Why Do People Claim Bush is the "Worst President Ever"

Dayton3 · 12-07-2007, 08:54 AM

I've heard this alot from anti Bush people.

Now, we can all disagree about where history will rank President Bush. I think historically will look favorably upon him. But that is my opinion.

I can see where some would rank him as a poor president.

But the worst ever? Come on.

Do people these days know anything about history?

At the very least what about Buchanan and Pierce? Whose combined incompetence helped bring about the U.S. Civil War?

Or Hoover? Who almost certainly bungled the handling of the Great Depression.

Or Nixon? Who though several people think highly of several of his accomplishments, severely damaged the presidency and the country and made the American people horribly cynical about national politics in general when he had to resign.

Warren Harding? Whose sole real accomplishment in office was appointing Taft to the Supreme Court.

For that matter, Grant whose scandal ridden Administration failed to protect the civil rights of blacks in the south.

And I would argue that Jimmy Carter belongs near the bottom as well.

For that matter, Lyndon Johnson who signed landmark civil rights legislation but also waged (and lost) both a war on poverty at home and a war in Vietnam abroad (that killed 12 times as many people who have died in Iraq).

All in all, it seems to me that claiming that President Bush is the worst ever is a horrendous overstatement that only serves to irritate the political opposition

johnlocke · 12-07-2007, 09:18 AM

Well, let's see

Buchanon and Pierce vs Bush. The former demonstrated incompetence which lead to civil war. The latter demonstrated incompetence which lead to the US invading a country which posed no threat to the United States. Pretty much a tie.

Hoover Vs. Bush. The former badly bungled the great depression. The latter badly bungled everything he touched. Worst president: Bush.

Nixon Vs Bush. The former badly damaged the presidency, but had significant diplomatic victories and ended the Vietnam war. The latter badly damaged the presidency.
Worst President: Bush.

Warrent G. Harding Vs. Bush. The former appointed Taft to the Supreme Court. The latter was appointed BY the supreme court. Worst President: Bush

Grant Vs. Bush. The former had huge financial and corruption scandals. The latter had huge financial and corruption scandals. Pretty much a tie.

Jimmy Carter Vs. Bush: The former horrible at foreign policy, governed as a devout evangelical christian. The latter has horrible foreign policy, governs as a neoconservative pseudo-christian. Pretty much a tie.

Looks like Shrub took it two out of three times. The worst President ever? George W. Bush.

Dayton3 · 12-07-2007, 09:40 AM

Oh please.

The U.S. Civil War was an order of magnitude worse for the United States than anything President Bush ever dreamed of doing.

To argue otherwise is ridiculous

The same with the Great Depression.

Hell, we haven't even had a recession under President Bush.

And the idea that President Bush was not fairly elected in 2000?

That boat sailed years ago. it is a dead issue. Bush won the election fair and square and no evidence whatsoever has ever indicated otherwise.

johnlocke · 12-07-2007, 09:42 AM

You asked for a value judgement and I gave you one. It's hardly my problem that you don't like it- but it's not arguable because it's a VALUE judgement (and thus subjective.)

Dayton3 · 12-07-2007, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnlocke

You asked for a value judgement and I gave you one. It's hardly my problem that you don't like it- but it's not arguable because it's a VALUE judgement (and thus subjective.)

I don't recall mentioning the words "value judgement" in my opening post.

Actually, aside from the thread title I don't believe I asked for any opinions at all.

Morpheus · 12-07-2007, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayton3

And the idea that President Bush was not fairly elected in 2000?

That boat sailed years ago. it is a dead issue. Bush won the election fair and square and no evidence whatsoever has ever indicated otherwise.

Wrong, Gore won Florida. The votes were not counted though, and the will of the people was negated; Bush was appointed by a partisan 5-4 Supreme Court decision.

mjollnir · 12-07-2007, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayton3

I've heard this alot from anti Bush people.

Now, we can all disagree about where history will rank President Bush. I think historically will look favorably upon him. But that is my opinion.

I can see where some would rank him as a poor president.

But the worst ever? Come on.

Do people these days know anything about history?

At the very least what about Buchanan and Pierce? Whose combined incompetence helped bring about the U.S. Civil War?

Or Hoover? Who almost certainly bungled the handling of the Great Depression.

