George W. Bush would have liked to have completed his presidency with much less troubling unfinished business facing the nation and with the assurance that his eight years in the White House would be embraced fondly by people throughout the land.

Instead, to many Americans, Bush's years in the nation's top office will be remembered as an era of hope and promise unfulfilled, although, as an editorial in the Butler Eagle on Dec. 31 cautioned, Americans shouldn't be hasty about making a final judgment of the just-completed presidency.

The best advice is to allow the course of history in coming years to put into better perspective what Bush did and did not accomplish — what he did right and what he did wrong.

Historians continue to weigh the influence of presidents before Bush on things that are happening at this time, such as developments in the Middle East. And Bush's eight-year tenure in the White House will be looked at closely for years to come.

Still, Bush had cause for feeling uncomfortable as newly sworn-in President Barack Obama began his inaugural address shortly after noon on Tuesday. Although the new president courteously thanked his predecessor for his service to the nation, he reminded Americans of the deep crisis in which the country now is mired.

And, because, as President Harry Truman declared, "the buck stops here (with the president)," the country's problems cast a less-than-flattering light on the quality of service that the Bush administration rendered to the nation.

Said Obama:

"Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

"These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time."

It was not by Bush's own doing that an administration that seemed poised to concentrate on domestic problems was, as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, forced to shift its prime focus to the international front. Likewise, the problems that some people will blame solely on the Bush administration were in fact problems whose actual birth preceded the start of the Bush presidency.

From today's vantage point, it can be said that, yes, Bush did make some significant errors, one big one being the administration's failure to understand and acknowledge the full depth and breadth of the Iraqi problem before invading that country. Saddam Hussein was just one bad element of a much bigger problem; the ouster of Saddam merely opened the door for that bigger, more-complex problem to take deeper root.

The mistakes of the Iraq operation won't be quickly forgotten, even after America's troops come home. The United States' mistakes in regard to Vietnam, even after the passage of 30 years since the U.S. involvement ended, are not forgotten and continue to evoke discussion.

On a stop in Waco, Texas, prior to arriving at his ranch in Crawford Tuesday, Bush told well-wishers, "I come home with my head held high."

He said that, upon arriving home, he would be looking in the mirror and "be proud of what I see."

But Obama was right that much is not well in this nation and with the nation's dealings with other lands. That is why the inauguration was more a source of optimism about the prospects of a new beginning, rather than sadness over Bush's departure.

Indeed, for millions of Americans, the final days of the administration were regarded as a source of relief that Bush was on the verge of becoming a former president, rather than an outpouring of gratitude over what the president was able to accomplish.

Some believe Bush's presidency is planted among the worst in the nation's history. People with a broader perspective are reluctant to make that claim — and they're right in their caution.

Still, the tragedy of the Bush years was that so much hope from the beginning failed to be rewarded along the way.

With Bush sitting nearby and amid the euphoria over his ascendancy to the nation's highest office, Obama was right in making reference to the current crisis and making clear to America that the road ahead won't be easy.

The way to solve problems is not to deny them or fail to acknowledge their scope.

It can be said that, by way of his inaugural address, Obama began his presidency on the right foot. Americans hope he builds upon that positive beginning.