Even Defenders Call Bush Legacy "Debatable"

George W. Bush was supposed to be a president schooled in consensus building and tough, effective management.

However, the first chief executive with a master's in business administration -- from Harvard, no less, and the son of a president known for his foreign-policy expertise -- is leaving President-elect Barack Obama a nation that's arguably in the worst shape since Herbert Hoover left Franklin Roosevelt the Great Depression and a world in which fascism was on the march 76 years ago.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[rabiddog6708]

From NBC's Mark Murray
A "Then and Now" to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)
Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING
Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION
Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)
Then: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)
Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY
Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE
Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET
Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressional Budget Office)
Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

[KatDawgATL]

Why is this debatable? ....as opposed to definite.

George W. Bush did NOT "work" his way into POTUS, he was given EVERY single advantage.

-Father was vice president and president.
-Failed at every business his name helped him get a board seat on.
-Predecessor with a "tarnished" image.
-Was "made" president, despite not being "elected".
-Came into a "national surplus", as opposed to what he's leaving to his successor.
-AND these only scrape the surface.

GWB IS what he WAS... An "Over-privileged" FAILURE. (Sucks my balls)

[2bad]

Seriously, don't hold back. How do you really feel about ol' W.?

[Sundialsvc4]

Bush's "legacy," if you want to call it that, is a history of High Crime that is as-yet unpunished.

I sincerely hope that this chapter is not yet Closed, because if it is, there surely will be hell-to-pay for our nation. High Crime is real crime, and it has real consequences. Today, our Federal Government is chock-full of high crime, and of high criminals who confidently believe (as, I guess, all such criminals do...) that they are above reproach. George W. Bush and Richard Cheney are simply the kingpins; we are finding more criminals all the time.

Our Republic cannot exist as a credible "ongoing concern" in the environment of such lawlessness ... and such impunity for the Rule of Law. If "any civil officer' can simply declare (for example...) that "Impeachment is Off the Table," then ... we have no Constitution, and thus, we have no Country.

"High Crime is real crime," with real consequences. Ignoring your own "Supreme Law of the Land" has real consequences, too. If USA is foolish enough to affirm itself to be a lawless "rogue nation," it can only expect the rest of the world community to say, "duly noted..." And life for this nation, throughout the probably-brief remainder of its existence, will never be the same.

Is this what we want?

[hamchunk]

This article is exactly right; President Bush's legacy is debatable. Some will say he is the absolute worst president in US history, others will say,"No he is not the WORST because Satan did not reappear on the world scene and bring fire and brimstone to the civilzed world.". So, there you have it; since Satan did not sprout from the ground and smite you, it could have been worse.

[dfranz]

Some might call GW's presidency a legacy, I'd prefer to think of it as his rap sheet.

[bronceye]

Quite simply, is the world a better place because bush got to execute the man who tried to kill his daddy? Will bush get to keep Hussein's pistol?

[MissingAmerica]

In the history of the world, we will have disasters such as Vesuvius' destruction of Pompeei, the meteors which hit the planet causing reversals in climates such as the ice age, and George W. Bush. Sadly, no one will know in which order to put these. Personally, I would put Bush first. Why? Because the earth did what it naturally does; Bush, on the other hand, chose to destroy the country and the planet.

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

Failure!

[AlteSoldier]

These decisions could muddle his legacy even further. With his national-security and management credentials in tatters, the president's best hope for being judged warmly is to be seen as adhering to his beliefs.

If the war on terrorism brings a working democracy to Iraq and surrounding countries, and if the 2008 bailouts help revive the economy, Bush may be lauded for his decisiveness. However, it's too soon to tell.

"He's a very debatable president," Pipes said. "The last word has not been written on this for many, many years to come, and how it's going to turn out, I have no idea."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/309/story/58795.html

This is the problem with most defenders of Bush. They forget Bush developed these huge problems himself because of his lack of ability. An employee cannot make a mistake and then turn around and try to correct his own mistake then say how great a worker he is for solving the problem. What is the guy above talking about?

[drkazmd65]

As many others here have already posted,... what is there to debate?

The only thing with a margin of debate is exactly how bad an unmitigated DISASTER the last 8 years of (lack of) leadership has been for the country in general.

Except for the rich, and the corporations,... we have all been screwed. That 2-3% at the top of the economic pile is the only subset of us that are doing 'better' since 2001.

[ozwald888]

Debatable??????

Is this a part of bush's legacy project????

The ONLY word for bush's 8 years in office is ABYSMAL!

There has never been a chief executive who has proven himself as incompetent, uncaring, and unconstitutional as g w bush. It is my opinion there will never again be a CoC as unsuccessful as this guy has proven himself to be.

[Beninn]

The only way that W's legacy will NOT be rehabilitated, and Jeb will NOT be president one day is if 0b@ama's administration and the Democrats prosecute the Booosh administration, all officials in it including W and C'heney.

I have no doubt that as I type this, some high-powered PR firm is working on it now, with the goal of putting Jeb in the White House by 2016.

[AliMB]

i doubt Jeb Bush will be president, but he likely will be the next senator from Florida, taking over Sen. Martinez's seat... remember, Gov. Bush left office in 2007 with an over 60% approval rating... and that was with his brother already tanking in national polls.

[mommadona]

Ah....a moment of Zen to point out the phrase

"Slightly pregnant"

*quack....

Gesundheit.

[BCubedReg]

I'll end the debate, George Bush is the worst President in U.S. History.

[Beninn]

The only way that W's legacy will NOT be rehabilitated, and Jeb will NOT be president one day is if 0b@ama's administration and the Democrats prosecute the Booosh administration, all officials in it including W and C'heney.

I have no doubt that as I type this, some high-powered PR firm is working on it now, with the goal of putting Jeb in the White House by 2016.

[gypsy717]

Thank you! I've never seen this country in worse shape. I pray for a president who has the countrys' best interests at heart, and not his own personal gain for money and the POWER it brings.

[AliMB]

you may have never seen the country in worse shape, but i imagine you haven't been an adult from more than a few decades... remember, the country is almost 233 years old. are you sure you are making an accurate historical analysis?

[Beninn]

What has happened this past eight years in the US and its effect on the rest of the world doesn't just happen because of one man deciding to take out S'addam; it was a group effort that went beyond the Bush 43 administration.

Corporate media pundits have fawned over George HW Booosh for years, and WRONGLY declared that he was against his son's attack of Iraq because his pal Brent Scowcroft wrote a well-timed op-ed in the NYT saying that he, Scowcroft, was opposed to it.

W merely continued the US policy that had been to create unrest in the Middle East, unrest that lets the elites get richer on w a r and oil, that keeps people from organizing into a real democracy which would strip the elites of their wealth and throw them into prison.

W doesn't care if he's loathed by the people -- He's adored and appreciated by "have mores" because he doesn't care.

Ge0rge and B@rbara Booosh are as guilty of war crimes as their son and C'heney.

[gypsy717]

It still brings me to the age old question. How in the world do they sleep at night? And being fully aware of all the people who lost their 401ks'. Imagine waking up on the day of your retirement, and finding out you don't have a pot to P in. Or giving up your home to foreclosure and knowing that the people who helped put you in this situation aren't feeling a damn bit of heat? And if they do, some cut-throat ingrate attorney will get him out of it with the money he took from the poor victims. Makes me ill.

[AliMB]

Barbara Bush is guilty of war crimes? is that a joke?