View Comments to “238 presidential scholars: Bush worst president of modern era, fifth worst in US history”

1. 1bintexas

   Well, I know my nearly 100 year old grandmother, who is very lucid, says that GWB is the worst in her memory. I have to agree.

   
   
2. 2chrislib

   Is there anyone who didn't already know that?

   
   
3. 3grolaw

   Name any other president in the past 100 years responsible for the deaths of over 1,000,000 innocents as documented by the prestigious and unassailable LANCET with Johns Hopkin's epidemiologists doing the data collection, please?

   He's not merely the bad president – he is the poster child for the “sociopath that got away.”

   Our ongoing national misery is due, and justly so, because we permitted this narcissistic bastard to hold two terms of office.

   
   
4. 4protobone

   It's good to see the “presidential historians” have caught up with the general consensus of oh say, five years ago.

   
   
5. 5mrcoldheart

   It's really sad when we have to endure such heavy disinformation from the Right because they don't want to face the facts.

   Bush did this country a great disservice.

   
   
6. 6TiggySow

   Recent history? More like worst President EVER, of ALL time. Him and his Regime!

   
   
7. 7JPMP

   Indeed Bush appeared to be a fool.

   But he was a useful fool to those who had him nominated/selected in 2000 with the clear intention of his being no more than a puppet.

   The issue is NOT Bush's recent ranking but the apparent inability or lack of intention of his successor to undo the profound harm done to this country by Bush's puppet masters.

   
   
8. 8Prattvictory

   Bush should be in jail but what difference does it make. Twenty years from now the Republicans will have rehabilitated him and will put him on Mt Rushmore. Thank Eric Holder, Rahm Emanuel and Barck Obama.

   
   
9. 9Insurgent Media

   Vietnam War, 1.5 Million,John F Kennedy, Lyndon B Johnson, Richard Nixon

   Afghanistan War:Carter, Reagan, 500,000 dead.

   Iran/Iraq War. Reagan, Bush 700,000

   Iraq Sanctions:Clinton 1,000,000

   
   
10. 10Syed92

    GWB could have been the worst president, but he was the BEST CRUSADER. GHB was asked in 1989, if he could stop the spread of Islam in America and he replied that he is going to take care of SPREAD OF ISLAM in America, but he did nothing. Next president Bill Clinton did nothing to stop the spread of Islam in America, But GWB has managed to STOP its spread, by whatever means he did, is not our discussion. Average American even despises the word, “ISLAM” and is not ready to learn. Pope Urbain, the first Crusader could not achieve that kind of success.

    
    
11. 11bintexas

    Wow, what are you drinking?

    
    
12. 12Carol Davidek-Waller

    No surprise there. He has competition.
    Obama is following in his footsteps, adopting all of his worst policies, some of which are war crimes and others gross violations of the Constitution. His administration is rife with Bush holdovers.
    He panders to the plutocracy, just like Bush.
    He has even adopted the Bush squint when he lies to us.
    None of it needed to happen. It's almost as if he he didn't really beleive he had the right to be President and on some level, he is sabotaging himself.

    
    
13. 13EmersonRuskin

    I blame the core of the republican party for this country's mess. We knew Bush was a moron just by watching the debates between he and Gore. Obama is a great disappointment and is not fighting hard enough to change the Cheney doctrine of corporations before Americans, but Bush & Cheney are a disgrace to politicians everywhere. That's saying a huge amount. Never forget the Cheney element of that presidency because he is who decided and ruined this nation. Beware of Liz.

    
    
14. 14EmersonRuskin

    Agree… but I still maintain that the very rich, and the very ignorant Christian poor allowed Bush/Cheney to ruin this nation. Obama is trying (not very hard) to re-build a nation with the bag of crap left to him.

    
    
15. 15MissKG

    When Peolsi took impeachment off the table and the Obama administration decided not to look back, Bush's criminal performance became a model for the future as opposed to the cautionary tale it should be.

    
    
16. 16Tim Murphy

    Franklin Pierce was Momma Bush's great, great grandfather, failures don't fall far from the tree.

    
    
17. 17rxgary

    bush and richard bruce cheney along with barack bush should all be at the end of a noose if the rule of law still existed in this country

    
    
18. 18AtlanticCapers

    Keep in mind that Obama's policies are almost identical to Bush's.

    
    
19. 19usmcr

    The only president in history to tell an outright lie, then continue to lie to try to cover up the lie. The lies precipitated the invasion of a soverign country that was no threat to the U.S. or its neighbors. The invasion resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people the lieing drunk said we were going to liberate..
    Took over a country with a vibrant economy and shrinking deficit. Blew that and DOUBLED the debt.
    Was responsible for illegal wiretaps, extreme rendition, torture, and murder..
    He has shit a streak of shame across this country we will not out live in most of our lifetimes.

    Yeah…I'm guessing it took those “scholars” about 5 minutes to come to that conclusion

    Now… What we need are some “scholars” to prosecute the little criminal

    
    
20. 20AtlanticCapers

    You are an amazingly stupid person. You covered so much ground in so few words.

    
    
21. 21AtlanticCapers

    Precisely.

    That's what makes Obama worse than Bush.

    
    
22. 22Donna

    obama will catch up … he is continuing where the bush regime left off and with the oil spill and his MMS office totally disregarding keeping BP in check, puts obama's regime at the heels of the bush regime

    
    
23. 23usmcr

    The Islam in the US are not the problem and we have done nothing but create another million martyrs waiting to come visit a city near you.

    This war had not a damn thing to do with Islam, Saddam, Osama Bin Laden or terrorism…

    This war was to minimize OPECs power to control the price of oil. American and European Oil companies had a significant disadvantage over Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries. They could not compete at the prices that OPEC would set for oil. So even if they could influence the price in their favor. Countries like Iraq would continue to sell oil on the black market and drive the price of oil down.

    By taking over Iraq… OPEC has no more power because now Big Oil controls the price of oil. The first thing they the day after the invasion was to shut off Iraqs Oil. They drove up the price of oil to unprecedented levels and made historic profits. It took almost 10 yrs for them to allow Iraq to produce oil at the pre-invasion level.

    That's what this war was about.

    
    
24. 24DesertSun59

    No doubt W will drop even further as more solid evidence of his malfeasance is dug up.

    
    
25. 25DesertSun59

    Fail.

    
    
26. 26billos

    In YOUR FACE all you GOP suckers who always claimed the SoB was the greatest. You brainwashed PoS's………………IN YOUR FACE

    
    
27. 27wiseturtle

    SUCK IT UP RACISTS!!!

    
    
28. 28Richie73

    oh please.

    
    
29. 29Joe Steel

    Scholars say Bush2 is the worst and FDR is the best. I must be a genius because I knew that years ago.

    
    
30. 30airjackie

    When the full story of the 8 year crime corruption done by the Bush Administration comes out Bush will be dead last. Now we will see Bush make history as he will be the first US President charged as a War Criminal, he might no stand trial because he is a drunk and drug addicted that could be used as a defense. Remember we lucked out and so did Bush because Sarah Palin could have gotten in office. Yes Grandpappy McCain wouldn't last an hour as President which Sarah would have taken the job. Think it would be a tie for last place between Sarah and George. Daddy Bush asked that we not talk bad about his son but facts don't change and history is the pass.

    
    
31. 31billos

    Tim r-u kiddin' us??? !!!!

    
    
32. 32Clarence Rutherford

    I'm reminded of the scene from “Hunt For Red October” The First Officer turns to the Soviet Sub Captain who's egotistical, blood-thirsty, arrogant stupidity was seconds from sinking their sub and says:
    “You arrogant ass. You've killed *us*!”

    That will be Boy Blunders epitaph.

    
    
33. 33buckfutter

    “President Barack Obama, who hasn't yet served a full term, rated 15th.” -Upon reading that, this poll has lost all credibility.

    
    
34. 34bob915

    Yep, Joe, I cosign….my epiphany came 'bout March '01….with that I will add my 'like

    
    
35. 35bob915

    yeah Donna, he did just like Dana 'I'm Living up to the Dumb Blonde Moniker” Perino said. He got in his yellow submarine, went down 5000+ feet, planted his little stick of dynamite and blew the well plumb up, laughing with all his visions of dead wildlife, ruined beaches, stunted tourism, blasted commerce, and generations of lost jobs. Thank Baby Jeebus he didn't give a clown cake with candles to McCain or tell Brownie he did a helluva job. Sit TF Down

    
    
36. 36bob915

    OMG…there's now way to make that up…..

    
    
37. 37megmca

    You know the MMS was all people Bush appointed right? Same with just about every regulatory office in the government. Bush appointed them and the republicans filibustered all of Obama's appointees to replace them so he _couldn't_ change the departments until the disaster started making the Republicans look bad.

    
    
38. 38Cory

    Stop drinking the Kool-Aid, moron.

    
    
39. 39PrissyPatriot

    In short, Bush was/is a threat to national security.

    
    
40. 40bob915

    ….step away from your hooka and look past your front door. Followers of Islam have no problems……its the followers of radical hate for America that need monitoring: that is an equal opportunity condition, and with a little education and some vision without blinders you might just see that as well. Not everyone is knocking down the Baptist doors……sheesh

    
    
41. 41Cory

    I wonder how many people died in Afghanistan/Iraq under Bush's totalitarian regime?

    
    
42. 42calbee

    Upon reading your name, buckfutter, you have lost all credibility.

    
    
43. 43barkleyg

    George W( WORST AMERICAN EVERRR) Bush has the ethics and morality of an UNREPENTANT
    Catholic POPE(think Brussels)!!

    
    
44. 44bedleysmutler

    Try that again. Write it, read it, edit it, send it.

    
    
45. 45AtlanticCapers

    Complete nonsense.

    
    
46. 46jimthebeam

    I don't believe the issue is a lack of evidence. There is more than enough evidence. The issue is lack of action on that evidence by the current administration to hold the GWB aka shrubya, administration accountable for their crimes.

    Though technically not true, in essence the Obama administration is harboring a criminal and his cronys, which in itself is a crime if it were you an me. But for the justice department it is a choice to prosecute or not. What a shame.

    
    
47. 47jimthebeam

    The precedent was set when Ford pardoned Nixon followed by Clinton shutting down Iran-Contra which left the lord gawd Ron “Raygun” Reagan off the hook. Note how the crimes grow in severity with each case. I hate to think of the next one and how bad that will be.

