On CBS’s Sunday Morning, correspondent Thalia Assuras examined President Bush’s historical legacy: "On January 20th, 2001, George Walker Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States. His presidency and the future, a blank slate...Before the Iraq war. Before Katrina swept ashore. Before the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
Assuras cited two historians in her report, both of whom labeled Bush one of the nation’s worst presidents. She first turned to historian Douglas Brinkley, who declared: "I think it's safe to say that President Bush is going to be seen as the very bottom-rung of American presidents...As a judicial historian looking at what's occurred on his watch, it is almost void of genuine accomplishment." The other historian Assuras included in her report was Joseph Ellis, who said of Bush: "I think that George Bush might very well be the worst president in American history...He's unusual. Most two-term presidents have a mixed record...Bush has nothing on the positive side, virtually nothing."
Following these Bush-bashing historical assessments, Assuras exclaimed: "And that's not a minority opinion. In a 2006 Siena College survey of 744 history professors, 82 percent rated President Bush below average or a failure. Last April, in an informal poll by George Mason University of 109 historians, Mr. Bush fared even worse; 98 percent considered him a failed president. Sixty-one percent judged him, as Ellis does, one of the worst in American history."
In contrast to his opinion of Bush, Brinkley managed to find positive words for Jimmy Carter in his 1998 biography of the former president, entitled: "The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House." In the first chapter, Brinkley described Carter this way: "In fact, although his critics saw him as self-righteous, Carter was the most principled American president since Harry Truman – and nowhere was his morality on clearer display than in his insistence that human rights be a cardinal principle of global governance." During the Sunday Morning story, Brinkley attacked Bush on the same issues: "I think President Bush was a good man so infuriated and angered by 9/11 that he put on his ideological blinders and forgot that we have other things we represent -- civil liberties here at home, a Constitution, global human rights. That he started disliking the world community, alienated allies for no reason."
While some may point to Bush preventing another terrorist attack after September 11th, in a 2006 New York Times editorial, Ellis saw the 9/11 attacks as a mere footnote in American history: "...it defies reason and experience to make Sept. 11 the defining influence on our foreign and domestic policy. History suggests that we have faced greater challenges and triumphed, and that overreaction is a greater danger than complacency." In the CBS story, Ellis argued: "John Adams, the second president, said that there's one unforgivable sin that no president will ever be forgiven, and that is to put the country into an unnecessary war. I think that Iraq has proven to be an unnecessary war, and will appear to be more unnecessary as time goes on."
The only positive assessments of Bush’s legacy in the report came from former Bush advisors Dan Bartlett and David Frum. No historians who viewed Bush positively were featured.
Near the end of the segment, Assuras wondered: "So is President Bush's current low rating among historians just liberal bias?" Assuras quickly followed: "...Douglas Brinkley doesn't think so." Brinkley explained: "When I'm sitting here telling you that Ronald Reagan and, you know, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower were outstanding presidents, these are Republicans. I'm telling you, Ronald Reagan was one of the five greatest presidents in American history. I'm not saying that because I'm a liberal. I'm just saying it because it's a fact. But you have to then accept when I'm telling you George Bush is one of the five worst presidents in American history, it's not because I want to stick it to him. He simply failed on the big questions of his day." Despite Brinkley's denial of any political bias, in 2004, he wrote: "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War."
Here is the full transcript of the segment:
9:01AM TEASE:
CHARLES OSGOOD: Although George W. Bush still has nine days to go as president, historians are already assessing the Bush legacy, comparing him to his predecessors. As Thalia Assuras will show us this morning, there is some disagreement about that.
THALIA ASSURAS: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt -- all are considered among America's greatest presidents. After eight years, how will George W. Bush fit in?
DAN BARTLETT: This was a man who met his moment, in many respects, as a leader.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY: I think it's safe to say that President Bush is going to be seen as the very bottom-rung of American presidents.
ASSURAS: Later on Sunday Morning, how the Bush presidency might look through the long lens of history.
9:32AM SEGMENT:
CHARLES OSGOOD: Just nine days to go now until Inauguration Day, and the transition of power. The Bush Administration will be history. How will history assess the Bush legacy? Thalia Assuras starts by looking back to his first inaugural eight years ago.
GEORGE W. BUSH: I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear-
WILLIAM REHNQUIST: That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.
BUSH: That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.
REHNQUIST: And will to the best of my ability-
BUSH: And will to the best of my ability.
THALIA ASSURAS: As always, it was a day for new beginnings.
BUSH: Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
REHNQUIST: So help me God.
BUSH: So help me God.
ASSURAS: On January 20th, 2001, George Walker Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States. His presidency and the future, a blank slate. That was before this.
[FOOTAGE OF 9/11]
BUSH: Terrorists attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.
ASSURAS: Before the Iraq war. Before Katrina swept ashore. Before the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. In nine days, after eight turbulent years, George Bush will leave here and leave behind a radically different country and a changed world. And the wrangling will officially begin over the Bush legacy, how this presidency will be viewed through the long lens of history.
DAN BARTLETT [FORMER BUSH ADVISOR]: I think he'll be able to look himself in the mirror when he is done and say, 'I gave it my best. I made decisions based on principle.'
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY [HISTORIAN]: As a judicial historian looking at what's occurred on his watch, it is almost void of genuine accomplishment.
DAVID FRUM [FORMER BUSH SPEECH WRITER]: In foreign policy, where he has taken so much criticism, I think the assessment of history will be surprisingly positive.
JOSEPH ELLIS [HISTORIAN]: I think that George Bush might very well be the worst president in American history.
ASSURAS: Because today's historians, including Pulitzer Prize winner Joseph Ellis, get to write the first draft, the Bush legacy seems to be in for a bumpy start.
ELLIS: He's unusual. Most two-term presidents have a mixed record. And -- Lyndon Johnson, one of the greatest achievements in 20th century was the civil rights legislation. On the other hand, the extraordinary tragedy of Vietnam. Even Richard Nixon opened the door to China, has foreign policy credentials. Bush has nothing on the positive side, virtually nothing.
ASSURAS: And that's not a minority opinion. In a 2006 Siena College survey of 744 history professors, 82 percent rated President Bush below average or a failure. Last April, in an informal poll by George Mason University of 109 historians, Mr. Bush fared even worse; 98 percent considered him a failed president. Sixty-one percent judged him, as Ellis does, one of the worst in American history.
ELLIS: John Adams, the second president, said that there's one unforgivable sin that no president will ever be forgiven, and that is to put the country into an unnecessary war. I think that Iraq has proven to be an unnecessary war, and will appear to be more unnecessary as time goes on.
ASSURAS: Is the Iraq war the defining component of his presidency?
BOB WOODWARD [WASHINGTON POST REPORTER]: Well, the Iraq war is the defining variable because it was his decision. No one has the illusion that a president is commander in chief of the economy. He is not. He is commander in chief of the military. And in the end, you wind up getting judged and held accountable for what you're in charge of.
ASSURAS: Reporter Bob Woodward has written four books on the Bush presidency.
