Is Bush the worst president, ever?

[Agathon]

You could have elected another Lincoln in 2000, and it would make very little difference. The electorate doesn't want to face reality.

[Ben Kenobi]

Personally, I think Bush II is worse than Wilson and perhaps Carter. He's equally bad to Hoover (who was really in a bad position) I'd only really put Harding and Buchanan clearly underneath him.

What about any of those other names? My goodness. Tyler and Taylor were horrible presidents too. Taft was a much better chief justice.

19th Century presidents better then bush:

1. Washington
2. Jefferson.
3. Lincoln
4. Adams
5. Polk
6. Jackson

Von Buren, Quincy Adams are about the same.

All the rest are worse, much worse then Bush.

20th century presidents better then Bush.

1. Teddy Roosevelt
2. Reagan
3. Coolidge
4. I don't like him, but I'll put him here, FDR.

That would make a serious argument for Bush being in the top 10 presidents, if you rank him above Adams.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
While Carter was a ****up, he didn't have an Iraq to get us stuck into.

He was too busy dealing with more harshly killer wabbits than people holding Americans hostage to do anything like that.

[Imran Siddiqui]

What about any of those other names? My goodness. Tyler and Taylor were horrible presidents too. Taft was a much better chief justice.

Most of the 19th Century Presidents were fine. Tyler at least annexed Texas (well, if that's good or not is another question ). And Taylor died within 18 months of his inaugeration! Though before that he did begin the Department of the Interior.

Taft was a good President too... just forgotten because TR decided to go all crazy on him. In 1 term, Taft busted more trusts than TR did in 2. Taft also strengthened the ICC, he initiated a policy of dollar diplomacy in Latin America, he also pushed for the 16th and 17th Amendments (which came into force after he was out).

That would make a serious argument for Bush being in the top 10 presidents, if you rank him above Adams.

Only if you are insane.

20th Century Presidents better than Bush:

1) T. Roosevelt
2) Taft
3) Wilson (barely)
4) Coolidge
5) Hoover (barely)
6) FDR
7) Eisenhower
8) LBJ
9) Nixon
10) Reagan
11) GHW Bush
12) Clinton

He's equal to Carter and probably better than Harding.

I mean, we are talking about a president (Bush here), who really hasn't done a single thing right during his Presidency, aside from giving nice speeches after 9/11, right?

[Zkribbler]

Bush:
(1) Ran up more deficit spending than all other Presidents put together.
(2) Lied to Congress, saying if they'd pass a resolution allowing him to use force in Iraq, he'd only use it as a last resort Thern promptly led us into an unwinnable war which costs trillions and damaged our prestige worldwide.
(3) Forgot about the attacks by bin Laden to pursue his obsession over Iraq.
(4) Presided over one of the most corrupt administrations in history
(5) Allowed the largest trade deficit in our history
(6) Allowed the oil & gas companies to write U.S. energy policy, leading to skyrocketting gasoline prices and global warming.
(7) Virtually ignored the destruction of New Orleans.
(8) Attempted to quash dissent by politicizing the U.S. Attorney's Office

Yeah. He's about the worst.

[DinoDoc]

Your list is amusing.

[Ben Kenobi]

Bush is number one for haters. I'm surprised he hasn't been assassinated yet. That would bump him up to Lincoln.

[Wiglaf]

This is so stupid. Do you people realize, like 50% of the country wanted Lincoln shot in the head during his presidency. That is even worse than a 50 or 60% disapproval rating like Bush's...it is a Shot in the head rating, literally half the country wanted him dead and his brain crushed under a horse.

And now look at how we remember Lincoln, super ugly but super president. Wait 50+ years before you say worst EVAR!! and keep your jizzing in the stable.

[Arrian]

That would make a serious argument for Bush being in the top 10 presidents, if you rank him above Adams.

Only in bizzaro-Benworld. Bush is clearly an awful president. I don't assert he's the worst, but to claim that he could be top 10 is ****ing hilarious.

In any case, it's premature to fit him into some historical ranking, because he's still in office. At a minimum, there are a bunch of classified documents that one day will be reviewed and shed more light on his Adminstration, for better or (likely) worse.

-Arrian

[Ben Kenobi]

Only in bizzaro-Benworld. Bush is clearly an awful president. I don't assert he's the worst, but to claim that he could be top 10 is ****ing hilarious.

I think it's just as ridiculous to claim that he is one of the 10 worst presidents.

[rah]

While I'm more inclined to believe he'll end up closer to the bottom 10 then the top 10, it's best to wait for a historical perspective.

Now I can't believe I'm going to type what's next with a straight face but.

What if 20 years from now IRAQ is a stable democracy who influence has had a moderating effect over it's neighbors and has been like a model of a country where differenct sects can coexist? This would really have great impact how future generations would view his presidency.

Or 20 years from now we could still have 200,000 troops there, with most in their 6th tour of duty. And have made no progress in ending secterian violence or forming a stable government.

[snoopy369]

Is bizarro-benworld a world where Washington was a 19th century president

Also, Jackson was worse than Bush, except that he didn't have any moral qualms in massacring people who disagreed with him

[Aeson]

If in 20 years Iraq is a nice place to be, it will be because of those who fix Bush's mess.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Bush is number one for haters. I'm surprised he hasn't been assassinated yet.

You're talking about creating a President Cheney!

[rah]

Originally posted by Aeson
If in 20 years Iraq is a nice place to be, it will be because of those who fix Bush's mess.

Time has a way of clouding what people think.