Originally Posted By RoadTrip Well, obviously there is a difference in circumstances. Clinton is enormously popular on a worldwide basis. George W. Bush, not so much. At least Bush had enough self-awareness to know that the best thing he could do for any cause he supported was to stay the hell away from it!
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "At least Bush had enough self-awareness to know that the best thing he could do for any cause he supported was to stay the hell away from it!" I really doubt self-awareness had anything to do with it.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Two of the last four Republican presidents have had diminished mental capacity. For one of them it was a disease that came late in life. For the other it was a point of pride.
Originally Posted By tiggertoo <<For the other it was a point of pride.>> And I was hoping there had been an element of shame in it. I think on a personal level, Bush is a nice, albeit naive guy. But, that was his role, (i.e., the humanizing fascia on a hawkish, ruthless Cheney administration).
Originally Posted By inlandemporer I voted for Bush the first time. Biggest political mistake of my life. I went from disappointment to anger to disbelief at just how bad he was. All presidential libraries are in the rewriting history business to a degree, but this one really sounds like a piece of work.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>If you still insist on choosing "no" to invading Iraq, a video of W pops up and tells you why you're wrong. Not making that up.<< I love how this is a stark, tough choice in the first place. As if Bush was somehow confronted with it because it was forced on him. That's like going to the bar, buying a woman a drink and hitting on her, then thinking, "Hmm...should I cheat on my spouse or not? Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf Bush may indeed go down as one of the worst presidents in history for so many reasons. But one that doesn't get brought up enough in my opinion is what he did to the education system with "No Child Left Behind". I think that one will have great historical ramifications that, at this point, are difficult to quantify precisely. But it is a program that has focused our education system on the perennial underperformers at the expense of the gifted. I think we will look back at that program as the death nell of American exceptionalism in accademia. Quite fitting that Bush was responsible now that I think about it.....
Originally Posted By TomSawyer "But it is a program that has focused our education system on the perennial underperformers at the expense of the gifted." You just described his presidency and the GOP to a "t".