WOODWARD: I've interviewed him for close to 11 hours. One of the questions I asked him was about how history would look at his Iraq war. And he rightly says we won't know, we'll all be dead. It may look very different in 50 years. Is there democracy, more stability? If that's the case, it's quite possible historians who are measuring that legacy will look back on it and say he did fine.
FRUM: When we look around the world, we see all sorts of quiet successes for the United States over the past eight years.
ASSURAS: David Frum is a former Bush speech writer, now with the American Enterprise Institute. Regardless of how Iraq turns out, he says, it's not the only issue on the table.
FRUM: We have this rising power of China, that has shown a lot of aggression. The Bush Administration has managed to avoid confrontation with China, to open the way to a peaceful and normal future for China. And where there have been new governments, from Japan, to South Korea, to Germany, to France, each change of power has brought to power a more friendly government to the United States.
BUSH: One size does not fit all when it comes to educating the children in America.
ASSURAS: On the domestic side, President Bush claims credit for the No Child Left Behind Act, the prescription drug benefit, and putting a conservative stamp on the federal courts. He's recognized for progress fighting AIDS in Africa. And just last week he set aside a huge tract of the Pacific as a protected wildlife area. Opinions vary on the impact of these and other programs, but the consensus is Bush's legacy will largely rest on one event: 9/11 and his response to the attacks.
BARTLETT: At the eye of the storm, he was a very calm person making very methodical decisions. This was a man who met his moment, in many respects, as a leader.
ASSURAS: Dan Bartlett, now a CBS News consultant, was President Bush's communications director and was with him during the attacks.
BUSH: Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for making the nation proud.
ASSURAS: Mr. Bush's greatest legacy, he believes, is that there have been no more attacks on US soil since 9/11.
BARTLETT: Which, at the time, was not something that was considered to be possible. Many people thought it was only inevitable that the terrorists who want to do harm to our country would be successful.
BRINKLEY: I think President Bush was a good man so infuriated and angered by 9/11 that he put on his ideological blinders and forgot that we have other things we represent -- civil liberties here at home, a Constitution, global human rights. That he started disliking the world community, alienated allies for no reason.
ASSURAS: Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, also a CBS consultant, sees 9/11 as a different kind of turning point.
BRINKLEY: But he put all the chips on Iraq, Took the entire agenda of a new century and pushed it all on -- played it on one number.
BUSH: My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended, in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.
BRINKLEY: The presidents that operate with certainty can be great presidents. But you better be right. To be certain and be wrong is a disaster.
ASSURAS: There is a handful of presidents usually included in the top tier of historical rankings, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt. So where will George Bush fit in? Dan Bartlett believes the debate is still too tinged with partisan politics for any objective measure.
BARTLETT: And I think the politics of the moment -- and they've gotten very acrimonious -- will slowly fade, and then you can have a more dispassionate view of what did this person achieve. What did -- was he trying to do, and was that actually right? My sense is it's going to be a more favorable picture.
ASSURAS: So is President Bush's current low rating among historians just liberal bias? Rice University's Douglas Brinkley doesn't think so.
BRINKLEY: When I'm sitting here telling you that Ronald Reagan and, you know, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower were outstanding presidents, these are Republicans. I'm telling you, Ronald Reagan was one of the five greatest presidents in American history. I'm not saying that because I'm a liberal. I'm just saying it because it's a fact. But you have to then accept when I'm telling you George Bush is one of the five worst presidents in American history, it's not because I want to stick it to him. He simply failed on the big questions of his day.
BUSH: I'm not going to be around to see the final history written on my administration. The truth is that history's verdict takes time to reveal itself.
WOODWARD: In his mind, he sees himself a little bit like Harry Truman or Abraham Lincoln. Misunderstood in their time. And, you know, we're going to have to go to another time to get a really solid historical judgment of that. And he's right when he says we'll all be dead. We won't know.
—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
"In a 2006 Siena College
January 12, 2009 - 14:29 ET by Chris Norman"In a 2006 Siena College survey of 744 history professors, 82 percent rated President Bush below average or a failure. "
And if one can't trust a bunch of liberal college history professors to give a fair appraisal of a Republican president, who can one trust?
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Historical Analysis
January 12, 2009 - 15:18 ET by Agrarian-DecentralistThere you go. They're all a bunch of liberals, so you can automatically discount their assessments of Bush.
Of course historians, like most other people, have political biases. But they are also expert analysts whose lives revolve around placing people, ideas, and events in a broader context than most of their fellows have the skill or training to see. Thus---speaking as someone who spent much of his professional life working in historical research institutions---I'm hardly surprised to hear Doug Brinkley say that despite his own political leanings he sees Reagan as a great president.
But neither am I surprised to learn that Brinkley and many other historians believe Bush is one of the worst. The evidence readily supports the conclusion. Or at least it does if, like a good historian, one exposes oneself to a broad range of information and viewpoints. My sense is that many conservatives avoid doing that.
Many liberals consider
January 12, 2009 - 15:57 ET by KarmaMany liberals consider their opinions, historical fact. Most conservatives avoid doing that.
No representation, without taxation!
President Bush fulfilled
January 13, 2009 - 17:13 ET by TailgunnerPresident Bush fulfilled the number one responsibility of his office; he defended and protected this country.
He also completed two terms without personal scandal. That is another major accomplishment in Washington, and deserves special credit by itself.
President Bush's integrity and commitment in the pursuit of radical Islamists, despite the treasonous daily backstabbing and lies of the left, will be compared with Churchill, FDR and Lincoln.
To gauge a President as a 'failure' or 'success' is the worst kind of oversimplification.
Yes, being impeached for perjury and obstruction or presiding over a skyrocketing 'misery index' should count as 'failures', but policy and ideological disagreements from the observer's point of view should not.
Overall, even with the major disagreements I have with his neo-socialist policies, I'd say GWB did a pretty damn good job.
LIBERALS LIE, ALL THE TIME, ABOUT EVERYTHING.
Any nit-wit who can find a positive
January 12, 2009 - 16:43 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltthing to say about JC's presidency is automatically disqualified from rational judgement of Bush's presidency. I mean, Bush had to clean up the mess that JC started for us all in the middle-east.
Principles are very valuable and you have to give credit to someone for holding to their principles, but let's not forget that pragmatism can sometimes morally trump principles. Case in point...sure, JC was principled when it came to his approach to handling the terrorism issue, but as a result, look at the worldwide mess it created, how many have suffered and died as a result. Thanks, but I'll take a principled president who knows how to swing a firm, pragmatic hand now and then, such as GWB.
I for one haven't seen any thing to label President
January 12, 2009 - 17:06 ET by ahusserBush the worst. Ok. He prosecuted an unpopular war. But the economy was good during most of his administration (the jury is still out on what caused the meltdown the last 6 months but there is strong evidence of a democratic congresses protection and tinkering with social engineering through banking entities). There were no major terrorist attacks after 9-11. No riots or civil disturbances, No starvation or disease epidemics. Pretty much nothing happened during his administration other than natural events he was blamed for (Katrina and the Waves). The worst thing about his administration was his inability to fight the incessant vile slander, vilification, propaganda, shrill hysteria from the left and their msm minions. I believe these attacks broke a good man and made it impossible to govern with any effectiveness. In hindsight I believe that Iraq was a political mistake of the first order but maybe not a strategic or moral one. Now after saying all that he may be the worst president for the last two weeks because that is the extent of a liberal's historical memory.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
I wish W would say...
