Posted on 03/19/2008 8:59:45 AM PDT by contemplator
It is extremely rare that I post vanities. I average about one article a year so I hope no one takes offense in this.
Every so often the question of how history will treat our current president appears. Most generally agree that Phistory will not be kind to President George W. Bush and his foreign policies. The more optimistic people believe that it will take around 20-50 years before our current president receives the proper credit his visionary policies, strength of will and conviction are due.
I believe that the 20-50 year prediction may be a bit optimistic, and if you’ll indulge me for a couple of paragraphs I’ll draw from history to give you a feel for the time scales I think are going to be involved here.
I find the similarities between U.S Grant and George W. to be very striking at times. Both men had to walk a tightrope of fighting a war which was ultimately necessary to the survival of their country and keeping the citizens of the country supporting them while they did it (Luckily for Grant, he had the advantage of Lincoln fighting the political battles while Grant was able to focus on the military ones) Both men engaged in work which dealt with rebuilding entire countries from scratch while large portions of the populations of that country were doing their best to hinder their efforts. Both men pursued policies which the majority of their countrymen disagreed with.
In Grant’s case, he spent the majority of his presidency on Reconstruction and ensuring complete citizenship and all the rights that went with it were guaranteed to the recently freed slave population. Almost all of his efforts were immediately dismantled the moment his presidency ended (If the Demcorats win the presidency, history is set to repeat itself in this aspect) and the reconstructed country entered into a period of struggle which lasted 100 years before Grant’s policies became reality again. During this 100 year period, Grant was much maligned and derided as one of America’s worst presidents consistently ranked near the bottom of the list. Finally, after 100 years, Lyndon B. Johnson (Out of necessity more than anything else it seems) leapfrogged off of the laws Grant had fought so hard to get passed to finally fulfill Grant’s vision. Even now, America has been slow to realize the pivotal role Grant played in keeping the country together not just during the civil war itself, but during the 60’s when America threatened to tear itself apart again. Even after Grant’s vision had been borne out to be the correct path, it still took another 50 years before historians began to realize the true revolutionary nature of the man and began to assign the appropriate credit. It will probably take another 20 years before historians universally agree on this and his rightful place in history is finally assigned to him.
This wasn’t meant to be an article about U.S. Grant, but rather a quick history lesson about how slow people are to realize the true greatness of a president when he pursues policies which are far ahead of his time and not understood by his contemporaries. I believe George W. Bush will go down as one of the worst presidents in history for a long long time, and it will not be until several generations have passed before people will be able to see him for the true visionary that he is. How long will this process take? If history can be used as a guide, it will take around 150 years before historians even begin to truly grasp his place in history and another 20 or so after that before it becomes universally accepted.
Bush, like Polk, will never receive his due despite his achievements.
Interesting observations. But 170 years? That may be a bit long, taking into account the ever increasing pace at which the world changes.
Those of us who George Bush recently put on the offense (via the amnesty bill) supported, and still support the War on Terror, etc...
We honor & support our military & their goals.
But I am certain there will be no United States sovereignty if George Bush succeeds with his NAU agenda, including his invitation to millions of illegals to invade our country.
I can't imagine even after a great span in history..
..however long we have..
..finding him faultless for the overthrow of our Republic, from within.
In 50 - 100 yrs., there probably won't be anyone able to read that the U.S. once existed and who it was who set it on the short path to oblivion.
Dubya isn’t worried about his place in history and neither should anybody else. Maybe Bill Clinton keeps score of these things; maybe Bill Clinton cares, but it doesn’t appear so.
Conservative critics of Bush will look back at his terms with great fondness in about a year, no matter WHO is president.
Freedom Fighters
Human Events | 3/18/08 | D. R. Tucker
Posted on 03/18/2008 4:39:19 AM EDT by MartinaMisc
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987426/posts
[snip] Ten years from now, the Iraq War will be no more controversial than the Persian Gulf War, the invasion of Grenada or the invasion of Panama. As much as progressives wish this war to be George Bush’s Vietnam... his decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was ultimately a morally sound one... led by a President who has shown no cowardice whatsoever, even in the face of plummeting poll numbers... The war is clearly winding down. The surge has been flawless. Our mission is all but complete. One certainly wishes victory had been achieved sooner, but victory is clearly on the horizon now. It will shock progressives to the core when history begins to give Bush credit for his leadership in this war... At worst, Bush’s decision to liberate Iraq will be as fiercely debated by future generations as President Truman’s efforts to end World War II. The committed left will always loathe Truman’s actions; nonpartisans will always give him the benefit of the doubt. [end]
Harry Truman had one of the lowest poll ratings of any modern president, even worse than Bush’s, but it took less than thirty years for his reputation to bounce back. Now he is considered one of the greats of the twentieth century. Did you hear the song Chicago did about him in the 1970s?
Bush will be remembered with good marks.
But not by the present left wing Historians...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.