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Bush Will Be Remembered With The Worst Presidents Ever
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| Bush Will Be Remembered With The Worst Presidents Ever
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| Ass Boil |
Quote:
He's The Worst Ever
By Eric Foner
Sunday, December 3, 2006; B01
Ever since 1948, when Harvard professor Arthur Schlesinger Sr. asked 55 historians to rank U.S. presidents on a scale from "great" to "failure," such polls have been a favorite pastime for those of us who study the American past.
Changes in presidential rankings reflect shifts in how we view history. When the first poll was taken, the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War was regarded as a time of corruption and misgovernment caused by granting black men the right to vote. As a result, President Andrew Johnson, a fervent white supremacist who opposed efforts to extend basic rights to former slaves, was rated "near great." Today, by contrast, scholars consider Reconstruction a flawed but noble attempt to build an interracial democracy from the ashes of slavery -- and Johnson a flat failure.
More often, however, the rankings display a remarkable year-to-year uniformity. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt always figure in the "great" category. Most presidents are ranked "average" or, to put it less charitably, mediocre. Johnson, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Richard M. Nixon occupy the bottom rung, and now President Bush is a leading contender to join them. A look at history, as well as Bush's policies, explains why.
At a time of national crisis, Pierce and Buchanan, who served in the eight years preceding the Civil War, and Johnson, who followed it, were simply not up to the job. Stubborn, narrow-minded, unwilling to listen to criticism or to consider alternatives to disastrous mistakes, they surrounded themselves with sycophants and shaped their policies to appeal to retrogressive political forces (in that era, pro-slavery and racist ideologues). Even after being repudiated in the midterm elections of 1854, 1858 and 1866, respectively, they ignored major currents of public opinion and clung to flawed policies. Bush's presidency certainly brings theirs to mind.
Harding and Coolidge are best remembered for the corruption of their years in office (1921-23 and 1923-29, respectively) and for channeling money and favors to big business. They slashed income and corporate taxes and supported employers' campaigns to eliminate unions. Members of their administrations received kickbacks and bribes from lobbyists and businessmen. "Never before, here or anywhere else," declared the Wall Street Journal, "has a government been so completely fused with business." The Journal could hardly have anticipated the even worse cronyism, corruption and pro-business bias of the Bush administration.
Despite some notable accomplishments in domestic and foreign policy, Nixon is mostly associated today with disdain for the Constitution and abuse of presidential power. Obsessed with secrecy and media leaks, he viewed every critic as a threat to national security and illegally spied on U.S. citizens. Nixon considered himself above the law.
Bush has taken this disdain for law even further. He has sought to strip people accused of crimes of rights that date as far back as the Magna Carta in Anglo-American jurisprudence: trial by impartial jury, access to lawyers and knowledge of evidence against them. In dozens of statements when signing legislation, he has asserted the right to ignore the parts of laws with which he disagrees. His administration has adopted policies regarding the treatment of prisoners of war that have disgraced the nation and alienated virtually the entire world. Usually, during wartime, the Supreme Court has refrained from passing judgment on presidential actions related to national defense. The court's unprecedented rebukes of Bush's policies on detainees indicate how far the administration has strayed from the rule of law.
One other president bears comparison to Bush: James K. Polk. Some historians admire him, in part because he made their job easier by keeping a detailed diary during his administration, which spanned the years of the Mexican-American War. But Polk should be remembered primarily for launching that unprovoked attack on Mexico and seizing one-third of its territory for the United States.
Lincoln, then a member of Congress from Illinois, condemned Polk for misleading Congress and the public about the cause of the war -- an alleged Mexican incursion into the United States. Accepting the president's right to attack another country "whenever he shall deem it necessary," Lincoln observed, would make it impossible to "fix any limit" to his power to make war. Today, one wishes that the country had heeded Lincoln's warning.
Historians are loath to predict the future. It is impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050. But somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors. I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...0101509_pf.html |
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| Billyfromsphily |
| I second that ! |
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| Chocky |
| remembered? Who forgot?! The moment he declared his run for office for the 2000 elections I knew he'd fuck everythin up. |
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| Kill Van Kull |
"Worst President" is going to be the least offensive way history will remember Dubya.
After genocidal mass-murder, criminal, convict and inmate, then worst president. |
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| jasonsuperman75 |
Yep, he is the worst that I have ever seen, the only reason he got to become president in the first place, was that he got the Senior citizen vote, because they thought he was has daddy( I have no proof to back that one up, but it should spur some good discussion).
He, along with his policies are why I am on the other side of the world, instead of at home with my daughter and wife.
Even his missile defense is a failure, not thought out, and can't hit shit... :mad: |
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| xenoman |
| I think there is a good chance Bush will be put on trial for war crimes. Suits have already been filed against Rumsfeld in Germany. |
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| Ass Boil |
Quote: Originally posted by jasonsuperman75
Yep, he is the worst that I have ever seen, the only reason he got to become president in the first place, was that he got the Senior citizen vote, because they thought he was has daddy( I have no proof to back that one up, but it should spur some good discussion).
He, along with his policies are why I am on the other side of the world, instead of at home with my daughter and wife.
