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Presidential Leadership Rankings: Bush is Ranked "Average" Just Below LBJ (Liberal Historians Alert)
Wall Street Journal ^ | Setp 12,2005 | James Taranto

Posted on 09/13/2005 6:11:52 AM PDT by SirLinksalot

How's He Doing? George W. Bush is "average," but far from ordinary. BY JAMES TARANTO Monday, September 12, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT Ask someone to describe the presidency of George W. Bush, and "average" is not a word you're likely to hear. Mr. Bush's detractors treat him with a level of vituperation unseen since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt; some even blame him for bad weather. His admirers don't go so far as to credit him when the sun shines, but their affection for him is palpable. So it may come as a surprise that in a new survey of scholars ranking the presidents, Mr. Bush finishes almost exactly in the middle of the pack. He ranks No. 19 out of 40, and he rates 3.01 on a 5-point scale, just a hair's breadth above the middlemost possible figure. But this is no gentleman's C. Mr. Bush's rating is average because it is an average, of rankings given by 85 professors of history, politics, law and economics. Most such scholarly polls have a strong liberal bias, reflecting academia's far-left tilt. But this survey--conducted by James Lindgren of Northwestern University Law School for the Federalist Society and The Wall Street Journal--aimed at ideological balance. The scholars were chosen with an eye toward balancing liberals and conservatives, and Mr. Lindgren asked each participant about his political orientation, then adjusted the average to give Democratic- and Republican-leaning scholars equal weight. (To see the rankings, click here.) Mr. Bush's rating thus reflects the same sharp partisan divide that gave him a shade under 51% of the popular vote last year.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: average; bush; lbj; leadership; ranking
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To: pissant
I began to loose it after we took Baghdad. I say have the Kurds kill Saddam then move on to Syria and/or Iran. We stopped. we don't need to free these people...we showed them that they could be free, now lets move on and let them deal with the bombers...we need to go in after the bomb and terrorist suppliers of Iran and Syria....and do it toot sweet.
61 posted on 09/13/2005 8:05:43 AM PDT by Vaquero (a red stater trapped in the body of a blue state.)
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To: KC_Conspirator

When you hear historians talk about LBJ's presidency they almost always include an admiring aside about the job he did as senate majority leader -- it's almost like saying that the man was a great pro quarterback because he was a great collegiate running back. The qualifications for the jobs are very different.


62 posted on 09/13/2005 8:08:00 AM PDT by Tallguy
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To: Vaquero

I think the dominoe effect will be better. My opinion is that we establish a functioning free society in the belly of the beast. Already we have seen this bear some fruit. It will take time, but it will work. If we left Germany or Japan to their own devices instead of force feeding them a democratic system, the world would be very different today.


63 posted on 09/13/2005 8:09:27 AM PDT by pissant
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To: Vaquero
we don't need to free these people...we showed them that they could be free,

The part that you do not get is...the vast majority of them do not know HOW to be free. Had we removed SH and marched on, Zarqawi, or someone like him, would have assumed leadership. We would have had the "killing fields of Iraq" to show for the effort.

As it stands now, a country is rising up that is being shown what freedom means and how to live in liberty. Do not be deceived, the Iraqis are grateful to America for freeing them and helping them establish a free and democratic society. Their neighbors are considering their options as they are now surrounded.

64 posted on 09/13/2005 8:18:10 AM PDT by Just A Nobody (I - LOVE - my attitude problem !)
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To: patriciaruth

"If he succeeds in fundamentally changing things in the Islamic world, he'll be worthy of greater esteem"

There is the key! You cannot justly rate a president until it is all over and done with. He is still in the process of doing.

And like you said it is the final results that counts - Success is good - Failure ....


The president's #1 job is to LEAD - to provide the moral direction of the nation. He has no more power than that. (do not count E.O. abuse as a legal power). All law making resides in the congress - SCOTUS is supposed to keep everyone honest. Or so it should be as the Constitutional Republic was formed.

In a democracy? Stalin and Lenin loved democracies.


65 posted on 09/13/2005 8:27:04 AM PDT by hombre_sincero (www.sigmaitsys.com)
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To: SirLinksalot

I remember how the libs bashed Ronald Reagan every day of his eight years in office. I remember how the liberal idiots in Hollyweird, including such shining intellects as Sean Penn, made fun of him when he had Alzheimer's. And I remember how, when President Reagan died, all the liberals tried to hijack his memory.

President Bush will weather all the garbage thrown at him by the stupid moonbats. For his leadership during a very adverse time for our country he deserves to be right up there with President Reagan.


66 posted on 09/13/2005 8:33:53 AM PDT by billnaz (What part of "shall not be infringed" don't you understand?)
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To: Verginius Rufus

Carter was DEFINITELY down there with the worst . . .


67 posted on 09/13/2005 8:57:46 AM PDT by cvq3842
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To: Redmen4ever

It can be argued that Harding and Buchanan were inept, but passive, and therefore the damage caused was self limiting. Carter, on the other hand, aggressively pursued policies that were directly detrimental. In 4 short years he cause a lot of damage, IMO (lost Iran, Afghanistan, loose money then tight, stagflation, high interst rates, inflation, malaise) A very busy, self important incompetent.


