He's The Worst Ever

[Adrienne]

He's The Worst Ever

By Eric Foner
Sunday, December 3, 2006; Page B01

Ever since 1948, when Harvard professor Arthur Schlesinger Sr. asked 55 historians to rank U.S. presidents on a scale from "great" to "failure," such polls have been a favorite pastime for those of us who study the American past.

Changes in presidential rankings reflect shifts in how we view history. When the first poll was taken, the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War was regarded as a time of corruption and misgovernment caused by granting black men the right to vote. As a result, President Andrew Johnson, a fervent white supremacist who opposed efforts to extend basic rights to former slaves, was rated "near great." Today, by contrast, scholars consider Reconstruction a flawed but noble attempt to build an interracial democracy from the ashes of slavery -- and Johnson a flat failure.

More often, however, the rankings display a remarkable year-to-year uniformity. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt always figure in the "great" category. Most presidents are ranked "average" or, to put it less charitably, mediocre. Johnson, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Richard M. Nixon occupy the bottom rung, and now President Bush is a leading contender to join them. A look at history, as well as Bush's policies, explains why.

At a time of national crisis, Pierce and Buchanan, who served in the eight years preceding the Civil War, and Johnson, who followed it, were simply not up to the job. Stubborn, narrow-minded, unwilling to listen to criticism or to consider alternatives to disastrous mistakes, they surrounded themselves with sycophants and shaped their policies to appeal to retrogressive political forces (in that era, pro-slavery and racist ideologues). Even after being repudiated in the midterm elections of 1854, 1858 and 1866, respectively, they ignored major currents of public opinion and clung to flawed policies. Bush's presidency certainly brings theirs to mind.

Harding and Coolidge are best remembered for the corruption of their years in office (1921-23 and 1923-29, respectively) and for channeling money and favors to big business. They slashed income and corporate taxes and supported employers' campaigns to eliminate unions. Members of their administrations received kickbacks and bribes from lobbyists and businessmen. "Never before, here or anywhere else," declared the Wall Street Journal, "has a government been so completely fused with business." The Journal could hardly have anticipated the even worse cronyism, corruption and pro-business bias of the Bush administration.

Despite some notable accomplishments in domestic and foreign policy, Nixon is mostly associated today with disdain for the Constitution and abuse of presidential power. Obsessed with secrecy and media leaks, he viewed every critic as a threat to national security and illegally spied on U.S. citizens. Nixon considered himself above the law.

Bush has taken this disdain for law even further. He has sought to strip people accused of crimes of rights that date as far back as the Magna Carta in Anglo-American jurisprudence: trial by impartial jury, access to lawyers and knowledge of evidence against them. In dozens of statements when signing legislation, he has asserted the right to ignore the parts of laws with which he disagrees. His administration has adopted policies regarding the treatment of prisoners of war that have disgraced the nation and alienated virtually the entire world. Usually, during wartime, the Supreme Court has refrained from passing judgment on presidential actions related to national defense. The court's unprecedented rebukes of Bush's policies on detainees indicate how far the administration has strayed from the rule of law.

One other president bears comparison to Bush: James K. Polk. Some historians admire him, in part because he made their job easier by keeping a detailed diary during his administration, which spanned the years of the Mexican-American War. But Polk should be remembered primarily for launching that unprovoked attack on Mexico and seizing one-third of its territory for the United States.

Lincoln, then a member of Congress from Illinois, condemned Polk for misleading Congress and the public about the cause of the war -- an alleged Mexican incursion into the United States. Accepting the president's right to attack another country "whenever he shall deem it necessary," Lincoln observed, would make it impossible to "fix any limit" to his power to make war. Today, one wishes that the country had heeded Lincoln's warning.

Historians are loath to predict the future. It is impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050. But somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors. I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history.

efoner@aol.com


Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton professor

of history at Columbia University.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120101509.html

[Volitzer]

Amen!!!   

[Anassa]

The first Economist Intelligence Unit;s study to rank countries around the world according to their peacefulness and the drivers that create and sustain their peace was launched today. The Global Peace Index studied 121 countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe and its publication comes one week before the leaders of the world's richest countries gather for the G8 summit in Germany to discuss issues of global concern.

