How will history judge President Bush in twenty years?

[Thanos]

Favorably if GWOT is expanded or does he make Herber Hoover look like George Washington?

[LeesburgSkinFan]

20 years may still be too early to say...he could be another Harry Truman, who's poll numbers were around 20% when he left office.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Probably like they do now. No one will want to admit to being wrong

[BlueTalon]

Depends on who you're asking. If it's a free Iraqi writing the history, Bush will probably be described in glowing terms.

[SkinsHokieFan]

There will still be many partisans around from this era

The reason people can judge Truman so well now is beacuse most of the people doing the judging can look at it objectively and not be colored by their expierences from when he was POTUS

It will take a couple of generations to objectively judge GWB

[zoony]

Yes, I think the correct question is 50 years, not 20.

And I think history will be much more kind to Bush IF, AND ONLY IF Iraq becomes a free country and an ally.

And if it causes other Muslim nations to follow suit, I think history will be much more favorable than we can ever imagine.

But of course there is still the Katrina debacle and the fiscal irresponsibility.

[GibbsFactor]

If Iraq is free and an ally, then he will be looked upon very highly. If the GWOT is over, he will be looked upon very highly.

[DGreenistheBest]

He'll be remembered as mediocre.

[JMS]

A disaster. Bush hopes he will be remembered as Harry Truman who took a number of unpopular principled stances and left office with 28% approval rating but is now remembered as one of our great presidents... ( not top tier, but just under the top tier ).

I don't see it. Bush's economic policies have actually ecliped his foreign policy as catastrophic. Bush has actually magnified global terrorism, as well causing conflicts with countries which other Presidents were able to finess. We will likely be digging ourselves out of Bush's economic hole for a decade; and anybody who remembers the 70's doesn't look fondly on Johnson who presided over digging that hole for the nation; even though Johnson had a number of very noteworthy achievements during his reign; non of which Bush has matched.

[JMS]

If Iraq is free and an ally, then he will be looked upon very highly. If the GWOT is over, he will be looked upon very highly.

:doh: 1.5 - 2 trillion dollars for a "free" Iraq. Yeah that's really an achievement seeing as how all of Bush's stated reasons for going into Iraq have proven to be wrong...

I wonder if even Bush would have thought 1.5 trillion dollars would be a reasonable price for getting rid of Saddam, A guy who likely would have died on his own in another decade or so.

I think Bush's one hope at a legacy is if Alquada and global terrorism get markedly worse after he leaves office. Terrorism is up by an order of magnatude with Bush's policies globally, but the US has been mostly not touched. If that changes, I think pro Bushies could make the case Bush

s policies were working and Bush's many offenses to the nation's laws, coffers, and foreign alliances were necessary.

[BlueTalon]

:doh: 1.5 - 2 trillion dollars for a "free" Iraq. Yeah that's really an achievement seeing as how all of Bush's stated reasons for going into Iraq have proven to be wrong...

I wonder if even Bush would have thought 1.5 trillion dollars would be a reasonable price for getting rid of Saddam, A guy who likely would have died on his own in another decade or so.

The registered voters of Iraq thank you for your outpouring of concern and support.

Are you quite sure all of Bush's stated reasons for going into Iraq have proven to be wrong? Are you saying Saddam's Iraq was not a state sponsor of terrorism?

[DCsportsfan53]

A disaster. Bush hopes he will be remembered as Harry Truman who took a number of unpopular principled stances and left office with 28% approval rating but is now remembered as one of our great presidents... ( not top tier, but just under the top tier ).

I don't see it. Bush's economic policies have actually ecliped his foreign policy as catastrophic. Bush has actually magnified global terrorism, as well causing conflicts with countries which other Presidents were able to finess. We will likely be digging ourselves out of Bush's economic hole for a decade; and anybody who remembers the 70's doesn't look fondly on Johnson who presided over digging that hole for the nation; even though Johnson had a number of very noteworthy achievements during his reign; non of which Bush has matched.

Gotta agree with this.

[portisizzle]

At least he won't be remembered for having oral sex with an employee. Something that would get most executives fired. :2cents:

50 years from now Clinton will equal cigar.

Sweet.

[portisizzle]

A disaster. Bush hopes he will be remembered as Harry Truman who took a number of unpopular principled stances and left office with 28% approval rating but is now remembered as one of our great presidents... ( not top tier, but just under the top tier ).

I don't see it. Bush's economic policies have actually ecliped his foreign policy as catastrophic. Bush has actually magnified global terrorism, as well causing conflicts with countries which other Presidents were able to finess. We will likely be digging ourselves out of Bush's economic hole for a decade; and anybody who remembers the 70's doesn't look fondly on Johnson who presided over digging that hole for the nation; even though Johnson had a number of very noteworthy achievements during his reign; non of which Bush has matched.

I think history will have a healthy memory off pissants that thought like you........

[Skins24]

I don't see it. Bush's economic policies have actually ecliped his foreign policy as catastrophic.

Well, between the recession at the begining of his term and the possible one at the end, the economy did well.

I don't think you can blame the tech bubble burst and the current housing bubble burst on Bush's policies....

[Duckus]

Depends on who you're asking. If it's a free Iraqi writing the history, Bush will probably be described in glowing terms.