January 12, 2009 - 17:15 ET by Prester John.....when asked what his biggest failure was, was that it was not recognizing the hatred for him that filled the Democrats to such an extent that they would actually compare our troops at Gitmo to Nazis (Dickie Turban), declare that war in Iraq was lost (Harry Reid), and otherwise help our enemies and stab our military in the back, over and over again.
Once again, we have a liberal whiner whining here.
January 12, 2009 - 18:30 ET by JWFA liberal whining whiner comes to a site about combating liberal media bias and whines about conservatives when he reads an article on the liberal bias of a bunch of whiny whiner liberal propagandist historians.
No perspective. No honesty. Just spin about whining whiners that eat breathe drink poop rub snort caress kick walk talk and REVOLVE history. ALL HISTORY ALL THE TIME. And of course with all the history training 24x7 for 27 years that they INTENSIVELY undergo, they now have 87.5655% more brain cells than the rest of us and use their considerable skill and training to teach the rest of us how to USE A SPOON properly just like the ancient sumerians. Because GAWD knows we are utterly incapable of looking at the newspaper headlines of the last 8 years and making a decision on the historical record of a President we have watched and read about. NOOOOOO! We need trained professionals for that.
And oh look everybody! WE HAVE ONE RIGHT HERE! He spent many many many hours of his professional life sucking up ALL THE PROPAGANDA he could get from these liberal whining whiners. An honest to goodness LIBERAL ELITE right here.
Please oh please tell us more AgrarianPooDispenser! Please enlighten us all we your broad range of information and viewpoints. We conservatives shall sit at your feet and grok grok grok.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
JWF
January 12, 2009 - 18:36 ET by choselife3xYou said a mouthful there.
Carry on, soldier.
In order to be pro-choice, one must first be born. Ah, the irony.
And if one can't trust the
January 12, 2009 - 18:27 ET by Chris NormanAnd if one can't trust the well known uber-liberal named "Agrarian-Decentralist" to fairly judge the judgement of a Republican president by a bunch of liberal college professors, who can you trust?
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Good evening Chris
January 12, 2009 - 19:58 ET by cocodriePlease allow me to mark one up on the board for you.
Yhe New York address for the Old Media shall henceforth be "The news of the liberals, by the liberals, for the liberals, shall perish from the earth."
And if you polled these same "professors"...
January 12, 2009 - 14:30 ET by Prester John...you'd probably find that 90%+ voted for Kerry, 95%+ voted for Obama, they'd say Clinton was one of our best presidents, Carter to be average, Reagan to be below average, and if asked would proclaim BHO as the greatest president of all time because, well, because he's BHO.
Doug Brinkley...
January 12, 2009 - 16:52 ET by Arminius... essentially performed the literary version of a Lewinsky in 2004 with his official biography on John Kerry.
That's a good point
January 12, 2009 - 19:22 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltWe should start a pool to see how long before some network or egg-headed historian does indeed proclaim BHO as best-ever president!
Won't be long...
Ungrateful ingrate
January 12, 2009 - 14:42 ET by SickofLibs"Bush has nothing on the positive side, virtually nothing."
Except maybe the fact that ungrateful a-holes like Brinkley have not been vaporized in a terrorist attack.
Not that I would have a problem with that...
Snicker...
January 12, 2009 - 22:07 ET by DEVILDOCMOMI certainly agree.
Here's Fred Barnes
January 12, 2009 - 14:42 ET by thebutlerdiditHere's Fred Barnes take on Bush's Presidency:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/986rockt.asp?pg=1
Bringing the government in to run Wall Street is like saying, "Dad burned the dinner, let's get the dog to cook." PJ O'Rourke
Let me try to understand
January 12, 2009 - 14:45 ET by GoodieCBS is in last place been there forever, Assuras is a "Correspondant" for a last place news organization. This is journalism? Then she refers to professors (lower than Life Insurance Salespeople) to do polling? Wow this is very powerful. How about the ratings for Congress-Pelosi and the Senate-Reid? What about the criminals like Frank, Dodd, would you like to be a sitting Prez with these morons?
O's last day 1-20-2013
Any historian worth
January 12, 2009 - 14:45 ET by Hero SquadAny historian worth their salt should know that you need to wait at least 20 years before you can make an accurate assessment on the legacy of a presidency.
Not that these historians give a hoot about making accurate assessments, mind you.
Buchanan remains at the bottom of the barrell, now and for always. But that's not an assessment that'll sell papers.
I think long term, Bush settles in around the upper middle pack, somewhere in the vicinity of Truman. It'll depend largely on three things moving forward... progress in Iraq/Afghanistan/GWOT, where the economy heads over the next 2 years, and whether or not the security implements set in place after 9/11 continue and keep our country free of another major terror attack.
I guarantee he'll rank considerably higher than where historians are placing him right now.
*
Hero's "retro" blog. / "People only insist that a debate stop when they are afraid of what might be learned if it continues." - George Will
Let me try to understand
January 12, 2009 - 14:45 ET by GoodieCBS is in last place been there forever, Assuras is a "Correspondant" for a last place news organization. This is journalism? Then she refers to professors (lower than Life Insurance Salespeople) to do polling? Wow this is very powerful. How about the ratings for Congress-Pelosi and the Senate-Reid? What about the criminals like Frank, Dodd, would you like to be a sitting Prez with these morons?
O's last day 1-20-2013
→ Noted Historian
January 12, 2009 - 14:52 ET by Cool ArrowNoted Islamic Historian and Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al Zawahri, attacked Mr. Obama as a "house Negro,"
I don't report this to be facetious, but rather to point out that there's an "authority" for any number of messages one wishes to convey.
Given the total cave-in the MSM has displayed for Islam, President Obama might soon start feeling the pressure to improve his image with "the religion of peace"
if you can't rate college football teams, how do you the POTUS?
January 12, 2009 - 14:55 ET by sockit2meIt is crazy how much the media wants to put nails and nails and nails into the coffin of George W. Bush. Thankfully, more and more people are seeing through all of this.
I am from the NY area...and I can tell you on 9-12-01 I felt SURE more attacks would come......and you know what....NONE did!
George W stuck to his principles and ideals as it relates to protecting this country and its citizens! And for that, and a lot of other things, he will be heralded downstream by OBJECTIVE observers!
We will miss you George W. Bush!
Jimmy Carter a Good President?
January 12, 2009 - 14:59 ET by allanfThese same historians apparently think Jimmy Carter (author of Palestine Peace not Apartheid and negotiator with Hamas) was a suscessful President. I guess they just loved four years of high inflation,double digit unemployment, oil shortages, military timidness and strategic setbacks for the United States.
