01-20-2009, 08:33 PM | #31 |
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01-20-2009, 09:18 PM | #32 |
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our time means, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II.
From my perspective there's only one good president there, Reagan, some mediocre presidents, and a couple of poor ones. Now for you, we might add Eisenhower and maybe even Truman. So of this group, who is good and who is worse than Bush II? Reagan is best IMHO. I can't think of a second place. Liberal historians may rank Clinton equal or ahead of Reagan, I dunno. The rest are mediocre, but Carter and Bush II stand as particularly ineffective and depending upon one's partisanship, it is reasonable to come down on either side. Make an argument refuting Mike's point.
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01-20-2009, 09:25 PM | #33 |
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01-20-2009, 09:32 PM | #34 | |
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However, he fought and won the Cold War. He brought down tax rates, he defended the Second Amendment, he fought against socialized medicine, he reduced the size of many aspects of government, he thought and preached that the people, its subcultures, our traditions and commerce were the solutions to problems of society, not government. He appointed some good judges. He wasn't perfect but overall, he was the last one in which I had any belief as to his ideals or character. He didn't go to Harvard, yet was educated in the Midwest IIRC. He was at one time a government liberal prior to his presidency, and promoted an image of a healthy vibrant US. He left with high approval ratings as well.
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01-20-2009, 10:15 PM | #35 |
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But back to the original premise, how could one not argue that Bush II is not one of the two worst presidents of the modern era?
Ford was very mediocre, but in comparison to Nixon? Perhaps one argues Nixon, but the retort to that is usually, "it took Nixon to open China..." Nixon ended Vietnam, and gave us China. In return, we had price controls, an anathema, Watergate, SALT I treaty, detente, and bunch of ordinary judges. He was at best mediocre.
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01-20-2009, 11:04 PM | #36 | |
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I know the Truman comparison is overused, but we really could imagine this exact same conversation taking place on January 20, 1953.
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01-20-2009, 11:22 PM | #37 | |
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Bush may, if everything turns out well, rise to mediocre. But he failed us financially, he botched the good will of 9/11, engaged in another endless war, forfeited civil liberties, rose spending atrociously, gave us increased governmental health care expenditures, abrogated any good will we had in the world, and basically unraveled the Republican Party. I can't imagine any list of accomplishments overcoming those list of atrocities. I don't find his abrogation of institutional walls in fighting "terror" an accomplishment, btw.
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01-21-2009, 04:16 AM | #38 | ||
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"Have we been commanded not to call a prophet an insular racist? Link?" "And yes, [2010] is a very good year to be a Democrat. Perhaps the best year in decades ..." - Cali Coug "Oh dear, granny, what a long tail our puss has got." - Brigham Young |
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01-21-2009, 12:58 PM | #39 | |
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http://www.lp.org/blogs/andrew-davis...legacy-of-bush
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01-21-2009, 02:51 PM | #40 | ||
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