68 posted on 09/13/2005 9:53:32 AM PDT by Nonstatist
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To: Nonstatist; All

If it wasn't for Watergate, I don't think that Carter would have won..


69 posted on 09/13/2005 10:03:02 AM PDT by KevinDavis (the space/future belongs to the eagles --> http://www.cafepress.com/kevinspace1)
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To: Nonstatist

<<<<
It can be argued that Harding and Buchanan were inept, but passive, and therefore the damage caused was self limiting. Carter, on the other hand, aggressively pursued policies that were directly detrimental. In 4 short years he cause a lot of damage, IMO (lost Iran, Afghanistan, loose money then tight, stagflation, high interst rates, inflation, malaise) A very busy, self important incompetent.
>>>>

What's worse is, unlike the other ex-Presidents, this guy refuses to retire quietly. He inists on officiously inflicting his opinions on us even as we speak. From the war on terror to fiscal policy to injecting himself in foreign policy, THERE HE IS ! One wonders when he'll just go into the sunset never to return, or simply stick to building houses.


70 posted on 09/13/2005 10:04:12 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
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To: Nonstatist

Carter also gave away the Panama Canal, 3 Mile Island, etc...


71 posted on 09/13/2005 10:29:02 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: Redmen4ever

All these years of re-writing history and demonizing Nixon it is remarkable that Nixon still outranks Carter (the greatest ex-President, dontcha know).


72 posted on 09/13/2005 10:40:48 AM PDT by Inwoodian
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To: KevinDavis

If it had not been for Ford's gaffe about Poland during the debate, and Dole's crack about "Democrat wars," Ford might have won in 1976...it wouldn't have taken much of a shift of popular votes to swing enough electoral votes his way for a victory.


73 posted on 09/13/2005 10:43:33 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Redmen4ever

Some of the Whigs were slaveholders (e.g. Zachary Taylor), so they couldn't take an unambiguous anti-slavery stand. The irony is that if the Liberty Party (anti-slavery) had not run a third-party effort in 1844, Clay would have won, and all of American history would have been different. Without the Mexican War and the territories acquired in 1848, the issue of slavery in the territories wouldn't have torn the country apart in the 1850s as it did.


74 posted on 09/13/2005 10:46:21 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Redmen4ever

Unlike Clinton, Harding was not a sociopath, and he doesn't seem to have been personally guilty of corruption--he just had bad judgment picking people who betrayed his trust. He didn't use the power of the federal government to destroy people who were investigating corruption and wrongdoing.


75 posted on 09/13/2005 10:49:12 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: SirLinksalot
It's basically a good list, but it's worth noting: Bush in the middle is a result of Republicans ranking him 6th from the top and Democrats 6th from the bottom. The middle is probably where he'll end up, but it's not like the rating represents a real consensus.

I'd take LBJ, JFK, Ike, Wilson, Clinton, and Madison down a bit, and put Harding up a little. It may not have been his fault, but Hoover probably did more damage to the country than Nixon. I suppose it depends on whether scandal is worse than being unable to cope.

The Presidents at the bottom are those without any constituency today, though. Except for Harding, they're Whigs or pro-slavery, anti-Black Democrats from the Civil War era, and nobody has any trouble with where they end up. More recent controversial figures -- Hoover, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Clinton -- are saved from the cellar by their supporters. Nobody's going to go out on a limb for Buchanan or Pierce, Tyler or Fillmore.

76 posted on 09/13/2005 10:52:41 AM PDT by x
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To: SirLinksalot
Buchanan is ranked worst of all time.

I'll see your Buchanan and raise you two Clintons...

77 posted on 09/13/2005 10:57:44 AM PDT by badgerlandjim (Hillary Clinton is to politics as Helen Thomas is to beauty)
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To: Inwoodian

<<<<
All these years of re-writing history and demonizing Nixon it is remarkable that Nixon still outranks Carter (the greatest ex-President, dontcha know).
>>>>

As a patriot who loved his country, I have no problems with Nixon. He will always be remembered for Watergate which is unfortunate.

But even WITHOUT Watergate, I am not sure if his term was commendable. He was the one who took America out of the Gold Standard eventually resulting in our stagflation. He continued LBJ's great society policies, and he even boasted to everyone saying that "We are All Keynesians Now". The Oil shocks of the 70's started not long after he took office and his pro-price control policies ( albeit not as bad as Carter's ) GUARANTEED the shortages of the late 70's.

I have to say that his economic policies portended Carter's and on this alone ( irrespective of Watergate ) he cannot be given a high rank.


78 posted on 09/13/2005 11:14:05 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
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To: badgerlandjim

Historians are not any more qualified to judge the present than anyone else. By defifnition they study the past from a detached, removed point of view. To wit, Douglas Brinkley, when asked to comment on corruption in NIO takes it for granted, because he lives ion that mileu. If we get it cleaned up, his observations will seem quaint.


79 posted on 09/13/2005 11:15:47 AM PDT by ClaireSolt (.)
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To: jla

Anyone that thinks FDR should be that high on the list lives in a make-believe world.

FDR, without doubt, is the worst president this nation has ever had. He started us down the road to socialism (maybe even communism) and each any very year we sink deeper into that cesspool.


80 posted on 09/13/2005 11:19:54 AM PDT by mulligan
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