    
    
48. 48barcode0302

    Fool! What nonsense to suggest that Bush and his republican yes men aren't responsible for a government that can't govern. It will take decades to repair the damage done.

    
    
49. 49barcode0302

    You fool! How can you possibly believe that George W. is not to blame for an incompetent government. It took 8 years to dismantle the government's regulatory ability. It will take decades to repair the damage.

    
    
50. 50Shiva

    Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush, Dont blame Bush,

    Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    But on the bright side, when you say Bush, you say Cheney.

    
    
51. 51airjackie

    Now many Americans believe Bush is best President the USA has ever had because he brought two Wars and even committed War Crimes. He brought the US to a Recession and hope the next Republican President will bring it to the next Great Depression. Thousands of soldiers died based on lies and greed for oil and allowed racist to come out without their hoods on. All hail a true Dictator and Murder George W. Bush.

    
    
52. 52AtlanticCapers

    Show me where Obama has shown any interest in repairing any of the damage done by Bush.

    You're just another simple Obama apologist who doesn't give a shit about anything Obama does. That's why you lied without even thinking. You're not allowed to think.

    I thought you might like to know.

    
    
53. 53BeeSting

    Obama is giving him a run for his money.

    
    
54. 54Tyke

    That must be why Obama is ranked so much higher than Bush.

    Yeah – that's definitely it.

    /snark

    
    
55. 55johnniefavorite

    Obama is the greatest SCAM as president in history. Well unless there is some rather prodigious epiphany on his part, like soon.

    
    
56. 56ProudPrimate

    FDR? No, not yet anyways. But that's a pretty high bar.

    
    
57. 57theoracle

    Aaah, but Bush II and Cheney were a team, a highly toxic right-wing ideological team, but still a team. They led the most corrupt and criminal administration in American history…and they've gotten away with it. They should have both been impeached after 9/11, but weren't. They should have both been impeached and given 20 to life prison sentences after outing the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. They should have been impeached after leaving New Orleans to drown. They should have been impeached after letting Wall Street gamblers almost destroy our nation's economy. They should have been impeached, and criminal charges filed against both, after authorizing torture. They should have been impeached, and criminal charges filed against both, after starting the war in Iraq, without official Congressional authorization. And the list goes on and on and on, with countless impeachable offenses being committed by two of the worst people to have befouled and despoiled the White House.

    
    
58. 58ProudPrimate

    or, in respect of the Gulf, millenia

    
    
59. 59johnniefavorite

    You know sometimes I wonder what it would take to wake some of these Obama people up.
    Hey, after that fucking guy was elected I stayed home all day and watched the freakin' inaugural and everything, I was actually excited about the future (whadda'chump).
    But the magic and genius of him in office is that this guy could actually INVADE IRAN and these people would still go along with it because there is a D by his name or because he has absolutly no reservation about coming out and talking all kind of tough progressive shit, throwing a CRUMB (at best) and then doing whatever the banksters/corporations require.

    
    
60. 60ProudPrimate

    Not guilty by reason of wet brain.

    
    
61. 61ProudPrimate

    Maybe scholarship isn't dead after all

    
    
62. 62ProudPrimate

    The Bushies each pulled the pin on hand grenades and tossed them to Obama's team as they walked out the door

    
    
63. 63Ban B

    I still can't believe this guys was president for two terms, talk about low IQ people in America!

    
    
64. 64ProudPrimate

    Whistling past the grave yard of blame — solitary blame? Misery loves company I guess.

    
    
65. 65ProudPrimate

    Whistling past the church yard of blame — solitary blame? Misery loves company I guess.

    
    
66. 66lilyannrose

    Well that was certainly underwhelming! I knew George was a crappy Prez, how about you, lol!

    FDR sure did rock, my parents thought there were three priorities in life:

    Family
    Union
    Teaching their children that FDR was a god!

    
    
67. 67lilyannrose

    Well that was certainly underwhelming! I knew George was a crappy Prez, how about you, lol!

    FDR sure did rock, my parents thought there were three priorities in life:

    Family
    Union
    Teaching their children that FDR was a god!

    
    
68. 68ProudPrimate

    On a more prosaic note, this piece at Daily Beast lays it out very completely. The U.K. government has appointed former BP chief Lord Browne as its new efficiency czar. Tom Bower on the extraordinary insult of promoting the man who bears huge responsibility for the Gulf oil crisis.

    Lord Browne turned BP from a dying corporation to the 2nd biggest, buying up Amoco and Arco. He fired his experts and hired outside contractors, cut safety and maintenance to boost his stock value, used all the financial wizardry so familiar to us nowadays as our economy tanks, not to mention totally inflated hype in marketing. This is the legacy of Thatcher and Reagan, but W is the prima facie example of someone who was given “enough rope”. So now he's hanged himself by using their criminal genius with none of his own: he didn't know enough to cover his tracks! LOL

    
    
69. 69AtlanticCapers

    Our country has always had fascist criminals like Bush. But only Obama could have made fascism acceptable to the masses. And he did.

    
    
70. 70rxgary

    people didnt vote for bush , diebold electronic voting did

    
    
71. 71ProudPrimate

    Some of the crimes of Bush have not yet been rescinded. The reason will not be clear immediately. Kennedy was too hasty in reversing the purposes of Allen Dulles and Curtis LeMay. Obama may live to see two terms if he builds his foundation before making moves as drastic as those.

    Discretion is the better part of valor.

    
    
72. 72terrierist

    They're absolutely right about FDR being the best. He gave us Social Security, regulated banks & wall street by signing Glass'Steagal (later repealed by Bill Clinton), pulled us out of the depression with the New Deal, and over the years doubled the wages of workers. We could sure use him now.

    
    
73. 73ProudPrimate

    The Democrats are 10%, 15%, even 25% bad. If they were 100% good, the fact that the Republicans are 99% bad wouldn't matter. So it's the Democrats' fault.

    
    
74. 74ProudPrimate

    Hey, how's that fair? Didn't you learn to share toys when you were a child? We should let the sour-grapes crowd have a villain of their own and not be selfish about it.

    
    
75. 75ProudPrimate

    Whom did you vote for in 2000?

    
    
76. 76ProudPrimate

    I sensed it the first sight I caught of him, in 2000.

    
    
77. 77GrimReefer

    Nixon?

    
    
78. 78GrimReefer

    “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

    And, uh, Nixon wasn't so good with the truth either.

    
    
79. 79ProudPrimate

    Kennedy was doing his best to get us out of Vietnam when there were only a two or three thousand US “advisors” there. He made the mistake of taking Rusk's advice and appointing his former opponent in Massachusetts, Henry Cabot Lodge, as ambassador. Lodge cut his throat a thousand times before he met his bitter end, and made certain that the withdrawal, which Diem wished for, could never be. He also sealed the fate of Diem and his brother.

    
    
80. 80scytherius

    And the Conservative movement will one day take it's side next to the Nazi movement and other repressive, evil regimes.

    Conservatism is doing it's best to “legally” murder Americans by denying them health care, food, homes, social security, Medicaid, etc. And history will marvel that we let it go on as long as it did.

    
    
81. 81ProudPrimate

    I can see by your coat, my friend, you're from the
    Other side, there's just one thing I've
    Got to know, can you tell me please,
    Who won?

    Forgive me, that song just jumped into my mind from long ago.

    What I meant to say was, I can see from your name, your first language is not English, probably Arabic, and those before me who carp about your diction, how many languages do they write?

    Your historical point is well taken, and I would add, the destruction of the 10,000 year history of Uruk, the cradle of civilization, was no accident, any more than was the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

    It is cultural genocide in action, ethnic cleansing of history books.

    
    
82. 82ya_right

    he is a disappointment to progressives but compared to what? McGrumpy and McStupid? You may think he's a scam but I dont see you sitting in the oval running the joint. unlike faux and friends i dont think anyone has a clue about the realities of being president. No matter how left center he is he IS STILL Superior to anything the “baggers” and “john boners” are adding to the mix. raise SS retirement to 70 to pay for war????? and what happens if they get congress? man, if you think they are obstructionist now…………………. HOLY SHIT.

    
    
83. 83Hooker

    To those who are disappointed by Obama, who had high-hopes that when he was elected, that we would see quick and wonderful change for the better, I fully understand the disappointment. Obama has certainly not been the progressive stalwart on a white horse carrying our banner. Some of us have hopes that he will fulfill our dreams, some have lost all hope. I don't know who is right. But to even see his name in the same sentence as George W. Bush turns my stomach. One measure of intellegence is knowing the difference in things. Obama, at his most hope crushing worst, is immeasurably superior to that gaspingly stupid, narrow-minded, preening faux cowboy from TexasYale who lied as into a war and a Recession/Depression.

    
    
84. 84JohnnyReb

    I think you should stay off the bottle. G H Bush pardoned those Iran Contra criminals on Dec 24, 1992 before Clinton took office. That ended Iran Contra but you dumb ass Republicans want to blame Clinton again.

    Losers.

    
    
85. 85ya_right

    Better than:

    Andrew Johnson
    James Buchanan
    Warren Harding
    Franklin Pierce

    The highest tech thing Harding had was a frigging telephone. For the rest of them it was a four wheeler coach and gas light. All of them may have been stupid and lazy and do nothing but to rate them worse than the shrub? You are insulting four very mediocre men.

    
    
86. 86johnniefavorite

    Why search for excuses for your acceptence of mediocrity. No wonder this country now sucks.
    Plus I'm not so sure he is better than these bastards who actually said, “Hey I'm gonna fuck you guys” and then go do it. If they were in office maybe there would be a chance we could get people motivated and not be sitting around waiting for Obama's 'secret plan' to start rolling back Bush's bullshit…someday.
    The more I see of this guy the more certain I am he's actually a plant (no not flora). It's too perfect how this guy came outta' nowhere.

    
    
87. 87smallbear

    The Conservative movement will take its rightful place right next to Piltdown Man, another hoax on civilized society.

