The characterization of the recession and auto industry bailout by Yoshi Tsurumi in his July 26 article, "Detroit lives, thanks to a courageous decision," is a clear case of Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS), a condition that causes otherwise intelligent people to blame U.S. President George W. Bush for any and all negative events that occurred after his presidency.

Exhibit A is Tsurumi's labeling of the global financial crisis and recession as the "Bush Great Recession," which apparently started after Bush left office. The president of the United States is not a dictator (yet). Blaming one person for a global recession is ridiculous. By that logic, do we blame President Barack Obama for persistently high unemployment rates for the length of his tenure?

BDR also causes people to assign credit for any positive outcomes to someone other than Bush. It was Bush who started the hunt for Osama bin Laden back in 2001, but Tsurumi gives Obama 100 percent of the credit for finally finding Bin Laden in 2011.

Furthermore, the illegal diversion of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds and the subsequent bailout of Detroit automakers was Bush's brainchild; Obama took the baton and crossed the finish line. The credit/blame for this event lies with both presidents.

There is something very immature about blaming the previous president for every ill, so Tsurumi is doing Obama no favors by participating in BDS. How many people reading this letter would be able to keep a job for four years if they blamed every mistake on the guy who came before them? There are good reasons to be displeased with the Bush presidency, but American voters hire a president to fix the mistakes of the past, not whine about them.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

joseph jaworski