Think Progress noted the White House memo going out to administration officials as “a guide for discussing [the] eight-year tenure” of the most unpopular president since presidential approval ratings were first measured:

Titled “Speech Topper on the Bush Record,” the talking points state that Bush “kept the American people safe” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, lifted the economy after 2001 through tax cuts, curbed AIDS in Africa and maintained “the honor and the dignity of his office.”

The document presents the Bush record as an unalloyed success.

It mentions none of the episodes that detractors say have marred his presidency: the collapse of the housing market and major financial services companies, the flawed intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina or the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.

I think we can all agree that your presidency has been a failure when the strongest talking point you can muster is “hey, the worst didn’t happen!”

Thankfully, the Simpsons pre-emptively satirized this argument years ago:

Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm.

Lisa: That’s specious reasoning, Dad.

Homer: Thank you, dear.

Lisa: By your logic I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away.

Homer: Oh, how does it work?

Lisa: It doesn’t work.

Homer: Uh-huh.

Lisa: It’s just a stupid rock.

Homer: Uh-huh.

Lisa: But I don’t see any tigers around, do you?

Homer: Lisa, I want to buy your rock.

Even if President Bush’s unfalsifiable claim that he kept us safe were true, let’s remember that his strategy of “fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them here” resulted in the murder and maiming of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the displacement of over 4 million during Iraq’s 2006-7 civil war.

The evidence is overwhelming that, for the majority of foreign fighters in Iraq, the U.S. occupation itself was the decisive factor in their radicalization and mobilization. Many of these fighters are now returning to their home countries, taking the training they received in Iraq to destabilize the region and attack U.S. interests.

Because of the Iraq war, democracy has once again taken a back seat to stability in the Middle East. To cope with the regional destabilization resulting from Iraq, President Bush effectively abandoned his “democracy agenda” and threw his support behind the very authoritarian governments who were themselves the primary focus of Islamic extremist grievance in the first place.

But never mind all that, because George W. Bush has a rock that keeps away terrorists.

Our guest bloggers are Spencer Boyer, Director of International Law and Diplomacy, and Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

After eight years of George W. Bush, there is a general consensus on the need for the Obama administration to revamp America’s image in the world and repair our damaged alliances. In a new report from the Center for American Progress, we suggest that an important place to begin is Turkey -– a neglected ally that has a key leadership role in its part of the world.

Our strategic relationship with Turkey has been a critical component of American national security policy since the beginning of the Cold War. There are few, if any, security challenges that the United States and Turkey don’t have in common. Not only has Turkey been a member of NATO since 1952, but it is our only ally who enjoys strong relations with all of the major powers in the Middle East. In essence, Turkey is a hub between Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean, with its central location making it a valuable connector between each of these regions. In addition to serving as a mediator in delicate international negotiations, including those between Israel and Syria, Turkey serves as a transit point for oil and natural gas flowing from East to West.

The Bush administration’s tragic decision to launch a preventive war in Iraq in 2003 — over vocal Turkish objections — has been one of many issues to eat away at U.S.-Turkish relations in recent years. Recent polling found that only 12 percent of Turks have a positive opinion of the United States –- dangerously low by any standard. Public opinion in a democratic state like Turkey can constrain a country’s leaders and their choices. While U.S.-Turkey relations have seen a slight upturn with the U.S. increasing its cooperation in fighting the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) — the terrorist organization that is Turkey’s most immediate threat — the relationship is still nowhere close to where the U.S. needs it to be.

The Obama administration has a tremendous opportunity next year to revive the U.S.-Turkish strategic partnership and update it to reflect new challenges in the Middle East, Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus. It will take more effort than we’ve exerted in recent years, and require a new recognition of Turkey as an independent actor with interests and policies that may not always comport with those of the U.S. But bringing Turkey closer to the West, including a redoubling of efforts to convince our European Union allies to bring Turkey into the EU sooner rather than later, is worth the effort. It will pay dividends in the years to come.