    
    
88. 88mindboggeling

    No-no! The greatest scam was duping the religious right into believing w was their messiah so they would vote the buffoon in. There still are right wingers out there who think he was the best president ever. The biggest scam is people thinking bush had a brain or a heart.making him the perfect partner in crime for the heartless and unconscionable cheney. I will never forget the London newspaper after bush won the second term. How can so many yanks be so stupid! I'm still wondering about that. Obama could be comatose and still be smarter than bush. Bush was his mothers son. He didn't let the heartbreak of others, even if he was responsible, clutter his beautiful dead brain. He forever will be a shallow spoiled drunken frat boy who only cares about himself. He is so stupid he doesn't know he should be ashamed and embarrassed about his presidency.

    
    
89. 89chrisinva

    Both Bush and Obama were terribly inexperienced when they took office, and the country has suffered immensely because of their amateurism and, frankly, their shallow ideologies.

    I think George Will was right when he said that Bill Clinton wasn't our worst president, but he was the worst man ever to become president.

    We need a true liberty-minded president who will tell Americans that the government will be halved, and our liberties doubled. Bring back freedom. And put all the guilty profiteers, whatever their party, in jail.

    
    
90. 90MissKG

    Those who ignore history — include just about everybody.

    
    
91. 91smallbear

    The biggest reason this administration doesn't investigate and prosecute is because Bushco damaged the Dept of Justice so badly, there won't be a Republican conviction for years. The Bush appointees are so widespread and so deep in the organization, it will take at least a generation to root them all out. They could try to prosecute, but all they would get would be mistrials and acquittals, inoculating the perpetrators against being brought before the bench a second time (double jeopardy).

    
    
92. 92smallbear

    Defeatist.

    
    
93. 93alfredo

    Hm? I had no idea. Wow! I can't figure it out. What do these bozos base that statement on? “Bush worst president in modern history”? Totally preposterous. I say he is without doubt the worst president ever in the United States history. Much worse than his father (of course he only had 4 years during which to screw things up) and Ronald Reagan combined.

    
    
94. 94smallbear

    Obama has been very busy trying to keep what's left of this economy from going completely to pieces, or haven't you been paying attention? Bush deliberately screwed this country up so that his successor would have a major clusterf***k to unravel because he knew he would be replaced by a democrat.

    
    
95. 95Prattvictory

    I remember hearing stories of citizens of even the most ruthless dictators making the case that they know the (Tzar, King, Emperor, President for Life, fill in the blank) loves them its just he doesn't hear the people. It's just his (ministers, Rahm Emanuel, fill in the blank) won't let him talk to the people.

    Bullshit Barack you know the score and you sold us out.

    
    
96. 96RadicalCaveman

    Reagan should be second-worst in modern times, W by far the worst ever, except that, having skipped the formality of being elected, he was never actually president–just acting president/usurper/imposter. And what's with Teddy Roosevelt, the vicious racist and imperialist, doing in the top five? Whatever these historians are smoking, they need to switch to a different brand.

    
    
97. 97chrislib

    We don't need gubmnt's laws; we only need guns.

    
    
98. 98chrislib

    The Party of No wants a slow, no-healthcare holocaust to get rid of people who aren't rich.

    
    
99. 99chrislib

    We should treat cancervatism the same way we treated polio in the 1950s.

    
    
100. 100chrislib

     FDR won the Great Depression and World War II. Resluglicons cause depressions, and start–and lose–wars.

     
     
101. 101chrislib

     A few people voted for w, but The Extreme Court and Diebold and ES&S machines gave us the first–and second, for that matter–illegitimate White House squatter in our history.

     
     
102. 102Dolmance

     Having Lil Bush sitting in the Oval Office was the equivalent of having Sarah Palin as President – a complete, unqualified mediocrity vs. a screeching idiot crook. And the worst thing is, the GOP was prepared to see Sarah Palin become President, even after the debacle that was George Bush Jr., in the same way they were prepared to let Dan Quayle become a hair's breadth from the Oval Office back when Big Bush was in power.

     Meanwhile, what is the GOP offering today? More of Lil Bush's prescriptions for America – tax cuts for the rich, more deregulation and more appointments of right wing hacks who worship the powerful to sit on the Supreme Court.

     They should have a vote on which is the dumbest party to ever field a candidate for President. The Republicans would come out on top there all right. No doubt about it.

     
     
103. 103Dolmance

     Hey, Tea Bagger… You people are a joke.

     
     
104. 104Dolmance

     I don't know what article you were reading – FDR came out as best. There was no argument.

     
     
105. 105Dolmance

     Anyone who thinks George Will is right about anything has a mind like a pretzel.

     
     
106. 106Dolmance

     Andrew Johnson was the worst President ever and we're still paying for his policies, with Old Dixie still getting along as a cranky, defeated and smoldering for vengeance region of ignorance and injustice.

     
     
107. 107Dolmance

     You Tea Baggers blow mouth farts at each other 24/7 and think that's the whole world. Well, I got news for you – it ain't.

     
     
108. 108Dolmance

     I haven't seen or heard of a single Republican making a single utterance that would suggest they'd do anything different that that bat faced little bastard George Bush if they were in power again.

     
     
109. 109Dolmance

     Obama is doing what he can with the Democrats he's got in Congress. And I suspect you're the sort that voted for Ron Paul if you're a right winger or Ralph Nader if you're a Democrat. Either way, it's just a pain in the ass that there are so many of you.

     
     
110. 110Stephen Haynes

     It's laughable the claims that Obama is completely responsable for this economic mess. What's funnier is when these uneducated right-wingers claim Obama's social welfare programs such as the stimulus package, healthcare reform, and other plans mainly whats causing the debt crisis. This link shows that the cause is primarily the tax cuts for the rich enacted President Bush.

     http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3036

     
     
111. 111usmcr

     Are you shitting me? You seriously would compare the crimes of the 'botch” administration with Nixon lieing about watergate? Or any other president lieing about anything else…
     WTF.

     “botch” should be standing trial for treason for crying out loud.

     
     
112. 112GrimReefer

     Just pointing out that lying is not something that is exclusive to President Bush. You give too much credit to other Repub. Presidents by saying that Gdub is the only President who told a bold face lie. You didn't say “President George W. Bush told the WORST lie.” You said he was the only President in history to tell an outright lie. That's clearly not true.

     
     
113. 113Big_Alpha1

     Gutless, Spineless, Coward, Deserter Little Georgie W. Bush beats out old Limp Wrist Lying Dad for being the biggest Jackoff in history! I'd like to say the who Bush Family is nothing but a bunch of losers, but they have managed to steal this country blind, be the direct influence on the murder hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Panama, and no one takes them to task for it. That fucking loser currently in the White House has no spine for it.

     
     
114. 114archiebird

     Oh, You mean the tax cuts that Obama won't lt expire?

     
     
115. 115SeaKat

     Don't forget the fact that both Cheney & The Shrub have both admitted to torture – said admission being seen & read about by most of the general public – which nixes any chance of them getting an fair trial.

     
     
116. 116libertate

     watch out bush, obama's gunning for your title!

     
     
117. 117ProudPrimate

     Iron lungs?

     
     
118. 118JustWatching

     It isn't fair to rate Bush on intelligence. Whatever intelligence he had was quite well hidden.

     
     
119. 119JennyMontana

     I knew Bush would be the worst, he sucks monkey balls!!lol Obama, Clinton and FDR will go down as the best, nuff said!!!

     
     
120. 120JennyMontana

     I knew Bush would be the worst, he sucks monkey balls!!lol Obama, Clinton and FDR will go down as the best, nuff said!!!

     
     
121. 121NadePaulKuciGravMcKi

     bush cheney rove rummy

     9/11 whistle blowers
     9/11 leaks

     
     
122. 122ProudPrimate

     What I'd like to know is who did these Sour-grapers vote for in 2000?

     I ask, but I don't get much in the way of answers

     
     
123. 123Dakotahgeo

     ROFLMBO!!! Truer words were never spoken!!! Thanks!

     
     
124. 124Clara Elton Sharp

     you needed to take a poll for this??

     
     
125. 125whoodoo

     I would hazard a guess that T. Roosevelt ranks high on his progressive agenda of trust-busting (which we sorely need more of today), his initiation of conservation of American wilderness areas in large chunks (the only real way to defeat species extinction and which is under threat today), and his promotion of the U.S. to world power status where its economic strength rightly put it, but what colonial European nations of the time resisted. They try to judge by the circumstances of those times, not ours, and those times – and values, were extremely different than ours.

     
     
126. 126robertbixby

     Millard Fillmore doesn't even make the bottom five? what were these brain-damaged presidential scholars smoking? When GWBush was appointed president by Clarence Thomas, poor old millard fillmore had to get out of his chair and move to the position of second worst president, cursing the bushes the whole time. Harding was just a corrupt asshole. Bush was the total package. Andrew Johnson got a bad rap for trying to treat the South as Lincoln intended–fairly and decently. They didn't deserve it, clearly, but Johnson was a decent guy trying to do a difficult job from the shadow of a saint. Maybe he is in the bottom half. But he can't hold a candle to the clueless, feckless, wet-brained bush.

     
     
127. 127Prattvictory

     I went to war protests before the war and throughout the Bush Administration. I gave to Gore's, Kerry's, Kucinich and Obama's campaigns. I contributed to Cindy Sheehan.

     You gotta lotta gall to call me a teabagger.

     You're the fucking joke.

     
     
128. 128tndoubleaa

     you certainly appear to be an authority on monkey ball sucking…

     
     
129. 129Dolmance

     You write like a disgruntled Tea Bagger.

     
     
130. 130C H

     He is and was terrible. People have already forgotten how much damage he did. Not simply the lies that got us into wars, but the propaganda, the deregulation of everything, the destruction of our rights, the shredding of the constitution, the financial devastation, the loss of 700,000 jobs a month carrying into his last month, the stimulus he signed off on before Obama got into office. And the mess he left after eight years.

     I remember all of it. As well as his comment about “the constitution being a goddamn piece of paper.” Whatever is going on now even the bad stuff, I would not vote again for a Republican with a gun pointed at my head.

     By the way, have any of you heard a word about BP from Bush or Cheney? I wonder why?

     
     
131. 131robertbixby

     Interestingly, Pierce is a Bush–GW's mother was born Barbara Pierce (of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Smith fame), a direct descendent of the pro-slavery northerner Franklin Pierce. There are those who point out that Barbara is the spitting image of Aleister Crowley, the satan worshiper, who was visited nine months before Barbara's birth by Barbara's mother, but no one has had the nerve to do a dna test, so let's treat that as a highly plausible rumor, not as fact. And don't forget that the Bush part of the family is directly descended from the half-mad, feckless loser King George III of England. The United States was the first colony to successfully separate itself by force of arms from the crown, so you might say George III was the cause of the collapse of the British Empire. What a long, proud line George W comes from.

