First, a reiteration of digg. Digg is a site that promotes user submitted content that spans a wide variety of topics. Sports, gaming, entertainment, technology, and my favorite, politics. I like the politics the most because a wide variety of opinions is dished up in one location.
Here is the original caption of this article”
Although George W. Bush is probably not the worst president in U.S. history (Woodrow Wilson may have that dubious honour), the president may be in contention for that title in the post-Second World War era.
The article isn’t the most iteresting part, it is the discussion on digg. Not only do the articles have a wide variety of content, bu the comments of each article have a wide variety of opinions as well. In this particular submission, commenters make the case for even worse presidents than GWB, such as Abraham Lincoln, FDR, Nixon, Carter, and probably lots more, I haven’t read all of the comments.
People get the most offended when others call out Lincoln or FDR. The usual response is that Lincoln took away more civil liberties than Bush ever dreamed about and that FDR enacted terrible welfar programs, social security, and could have done more to prevent WWII.
I thought about it for a little bit and the logic behind critisizing Lincoln and FDR seems pretty fair, in today’s standards however I don’t think the lens in which we look back at those presidents is ground correctly. No one knows if we would have been better or worse off had Lincoln not freed the slaves and rebuilt the union. I agree there might be a strong case that we would be worse off, but look at the constitutional laws that were broken at the time to get us where we are today. No one can really say with any degree of certainty if we would have been better off without social security and poor welfare programs. I agree there might be a strong case that we would be better off had better alternatives been implemented, but what alternatives, that were viable at the time, were better? Can we fix these problems today? No one can really say yes or no with any certainty.
As far as GWB goes, I say time will tell. I agree there is a strong case that he will be one of the worst if not the worst, but, as with other presidents, his actions will be dealt with for long periods of time after his presidency is over. Once the positive or negative outcomes of his actions are fully known and understood, then I think it will be fair to judge GWB. I can also understand that people want to prevent any negative outcomes of his presidency and I don’t fault them for that.
What do you think? Who do you think is the worst US president ever and why?
Tags: bush, carter, digg, lincoln, president, roosivelt, worst
I don’t know about the worst President ever, but in my lifetime (I’m 56), it would have to be Jimmy Carter. Ironically, he was the last Democrat presidential candidate I voted for. The Camp David Accord notwithstanding, we’re still feeling the ill effects of his failed Middle East policy. The half-hearted attempt to rescue the hostages from the embassy in Teheran showed the jihadists for the first time how inept we were and enboldened them.
I spent almost all of his presidency in Germany in a pretty secure job (Cold Warrior), thereby avoiding some of the economic hardships my countrymen back in the states had to endure – double digit inflation, gas prices in today’s dollars that were every bit as bad as what we’re going through now, etc. Carter’s presidency was the nadir of a descent that began with Watergate, continued through the fall of Saigon, and only turned around when we finally elected a president with vision who could inspire America again with his incredible optimism and ability to communicate it.
As for GWB, I agree that history will judge him. If the onslaught of Islamofascism can be turned around and Iraq can be stabilzed (two very big if’s), his legacy may be salvaged. If the economy continues at its present pace, this will help, too.
Check back with me in 20 years or so. And while you’re at it, ask me about global warming then, too.
Well Ct you beat me to the punch on this. I will add a comedy thing on TV one night right after he was basically booted out of office. It opened whith one of those old fashion B&W movie clips. You know where everything is moving real fast. It was a train speeding through town and someone is kicked off the back. The train doesn’t even slow down. The announcer says,”Jimmie Carter returns to Plains GA.” It was funny to me and more than that it really did represent the opinion of the majority of the country.
When I think of him as already mentioned all that comes t mind is the Iran Fiasco, high interest rates, and him sitting in the oval office talking about his hemorrhoid problems.
I think him to be the worst in history.
Speaking of presidents this stuff is hilarious. Be sure to watch both http://daryld.com/thisland.php
here secound http://daryld.com/goodtobeindc.php
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