oil, Big Business and their wealthy beneficiaries by diverting to them huge chunks of the public treasury, such things as planet-size tax breaks, no-bid contracts and protection from troubling regulations.

I still remember him saying he could not intervene in the rape of California by Enron because that would be regulating. That is on videotape. This is at the same time when two Enron soldiers were caught on a phone tap laughing about old people doing without heating oil. That sums it up.

One wonders how bad it has to get before he rethinks his legacy. And all those folks who enjoyed trading funny money on a great big Monopoly board with phantom assets – they seem a bit anxious these days.

Some conservatives say the bailout would be socialism. What did they call the huge giveaways to Dick Cheney's old outfit?

I could sit sit back and smirk if I and my children and their children were not collateral damage.

Larry Spears is a former Lake County resident and retired journalist. He lives in Eugene, Ore.

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