     
     
132. 132TiggySow

     LOL, recent history? I think Bush was the worst President of ALL time.

     
     
133. 133BellaLiberty

     ႈIt was October 2001 the day after US waged war on Afghanistan I was on the flight which was heading to Bombay India, next to me an old Indian man was reading war news and telling that…
     ” well America waged war on Islamic territory one day an Islam will occupy their White House “
     I looked`at his smiling face and asked are you Islam ?
     Replied,,,No I am just a prophet.
     When.?
     He answered.. within decade.
     Than what will be the next ?
     He looked at my face and answered ” Indirectly he will destroy America and Islam will become super power in this universe.
     It was last 9years ago unbelievable the prophecy become true, within decade the man Barack Hussein Obama was occupied the American historic White House by illegal or unconstitutional foreign power money and since that day he was against the American constitutions and declared that he wants to talk with Osama Bin Laden or terrorists. Also he declared that he never at war with Islam and indirectly allowed Iran to succeed it wide range of nuclear program and every his speech or action is strengthening the power of Iran and Al-Qaeda or terrorists, Within 100 day of his tenure of White House Iran already succeeded it wide range of nuclear program and the sunset time of American super power is imminent.
     Osama Bin Laden was just destroyed just WTC and few thousand of lives but Barack Hussein Obama is destroying the whole nation and he is the one who beneath the super power dignity and destroyed the American image.
     You all Americans think about that who is the worst president G.W Bush or Barack Hussein Obama ?

     
     
134. 134johnstrode

     That is nothing less than fascinating, thak you so much!

     I particularly like the bastard-child-of-Aleister-Crowley angle, how appropriate THAT idea is as an explanation of many, many things!

     Six degrees of separation – I guess you could call Dubya 'KG-III's Revenge', huh? Hahahaha! It all makes sense now.

     I have heard it said that President Obama, in his mother's side, is connected to thge same lineage of Ireland as so many other presidents – FDR, JFK, Reagan, etc.

     I've even heard it said that he could signify this, if he wanted to, with a simple apostrophe – 'O'Bama', lol!

     Whaddya think?

     
     
135. 135markusgarvey

     In an effort to serve the online community best, please verify your account so that your comments will post as soon as they are posted in the future. Thanks

     
     
136. 136robertbixby

     Harding not only wasn't single (Buchanan was our only unmarried president), but the secret service had to intervene when Mrs. Harding had Mr. Harding and his mistress cornered in a closet, threatening to kill him if he came out. Nan Britton bore Harding a daughter while he was still a senator. Their favorite trysting place after his election was the white house closet. Harding used the secret service as go-betweens to deliver notes to Nan. He had an earlier affair with the wife of an associate which went on for several years, until his mistress insisted that he divorce his wife and marry her.

     Here is a poem he wrote to his first mistress:

     I love your back, I love your breasts
     Darling to feel, where my face rests,
     I love your skin, so soft and white,
     So dear to feel and sweet to bite. . . .
     I love your poise of perfect thighs,
     When they hold me in paradise. . .

     He then ended the affair and took up with Nan, whom he is said to have assured, “I reckon I can do pretty much anything I like. I am the president.” Harding, of course, died in office of a heart attack.

     
     
137. 137Lodewijk

     Fillmore wasn't the worst. And neither was Andrew Johnson. But James Buchanan, who sat by helplessly as the South began the process of leaving the Union, and Franklin Pierce, who despite being a New Englander did everything he could to appease radical slave-owning interests, while barely running the country, were among the very worst. Harding presided over rampant corruption.

     Though I'm no scholar of the US presidency, I'd be willing to venture that unless Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Rand Paul, or someone of their ilk gets into office, George W. Bush will remain at the very bottom of this particular barrel. Sadly for all Americans and the world, his successor is 1) doing everything he can to protect Bush and 2) doing everything he can to mimic some of his worst policies.

     
     
138. 1381g0lfer1

     As a history professor and scholar, I may appreciate the nuances of the Constitution and it's writers more than some Americans, but I am continually amazed how lucky we are to have the first amendment, particularly in light of the persistant ranting that our President is a Muslim (an untruth). What difference would it make if he were? We have had Catholic and Protestant Presidents. Mormon and Jewish candidates…this is America, if you do not care for your country – is this the wrong one for you?

     
     
139. 139Patrick D. Shami

     @robertbixby

     Millard Fillmore and Andrew Johnson are not considered modern presidents. The modern presidency starts at FDR, because presidential power of these modern presidents does not compare to presidents holding office prior to FDR.

     
     
140. 140bluewild

     G W Bush…what's your horoscope today?

     
     
141. 141roooth

     Get over it, President Obama won the election. Obama isn't hurting this country – you sore losers are. You spoiled brats on the Right are such bullies that you would tear this country apart rather than admit that your side lost the election – as it should have. Instead, you make up crap about Obama as an excuse to rile up the other idiots to steal what you couldn't get legitimately.

     
     
142. 142bluewild

     Don't forget the Papa Bush is well known in S. America, too….

     
     
143. 1432fat2fish

     How moronic.
     Prophet blah blah
     You're a fuckin' nut case.

     
     
144. 144bluewild

     The office of president is just a puppet position for the corporate faces that control the wealth of the world and wish to remain somewhat hidden. The powers of the president mean nothing anymore, which is why the repubs want an attractive spunky blathering idiot in a skirt like Sarah Palin…what's the difference? Why not have somebody in the office they can fantasize about? She can handles a gun, she's kinda cute you betcha, and she doesn't like to read.

     
     
145. 145Dolmance

     Nothing like clear writing. And I think the author of the above article might have been distracted.

     
     
146. 146annboutelle

     It's good that facts have been the criteria for ranking. What was done, how it was done and what were the results need to be the judgment criteria. GWBush and Cheney took an enourmous surplus, a healthy economy, good employment figures, a strong relationship with much of the world, and they took what they wanted, and flushed the rest.

     They should be jailed.

     They left the US reeling, broke, with few friends, deeply involved in two wars. Because of their secretive policies for de-regulation of everything corporate, we are now choking on oil spewing and destroying the Gulf of Mexico, rampant bankruptcies and huge unemployment.

     They were the very worst. They are criminals and laughing all the way to the bank.

     They and their cohorts should be tried, convicted and shot.

     
     
147. 147johnstrode

     Okay, I thought I had, I did not realize that I had to click on the response in my mailbox, thanks.

     God, how many steps do you have to do to get posted on here??? JEEZ!

     Thanks again, I suppose TWO steps are not enough….

     
     
148. 148Vicki Thomas

     Surely Obully will rank #1 worst Prez…moving Carter to 2nd place.

     
     
149. 149Jay

     W is for WORST.

     
     
150. 150facebook-711717333

     Thank you for teaching history. My high school History teacher inspired me to love the subject and appreciate it's importance.

     
     
151. 151Mr_Natural

     You seem to be looking for an authority on monkey ball sucking.

     
     
152. 152Mr_Natural

     The Bush crime family members are demonstrable sociopaths.

     
     
153. 153oktoss

     Your grammar is so bad that I couldn't make sense of what you wrote. Based on your syntax I highly doubt that you've ever been on an airplane, certainly not on a flight to Bombay. I'll bet that you know your bible *real good* though.

     On the other hand, if what little I understood is what you wrote then I think I can see more clearly how W. Bush came to his conclusions.

     
     
154. 154facebook-711717333

     I was in Panama and my unit was the one that was involved in the capture of Noriega. because of the dishonorable actions that I saw in Panama by then President Bush…I ceased being a republican. He promised the Panamanians that if they staged a coup and took out Noriega on thei own terms, we would back them up. Instead, on October 10th, 1989, while his generals had him in thier custody in the Comandancia on Ancon Hill, we were ordered to stand down and not do anything. Those braver commanders were executed by Noriega's Batalion 2000 when they came in and regained control. The next election, I worked on the Clinton campaign staff in Lake Charles, LA. He pulled the same crap in Iraq during the first Gulf War and allowed hundreds of brave Iraqi's to be gunned down by Hussein's gunships. The rotten apple didn't fall far from the tree. Republicans have been showing their true colors as they wrap themselves in the flag and then screw over the vets. I knew we were in trouble when the SCOTUS illegally gave him the election. History shows that i was spot on.

     
     
155. 155Mr_Natural

     It's not laughable. What Cheney-Bush did to the nation was shameful and devastating. They took a healthy economy and a budget surplus and used it to start two wars–one unwinnable, the other unnecessary.

     
     
156. 156gary2515

     This is news?

     
     
157. 157tndoubleaa

     and so you know what monkey balls taste like

     
     
158. 158barkleyg

     I don't. Tell me tndoubleaa: What do monkey balls taste like? Since you seem to have the mental ability of a monkey, I know you probably have a SICK fetish for MONKEY BALLS!!

     
     
159. 159barkleyg

     And Grampa Bush was the LAST NAZI BANKER in America! Scum don't flow far from the gutter!!

     
     
160. 160C H

     You are as insane an ignorant as any right wing lunatic. And you know nothing.

     
     
161. 161Teri Mosier

     LOL that was EXACTLY what I said…..perhaps for the tea party folks it is news….of course for them it is news that the federal government runs medicare and medicaid too…..

     
     
162. 162just

     What would you expect from a government run by a Bush, a Dick and a Colon?

     
     
163. 163staunchdem

     Take your ignorant Faux News bullshit elsewhere.
     Fuck you very much idiot.

     
     
164. 164John Harper

     What?

     
     
165. 165gundersonrogers

     1st Rep:
     Don't forget the Alzheimer's. Lawrence Walsh shares in his book, Firewall, that Reagan's alzheimer's was one reason for not indicting him for Iran-Contra criminal behavior.
     See pages 421, and after.
     With all of the post-Reagan years GOP veneration of Reagan, his charm and swagger covered up much incompetence, ignorance, and corruption.

     
     
166. 166sambarber

     Surely a 17-year old with text-speak instead of complete sentences will make such a comment. Please post again when you can write coherently.

     
     
167. 167likewow

     Caligutard is a barking psychopath. He should be in a supermax chained to the floor for the rest of his life.