Even his missile defense is a failure, not thought out, and can't hit shit... :mad: |
You just get yourself home safe, J75... |
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| patcracker |
| You forgot the most expensive. Spending over 3 trillion dollars in 8 years and virtually nothing to show for it has to be up there too. The righties talk about "Tax and Spend" but at least we tax before we spend. At the current pace this will be the "United States of China" if we keep this up. |
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| Snoopyrules |
| Jame Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Herbert Hoover, and Richard Nixon are dancing in their graves. |
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| Monster_Zero |
Quote: Originally posted by patcracker
You forgot the most expensive. Spending over 3 trillion dollars in 8 years and virtually nothing to show for it has to be up there too. The righties talk about "Tax and Spend" but at least we tax before we spend. At the current pace this will be the "United States of China" if we keep this up. |
I just started reading "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them", by Al Franken. Lovin' it so far... :)
Page 1
August 27, 2003 | God chose me to write this book.
Just the fact that you are reading this is proof not just of God's existence, but also of His/Her/Its beneficence. That's right. I am not certain of God's precise gender. But I am certain that He/She/It chose me to write this book.
This isn't hubris. I'm not saying this in an egotistical way. God didn't choose me because I'm the greatest writer who ever lived. That was William Shakespeare, whose work I have a passing familiarity with. No. I just happened to be the right vessel at the right time. If something in this book makes you laugh, it was God's joke. If something makes you think, it's because God had a good point to make.
The reason I know God chose me is because God spoke to me personally.
God began our conversation by clearing something up. Some of George W. Bush's friends say that Bush believes God called him to be president during these times of trial. But God told me that He/She/It had actually chosen Al Gore by making sure that Gore won the popular vote and, God thought, the Electoral College. "THAT WORKED FOR EVERYONE ELSE," God said.
"What about Tilden?" I asked, referring to the 1876 debacle.
"QUIET!" God snapped. God was angry.
God said that after 9/11, George W. Bush squandered a unique moment of national unity. That instead of rallying the country around a program of mutual purpose and sacrifice, Bush cynically used the tragedy to solidify his political power and pursue an agenda that panders to his base and serves the interests of his corporate backers.
God told me that Bush squandered a $4.6 trillion surplus and is plunging us into deficits as far as God can see. And that Bush squandered another surplus. The surplus of goodwill from the rest of the world that he had inherited from Bill Clinton.
And this was pissing God off. |
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| muntz |
i think i'll get that book in softcover....
IMHO Clinton was one of the best presidents ever time is showing that more and more.... and that pisses off neocons |
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| mark420 |
Jimmy Carter and LBJ rank as the two worst in my opinion. Clinton was fairly average and without the Republican Revolution he would have fucked up a ton of shit. He gave us the worst Supreme Court Justice in history, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and his dumbass wife nearly fucked up health care in this country! Bottom 5 starting with worst, Carter, LBJ, Lincoln, FDR, GWB! All presided over unconstitutional expansions of federal power! Carter is the exception he was just plain AWFUL and probably the single most ineffective president ever to have served! LBJ, Lincoln and FDR all abused their power and helped UNCONSTITUTIONAL laws get passed, as has GWB.
Best ever?
Thomas Jefferson
Ronald Reagan
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
Calvin Coolidge
What are their greatest assets? following the constitution and appointing strict constructionists to the supreme court. They didn't pass a bunch of BS unnecessary laws!
WAKE UP YOU SILLY LEFT WING KOOKS. GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM NOT THE SOLUTION!
WHERE IS BARRY GOLDWATER WHEN YOU NEED HIM???? |
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| artistbehr |
| one of the worst? no. THE worst? yes! thanks red states! |
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| bushleaguer |
It will take years after Bush is out of office in order to judge, but I think he will be listed in the "worst ever" category. To me, the barometer is the size of the mess that the following President needs to clean up, and, as it stands now, the next President will have a lot of repair work. Just look at how Bush has alienated America from the rest of the world....the massive budget deficit....the massive national debt.....his far-right domestic agenda (the stem-cell veto despite the majority of Americans who supported the bill, for example).....Iraq.....Afghanistan....and so on.
Actually, I don't know why someone would want the job. Talk about presiding over some major rebuilding years. |
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| acefree |
| we needed a Harvard professor to figure this out? |
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| Stickman |
Quote: Originally posted by mark420
Best ever?
Thomas Jefferson
Ronald Reagan
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
Calvin Coolidge
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Andrew Jackson??? Are you fucking kidding me? He's the guy who said "the only good Indian is a dead Indian." His plans for the American Indian Reservation system was admired by Hitler! If you're Hitler's mentor, you're a fucking scumbag.
Abraham Lincoln got into politics because this Illinois scourge was infesting the Republican party.
Good job on your list. |
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| Billyfromsphily |
He will be lucky he is remembered. Especially by the companies that pay big numbers for ex-presidents to be on their board of directors.
Since he has been radioactive with everything he touches, I hope they won't let him near a serious business.
22 Months
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| iatebethO |
Steven Colbert asked the question a little differently to Dan Rather -
Colbert: "George W Bush, one of the greatest Presidents or the greatest?' |
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