And these guys are historians?
but but but, the rest of the
January 12, 2009 - 15:05 ET by MrSnugglesbut but but, the rest of the world respected us!
Carter Administration
January 12, 2009 - 16:37 ET by doug1950Much, and I mean much of the current terrorist situation around the world can be fully laid at the feet of Jimmy Carter and the policies or lack of action on his administrations part in dealing with the terrorist during his tenure in the WH. He alone, set back the ability of our intelligence community through actions he did that completely gutted our abilities to gather intell overseas. His begging the Iranians to "please" release our hostages send shockwaves through the Muslim communities around the world because they knew then, that America was a Paper Tiger and that Carter had no stomach. The one thing they fear and respect if force and power and he demonstrated NONE of the those things to them and the rest of the world. I know of what I speak...I was there when we went for our hostages and that was the biggest *&%$ goat roping mission ever devised by man and was doomed to fail. Anyone who lived or wore a uniform during the Carter years can tell you HE is the worst PotUS in our history. We had ships that could not put to sea for lack of parts, fuel and people, aircraft that could not fly for the same reasons. I can remember having to do things that were dangerous, illegal and stupid in order to complete missions due to lack of what was needed. Patches on the seats of flight suits, no flight gloves for crewmen and on and on. Don't get me started about this.........man. Now he sits in judgement of others and mistakes. He needs to keep his butt down in Plains and shut up.
I was one of those who wore
January 14, 2009 - 10:47 ET by TailgunnerI was one of those who wore a uniform during the Carter years.
Morale was low and drugs were rampant. We were scorned and ripped off by clip joints and shady dealers of all types.
It was rumored that there were signs appearing on lawns off base saying, 'Dogs and Sailors Keep Off the Grass'.
I remember times when we couldn't cash our paychecks because there was no money in the defense budget to cover them.
I remember that we had to safety-wire our flight deck boots to keep the soles from falling off. We finally started getting regular replacements when our maintenance officer dropped a pair of worn-out, oil-soaked, safety-wired boots on the Skipper's desk.
I remember that we always had at least one F-14A 'hangar queen' from which we would rob parts to keep the others flying. After 90 days, by NAVAIR policy, we would have to select another 'hangar queen' and switch all the 'robbed' parts....all because we could not get spares.
We would perform maintenance procedures afloat that were normally reserved for CONUS depot facilities to keep the 'birds' mission capable.
When President Reagan took charge it was like the US Armed Forces received a giant enema.
LIBERALS LIE, ALL THE TIME, ABOUT EVERYTHING.
They've been saying this
January 12, 2009 - 14:59 ET by mattmThey've been saying this since January 20, 2000.
Public opinion of President Bush..
January 12, 2009 - 15:03 ET by Gary HallPublic opinion of President Bush.. I don't know exactly how Assuras gets away with this: "On the domestic side, President Bush claims credit for the No Child Left Behind Act, the prescription drug benefit, and putting a conservative stamp on the federal courts. He's recognized for progress fighting AIDS in Africa."
Domestic? His historical effort in 3rd world countries to take the HIV/Aids pandemic and malaria issue head on should hardly be considered domestic? And he's recognized by who? Yes, while bit by bit, little bits, of "oh well, Bush did do that Aids thing," a very small % of Americans have begun to sense that something there has happened - but by and large almost all of the left side of the isle actually, if they are aware of it, hate Bush for his efforts. They think he has done more harm than good. Ann Curry, in an interview almost a year ago, had to force herself to note to President Bush that 'some say a million lives may have already been saved by his efforts,' (paraphrased) before quickly changing the subject to pound on him for Iraq.
It's impossible for the public to make an objective analysis of the Bush record, when the MSM deliberately and consistently hides the positive far reaching news, and hypes the bad news - or makes up the bad news day in and day out.
Bush's PEPFAR program, as a small part of it's effort, funded for and distributed some 2 billion condoms in Africa; it required that only 6.7% of the total funding would be directed to abstinence only" issues yet, in Nov. 2008, the Mercury News editorial board stated:
No, folks - by any measure - President Clinton's looking the other way, and policy of complaceny in Africa, alone, was partially responsible for millions of deaths there during the late 1990's alone - not to mention elsewhere in the world.
I'd almost bet that neither Brinkley, Ellis, Assuras, Woodward, or Osgood would even be capable of finding this from just a few months ago:
See - you feel good already - and it didn't take putting the MSM's man in the WH, did it?
Failed?
January 12, 2009 - 15:04 ET by baseballmavenBaseballmaven
The failed president is Jimmy Carter, not George Bush--goes to show you how twisted and contorted the machinations (can't use the terms logic or reasoning here) of the MSM is--they love Carter, that anti-Semitic apologist for terrorists, and hate Bush, one of the most courageous presidents--who did what it took to keep us safe for 7 years after 9/11, regardless of what people thought of him--that's true courage.
Too Early
January 12, 2009 - 15:13 ET by Gat New YorkA professor I had in college once said:
I don't recall exactly what he was referring to back then, but I wrote it down because of how profoundly true it was.
The professor was the late socialist Michael Harrington.
→ Tru Dat GAT
January 12, 2009 - 15:19 ET by Cool ArrowAnd it is seldom written by the loser.
I don't know if is the same
January 12, 2009 - 15:20 ET by Hunter12I don't know if is the same piece I saw this morning on MSNBC, but in that one they gave all the blame for the economic downturn to President Bush due to the housing bust. That was all his fault, despite the documentation showing his administration tried to rein in the Clinton appointees and were stymied with, "The Republicans don't want poor people to own homes." The pundits normalized the economy to zero growth, despite 52 months of economic growth, by stripping out any gains from the housing market. I guess if Fannie and Freddie had been reined in and not provided that investment market, the people who were allowed to speculate and lost their shirts (until the taxpayers paid to clothe them) in the housing market would have been sleeping on lumpy mattresses full of cash. I wonder if these same economic geniuses are going to return to Clinton's terms and remove the dot-com bubble from Clinton's perceived economic boom? Are we supposed to forget that's what the Bush administration inherited from Bubba. Less than six months after planes full of terrorists destroyed investors will, under President Bush and a GOP Congress, the DJIA started back up and it peaked above 14,000. The policies of change of Pelosi and Reid have managed to drag the market back to levels that hadn't been seen since Reagan took office.
I think President Bush needs full credit for restoring investor confidence after 9/11 and we need to place the blame for the current downturn squarely on the shoulders of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, where it belongs.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
blame for the economic downturn
January 12, 2009 - 21:47 ET by lvhI agree..facts are facts.
Bush"s place in history
January 12, 2009 - 15:21 ET by east tennessee johnAs he leaves office with a 28% approval rating in contrast to the Pelosi-Reid Congressional approval rating of 9% I guess some historical proportional examination is in order, don't they think? Of course the 50 million people who were liberated during his term and the unknown millions saved by his African initatiive didn't get a chance to vote or express an opinion either, did they? We can also forget the fact that since the greatest attck against Americans on our own soil, not one other occurred doesn't count for much or the economic growth that occurred after that attack. Hell, the man just took his check for 8 years and gets to be evaluated by people who were at least 90% against him before any questions were asked. How much more "scholarly" can you get?