Countries most at peace ranked first


    Rank      Country           Score
    1          Norway           1.357
    2     New Zealand           1.363
    3         Denmark           1.377
    4         Ireland           1.396
    5           Japan           1.413
    6         Finland           1.447
    7          Sweden           1.478
    8          Canada           1.481
    9        Portugal           1.481
    10        Austria           1.483
    11        Belgium           1.498
    12        Germany           1.523
    13 Czech Republic           1.524
    14    Switzerland           1.526
    15       Slovenia           1.539
    16          Chile           1.568
    17       Slovakia           1.571
    18        Hungary           1.575
    19         Bhutan           1.611
    20    Netherlands           1.620
    21          Spain           1.633
    22           Oman           1.641
    23      Hong Kong           1.657
    24        Uruguay           1.661
    25      Australia           1.664
    26        Romania           1.682
    27         Poland           1.683
    28        Estonia           1.684
    29      Singapore           1.692
    30          Qatar           1.702
    31     Costa Rica           1.702
    32    South Korea           1.719
    33          Italy           1.724
    34         France           1.729
    35        Vietnam           1.729
    36         Taiwan           1.731
    37       Malaysia           1.744
    38    United Arab
             Emirates           1.747
    39        Tunisia           1.762
    40          Ghana           1.765
    41     Madagascar           1.766
    42       Botswana           1.786
    43      Lithuania           1.788
    44         Greece           1.791
    45         Panama           1.798
    46         Kuwait           1.818
    47         Latvia           1.848
    48        Morocco           1.893
    49 United Kingdom           1.898
    50     Mozambique           1.909
    51         Cyprus           1.915
    52      Argentina           1.923
    53         Zambia           1.930
    54       Bulgaria           1.936
    55       Paraguay           1.946
    56          Gabon           1.952
    57       Tanzania           1.966
    58          Libya           1.967
    59           Cuba           1.968
    60          China           1.980
    61     Kazakhstan           1.995
    62        Bahrain           1.995
    63         Jordan           1.997
    64        Namibia           2.003
    65        Senegal           2.017
    66      Nicaragua           2.020
    67        Croatia           2.030
    68         Malawi           2.038
    69        Bolivia           2.052
    70           Peru           2.056
    71     Equatorial
               Guinea           2.059
    72        Moldova           2.059
    73          Egypt           2.068
    74      Dominican
             Republic           2.071
    75     Bosnia and
          Herzegovina           2.089
    76       Cameroon           2.093
    77          Syria           2.106
    78      Indonesia           2.111
    79         Mexico           2.125
    80        Ukraine           2.150
    81        Jamaica           2.164
    82      Macedonia           2.170
    83         Brazil           2.173
    84         Serbia           2.181
    85       Cambodia           2.197
    86     Bangladesh           2.219
    87        Ecuador           2.219
    88      Papua New
               Guinea           2.223
    89    El Salvador           2.244
    90   Saudi Arabia           2.246
    91          Kenya           2.258
    92         Turkey           2.272
    93      Guatemala           2.285
    94   Trinidad and
               Tobago           2.286
    95          Yemen           2.309
    96  United States
           of America           2.317
    97           Iran           2.320
    98       Honduras           2.390
    99   South Africa           2.399
    100   Philippines           2.428
    101    Azerbaijan           2.448
    102     Venezuela           2.453
    103      Ethiopia           2.479
    104        Uganda           2.489
    105      Thailand           2.491
    106      Zimbabwe           2.495
    107       Algeria           2.503
    108       Myanmar           2.524
    109         India           2.530
    110    Uzbekistan           2.542
    111     Sri Lanka           2.575
    112        Angola           2.587
    113 Cote d'Ivoire           2.638
    114       Lebanon           2.662
    115      Pakistan           2.697
    116      Colombia           2.770
    117       Nigeria           2.898
    118        Russia           2.903
    119        Israel           3.033
    120         Sudan           3.182
    121          Iraq           3.437

[Anassa]

By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to a new index released on Wednesday that evaluates 121 nations based on their peacefulness.

According to the Global Peace Index, created by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation in the world and Iraq is the least, just after Russia, Israel and Sudan.

"The objective of the Global Peace Index was to go beyond a crude measure of wars by systemically exploring the texture of peace," said Global Peace Index President Clyde McConaghy.

He said the inaugural effort proves "peace can and has and will continue to be measured."

The index was compiled based on 24 indicators measuring peace inside and outside of a country. They included the number of wars a country was involved in the past five years, how many soldiers were killed overseas and how much money was made in arms sales.

Domestic indicators included the level of violent crimes, relations with neighboring countries and level of distrust in other citizens.

The results were then reviewed by a panel of international experts.

