Fifth Worst President Ever

In considering who is the worst President ever (previous posts here and here), I agree that a handful will probably turn out to be worse. After showing that some other Presidents have caused even more harm than Bush, Michael Lind places him as fifth worst:

By contrast, George W. Bush has inadvertently destroyed only Baghdad, not Washington, and the costs of the Iraq war in blood and treasure are far less than those of Korea and Vietnam. Yet he will be remembered for the Iraq conflict for generations, long after tax-cut-driven deficits, No Child Left Behind and comprehensive immigration reform are forgotten. The fact that Bush followed the invasion of Afghanistan, which had sheltered al-Qaeda, with the toppling of Saddam Hussein, will puzzle historians for centuries. It is as though, after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR had asked Congress to declare war on Argentina.

Why did Bush do it? Did he really believe that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction? Was it about oil? Israel? Revenge for Hussein’s alleged attempt on Bush’s father’s life? The war will join the sinking of the USS Maine and the grassy knoll among the topics to exercise conspiracy theorists for generations, and the photos of torture at Abu Ghraib will join images of the napalmed Vietnamese girl and executed Filipino rebels in the gallery of U.S. atrocities.

Like all presidents, George W. Bush wants to be remembered. He will get his wish — as the fifth-worst president in U.S. history.

1 Comment

  1. 1
    Probus says:

    In many ways the secrecy used by this president and vice president rivals that of Nixon. Those of us who have lived through Bush’s presidency would easily want to vote him as the worst president for his failure to provide leadership over the Iraq war. After the smearing and the swift-boating of Kerry a war hero during the 2004 election and subsequently during the 2006 midterm elections I would easily nominate Mr. Bush as the worst president.

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