Other than resigning from office and pleading guilty to every charge that has been hurled against him for the past seven years, is there anything George W. Bush could do to please his critics?

Almost before the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential contest, the attacks started on this nation’s 43rd president and they haven’t stopped.

Perhaps this dislike, almost hatred, of Bush started because of the manner in which he “won” the presidency. Maybe it’s because a large number of his critics didn’t like his father, the 41st U.S. president. It’s possible many don’t like him because of his position on the role of government, his appointment of justices to the U.S. Supreme Court or many other reasons. Many will claim it is because of his supposed ineptness or his strong religious beliefs.

Whatever the case, the attacks have been relentless, and he has been vilified in a mean, vicious and nasty manner. There are jokes about his manner of speech and other personal traits, but criticism or observations such as this are normal no matter who is in the Oval Office. It’s also standard practice in hard-ball politics for those opposing a president to engage in half-truths and exaggerations. However, in the case of George W. Bush, the attacks have been raw and mean-spirited.

Collegiality is missing in Washington these days, and it has been disappearing for years. This is an unfortunate situation because many former members of Congress and others associated with both Democratic and Republican administrations talk about “the way it used to be.” There were strong differences of opinion and strong political efforts, but there was time for expressions of friendship and cooperation.

That seems to have disappeared, with the Washington, as well as the national, scene becoming so divisive and mean.

How much of this is brought on by the growing intensity of the election campaigns? It’s a damaging situation and not good for the country. There are enough serious matters that need full attention and must be addressed cooperatively rather than to have most every major issue become a political showdown that deepens the dislikes and bitterness between the political combatants.

There isn’t any negative situation or development in this country over the past seven years that hasn’t been laid at the feet of Bush.

He is blamed for the long and costly war in Iraq. He is blamed for the high cost of gasoline, the weak dollar, the current “recession,” the housing market and the recent increase in the jobless rate. He is blamed for U.S. troops not having the best and latest equipment and for a giant contract to build new jet refueling tankers being awarded to a French firm rather than to Boeing. The current energy situation is Bush’s fault, along with this nation’s reliance on “dirty coal,” the high cost of medicine and medical care, the shortage of doctors and nurses, and on and on and on.

Sure, the Bush administration played a role or had a hand in most of the situations noted above, but Congress also played a major role. Likewise, previous administrations played a significant role either by their actions or inaction. The problems mentioned above didn’t just emerge in the past seven years.

Granted, there are many very serious situations. History, however, will be the best judge of the Iraq matter. The loss of American lives, all lives, is a tragedy, but will history show the action taken by the Bush administration did indeed prevent the future loss of lives and protect the United States? Only time will tell.

More people have jobs in the United States today than ever before. Knowledgeable observers claim those losing their homes in the “housing crisis” amount to roughly 5 percent of U.S. homeowners. Every such situation is a major loss, but it is only a fraction of the U.S. housing scene. The economy of the United States has been strong over the large part of Bush’s administration.

No matter what the real situation may be, there will be those who distort the picture and try to make the situation look much blacker and more dangerous. This has become the practice in presidential elections, and the American public is going to hear, read and see massive numbers of negative accusations against Bush. There also will be partisan charges against whomever is nominated by the Democrats.

Bush is an easy target because he has a record over the past seven years. It’s unlikely he is totally responsible for bad things, or good things, that happened over these years, but he gets the blame.

Those seeking the presidency – Sen. John McCain on the GOP ticket and either Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats – have records as senators. There is no tally sheet, however, that tells how these individuals would react to the thousands of challenges faced by a president. There will be a lot of promises and grand-sounding schemes, but many are hollow and intended only to win votes.

Historians will judge Bush five, 10 or 50 years from now. His critics have had a field day making fun of him or faulting him for every ill facing this country.

The political battles between now and November will be intense, but all Americans should hope that no matter who wins, he or she will do a good job as president, a president who conducts himself or herself in a manner that reflects credit on the office and the country and is more interested in the welfare of the country than in engaging in partisan politics. Consider what could be accomplished if the winners and those who didn’t win could work together for the betterment of the country rather than fighting each other and trying to blame each other for every problem.