"We were trying to find out what positive qualities lead to peace," said Leo Abruzzese, the North American editorial director of the intelligence unit that is part of The Economist Group that publishes the well known magazine.

He said they found in general the most peaceful countries were the smallest, the most politically stable and democratic.

"Democracy didn't actually correlate with peace, but a well-functioning democracy did. Efficient, accountable government seems to be the leading determinant of peace. Beyond that, income helps."

Fifteen of the top 20 most peaceful nations are in Western Europe, and countries with higher income appeared to lead to higher levels of peace, he said.

The United States ranked 96th out of 121 nations, just worse than Yemen and just better than Iran, Honduras and South Africa.

Abruzzese said the United States' score was pulled down by the number of wars it is involved in, large numbers of soldiers killed on the battlefield and high defense spending.

He said the fact the United States has the world's largest prison population per share of overall population also pulled down the score.

"It also has relatively high levels of violent crime," he added.

McConaghy said the index would be revised each year and increase the number of countries included. Some countries like Afghanistan and North Korea were not included in the first index because reliable data for all 24 indicators was not available.

http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN30417228._CH_.2400

[Aristotle]

I'm quite disturbed at what we (America) have done to Iraq.  More to the point, I am disturbed at the lack of concern that the American people have shown for the plight of the people in Iraq.  They seem to feel that they gave the gift of the Iraqi people democracy, and that it is their fault if they can't get it right.

No, it isn't, it is our fault.  There was never a plan to bring actual democracy to Iraq, nor an earnest attempt to rebuild it, similar to the Marshall Plan of World War II. There was simply a plan to steal the oil, and that is all.

They safeguarded the oil wells first when they invaded, could care less about the museums or the looting.  Bush even warned the Iraqi military at the time:  "Your fate depends on your actions.  Do not burn oil wells."

The dead in Iraq are anywhere from 100,000 to 655,000.  Less talked about is the fact that millions of Iraqis have become refugees, driven from their homes.

The Iraqi government is corrupt and the only difference between it and the insurgency is that the Iraqi government seems to be the less organized of the two, believe it or not.

There were never enough troops sent to do the job, and those sent in now are simply "sitting ducks."

We have reaped what we have sown.  We have put a person in charge of the government who lacks intelligence, lacks knowledge of other cultures, lacks humanity, is advised poorly and who's overriding trait happens to be his stubbornness. 

It is no wonder the 2008 Presidential election has started so soon, people cannot wait to get this one over.

[Byron]

Yeah, isn't this great??

And how is that "surge" thing working?  Let's see, there were 800 car bombings a month pre-surge, there are now 1100 a month now! 

And, of course, at something like 113 deaths for American troops, May was the third worst month of the occupation.  Guess a few hundred more are needed before the Congress of both parties realizes that this war is a complete loss.

[Jade Hellene]

Bush seems to be unravelling from within the depths of his bunker.  I printed this last night here, though, I don't imagine many saw it yet:

Report: In Meeting, ‘Wild-Eyed’ Bush Thumped Chest While Repeating ‘I Am The President!’

Georgie Anne Geyer writes today in the Dallas Morning News about President Bush’s strange behavior during a recent meeting with “[f]riends of his from Texas.”




But by all reports, President Bush is more convinced than ever of his righteousness.

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated “I am the president!” He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of “our country’s destiny.”

This is the second time in recent weeks that accounts have surfaced of Bush lashing out or “ranting” in private meetings when responding to criticism of his Iraq policy. Chris Nelson of the Nelson Report offered a similar account earlier this month:

Some big money players up from Texas recently paid a visit to their friend in the White House. The story goes that they got out exactly one question, and the rest of the meeting consisted of The President in an extended whine, a rant, actually, about no one understands him, the critics are all messed up, if only people would see what he’s doing things would be OK…etc., etc. This is called a “bunker mentality” and it’s not attractive when a friend does it. When the friend is the President of the United States, it can be downright dangerous. Apparently the Texas friends were suitably appalled, hence the story now in circulation.

Like the tearful House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Bush needs to channel his bottled up emotions towards a more worthy end — winding down the war in Iraq rather than defending the status quo.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/31/bush-wild-eyed/

[Jade Hellene]

Who says we bash Bush here? All I see that we do it report the news.

Unfortunately for Bush, the news for him happens to be all bad. 

[Volitzer]

Check out the Alex Jones links and see how Bush, Rove and Ahhnold all had NAZI ties with their parents or grandparents.