I have to think that today's media will eventually come to be seen in the same negative light as the "yellow journalists" that brought us the Spanish American war.
More than anything else, I think the long-term view of Bush's presidency will be shaped by its response to Islamism.
Mr. Bush faced the same sort of decisions that Neville Chamberlain did; and his decision could not have been more different from that of Mr. Chamberlain.
We need to be very clear about the fact that the Islamists are not going way anytime soon. They will continue in their violent ways, and they will probably even gain a few victories.
But in responding aggressively to Islamic terrorism, Bush set the tone for how the rest of the world will respond to terror; and he showed that it can be defeated. Unlike Nazi Germany, which was allowed to spread unchecked, the consequences of Mr. Bush's strategy has caused Islamist to become unwelcome even on their home ground. They don't have any unhindered breeding grounds.
Obama's naivete and arrogance can (and probably will) screw some things up pretty badly; but his mistakes will be judged against what Bush has done -- and will be corrected as best as possible by reverting to Bush's approach. Obama's successes (if any) will be judged in relation to how they diverged from or agreed with what Bush has put in place.
That's as good a working definition of "success" as one is likely to find in the real world.
Excellent points, thanks for sharing them with me.