Not necessarily. If you talk to citizen from a lot of countries around the world in which you US had a hand in "freeing" you will still see that they consider us evil and the big satin, regardless. Just this past month I had an open discussion with a Korean citizen who said that most Koreans now hate the US more than Japan, which is you know you history and what Japan has done, is pretty remarkable. You go walk around Eastern Europe, and not too many people are pro-US either. You go to anywhere in the world almost, and the answers are all the same.

Even if Iraq is an economic super power in 50 years by some magical manner, there is a good chance they will still hate America and GWB.

[portisizzle]

Not necessarily. If you talk to citizen from a lot of countries around the world in which you US had a hand in "freeing" you will still see that they consider us evil and the big satin, regardless. Just this past month I had an open discussion with a Korean citizen who said that most Koreans now hate the US more than Japan, which is you know you history and what Japan has done, is pretty remarkable. You go walk around Eastern Europe, and not too many people are pro-US either. You go to anywhere in the world almost, and the answers are all the same.

Even if Iraq is an economic super power in 50 years by some magical manner, there is a good chance they will still hate America and GWB.

{In the Howie Mandel "Deal or No Deal Voice"}

Hate? or Jealousy?

[twa]

I wonder how history judged Lincoln after 20 yrs?(and no,I not saying Bush is another Lincoln)

[GibbsFactor]

:doh: 1.5 - 2 trillion dollars for a "free" Iraq. Yeah that's really an achievement seeing as how all of Bush's stated reasons for going into Iraq have proven to be wrong...

I wonder if even Bush would have thought 1.5 trillion dollars would be a reasonable price for getting rid of Saddam, A guy who likely would have died on his own in another decade or so.

I think Bush's one hope at a legacy is if Alquada and global terrorism get markedly worse after he leaves office. Terrorism is up by an order of magnatude with Bush's policies globally, but the US has been mostly not touched. If that changes, I think pro Bushies could make the case Bush

s policies were working and Bush's many offenses to the nation's laws, coffers, and foreign alliances were necessary.

He's a war President. When it's all said and done, that's all that matters to history.

[DjTj]

I wonder how history judged Lincoln after 20 yrs?(and no,I not saying Bush is another Lincoln)

Well, 2 years after Lincoln's death, they were already trying to build a memorial (although it took about 50 years for it to really happen).

The first major effort to commemorate Lincoln occurred on March 29, 1867, or 2 years after his death, when Congress incorporated the Lincoln Monument Association for the purpose of erecting an appropriate memorial. Despite some preliminary planning, the association failed to accomplish its objective. In subsequent years, several other organizations considered and abandoned similar projects. Finally, in February 1911, Congress created the Lincoln Memorial Commission, under whose auspices the present memorial was constructed.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/Presidents/site7.htm

...I think it's pretty unlikely that we'll see a Bush Monument Association in 2 years, 20 years, or 50 years...

[twa]

...I think it's pretty unlikely that we'll see a Bush Monument Association in 2 years, 20 years, or 50 years...

So your saying the man that saved the Union,freed the slaves, and was the first president assassinated only took over 40 yrs to be recognized ?

I guess since it was Congress behind the effort ,it is understandable;)

Lincoln was despised by many in the north,the south should be obvious.

The term "Lincoln's War" was popular....sound familiar?

[BlueTalon]

Not necessarily. If you talk to citizen from a lot of countries around the world in which you US had a hand in "freeing" you will still see that they consider us evil and the big satin, regardless. Just this past month I had an open discussion with a Korean citizen who said that most Koreans now hate the US more than Japan, which is you know you history and what Japan has done, is pretty remarkable. You go walk around Eastern Europe, and not too many people are pro-US either. You go to anywhere in the world almost, and the answers are all the same.

Even if Iraq is an economic super power in 50 years by some magical manner, there is a good chance they will still hate America and GWB.

How much walking around have you done in Eastern Europe? Or anywhere else in the world, for that matter?

:bsflag:

Since Bush initiated the war in Iraq, I have traveled in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine, and there wasn't any noticeable anti-American or anti-Bush sentiment. As a matter of fact, many of the people there I talked to support the war. What you either forget or fail to realize in the first place is that the people of Eastern Europe used to live in situations similar to Iraq under Saddam -- they understand tyranny and the need to get rid of it. They also have a better grasp of the threat of militant Islam than many anti-Bush American lefties.

I can't speak directly about Korean attitudes in general, but I'll take your guy's word at face value. However, it's worth noting that every country we liberated in WWII, including those of our enemies', had attitude shifts over the decades. In Germany and Japan, there were large groups of people who hated us and wanted us out. As years went by, the numbers of such people decreased, and the attitudes were tempered. There will always be some that hate us and want us out. I don't know if your Korean buddy is one of those or not, but I'm betting you never bothered to find out.

[Helter_Skelter]

How will history judge President Bush in twenty years?

Ask me again in twenty years.

[Chief skin]

History will judge him as a miserable failure

[SUSkinsFan]

I imagine that when the people at McGraw-Hill get to the political history section of the books, that little Johnny is gonna be asking "where is the section dealing with the time between January 2001 and January 2009".

Teacher: "You don't want to know"