     
     
168. 168BroccoliRob

     Red meat for morons.

     
     
169. 169Steve Lane

     Something wrong here! How did they come to rate W so high?

     
     
170. 170BroccoliRob

     Obama had only average grades in Columbia. How he got there is an open issue. He graduated without any honors from Columia and stated that he was not proud of his LSATs…How he got into Harvard is another open issue.

     
     
171. 171Christopher

     George W. Bush: Worst President Ever.

     
     
172. 172Christopher

     George W. Bush: Worst President Ever.

     
     
173. 173BroccoliRob

     Don't take this so seriously, it is just pubescent Liberal vulgar talk, designed to cover for a lack of real knowledge. Look at most of the Liberal posts here and you will see the same pattern. It makes them feel big.

     
     
174. 174BroccoliRob

     You forgot Clinton's disgraceful pullout after Mogadashu. Al Gore NEVER led in Florida, not even for one minute! The combinefd media, including the NY Times, have concluded, after investigating, that Bush won….What was illegal? The meda even tried to help Gore out by “calling” Florida before the poles in the conservative pan-handle were closed, even though the media had been specifically warned about the different time zone before the election.

     
     
175. 175Yavo

     Bush Jr is the worst President in the history of the United States. He billed himself as a uniter and not a divider. Bush Jr split this country apart like no other President in U.S history has ever done before. He has caused injury to our nation and this wound may never heal, for his horrible legacy still lives in Fox news and the GOP as they continue to throw salt in the wound Bush Jr created.

     
     
176. 176BroccoliRob

     Hey, if you are going to spout untruths, why stop at less than a million?

     
     
177. 177crowtrex

     Bush was only a change agent. He did what he was installed to do. His transparent venality made him easy to hate, but the “kinder, gentler” current front man is far more damaging because he coopts a wide demographic into the “New American Century” while protecting Bush et al from prosecution and deepening the perversion of history. Refusal to investigate 9/11 was the overdose of morphine to a dying Republic. From now on anything goes.

     http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/for...

     http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/a-n...

     
     
178. 178paddles57

     Nope-bush jr wins hands down. And time will show that Ronnie Raygun will be a close second.

     
     
179. 179C.P.T.L.

     Of course the whole question does not really matter; and more importantly, it did not matter then when Bush was in office.

     The question was simply one of a stream of diversionary imponderables manufactured by the Republican media machine to trip up those who would allow themselves to be tripped up while assessing fact, cause and effect, apparent motive and apparent damage.

     Really, what does it matter what an historian thinks – ever – while now (or, at the time) laws are broken, people are dying, money is stolen, good institutions are destroyed or made ineffective, bad institutions are formed, nations are ruined, lies and mendacity are allowed to swamp America's discourse, and hallowed rights are removed or eroded?

     Americans were the worst citizens in the history of their nation thus far; the lamest participants of their representative democracy, and President Bush and his administration and the Republican Party took every advantage they were allowed.

     I'll put my money on that becoming the 'verdict of history.'

     
     
180. 180paddles57

     You must be confusing Liberals with right wingnuts.

     
     
181. 181paddles57

     You must be confusing Liberals with right wingnuts.

     
     
182. 182panamarick

     I don't know how much it cost to put this grand finding together, but I would like to remark I would have gladly provided this very same conclusion for a $1.00. Feel free great minds involved with this monumental work to contact me in the future for a better price as I can assure you ladies and gentlemen I can save you money and time.

     
     
183. 183youmeyoume

     if you need any proof of all of this check out some of the films for an example “loose
     Change” that ought to piss you off. it is almost hard to believe how pathetic it all really is. my dad believes he was a great president upon asking him why he feels like that my own dad said he kept us from being attacked after 9/11 i immediately asked fine what about 9/11 from the get go. where was he before the attack. are you kidding me. almost all the documentaries i have watched on 9/11 proves over and over just how bad mr. bush really is.

     
     
184. 184Bob Zubritsky

     Drugs are bad!
     Where do I pick up my check?

     
     
185. 185javaman8263

     Oh Vicki, you are that stupiid. Or perhaps you were just asleep for 8 long miserable years.

     
     
186. 186javaman8263

     Jackass says what?

     
     
187. 187javaman8263

     and george w. moron* got into yale via the legacy program. His almost fflunking out shows that.

     
     
188. 188javaman8263

     So 283 researchers are wrong and you are right? typical of a right wing lunitic who has distain for anything “researchy”.

     Willfully ignorant is not a good plan for life.

     
     
189. 189javaman8263

     I don't have to either know how or the taste that only morons like yourself suck them.

     
     
190. 190tonybinca

     Obutthole is much worse. He lied to all you dewy-eyed lefties and you still support the third term of Bush. Wars without end, torture without end, oil volcanoes without end. Change that will kill you.

     
     
191. 191GunTotinLiberal

     Bush ranked at as the worst president is not surprising. What I do find surprising is Nixon is not in even the bottom five.

     
     
192. 192tonybinca

     And Obama is filling his shoes nicely.

     
     
193. 193BroccoliRob

     I know you are a liberal, but even you cannot be this stupid. My comment was directed at JerryMontana's language, not the “Researchers.”

     
     
194. 194pbfishtaco

     Why'd ya hafta go and bring Bill O'Reilly into this?

     
     
195. 195Kim Hartsfield

     This poll has Obama ranked higher than Reagan. Flawed poll is flawed.

     
     
196. 196braind

     Apparently you know noting about “liberals” aka dewy-eyed lefties. WE KNOW HE LIED AND STILL LIES. I have seen Obomber slammed here more than on the “conservative talk shows”… and yes… he deserves it. What I NEVER saw was the wackjob repukelicans or “tea potters” say one word against their god. (Real Liberals) are capable of kicking “both sides in the balls”…. and often do.

     
     
197. 197braind

     Does anyone here need 238 more people to agree with them?

     
     
198. 198braind

     Have you ever hear of a mercy fuck… Of course you have, many times. Bush got a mercy diploma. Bought and paid for by….. Daddy.

     
     
199. 199bill15

     Reagan began the long road to destruction which is culminating in our current economic recession/depression.

     High military spending, lowering taxes on the rich, HUGE debt spending, letting globalization and international corps run rampant.

     You're an idiot if you think Reagan was a good president.

     
     
200. 200bill15

     You are a god damn idiot. That's all there is to it.

     
     
201. 201bill15

     Distilled idiot right here folks.

     
     
202. 202Brett

     One single questions:
     “Have anyone of these 238 scholars ever been President?” (This pertains to both former and current President Obama)
     This is like a college professor teaching an individual how to be a business owner when he/she has either failed himself or herself or never owned a business.
     What qualifies one to give his/her professional opinion about a subject that has never been achieved?
     Just a topic to think about. I for one would never take advice or lessons from one so unqualified.

     
     
203. 203panamarick

     Harumph!

     
     
204. 204kenthomes

     Exactly – I slam Obummer more than my right-wing friends. Real Liberals and Progressives are political atheists – who judge people on what they DO – not what they SAY!

     
     
205. 205jpbellavance

     I voted for Obama and will not vote for him again. I had two choices at the time, the double crap McCain/Palin team or maybe the chance that the Obama/Biden team would be different. They have thus far proven to be colossal failures. The difference is I only voted for him once whereas most Repubs voted for Bush twice.

     
     
206. 206dredd

     There is no mystery in that vote, the mystery is why does Obama want to be like W in so many ways?

     
     
207. 207RICHARD_RALPH_ROEHL

     What? No mention of PRESIDENT Dick ('Darth') Cheney?

     George Bush the Lessor was a vicious dry drunk $ociopath; he had the insight of a rabid dog and the compassion of a rattlesnake. Aside from being an arrogant and incurious lout, Bush was vain, venal and mean-espirited. And almost as souless as Cheney, probably one of the most evil men on the planet. Amerikans who voted (allegedly) for Cheney and Bush were clueless, willfully ignorant and/or TRAITORS to Amerikan constitutional precepts and the rule of law. They were traitors to humanity.

     Yes! I said traitor! You voted for Cheney/Bush? Then you are a damn traitor! And Rome is now burning because of your short-$ighted, $elfish and $implistic misbehavior. Where was your common sense? Your prescience? Your allegiance for maintaining the common good and the general welfare of the nation? Karma suggests that someone should cut your throat. You have lost your right to be here. Traitor!

     
     
208. 208Johnny Worsham

     Oh yes! Justice, sweet justice!

     
     
209. 209starvapor

     The real question should be why would it take scholars to come to this obvious conclusion?

     
     
210. 210angeloR

     Yea, he Bush was the worst – a real Dick. But he was us – the true representation of a crock of white colonial, warmongering piece of shit country. Our America. But the clock is ticking and we are getting weaker and weaker, like a dying old star. Ironically the rest of the world has learned a lot from us, even as it has refused to stand up to our ignorance (though there have been exceptions – Venezuela for ex ample.). The real nail in the coffin will be our continued unabashed support for Israel – we’ll hang on to it like the South hung on to slavery, till the bitter end…a bitter end that will ensure history sees the American era of human development as a great pretention – the “greatest show on earth” and little more. The only hope is for black people – people like Obama and others behind him to take over and take the wheel. If black people – the only Americans who really know anything about freedom – can keep driving, then and only then can be find our true greatness as a nation.

     
     
211. 211STUART GOODARD

     Even my bloody cat could of told you that

     
     
212. 212Benny King

     There is no mystery in you spamming to get readers on your stupid, worthless blog.

     
     
213. 213Wilburforce Door

     Are you serious? In your world, unless someone has actually taken part in the subject under discussion, they are not qualified to to give their opinion? So, only other professional players can evaluate the skill of LeBron James , only an impressionist-artist can comment on Monet, and only someone who has been emperor themselves can discuss the Japanese royal family? I wonder if you realize just how stupid your comment was…
     Have you yourself ever been a reviewer of presidential history? If not, by your own logic, you have no right commenting on the value of the reviewers' analysis.

     Man, your dumb, and so are the two people who liked your ridiculous “single questions.”

     
     
214. 214quad2t

     “GWBush and Cheney took an enourmous surplus”

     WHAT SURPLUS??? Clinton NEVER had a surplus and NEVER paid down the national debt…so try another excuse.

     
     
215. 215quad2t

     GWBush and Cheney took an enourmous surplus”

     WHAT SURPLUS??? Clinton NEVER had a surplus and NEVER paid down the national debt…so try another excuse.

