I remember during the Bush campaigns for the presidency how he would say that the “W” stood for women. The press would sometimes jump to point out how that wasn’t true with one of the more innocuous actions he had done to disprove it, but the mainstream press largely ignored his hypocrisy.

Thankfully, there was at least one woman out there keeping score for the rest of us. Barbara Finlay managed to keep a running list, and compiled it in her book George W. Bush and the War on Women. From removing women from positions of power in government to restricting women’s access to needed health care, the Bush administration has been working very hard to move women back in time.

Bush’s exclusion of women from the decision-making process of executive appointments and from the positions themselves is covered in-depth. Long-standing procedures in government were abandoned to reach these ends. Also, Finlay reveals the inner-workings of the links between the Bush administration and the radical religious right.

Beyond the hot button issue of abortion, Finlay chronicles the erosion of women’s access and coverage for needed health care in the U.S. and abroad. The global gag rule that effectively destroyed many clinics overseas is explored, as well as the exportation of failed abstinence-only programs.

Also, the long-lasting changes in the government are explored. At the beginning of each new administration, many government employees know that they will be looking for new jobs, as they will be released to make room for the new president’s appointments. Some management positions in various departments and judges are exempt from this shuffling – and Bush’s appointments to these positions will have influence over government agencies and procedures long after he is gone. The spotlight is most often placed on Supreme Court Justices, but Finlay shows her readers where the more insidious problems are in the lower courts and governmental agencies.

Finlay also explores the impact of war on women, both U.S. citizens and those abroad. From lost rights in Afghanistan to rape and the military, the most ugly side of the “war on terror” is exposed. These issues have been coming to light more and more often in the mainstream press thanks to organizations like Amnesty International, but Finlay was putting her spotlight on them back in 2006.

We are coming to the close of the Bush years, but that does not mean that we will be starting with a blank slate. Women need to clearly see what they have lost in the past eight years before they can begin to fight to regain ground. Barbara Finlay’s George W. Bush and the War on Women is a great place to start when trying to enumerate those losses.