Free Republic

Our Worst President Ever? By Victor Davis Hanson From the November/December 2007 Issue The American That’s what some on both left and right are saying about George W. Bush. Don’t count him out yet, VICTOR DAVIS HANSON advises. Bush Geopolitics By October, 15 months before his presidency would end, George Bush’s approval ratings still hovered around 30 percent. His administration will go down, say historians such as Columbia’s Eric Foner and Princeton’s Sean Wilentz, as a disaster. As Wilentz put it, “Many his­torians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all...

Historians debate whether his stature will increase after he leaves office WASHINGTON — If Harry S. Truman did it, why can't George W. Bush? Truman came back from the political abyss — his public approval rating sank as low as 22 percent thanks in large part to America's entry into the Korean War and his handling of labor disputes at home — to become regarded by historians as one of the nation's top 10 presidents. Lately, some Bush administration officials and White House associates have predicted that President Bush — mired in an unpopular war in Iraq and saddled with...

[ED. NOTE: In the last few months, FReeper Southack put together a list of Bush administration achievements over its first three years in office, and tirelessly posted it whenever an opportunity presented itself. Southack gave me permission to take that list, organize it by topics, and enhance it with further research from whitehouse.gov and other sources. This thread is posted in gratitude to and in honor of Southack.]Abortion & Traditional Values Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade.Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy.By Executive Order...

STANFORD, CALIF. – History is a stern judge, and stingy, too. As Ronald Reagan once observed (quoting Clare Booth Luce), "no matter how exalted or great a man may be, history will have time to give him no more than one sentence. George Washington - he founded our country. Abraham Lincoln - he freed the slaves and preserved the Union. Winston Churchill - he saved Europe." What will George W. Bush's single sentence be? The answer is scarcely obvious. History often shows little respect for the most cherished opinions of contemporaries. Washington, to be sure, was first in the hearts...