     
     
216. 216sergesret

     Nixon sucked, but for all his evil he created the EPA, Clean Water act, went to China. He was the last elected Republican president that wasn't part of the current cabal that is hell bent on sucking this country, the planet and all the humanity in it dry.

     
     
217. 217johnfive

     I don't know if I dislike the guy who brought us 'here' or the guy who is continuing this mess… only faster and harder.

     
     
218. 218C.k. Worrell

     Response to quad2t. Please don't say things that you know nothing about.
     http://www.headybrew.net/other/federal_budget_d...

     
     
219. 219sergesret

     I've met people who were brilliant in College and mediocre in life and business and vice versa. Academic performance is not an absolute predictor of much else than future academic performance. It just gets a lot of weight because early on in one's career it's pretty much all the history there is.

     
     
220. 220brunnock

     Almost everyone disagrees with you-

     http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/during_th...

     
     
221. 221Shiva

     I agree. While Nixon had Watergate he was also an innovative president who face an extremely hard times during his tenure. His platform during his second election was to end the war and that's what he eventually did. I don't think you can take just Watergate to define his entire presidency in terms of things that he did achieve.

     
     
222. 222theonlyseven

     Sorry, but you are wrong:

     <img src=”http://cdn.factcheck.org/imagefiles/Ask%20FactCheck%20Images/FederalDeficit/FederalDeficit(1).jpg”>

     
     
223. 223VoxMagi

     I've hated every administration for 30 years now (not out of favoritism for anything prior to that…but because I couldn't vote until the 80's). I hated the Reagan admin for its greed, fake wars, drug hysteria and lies as they sold weapons to terrorists. I hated the Bush The First admin as it faked an excuse for war and covered up the previous admin's crimes while being soft on the corporate slime that looted the rest of us. I hated the Clinton admin while it deregulated credit and gave deals for massive telecoms, not to mention handing out cheap access to the white house. I hated them all…

     …but the only reason I find I can tolerate the pain of watching Obama fumble and kiss corporate ass daily…

     ..is because after 8 years of living hell under Bush and Cheney, watching pseudo-patriots crap their pants with fear and ditch the Bill Of Rights while crying for safety like little bitches with a skinned knee…

     …you could literally dip me in sh*t and light me on fire and it still wouldn't be as bad as 2001-2008. Putting Bush ahead of Harding and others is doing him a favor he doesn't deserve. We may actually need to invent a special category for non-elected non-leaders who actually left their country that much worse off after their term(s). The man was like a reverse-King Midas…everything he touched literally transformed into crap.

     To borrow internet parlance for just a moment: Even FAIL looks at Bush and says “WTF, dude!? How did you manage that?!”

     
     
224. 224Sarvepalli

     You've got to be kidding! We're in the deepest recession since the Great Depression due to Reagan's policies and you think his standing should be higher? There's a reason that our failed economic policies are called “Reaganomics”. And there's a reason why his supporters are called “dittoheads”.

     
     
225. 225Walt

     Wow johnfive. Only two years into his presidency and Obama has not walked on water yet. What a completely naive and ignorant comment to give. Now you should be angry at many decisions that Obama has made. But to ignore what good Obama has done and and ignore the fact that the Republican Party has been the most obstructionist, anti-American, back stabbing political group in the face of these many national crisis's that is going on makes you an irresponsible voter. You think the Republicans back in power who created this train wreck would fix our nation. That is laughable. The only thing Republicans are good at is cutting taxes for the wealthy and selling their con game on main street America by exploiting social issues with fear mongering and character assassinations. They stink at everything else.

     
     
226. 226soccerox

     Sorry, but he's not wrong, Clinton may have not had a deficit, but he still didn't “pay down the national debt,” so he is actually correct. Clinton had a surplus for a year, but that surplus was minuscule compared to the actual national debt that has piled up.

     
     
227. 227soccerox

     Wow, just wow… so your opinion is now fact, Walt?

     
     
228. 228johnfive

     Just because you are expecting him to walk on water doesn't mean other people are. Anyways, I agree with most of what you are saying except you need to rephrase it as Republican AND Democratic.

     
     
229. 229soccerox

     Are you serious Wilburforce Door? In your world, unless someone agrees completely with you, they are not qualified to give their opinion? So, only people who agree with the validity of the article in question can comment on it in the comment section? I wonder if you realize just how stupid your comment was…

     “Man, your [sic] dumb,” and so are the “9″ people that liked “you're” ridiculous tirade.

     
     
230. 230gogetthemoney

     I love the irony that W is almost certainly the worst president to serve two full terms, and his father is possibly the best to serve only one term.

     
     
231. 231Jeremy Young

     Real simple. You look at historical reaction and context, and the results of the decisions. These are mostly facts. Some are up to interpretation. History teachers aren't scientists, but they do have a rigor to their approach on the subject. So placement of a President on this list is actually a VERY GOOD metric for how to place them amongst their peers. This isn't a case of eggheads or bean counters having no experience in the real world. This is a case of objective measurement of a president's policy against their peers.

     
     
232. 232Keith

     that site is bias and is supported by a libral organization

     
     
233. 233soccerox

     I'm going to have to question the validity of a poll that puts FDR, Lincoln, and Jefferson as the top three on the list. FDR was the closest we've ever come to having a fascist dictator, and is the only President who tried to hold onto power for more than 2 terms.

     Lincoln is the only President to have suspended habeas corpus (a constitutional right), and is given way too much credit for freeing slaves when his Emancipation Proclamation only freed states that were currently in rebellion. He is also given the moral high ground in the Civil War when his actions may have actually been unconstitutional as it is still not clear whether secession was illegal or not.

     Finally, Jefferson was brilliant until he was elected, and pretty much a failure as a president. He passed the Embargo Act, which destroyed the US economy by outlawing both imports and exports. He also gets credit for making slave importation illegal in the United States, which was really just part of his plan to end importation in general. He proved he had no good will for blacks when he signed into law a bill that excluded blacks from carrying the U.S. mail which had no purpose other than to put a race down.

     
     
234. 234Walt

     Yeah, as a matter of fact my opinion is based on fact, soccerox. Where was your brain during the 8 years that the Bush/Cheney administration was running this country both its foreign policy and economic policy into the ground? For the last 35 years since the Reagan revolution we have seen our manufacturing jobs shipped away overseas. (They didn't end slavery they just outsourced it.) 20 of those years have been under Republican Presidents. 12 of those years were under the control of the Republican Congress where the most damage was done under Clinton and most especially under Bush II. Over these 35 years we have seen the wealth of the middle class moving to the top 1%. And their policies have given rise to corporatist powers who controls much of government and our media. And of course you would not know any of this if you are listening to anyone that sounds like Limbaugh… the highly paid gas bag for the corporatists.

     
     
235. 235adam8

     Bush's third term is under the leadership of Barack Obama.

     
     
236. 236Walt

     Where did I ever indicate I expected Obama to walk on water. It was a metaphor for people like you who expected what you wanted for Obama to make happen. If you don't think their is a difference, lets put the Republicans back in power. Now you should be angry at many decisions that Obama has made. And you can ignore what good Obama has done. And you can ignore the fact that the Republican Party has been the most obstructionist, anti-American, back stabbing political group in the face of our many national crisis's that is going on. But what you can't ignore is the Presidency is only 4 to 8 years at the most but a Supreme Court Justice is for life. Think about it. You want real change. Put progressives in Congress especially in the Senate.

     
     
237. 237Oofloom

     Bush gets a break because this is a criteria-based poll. When historians are simply asked “who's the worst?” Bush sinks even lower. I saw a similar criteria-based poll last year that had Bush 37th. But when the same historians were simply asked their personal opinion, most said Bush was the worst. Let that sink in: MOST. Bush got more last place votes than all the prior 42 presidents COMBINED.

     
     
238. 238soccerox

     Actually, I, unlike you, don't feel qualified to completely judge the presidents of the past 35 years as I am too biased by current circumstances and too close to the era in question to remain objective and have enough information to come to a good conclusion. I was merely commenting on your illogical rhetoric, as you said that it was fact “that the Republican Party has been the most obstructionist, anti-American, back stabbing political group in the face of these many national crisis's that is going,” while this is truly merely your opinion. I refrained from commenting on the fact that your sentence makes no sense grammatically and instead just focused on one key logical fallacy.

     For the record, most opinions are based on some sort of fact, but just like a movie that is “based on a true story,” the end product doesn't always correlate with the foundation.

     
     
239. 239debudeodhar

     Yeah! Mr. Bush may be the worst president of modern era and fifth worst in US history. But no one can deny this fact that he also taken major decisions that help USA to come out form great crisis. I think there are many not only “ifs and buts” but also some sort of positives and negatives of every person. So why blame to Mr. Bush. Once some bad things happened with any new president, such type of survey comes in picture. It is just the matter to spoil someone's quality of being worthy of esteem and image too.

     
     
240. 240Walt

     okay let me make this simple for you, soccerox. Republican minority leader, Sen. McConnell made a statement they were not going to work with this president. While Obama has tried to work with the Republicans making concessions only to have the Republican Senate stab him in the back and vote no on every bill that has been trying to get passed. They have stalled appointments on even the lowest administrative positions. They have by far recorded the most filibusters in history. The Republicans lost because they screwed up and instead of working with the party in power they are spitting on it's citizens undermining our elected president hoping he fails at the price of sacrificing it's citizens. There media machine has been undermining this president from day one by attacking him by any means that will sell. Frankly the way the Republicans have acted couldn't be any more un-American. Who ever is controlling your brain is playing you for a fool.

     
     
241. 241Wilburforce Door

     Wow, you're an idiot too. Fantastic.
     Read the comment again – I was pointing out the flawed logic in the original post (namely, that a person can't evaluate something unless they have done it first hand). Where in my post did I say anything about anyone needing to agree with me or needing to agree with the article? You can absolutely disagree with the rankings themselves, and I didn't say anything about needing to adhere to my opinions. I was talking about his logic, not opinions.

     If you are referring to my last sentence about him not having a right to comment on the analysis of these presidential scholars, you must not have understood what I was trying to say — by using his own logic, by which you need to be a presidential scholar to critique other presidential scholars, I was demonstrating that he would invalidate his own comments, as he himself isn't a presidential scholar. That has everything to do with simple logic rules, not opinion or emotion.