Trust me, I have been back
January 12, 2009 - 15:31 ET by EdhenryTrust me, I have been back to graduate school every decade since the 70s, if you are on the opposite side of 80+% of college professors, you are in the right place.
Out of touch, liberal, overpaid, arrogant, gas bags that do not have the guts to stray from a co-dependent relationship with other liberals (or consider dissent or hire any conservatives).
This is just the latest
January 12, 2009 - 15:34 ET by fitzfongThis is just the latest lame attempt by the media and academia to take the heat off the real failure...without question, the worst President ever...Jimmy Carter. They think they can sugar-coat Carter's abject Presidency by appealing to soft-skulled college students (who weren't born until he was mercifully dispatched and whose grades are often leveraged by their conformity to the opinions of the professor) and those with very short memories. Nice try. Bush's actual place in history will be somewhere in the middle.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
fitzfong.blogspot.com
During the Carter years the U.S. was
January 12, 2009 - 17:20 ET by ahusserDepressed, full of J.C.'s (aka The A$$hole) malaise, the real worst enonomy since the great depression, oil shocks, waffling, indecision, scandal, appeasement, alienating allies (under the bus shah of Iran), timidity, anti-military, anti-Intelligence (in more ways than one) ad nauseum, infinitum. It was so depressing that when non-pro hockey kids beat the monolithic USSR in the Olympics I really cried with joy and was again proud to be an American. I think that was the day the Carter flu and fever broke never to return. Never ever say that Bush was the worst President.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
WORST PRESIDENT
January 12, 2009 - 15:46 ET by DRM 23Three words for ya'----JAMES EARL CARTER!!!! Nuff said!!!
→ That's right! Carter
January 12, 2009 - 15:53 ET by Cool ArrowI think it's deplorable that Jimmy Carter isn't even dead yet and Democrats are already trying to strip him of the only mark of distinction to his name.
It's getting chilly, I better put on a sweater.
How does that go?
January 12, 2009 - 16:28 ET by cocodrieHow does that go?
"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." They are waiting for Jimmah to do something they can bury him with.
If they were real
January 12, 2009 - 16:18 ET by midnight cowboyIf they were real historians they would know the truth that Jimmah Carter opened the Islamic Pandora's box when he bungled support for the Shah of Iran in the late 70's when Iran was a key ally of the U.S. Thanks to Jimmy the geek, the militant Islamic sea gates opened and 3000 dead in NYC may just be the end of the first act, now that Carter II the sequel is about to played in a theatre near you.
Bob Dylan instructed us about historian's assessment...
January 12, 2009 - 15:56 ET by ThalpyBob Dylan instructed us about historian's assessment of events when he said "You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows." As thing go in today's world, a cluster of 744 historians would assure you of only one thing: you have managed to assemble quite a number of loons. Brinkley is mistaken about his view that just because he sees Reagan in a positive way, I must accept his judgement about Bush. He said the Bush put on blinders and forgot that we believe in "global human rights." Many of us do not believe that enemy combatants deserve habeas corpus irrespective of what Brinkley thinks- or Chris Dodd, or Leahy, or Specter. So, he is a historian; so what? Time may or may not be kind to George Bush, we'll see. The Progressive criticisms of Bush are not necessarily legitimate criticisms. Carter, however, is different. He is owned outright by the Arabs. They have bailed him our financially and infected his mind. The jury is still out on Bush.
Dylan also noted this:
January 12, 2009 - 16:05 ET by Gary Hall"I'm liberal, but to a degree; I want everyone to be free." - B. Dylan
It's not easy to free people from the claws of communists, dictators, and radical extremist Islamic tyrants. Being liberal is not so much the problem - it's being liberal and being stupid that is scary.
Mutually Inclusive
January 12, 2009 - 16:34 ET by jdlybrandnewsisblues
You're right, but aren't the two mutually inclusive?
→ Dylan also said:
January 12, 2009 - 16:34 ET by Cool Arrow"Your debutante knows what you need, but I know what you want"
Not sure it's pertinent . . . I'm just sayin'
More historical revisionism from the media
January 12, 2009 - 16:00 ET by Arminius"Before the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
Again, the misery index (unemployment rate plus inflation rate) was 7.77% in November 2008. It was 21.98%, or almost three times as high, during June 1980. It was still above 20% when Reagan became president in January 1981. The media completely ignore the Carter years.
Brinkley: I'm not
January 12, 2009 - 16:09 ET by KC MulvilleI don't have to accept anything Brinkley (or any other historian) says until he comes up with arguments to back up these surface impressions. No historian has the real facts, or all the secrets, that went into the decisions made so recently.
I agree with Woodward here. History will judge presidents for the things they were actually responsible for, and that always means foreign policy. People forget that while Franklin Roosevelt was actually president for about fourteen years, perhaps twelve of those years were economically disastrous. History doesn't blame him, because while his attempts to fix the economy made things worse, no one believes that presidents can realy do much to manage the economy. History will forget Katrina as a Bush failure, because how was he (or Clinton, for that matter) to know that the levees weren't sufficient? It would be ridiculous to think that Bush should have been keeping track of levee maintenance. That's what we pay other people to maintain.
In the short term, and politically, presidents take the blame and credit for everything. But long term, history reveals the secrets that presidents knew at the time, and whittles away the bark that the contemporary press lays on events. Bush constantly repeats the mantra that history will justify him. Is that because of false hope, or does he know so many secrets that journalists and university professors don't know about?
Worst in History
January 12, 2009 - 16:31 ET by jdlybrandnewsisblues
May I take this opportunity to declare CBS the worst network in the history of mankind; and they have lot's of competition.
Complete
Bull
S**t
Want to talk about a failed presidency?
January 12, 2009 - 16:39 ET by Prester JohnHow about ol' LBJ?
500,000 trooop (and 58,000 DEAD) in the quagmire of Vietnam that the despised Richard Nixon was able to get out in 4 years without selling out our ally.
The so-called Great Society which created the welfare monstrosity that is now working on ruining a third generation (or is it the fourth generation) of poor blacks, whites, and hispanics.
The creation of all the other social programs of the Great Society that gave us the entitlement mentality that afflicts every strata of society and financial burdens that, if continued, will bankrupt the country.
Riots and civil disturbances all through 1967 and 1968--can you say Detroit and the Chicago Convention?
And then calling it quits and not running for a 2d term.
F-A-I-L-U-R-E
In hindsight
January 12, 2009 - 17:27 ET by ahusserFrom about 1964 to 1980 there was a lot of bad crud going on. That was a 16 year run of crap. But it sure was exciting if not schizophrenic. Remember those daily interest rate changes during the Carter years almost like last summers gas prices.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
I don't know much about
January 12, 2009 - 16:39 ET by Ruths husband BenI don't know much about history, but I know what I like. I like historians who stick to talking about history, for example. And to me, history is "stuff that happened in the past." Since, the Great and Mighty O hasn't taken orifice yet, Prez Bush's presidency is not over. And yet, these clowns are already lining up to judge his presidency. What? Is there grant money out there for the first Nostradumbass on the scene?