Or Nixon? Who though several people think highly of several of his accomplishments, severely damaged the presidency and the country and made the American people horribly cynical about national politics in general when he had to resign.

Warren Harding? Whose sole real accomplishment in office was appointing Taft to the Supreme Court.

For that matter, Grant whose scandal ridden Administration failed to protect the civil rights of blacks in the south.

And I would argue that Jimmy Carter belongs near the bottom as well.

For that matter, Lyndon Johnson who signed landmark civil rights legislation but also waged (and lost) both a war on poverty at home and a war in Vietnam abroad (that killed 12 times as many people who have died in Iraq).

All in all, it seems to me that claiming that President Bush is the worst ever is a horrendous overstatement that only serves to irritate the political opposition

Bush and his cronies have done more to errode the civil liberties of the people here than any other president in history. Now I will hear the arguments about what liberties have I lost. I will say none...for now. But to expand the powers of the government and to sign legislation that will broaden government's powers is erroding civil liberties. Bush is holding people without due process of the law. We are not at war because war was never delcared by congress so they are not prisoners of war. There is no such thing as an "enemy combatant". Bush invaded a sovereign nation without provocation and against the constitution and plunged that are into civil and sectarian warfare. He has driven the national debt and the defecit to astronomical levels. He expanded the bureaucracy of the Federal Department of Education with that bullshit called No Child Left Behind...a bill drafted by the likes of Ted Kennedy. The other presidents listed made some mistakes. But Bushco's actions were calculated and intentional...preplanned long before he even was elected. And yes, I believe he was elected and even voted for his sorry ass in 2000. Boy was I duped! I vote...Worst President EVER....even worse that Carter!!

Think for myself · 12-07-2007, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayton3

I've heard this alot from anti Bush people.

Now, we can all disagree about where history will rank President Bush. I think historically will look favorably upon him. But that is my opinion.

I can see where some would rank him as a poor president.

But the worst ever? Come on.

Do people these days know anything about history?

At the very least what about Buchanan and Pierce? Whose combined incompetence helped bring about the U.S. Civil War?

Or Hoover? Who almost certainly bungled the handling of the Great Depression.

Or Nixon? Who though several people think highly of several of his accomplishments, severely damaged the presidency and the country and made the American people horribly cynical about national politics in general when he had to resign.

Warren Harding? Whose sole real accomplishment in office was appointing Taft to the Supreme Court.

For that matter, Grant whose scandal ridden Administration failed to protect the civil rights of blacks in the south.

And I would argue that Jimmy Carter belongs near the bottom as well.

For that matter, Lyndon Johnson who signed landmark civil rights legislation but also waged (and lost) both a war on poverty at home and a war in Vietnam abroad (that killed 12 times as many people who have died in Iraq).

All in all, it seems to me that claiming that President Bush is the worst ever is a horrendous overstatement that only serves to irritate the political opposition

I think that a much more fair assesment would be to say he's the worst president in my life time, which spans from Nixon to present.

I think that to compare him to presidents from a century ago is horribly unfair, as our only reference is historical documents. Unless we were there to actually experience it, I don't think that it leads to an accurate conclusion.

bla bla · 12-07-2007, 10:43 AM

We've seen rough wars before. We've had far worse economies.
Americans have been divided over issues since theres been an America.

For me the issue with this presidency is the change to American
leadership, domestically and around the world.
Globally: Bush's presidency represents Americas ability to elect an
inarticulate and naive leader with no political will to effectively moderate
his behavior. Our motives are suspect, and we are now a nation that
condones torture, and opportunistic war.
Domestically: Bush represents a new level of blatant "shadow" government.
People see Cheney, and his neocon like-thinkers, as the real force of
policy but its not much more than a joke. The acceptance of the presidential
role as nothing more than a mouthpiece for a "think tank" ideology is
quit a substantial shift in what we are willing to accept as normal.

A summation would be: the Bush presidency has lowered the credibility
of American leadership for us, and the world, in a precipitous manner
that may not have equal.

Dayton3 · 12-07-2007, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjollnir

Bush and his cronies have done more to errode the civil liberties of the people here than any other president in history. Now I will hear the arguments about what liberties have I lost. I will say none..

Then you have lost nothing.

Speculative losses are not losses.