     
     
242. 242David Forrester

     “…who is the worst president G.W Bush or Barack Hussein Obama?”

     Definitely G. W. Bush. Wow, that was the easiest question I've ever answered.

     
     
243. 243Richard Cleary

     Use your spell check. After all, you are judged by how you speak.

     
     
244. 244Richard Cleary

     Please use your spell check too. Your idiotic worldview is apparent in your sloppy writing and misspellings.

     
     
245. 245Richard Cleary

     Read your history, get your head out of the sand, and stop ignoring the obvious. Clinton indeed left office with a surplus in the budget.

     
     
246. 246Chris Ar

     We are in the greatest recession since the Depression because we have turned our backs on Reagan's policies. Both Bushes are to blame. W spent like a Democrat (or at least spent like a pre-Obama Democrat).

     If ignorance is bliss, you are the happiest person on the planet.

     
     
247. 247Richard Cleary

     He is only partially correct, because he inferred that Clinton did not make a budget surplus, which he did. However, Clinton didn't pay down the national debt (He didn't have the authority.)

     Nice try.

     
     
248. 248Richard Cleary

     By inference, since you are reading this stupid, worthless blog, you must be stupid and worthless too.

     
     
249. 249nikflorida

     … and that's not also true of the other forty-three people who have held that office?

     
     
250. 250Richard Cleary

     I consider these people to be eminently qualified to rank presidents since the majority of these people spent the bulk of their adult lives studying the behaviors, motivations, and actions of the presidents. You, however, have no such bona fides, so your rather uninformed opinion is of no consequence to me.

     
     
251. 251Richard Cleary

     Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one. You are a prime example of this age-proven axiom.

     
     
252. 252Richard Cleary

     Make that 3 “likes”.

     
     
253. 253Richard Cleary

     I lived under Reagan's presidency. The poll was right.

     
     
254. 254Ali Shams

     You are to grammar and spelling as Bush is to politics and public speaking

     
     
255. 255Richard Cleary

     Nixon was bad, but he was also insane.

     
     
256. 256Ali Shams

     Wait hold on a minute! It took that many Scholars to determine that he was the worst. My farts are more articulate and intelligent than he was. Of course he's the worst we've had

     
     
257. 257nikflorida

     okay– you don't bother to explain WHY Lincoln suspended habeus corpus, or the fact that, unlike W, at least Lincoln “officially” did it instead of just unofficially ignoring it… nor did you provide any support for the claim that Thomas Jefferson signed a law that excluded blacks from carrying the US mail (I couldn't find any information about it in an extensive online search)… So, that's three of the top five that you wouldn't put there. Who would you replace them with? Ronald Reagan? For all three?

     
     
258. 258Walt

     Wow… just wow. History 101 by soccerox. While we can find fault and mistakes with all Presidents (after all they are human) lets not ignore their accomplishments. Under Jefferson, there was the Louisiana Purchase, the first establishment of a United States Military Academy at West Point, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The fact is, Lincoln kept the United States from splitting into two countries, issued the Emancipation Proclamation (which began the process of freeing the slaves and allowed black soldiers to serve in the Union Army, and strongly supported the 13th Amendment. And he signed into law the Homestead Act, the Morrill Act, the National Banking Act, and a bill that chartered the first transcontinental railroad. There is a reason why many historians would say he was our greatest president.

     But my favorite of yours… suggesting FDR was a fascist. First of all FDR was democratically elected all those terms. Second of all his economic philosophy (based on the Keynesian Economic theory) created the greatest middle class growth this country has seen that lasted more than 50 years including through three Republican Presidents until Reagan. Now, I don't know where you got the definition of Fascism but I always like the definition given out by a true Fascist dictator. As Benito Mussolini defines, “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.” While there are mostly Democrats working hard for the people… the Republican Party is completely owned by the Corporatists.

     
     
259. 259markusgarvey

     nice…keep up the good work!…

     
     
260. 260johnstrode

     Good for YOU, Walt!

     Bravo!!!

     
     
261. 261soccerox

     nah, I agree with you, but was just saying he wasn't completely wrong.

     
     
262. 262Wilburforce Door

     Seems like you don't understand the difference between opinion and an evaluation of logic, which was the core of my post. You are right that the 4th and 7th sentences were opinion. The point though was that his logic was inherently flawed, and if really upheld, would have meant he wouldn't have been able to make his comments in the first place (not being a presidential historian).

     But you know, all that aside, it is still a stupid question: “”Have anyone of these 238 scholars ever been President?” What kind of question is that, honestly? Why would we expect them to have been the President of the United States (it's not like asking “have they ever worked in fast food”), and why would spending the better part of you life studying history, politics and presidential policies not make them fit to give a learned opinion? That was my point — based on his logic hardly anyone is qualified to tell the original poster about anything.

     
     
263. 263Wilburforce Door

     Seems like you don't understand the difference between opinion and an evaluation of logic, which was the core of my post. You are right that the 4th and 7th sentences were opinion. The point though was that his logic was inherently flawed, and if really upheld, would have meant he wouldn't have been able to make his comments in the first place (not being a presidential historian).

     But you know, all that aside, it is still a stupid question: “”Have anyone of these 238 scholars ever been President?” What kind of question is that, honestly? Why would we expect them to have been the President of the United States (it's not like asking “have they ever worked in fast food”), and why would spending the better part of you life studying history, politics and presidential policies not make them fit to give a learned opinion? That was my point — based on his logic hardly anyone is qualified to tell the original poster about anything.

     
     
264. 264Roger Darnell

     The data supported on the site came from the Congressional Budget Office.

     
     
265. 265nikflorida

     Perhaps, soccerox, you don't feel qualified to judge the past thirty-five years of presidential policy because you don't READ?

     
     
266. 266Fred Cadi

     What a surprise!

     
     
267. 267nikflorida

     about that whole “stall[ing] of appointments on even the lowest administrative positions,” let's point out that over 200 of them (about three times as many as one might expect) are by “anonymous holds,” which even repeated requests for information about “whose ass to kick” have been ignored by the staffs of at least three Republican senators, although the general tenor of the vast majority of the senate historically, of either major party, is that such a practice is “onerous” and should be “done away with.” It's pretty clear to anyone that this senate particularly (and one could argue John Boehner's House people) is deliberately trying to stymie this president. But then, this isn't a discussion about Barack Obama. It's an article about George W Bush, and it's not fair to pretend to judge Barack Obama's presidency in retrospect, because his first term is less than half over.

     
     
268. 268nikflorida

     Whether or not Bill Clinton got the federal budget under control, and how he left the nation's finances, qualitatively, is subject to debate and subject to varying opinions. Whether he left office with a budget surplus or not is not an opinion, and not subject to “agreement” or “disagreement,” but simply a matter of looking things up. Fact is, the balance sheets show a federal government budget surplus for the last fiscal year for which Clinton's presidency was responsible. That's a fact, not an opinion, and not subject to “disagree[ment].”

     
     
269. 269sergesret

     He was a paranoid personality, no doubt. The man had his demons.

     
     
270. 270theghostpony

     And who among us didn't figure this one out…. about 5 years ago.

     
     
271. 271Chris Rowe

     You know, Mr Bush is really lucky to have an individual as articulate as you to speak on his behalf. I'm going to go so far as to say you guys are two peas in a pod. Thank you for reinforcing my views of our former, ahem, President.

     
     
272. 272soccerox

     hehe I like what you did there, you started out the same way I did earlier. You actually proved the point I wanted you to see. This: “While we can find fault and mistakes with all Presidents (after all they are human) lets not ignore their accomplishments.” I don't agree with everything that the government did while Bush was in office, but to say he was an absolute failure as a president is definitely hyperbole.

     With Jefferson, he had to be persuaded to accept the Louisiana Purchase from France by his Cabinet members as he thought it was unconstitutional, so I don't think he deserves the credit for that. Plus it was basically handed to him. I applaud him for West Point, and yes the Lewis and Clark Expedition had some nice benefits, although it was perceived as an absolute failure at the time because it failed in its primary mission (discovering the Northwest Passage). Yes Lincoln kept the USA from splitting, but would we be applauding King George III if he had kept Great Britain from splintering? Again, the Emancipation I think

     The definition I base fascism on is this:
     A political regime, having totalitarian aspirations, ideologically based on a relationship between business and the centralized government, business-and-government control of the market place, repression of criticism or opposition, a leader cult and exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights

     FDR's New deal was based on Mussolini's tactics in Italy, and they worked! Yes FDR was elected, but he was granted so many emergency powers to deal with the Great Depression that he had almost total control over the government. He became the symbol for America instead of his office, which is something I think goes against the tradition of being President. And yes, of course he created a lot of economic growth, any growth from basically zero (the Great Depression) is going to be huge. Also, I am not a Republican, so no I don't completely agree with what they do either…

     
     
273. 273JD Carruthers

     Soccerox needs to go back and re-read the Constitution. Habeas corpus is NOT a constitutional right at all. Article I Section 9 describes habeas corpus as a “privilege”. Furthermore, Article I Section 9 specifies the conditions under which habeas corpus may be suspended, specifically “when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

     There is no question whether the Constitution allows habeas corpus to be suspended; clearly it can be. The only valid constitutional question is whether it must be suspended by congress, or whether the president can also suspend it. Considering the rebellious conditions Lincoln had to contend with, arguing that his actions were somehow unjustified under the Constitution is at least a bit bizarre. After all, the Confederates were presuming to leave the union, and the Constitution certainly didn't authorize that action.

     
     
274. 274soccerox

     okay, why did Lincoln suspend habeas corpus? He did it to arrest war protesters, “He proclaimed that all persons who discouraged enlistments or engaged in disloyal practices would be subject to Martial Law.” Sorry about not providing support on that obscure law though, it really is difficult to find online, but if you look in the book Racial Equality in America, by John Hope Franklin you'll find it. I shouldn't have included it in my argument since it was so small, but it was the first thing I thought of other than ending the slave trade that dealt with Jefferson and racism. And no I wouldn't put Reagan there. I don't know who deserves the top spot, but I don't think these deserve the top three. I was actually just trying to show that all presidents can be viewed in a negative light if you wish to portray them like that, and that since many liberals feel the need to constantly bash Bush, they only talk about negative things.

