Bush's Top 10 Successes From rejecting the Kyoto Protocol to the surge By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Jan 13, 2009 1:06 PM CST Copied President Bush meets with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, left, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Forget what you’ve heard about W’s presidency, writes Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard. His decisive courage gave his term many successes: Rejecting the Kyoto Protocol: The treaty was broken—it exempted India and China from carbon emissions responsibility—but only Bush had the courage to say so. Enhanced interrogation of terrorists: The crucial intelligence gained by waterboarding al-Qaeda leaders like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed saved lives. Medicare prescription drug benefit: The program is popular and has saved costs by encouraging competition among pharmaceutical companies. John Roberts and Samuel Alito: Bush can take credit for making the Court more conservative. The surge. No one liked the idea of sending more troops to Iraq, but the surge and Petraeus counterinsurgency strategy worked. For the rest of the list, click on the link below. (More George W. Bush stories.) Report an error