Considering how much liberal arts grads know these days (I think the last conversation that I had with a English Major was, "No, I don't want that supersized, if I did I would have said so. Oh, and can I have extra napkins?"), I would say we are living in the era of the worst historians in our history.
What were these historians
January 12, 2009 - 16:44 ET by eaglewingz08What were these historians view of Reagan before he left office? I'd bet they viewed him as in the bottom rung of Presidents too.
Huh?
January 12, 2009 - 17:06 ET by bertkillianThalia: Why don't you just poll Al-Qaeda on how they think President Bush has done or..., the Iranians, or..., etc.
Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea....
January 12, 2009 - 18:18 ET by Prester John....since it would be interesting to know how many jihadists totally screwed up on their predictions regarding our response to 9/11 based on der Schlickmeister's limp response to the first WTC bombing, the two bombings in Saudi Arabia, the two embasssies and the USS Cole.
I wonder if the bad guys would've gone through with 9/11 if they know what was going to happen to them in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world, not to mention the all expenses paid stay at Gitmo for the survivors.
Why not Walter 'back to the USSR' Cronkite?
January 12, 2009 - 17:09 ET by 1611LilacLadySurely CBS could drag out this declared globalist to give an unbiased opinion on Bush.
I'm just waiting for when this charade of Dems v GOP will end and they'll finally reveal they're all in it together!?
One little itty bitty example: Kissinger just came out and revealed he's encouraged that Hussein could be involved in actually bringing the New World Order all together -
Kissinger as we all know, worked for Nixon, Reagan and Bush Sr. So he ought to know right? >>little bit of tongue in cheek<<
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=85442
Isaiah 5:20a Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil. . . KJV
Three (3) year olds....
January 12, 2009 - 18:10 ET by ScrapironI once thought liberal professors had the thought capability of a third grade student. Now I rate them right up there with the three year olds. It's sad that taxpayers who actually work are paying these slime balls a large salary. They are working hard to get their respect level down to the 0% that politicians and judges enjoy.
Can we see the accomplishments of the losers called professors which match a degree from Harvard, a degree from Yale, a license to fly a jet fighter, documents which show they were the governor of Tx and a two term president. Sounds more like those without one accomplishment judging the accomplishments of others.
Professors are on the level of an unmarried welfare worker with no children telling a family how to rear their children. I guess that works with a retarded liberal democrat.
Old, Retired and glad of it.
Kinda brings to mind....
January 12, 2009 - 18:14 ET by Prester John....the Rodney Dangerfield movie where he brings a taste of reality to the stuffy business professor's class as in planning a construction project is fine, but don't forget to factor in the cost of paying off the mayor, the local planning office, the garbage collectors.....
Amateur Historians
January 12, 2009 - 18:31 ET by BlueCat57We're all amateur historians here so let's take a survey:
Who is the worst president of our lifetime?
a. Jimmy Carter (Oops, many of you probably weren't even born by 1981, but heck, why let facts get in the way of history.)
b. Barack Hussein Obama
c. William Jefferson Clinton
Oh, why waste your time. The answer is b. Barack Husseing Obama.
So let's get started on writing all those class reports. We can just make up the facts since that's OK with all the liberals out there. It's the intention and seriousness that counts. Heck, why waste our children's time with school and research, let's just give them all smiley faces, a diploma and call them professors.
This is just too wrong
January 12, 2009 - 19:05 ET by RD KingJimmy use to be the worst ever but like Rush said Clueless O will be JC times a trillion. He will soar to the stars as the biggest empty suit know nuthing the good ole US ever saw and all the while try to use Govt force to convert Americans to muslims and communists. This is what the lib loon moonbats of the MSM are so happy about.
I'm sure the millions of people in Afganistan and Iraq...
January 12, 2009 - 19:10 ET by Jnoble..who aren't in danger anymore of getting lowered into an industrial blender because they looked at someone in their former governments wrong have a different take on George W Bush than the MSM snobs who's idea of torture and suffering is the local Starbucks being closed early.
Bush Is a Failure
January 12, 2009 - 19:11 ET by BW222I voted for George Bush twice, but I have to agree he is a failure. As a faux (compassionate) conservative, Bush played a major role in the destruction of the conservative movement and the GOP.
Like John McCain, George Bush wanted liberals (e.g. Ted Kennedy) to like him while always being willing to throw the base under the bus.
Bush was a failure in os many areas - mismanagement of the war (until the surge), run-away spending, fostering the growth of big government, "No Child Left Behind," his immigration policies, failing to secure the nation's borders after 9-11, the bailout, etc. Left to his own divices, he probably would have nominated Alberto Gonzales and Harriett Miers to the Supreme Court.
The GOP controlled both houses of Congress when he assumed office. Now we control nothing.
Here's hoping he keeps a very low profile after his term ends and maybe even moves to Mexico, which appears to be his first love.
BW222
We respectfully beg to differ.
January 12, 2009 - 19:50 ET by JWFCompassionate conservatism is another way of saying socialism lite.
But we are not readily able to label Pres. Bush a failure just yet.
1. He did not mismanage the war. It is too easy to be a monday morning quarterback. All the things that made the surge work may not have been so easily accomplished early on. It is still too early to judge.
2. run away spending. No. Yes, spending was a little out of hand, but not historically high. Inflation tends to make big numbers look even bigger. Spending as a percentage of GDP was not insane by any standard measure.
3. No child left behind. OK. Agree. Let's take a poorly performing monopoly and solve all its problems by throwing massive amounts of money at it.
4. Immigration policy. Maybe. Would we have such a problem with letting the illegal immigrants stay if they all voted Republican? I for one might say Bienvenido amigo.
5. The nations borders. Still too early to tell. We have not had another 9/11 incident. And many plots have been foiled that we know about and more that we never heard about. It is all tied in. Too early to judge.
6. The bailout. This is a crisis of confidence, financial confidence, so that means, yea, we have to give money to really big banks, and so far, except for the auto manufacturers, that is what we have done. Too early to tell the effects. Too early to judge.
7. He did nominate Miers to the Supreme Court. A disaster. But he listened and withdrew. Alberto Gonzales, not familiar enough to say, all I have heard is the liberal complaints about him.
So failure, no. We respectfully beg to differ.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
BW,...Maybe you should move
January 12, 2009 - 20:32 ET by the strugglerBW,...Maybe you should move to Mexico
Journalism is totally dead..
January 12, 2009 - 19:21 ET by Jnoble..for these blithering idiots to TOTALLY ignore the fact that under GWB: We kicked the crap out of Al-Qaeda worldwide after 9/11 and continue to do so, Iraq and Afganistan are under friendly govts now (Afganistan is still a work in progress), the dow was at an all time high and the unemployment rate was at an all time low until very recently for a number of years.
