Bush is worst president ever?
A month or so ago I published the cover of Rolling Stone's article asking the question: is Bush the worst president in history?
The article was penned by Sean Willentz, a history professor at Princeton. Although it has taken me some time to get my hands on a copy (I am not a subscriber to RS) and read it thoroughly, I am finally ready to excerpt some key ideas.
Willentz' argument is compelling. For instance, he says that Bush is one of the rarities in presidential history: He has not only stumbled badly ... he has also displayed a weakness common among great presidential failures — an unswerving adherence to a simplistic ideology that abjures deviation from dogma as heresy, thus preventing any pragmatic adjustment to changing realities.
Amen. Great men are not dogmatic. Great men adjust their thinking to fit the reality they are faced with. Bush has allowed his penchant for fundamentalist Christianity color his political perceptions to the point that he thinks that narrow, focused, authoritarian leadership is what Americans seek.
He is wrong.
The other money quote is: No other president ... faced with such a monumental set of military and political circumstances failed to embrace the opposing political party to help wage a truly national struggle. But Bush shut out and even demonized the Democrats.
The other presidents Willentz has in mind are JFK, Lincoln and FDR. Bush clearly is not even in their league.
In fact, the longer he is in office, it is clear that Bush clearly is not even in Clinton's league. At least Bill left us with a balanced budget and record surpluses.
If you get a chance to read the article, do so. It's in the May 4 issue.
The article was penned by Sean Willentz, a history professor at Princeton. Although it has taken me some time to get my hands on a copy (I am not a subscriber to RS) and read it thoroughly, I am finally ready to excerpt some key ideas.
Willentz' argument is compelling. For instance, he says that Bush is one of the rarities in presidential history: He has not only stumbled badly ... he has also displayed a weakness common among great presidential failures — an unswerving adherence to a simplistic ideology that abjures deviation from dogma as heresy, thus preventing any pragmatic adjustment to changing realities.
Amen. Great men are not dogmatic. Great men adjust their thinking to fit the reality they are faced with. Bush has allowed his penchant for fundamentalist Christianity color his political perceptions to the point that he thinks that narrow, focused, authoritarian leadership is what Americans seek.
He is wrong.
The other money quote is: No other president ... faced with such a monumental set of military and political circumstances failed to embrace the opposing political party to help wage a truly national struggle. But Bush shut out and even demonized the Democrats.
The other presidents Willentz has in mind are JFK, Lincoln and FDR. Bush clearly is not even in their league.
In fact, the longer he is in office, it is clear that Bush clearly is not even in Clinton's league. At least Bill left us with a balanced budget and record surpluses.
If you get a chance to read the article, do so. It's in the May 4 issue.
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