Eric Foner: Bush is the worst president in US history

[bluestateguy]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120101509.html

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.

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[yurbud]

1. not only worst, but several orders of magnitude worse than all the other bad ones

By all the categories Foner mentions, corruption, incompetence, and contempt for the Constitution, he leaves all the others in the dust.

He also adds a category all his own: earning the contempt and fear of other countries, in some cases, being judged more dangerous than the so called "Axis of Evil" who together had a military budget comparable to what the Pentagon spends on toilet paper.

For that accomplishment alone, Bush could be rated worst ever.

[yurbud]

2. LETTER TO FONER: on Bush and world opinion

Although you mentioned that Bush has disgraced us internationally and alienated the whole world, that seemed to be worth a category all it's own apart from disregard for the law.

I cannot think of any other president in my lifetime (I'm 43) that other countries so uniformly feared and loathed as they do Bush. I vaguely remember reading that Nixon's international reputation wasn't particularly hurt by Watergate, and Europe and the rest of the world couldn't believe that our government tried to impeach Clinton over something as trivial as a sexual affair. Most Americans don't give a rat's ass what the rest of the world thinks of us, but if they think we can't be trusted to pick responsible presidents, they will begin to work together to undermine our status as the world's sole superpower (which might be better for all parties involved anyway).

[yurbud]

3. what will the freepers say? Is any response possible?

maybe they'll fall back on hope for an Eisenhower or Truman like rehabilitation.

[Kellyiswise]

4. And probably the dumbsest next to U. Grant.

[bluestateguy]

5. Grant was at least a smart general

I can't think of anywhere where Bush is smart.

[yurbud]

8. Grant was a good general--has Bush mastered ANYTHING apart from conning religious rubes?

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Grant published an original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.

How many other Presidents have done that?

[QuestionAll...]

6. didn't Helen Thomas say Bush was the worst president ever

a few years ago and was lambasted for it by the rw and others?

Guess there is something to that TruthOut 'ahead of the news cycle' thing.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

7. I rank *bush a step below Caligula

Another worthy of that ranking is Nero. *bush has done his best to emulate those two "leaders" in both form and deed.