And remember 'ol Kaddaffi in Lybia pissing himself after we took Bagdad and voluntarily giving up a WMD program no-one even knew about? That story lasted about two days before it was off the MSM radar.
No, GWB's biggest mistake was wildly underestimating how much the MSM and the Dems would undermine him every step of the way and for reasons I don't understand, never doing much to stick up for his own administration.
Frankly, the day after he leaves office I'd love to see him do a live walk-in cameo on The Daily Show and upper-cut snarky little Jon Stewart off his chair. And then go to Bill Mahr's show next. And then Letterman.... :-)
Obama's no George Bush
January 13, 2009 - 08:16 ET by ThisnThatIn contrast to President Bush's strong stance on protecting the U.S., look at what Obama has done this week:
1) Announce the closing of GITMO. What's he going to do with the prisoners? (a) Release them; or (b) Give them taxpayer-funded lawyers; or (c) Distribute them to jails and prisons throughout the country. In any case, he is announcing that we are a "terrorist-friendly" country. I guess this is to make more people love us.
2) Announce that we are surrendering in Iraq. HEADLINE: Biden Discusses Troop Withdrawals With Iraqi PM. That's it -- troop withdrawals. Complete. Permament. No discussion of overall mid-east security situation. No discussion if Iran. Didn't ask the Iraqis their opinion. Just quit, and leave a vacuum. Too bad Biden couldn't meet with AlQueda, where he could officially surrender.
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
What professors think about
January 12, 2009 - 20:11 ET by celatorWhat professors think about anything is worth about a used wad of bubble gum.
Remember, Truman left the WH with a much lower public opinion (driven by leftists, no doubt) than President Bush. And now, when people study what he confronted and took on, his place in history is far more honorable.
Was he perfect? Dear Lord, no. Made some awful mistakes. But he was better than most presidents turned out to be in facing the realities of his time in office.
For liberal Democrats and the Old Media, everything is crisis, chaos, calamity and catastrophe. That justifies stealing your property and liberties.
W not the worst, but crimes he committed might be
January 12, 2009 - 20:41 ET by RonCThe greatest disappointment to conservatives has been George W. Bush's unflagging support for the North American Union. Few thought he could possibly be a traitor - but many see him as just that.
Closely behind the treasonous NAU charade has been W's blatant refusal to enforce our borders. (Note however, it was the NAFTA agreement signed under Clinton that effectively ELIMINATED the Canadian and Mexican borders - and W ran with that.)
Under the guidance of his Trilateralist father George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush worked tirelessly to create the merger of Canada, Mexico and the US into a single government entity under an overarching parliamentary government - populated by officials from Mexico, Canada and the US.
Soon the effective decapitation of the historic US representative form of government will be complete. All of the 'agreements' have all been signed - effectively behind the backs of the American people.
(Think CAFTA, AFTA, and near a half dozen other signed 'treaties,' most recent, the 'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America' - shepherded to international law through completely undemocratic means by George W. Bush. )
Soon too, the establishment of a new currency (the 'Amero') to replace the Dollar (Trilateralist deadline, by 2010) which will put our currency on-par far closer to the Peso than that of the Euro. Expect a strength and wealth-killing massive devaluation. (The Denver Mint has already stuck coinage.)
Thanks to George W Bush, the manufactured economic calamity already underway (much like that which socialist FDR used) will push Americans hard down the road toward his father's dream - that 'New World Order' - and the ultimate, a single World Government.
I don't care how benign the Trilateralist schemers think their plans are, or how much they believe their plans will avoid future wars and lead to world peace and prosperity, because we know from history that massive all-powerful government leads to slavery - and mass murder.
What George W. Bush has done has helped manufacture the final chaos needed to help push the US into non-existence as a sovereign nation - becoming just another weak cog in the plans of those who want soon to rule the entire earth.
For that alone, I think Bush is a foolish man that our forefathers would charge with treason, try as a traitor - and impose the penalty the crime demands.
Time to call the pharmacy
January 12, 2009 - 21:05 ET by TailgunnerTime to call the pharmacy for that refill.
LIBERALS LIE, ALL THE TIME, ABOUT EVERYTHING.
Coat Room
January 12, 2009 - 21:20 ET by BlueCat57RonC - you forget to check your tin hat in the coat room. Before you spout off about the Trilateralists you should probably read every word of every treaty to make sure that they say what you think they say. And don't forget to tell us where all the Canadian, US and Mexican government officials are meeting. Then you can explain why if the Trilateral Commission is soooooo POWERFUL it is taking them so long to establish their one world order.
→ Besides
January 12, 2009 - 21:24 ET by Cool ArrowEverybody knows it's the Illuminati with their Harvard front, The Skulls.
DAMMIT! Can't anyone here at NB keep a friggin secret?
January 12, 2009 - 21:24 ET by JWFNow how did this guy discover all of our secrets?
Time to send out another squad of black helicopters boys. Someone is getting way to close to the truth.
RonC, you got 20 minutes. I would take this time to BUG OUT RICKY TICK!
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
JWF it's Hollywood
January 12, 2009 - 21:28 ET by Cool Arrow"They Saved Hitler's Brain" just came out in Blu-Ray.
The secret's out.
Ron
January 12, 2009 - 21:36 ET by botgyou have the agenda down but your time-frame is rather accelerated. Plus you need to revamp the power brokers as there are many organized but moreso unorganized efforts to make North America like unto the 'enlightened' Europeans. I do not believe we are yet past the tipping point but the indoctrination in the public schools and universities is creating more believers in a unified planet every day.
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
Not my 'time-frame'
January 12, 2009 - 22:47 ET by RonCbotg - The 'time-frame' isn't mine - 2010 is their published goal. (It has been stated on MSM broadcast media as well.)
Funny, all those thinking that I'm some liberal (I'm not) probably are not even aware of Foreign Affairs magazine - much less ever read a book that covers the history of, and who founded the CFR and what their stated goals are.
The 'tipping point' will be when they think they can get away with their next step - without getting strung up by angry Americans. But, you're on-the-mark with your assessment of schools and universities. The brainwashed graduates are the least capable recognizing a snake when they see one - look at how they flocked to Obama in droves.
Worse though than the uneducated and indoctrinated - look at 'conservatives' today that still think that Newt Gingrich is conservative!
None are so blind as those who refuse to open their eyes.
the time frame
January 12, 2009 - 22:58 ET by botgwon't be kept.
though the open borders advocates are indeed cause for concern. Look for a "Comprehensive Border Reform" to be pushed (and most likely pass) during BHO's first year.
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
IMO...That's a
January 12, 2009 - 23:09 ET by bigtimerIMO...That's a given.
Unfortunately.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
yup BT
January 12, 2009 - 23:14 ET by botgand if by chance BHO gets to replace the wrong SCOTUS judge, God help us ever recognizing the Constitution again.
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
That's a given
January 12, 2009 - 23:18 ET by bigtimerThat's a given too.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
won't be kept
January 12, 2009 - 23:48 ET by RonCThere are many people who want to believe that all these agreements and things like the SPP will mean nothing where our sovereignty is concerned. Unfortunately they are naive.
