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Worst President Ever

So says Eric Foner about George W Bush:

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.

. . . 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.

. . . 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.
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  • Display: Sort:
    i believe mr. bush has set (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by cpinva on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 12:30:57 AM EST
    a standard, which will be pretty hard to top. not that i want anyone to try.

    Big Tent (1.00 / 4) (#5)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 08:21:36 AM EST
    Another post complaining about Bush.

    Wow. How original.


    Unfortunately Bush isn't likely to resign (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Molly Bloom on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 10:48:43 AM EST
    or change his spots.

    Ergo we will all have lots of reasons to complain and post complaints for the next two years.

    I've said it before and I will say it again, what did anyone expect in 2000 looking at his record. The man failed at every position where he was allowed to be "the Decider"- Arbusto and Spectrum 7.

    He was not the Decider at Harken Energy, but he was a director on the audit committee where he learned of impending losses and sold his stock before it was publically announced and more or less escaped punishment. A dubious  private success and a public disaster.

    His alleged successes came in positions where he was a figurehead- The Texas Rangers and as Governor.

    On the other hand, the cronyism and nepotsim which advanced Bush's  career and are a hallmark of his administration make a good argument for affirmative action- how could affirmative action achieve any worse results?


    Parent

    how appropriate (5.00 / 5) (#10)
    by scarshapedstar on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 10:53:03 AM EST
    The worst commenter ever weighs in. :)

    Parent
    Stop that, Scar. (none / 0) (#11)
    by Edger on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 11:05:22 AM EST
    The ratings only go up to 5. :-(

    Parent
    Bushed (none / 0) (#2)
    by Edger on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 03:22:55 AM EST
    Like everything else Bush has ever done in his life, he took the easy route of doing the lousiest job he could to set a standard no other president ever has or will come close to.

    He's living proof that you can achieve any heights you set your mind to, if you'll stay the bullheaded course, remain obtuse enough, and set your standards low enough.

    And... (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by squeaky on Mon Dec 04, 2006 at 05:27:53 PM EST
    You forgot the biggest factor:

    chosing very very rich parents.

    Parent

    Don't you mean that there is no... (none / 0) (#13)
    by Bill Arnett on Mon Dec 04, 2006 at 05:16:06 PM EST
    ...level to which bullheaded, evil men cannot SINK?

    Parent
    I guess (none / 0) (#15)
    by Edger on Mon Dec 04, 2006 at 05:32:17 PM EST
    the heights he set his mind to weren't very tall. Or maybe from the perpective of a drunken face plant holes look like mountains? ;-)

    Parent
    it probably also helps (none / 0) (#3)
    by cpinva on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 04:05:14 AM EST
    if you come from a wealthy and politically connected family. someone of mr. bush's calibre, who came from a middle class family, would never have made it this far to begin with.

    mr. bush is the poster boy for the estate tax.

    cpinva, I inadvertently confounded... (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Bill Arnett on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 09:52:32 AM EST
    you, and you rightfully called me on it, when I opined that Bush was not only the worst President in history, but also the worst world leader since Genghis Khan.

    You rightfully pointed out that Khan had a far greater record of success as a world leader than bush, so I apologized. But after some thought, how 'bout this:

    bush is not only the worst potus ever, but also the worst of the world's leaders since IDI AMIN DADA.

    Is that better?

    Good Mornin', everybody!

    Parent

    Give him credit (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 07:10:41 AM EST
    Were he from a middle class family, he'd probably be staggering through an alley somewhere with nothing but a bottle of cheap wine to keep him warm and help him forget his string of failures, or in prison, or dead by now.

    Parent
    Worst pResident, Evah (none / 0) (#6)
    by Skyho on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 09:11:46 AM EST
    There is only one reason one hires those who can only focus on "spin", and that is that one knows that it is most important to manage the facade.  That means there is something to hide.

    That would seem to imply malicious criminal behavior.

    First person that dukes GWBush gets my vote for president, jest sayin'

    We will never know but W.T. Sherman (none / 0) (#8)
    by JSN on Sun Dec 03, 2006 at 09:52:50 AM EST
    would have been bad. But lucky for us he knew that.

    So what does it say... (none / 0) (#12)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Mon Dec 04, 2006 at 01:00:15 AM EST
    That millions of people voted for this creep twice?

    I shudder to think that future generations will blame me for more than just suffering this fool only because I was alive at this tragi-comedic moment in world history.