One thing surprises me - Lou Dobbs.
This is a link to the latest comments from Dobbs about this ongoing back-burner issue.
My question, is Dobbs seriously against the CFR plans, or is he simply acting as a buffer designed to take heat off of the process while doing nothing substantive to oppose it? My suspicion is, it is the later.
read it here...
January 12, 2009 - 23:12 ET by RonCFor any doubter...
Take a look at this link.
That is from 'the horses mouth' - what the string-pullers behind the scenes hope for.
God forbid! I am convinced. That link right there did it.
January 12, 2009 - 23:46 ET by JWF3 Nations share a continent and borders. They create a bond to share common interests in trade and security.
OH MY GAWD THE DEVIL HISSELF IS COMING TO MATE WITH MY PET LLAMA! SON OF ILLUMINATI WILL BE BORN IN MY BARN! AND IN HIS HAND WILL BE A TRILATERALIST TRIDENT!
SO LET IT BE WRITTEN...
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
so JWF
January 12, 2009 - 23:52 ET by botgand the borders are secure, is that your contention?
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
Here are the crimes committed by President Bush
January 12, 2009 - 20:33 ET by cocodrieThe complete list
NUMBER ONE - He is a white male
NUMBER TWO - He is a patriot
NUMBER THREE - He is a Christian.
STRIKE THREE HE'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!!
Not the bottom
January 12, 2009 - 22:20 ET by nkviking75"As a judicial historian looking at what's occurred on his watch, it is almost void of genuine accomplishment."
As others have noted, keeping us safe ain't exactly nothing. And his tax cuts gave us a pretty good economy for most of his tenure. But it should be noted that he had a Congress full of Democrats and a few RINO's infected with Bush Derangement Syndrome who blocked a lot of his agenda, plus an MSM willing to tell bald-faced lies and reveal state secrets to sabotage him.
GWB was far from perfect, but certainly does not belong at the bottom of the list. Clinton and Carter were worse, and Obama will drop below him as soon as he's sworn in.
Welcome to the era of unity, you racist!
Iraqis are buying cars
January 12, 2009 - 22:41 ET by ThisnThatDid anyone watch Fox news this evening? They had a report on car sales in Baghdad, with interviews of car buyers and dealers. Turns out no one knows how to buy a car because they are used to Government controls on purchasing and distribution. No one asks for a test drive, because Sadaam didn't allow that. Car sales have increased 300%, and buyers are simply amazed at the types of deals they can get via the private market.
My point is -- did the worst president in US history cause this to happen? Or is the media and liberal "historians" trying to simply make things up because they think they can get away with it? President Bush is going to go down as one of the best presidents we have had.
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Seems to me the Libs pretty
January 13, 2009 - 01:36 ET by RR GOPSeems to me the Libs pretty much ignore Truman, Johnson, Carter and it also seems that they've been turning away from Slick Willy?
If so, they're running out of presidents they once considered to be 'great'. Even FDR doesn't seem to be holding up too well these days under further examination of his failed Socialist policies.
My two criticisms of President Bush are; 1-not telling his detractors to stuff it and 2-being bamboozled (I take it) by the RINOs to buy into this bail out mess.
Considering the constant battering he received (with a brief respite just after 9-11) he held up remarkably well. Iraq was a great thing to most Americans until people started getting killed too much. I guess they figure that since most war movies are fictional, no one actually gets killed or hurt in real life.
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
It is difficult to
January 13, 2009 - 01:37 ET by Lux Et VeritasIt is difficult to quantitate the expansive silliness of rating a president so myopically. To do so is not indicative of liberal bias, conservative bias, or anything in between. Rather, it's the bias of deference to self aggrandization. The alacrity to most expertly pronounce President Bush the "worst ever" is almost certainly not more substantative than hyperbole. Perhaps Brinkley and Ellis have forgotten those pages of historical text concerning the presidencies of Franklin Pierce and James Bucchanan among their volumious compositions. That might be a reasonable explanation for asserting that this presidency fails more magnificently than the presidencies that abated the nation into bludgeoning itself for several years. It is doubtful that dissolution of part of the union is a feat even Brinkley or Ellis will be able to ascribe to Bush anytime soon.
Sorry, but GWB was middle-of-the-road POTUS wise.
January 13, 2009 - 02:27 ET by R D HelmI give him an overall C in the GWOT, but a D- in most other areas, a decided F in illegal immigration and an F- - - in slowing the out-of-control growth in the size and scope of the federal government, which he managed to double in just six years.
I bet Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson took notice of that insanity.
Thank God that Ronald Wilson Reagan did not live to see the damage this man did to the conservative movement, as it might have just killed him.
It damn near killed me.
Bye, George, and let's hope you are the last of the RINO POTUS breed.
-Dave
“Them that’s going get on the wagon. Them that ain’t get out of the way.” -While there is still time.
If you want to See BS
January 13, 2009 - 05:43 ET by labarjust turn on CBS!
And when future generations of journalism students, (if they have any sense of dignity and honor for their profession), look back upon the news coverage of this time, they will know why the "MSM" papers, and "Big 3" broadcast media were in a death spiral. And perhaps they will so shamed and embarrassed by what they see that they'll vow never to allow it to happen again.
There is no way Bush looks as bad as the MSM will in history. He was trying to keep us safe and they (MSM) were doing everything they could to undermine him and the military of any success during the war on terror front in Iraq.. Al queda couldn't have been happier to have the alliance, and wouldn't have lasted as long without it.
Skewed polls are the bread
January 13, 2009 - 13:36 ET by wiwfSkewed polls are the bread and butter of todays msm!
The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy
The Professors surveyed didn't vote for Bush anyways
January 13, 2009 - 17:29 ET by kevinm13These surveys are so skewed that you caould make whatever point you wanted based on the wording of the question and the survey group. Phony premise to make a heavily biased survey seem appropriate.
I would bet that the vast majority of those surveyed didn't vote for Bush in the first place (November 2000) and would say that he was the worst President in 2001 regardless. Their response in December 2008 would have been beaten into them by the constant pounding of the liberal media and the left wing nutjobs on the internet who feed their bias.
Worst Presidents
January 13, 2009 - 20:19 ET by slickwillie2001Any discussion of worst Presidents that does not acknowledge the execrable Jimmy Carter as at least one of the worst, should be discredited, along with the author.
Move along, nothing here to see.
Buchanan
January 13, 2009 - 22:57 ET by Captain KirockBuchanan is usually referred to as the worst president, because he stood by and did nothing while the Union was dissolved. Hoover, Carter, Madison, and Pierce are also at the bottom of the list.
I suspect that Bush will be considered an average President, may be in the top 20. Popularity does not necessarily make one a great President (such as Coolidge and Clinton) while being unpopular does not make one a bad president (such as Truman and I suspect Bush II).
I know that history will be much more kind to Bush than Brinkley or Ellis.
By the way, Ellis' book on George Washington sucks.