     
     
275. 275soccerox

     Actually I do read, what are you referring to? I'm honestly pretty confused by that statement…

     
     
276. 276Matt Shlisky

     all you need to ask is did he leave the country better off than when he took office. it's so sad that he ran our country into the ground, and we all let him do it. shame on all of us!

     
     
277. 277soccerox

     Actually, the whole “take my ball and go home” practice is viewed by many as a very American attitude. Again, I'm not arguing with you about what the Republican party is doing right now. I don't agree with it, but neither is it the most “anti-American, back stabbing political group” (in what by the way? the history of time or just the past few years?).

     
     
278. 278JD Carruthers

     Furthermore, if Soccerrox supposes that secession is somehow legal or constitutional, let him or her refer to that law, or that section of the Constitution that establishes that legal or constitutional basis.

     You are wrong; secession is extra-legal, extra-constitutional. There is nothing unclear about this in the least bit.

     And as for giving Lincoln too much credit for freeing the slaves, I would point out that the Emancipation Proclamation was not only an excellent first step, it was not the limit to Lincoln's efforts to end slavery. For example, he insisted that the adoption of the 13th Amendment be added as a plank to his party's platform during the presidential election of 1864 (he was concerned that the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation would be considered temporary and furthermore, not as inclusive as it needed to be). Had he not been assassinated in April of 1865, the 13th Amendment would have been ratified during his tenure in office. Much of the work in promulgating this amendment is attributable to Lincoln.

     
     
279. 279soccerox

     You are correct, I made a mistake, it is not a right and is instead a privilege. And yes, it can be suspended, but I argue that secession was not rebellion. There was nothing illegal about it, as there was nothing in the Constitution or any other legal document which precluded any state or group of states from seceding from the United States. The Constitution doesn't authorize secession, but neither does it condemn it.

     
     
280. 280palmharbor

     Hey, FoxNews says he was the best president we ever had and him reading “My Pet
     Goat” is a perfect example of that. I mean how many of you Dems have read My Pet Goat????

     
     
281. 281soccerox

     “Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed” and “whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends [i.e., protecting life, liberty, and property], it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government” and “when a long train of abuses and usurpations…evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

     Does this sound familiar at all? Joining the Union of States was and is voluntary, and as such there is no requirement that states must be a part of the USA for perpetuity. I don't need to find a law that allows secession, you need to find one that disallows it. Is there a law that says I can eat pizza tonight? No but there is no law that says I can't…

     As for Lincoln, many of those acts can be construed as an attempt to gain votes in the upcoming election, though I choose to believe that he honestly came around and wanted to abolish slavery. He did say this at one point though, “Still, to use a coarse, but an expressive figure, broken eggs can not be mended. I have issued the emancipation proclamation, and I can not retract it.”

     
     
282. 282spet67

     This really means very little. Who are these 238 scholars? Why are they regarded so highly? What are their political agendas?

     I'm sure that if you polled 238 Conservatives & Libertarians FDR would rank considerably lower.

     As far as Obama ranking 15th, that's just laughable. He's only been in office for about 18 months. His body of work isn't nearly large enough to judge him yet. He may become a major president. Or, he may become a one termer who's only notable for being the 1st person of color to become president. His grade at this point is “incomplete”.

     
     
283. 283palmharbor

     Wasn't Lincoln a Republican?????????? Republicans only support civil rights for the wealthy that is why when he was President you could hire another man to take
     your draft notice …pay him and he would go to war for you.

     
     
284. 284palmharbor

     Mr. Conservative, the word is spelled Liberal not Libral. Go back to FoxNews….
     its for ignorant people like you.

     
     
285. 285panamarick

     I believe you are correct concerning Lincoln. What I would like you to consider though, is Lincoln was sitting on a powder keg. It was a country about to completely crumble into the dustbin of history. He took hard and draconian measures for sure to halt that demise and whether he could have saved the nation without those measures I’ll leave for historians like your self to debate.

     Bush on the other hand had no such test. Even with nine eleven he was not in that ballpark, but yet he behaved as if he was and in the process brought this country to it’s knees in his eight years of …for lack of a better word “leadership.” He, Dick Cheney and the republican congress hid behind the skirt of nine eleven and disemboweled every part of our working government until it arrived to a state of utter uselessness or in the sentiments of Ronald Wilson Reagan and many others “a state of perfection in it’s ineptitude and paralyzed impotence.”

     Unlike Lincoln, Bush did these things for selfish, political gain and I guarantee you the fact that Bush was one of the worst presidents in our history will never go away, because it is true. That is unless the republicans take power again, and push that inconvenient history down the Memory hole.

     
     
286. 286Mark Carroll

     “Fascism, is a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology.Fascists seek to organize a nation on corporatist perspectives, values, and systems such as the political system and the economy.”

     FDR is pretty much the opposite of that, so you get some serious fail for missing even the definition of Fascism. As was pointed out, Roosevelt was also democratically elected, and the only reason he remained in office longer than the accepted terms was due to World War 2. Indeed, if you actually knew history at all, you'd know that Roosevelt was approached and offered dictatorial powers…which he turned down.

     The New Deal was nothing like Mussolini's tactics – no terror campaign, no execution of political rivals, no dictatorship. What it did was drag the nation out of the worst economic crisis in its history and establish systems (such as Social Security) that continue to assist millions of Americans even today.

     You're spouting neo-conservative twaddle, sir, and the blatancy of you doing so speaks volumes. You do not get to redefine words to suit your purpose, nor do you get to ignore history for same.

     
     
287. 287soccerox

     I think we both have very similar views, I just think that some terrorist groups were an actual threat that would have greatly diminished our power and possibly destroyed our country. Thats kind of an irreconcilable difference, so I guess we should end here.

     
     
288. 288soccerox

     Again, I did not say he was fascist or a dictator, just the closest an American President has come to being so. I did not mean it with nearly the harshness that you have suggested, as I think both fascism and a benevolent dictatorship can create successful governments.

     I did not redefine terms, there is actually a difference between fascism (loosely a leader cult and exalting the state), and Fascism (Originally only applied to Benito Mussolini's Italy). I really don't want to get into semantics, but it is similar to the difference between communism as a philosophy and Communism as the Red Empire.

     And sorry, you misunderstood what I was saying about Mussolini. I meant his economic tactics, which again, were largely successful. As for your statement about not knowing history at all, thats quite untrue, because I had forgotten one largely irrelevant fact does not imply that I don't know any history. FDR didn't need dictatorial powers, he already had total control over the government. He was granted the largest number of emergency powers in peacetime in US history, and he (along with the rest of the government that let him) pretty much ignored the checks and balances that had been set in place during the founding of our government.

     
     
289. 289baconstangg

     As I remember, during Clinton, the Treasury did buy back several billion$ in outstanding notes and actually lowered (if only a bit) the National Debt.

     
     
290. 290ThatBostonMan

     Obama doesn't rank higher than Reagan but he's certainly better than Bush.

     
     
291. 291JD Carruthers

     Yes, your quote is from the Declaration of Independence (and not the Constitution). The Declaration is just that; a declaration. The actual separation from Great Brittan was made by the adoption of Richard Henry Lee's draft of a resolution of independence on 2 July 1776. The Declaration signed on 4 July 1776 is not a law or piece of jurisprudence, but rather a political manifesto. It certainly does NOT establish a legal or constitutional basis for secession, nor does it pretend to do so. Within the text of the Declaration, the justification for separation cited is 'natural rights' and NOT legal or constitutional rights.

     Furthermore, many of the same founders who promulgated both the resolution of independence and the Declaration of Independence also enacted the Articles of Confederation; our first Constitution. The preamble of those articles reads:

     “Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America, agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, in the words following, viz:”

     Notice the line “Confederation and perpetual Union…” It is clear that our founders did not intend that states should abandon the union. They certainly did not specify in the Constitution that the states had such a right (and they had every opportunity to insert such a right had they intended to).

     Lincoln didn't retract the Emancipation Proclamation because he felt it was the right thing to do; not because it was a metaphorical broken egg. Lincoln ignored tremendous political pressure to abandon the Emancipation and negotiate peace on the basis of a return to slavery. The Civil War lasted as long as it did precisely because Lincoln would not back down on the issue of freeing the slaves, once he had issued the Proclamation.

     
     
292. 292Morgan Vergara

     Simply capitalizing a word doesn't really change anything. Fascism is fascism. It is what it is. You are splitting hairs with your statement about saying he was the closest thing, but not actually one. A difference which makes no difference, is no difference. FDR did not, in fact support corporate interests. The New Deal, as a matter of fact, put the interests of the people over the interests of the corporations, thus saving both. One of the main reasons our economy is so bad today is that corporations are given the status of individuals, and, in fact, under Bush, corporations prospered OVER the individuals. Outsourcing jobs to foreign countries does nothing to help the individuals. It simply helps the corporations improve their bottom lines at the expense of individuals. If there were actually legislation limiting the amount of off-shoring a company could do, this would help the individuals, and improve the economy, thus, in the long run, help the corporations. Society is not made up of corporations. It is made up of people. Under fascism, people are subservient to both corporate entities and the government. This is directly opposed to the intent of government by the people, of the people, and for the people.

     
     
293. 293epochme

     the winner, we were y2k'd by the doofus manchild who would be king, the worst by far, and your comments are the most succinct, the reason he wanted to finish “my pet goat” on 9/11 … he wanted to see what it felt like … to read a book. p.s.soccerox = gop douchbag

     
     
294. 294epochme

     gop douche bag, reagan first took us from the largest lender nation to the largest debtor nation by borrowing more money than all other presidents … COMBINED, and then bush (who wanted to be number one at something … borrowed more money than even ronald (bed time for bonzo) reagan and all other previous presidents … COMBINED …

     
     
295. 295epochme

     gop douche bags don't need facts … because facts just get in the way of their propaganda

     
     
296. 296elmer fudd

     Yes, this is the analysis of Presidential Scholars, so you pre-suppose they must be Liberal. Scary thought that YOU align Scholar with having to be a Liberal. Obviously, Liberal is a negative to you, thus all things scholarly must be a negative. So enter Fox News network, “fair & balanced” or proof that the “dumbing down of America is complete.”

     
     
297. 297healingshoes

     This is tragically flawed. George Walker Bush was NOT the worst POTUS of the modern era. He was the worst POTUS in all of American history, and probably the worst leader in the western world since Nero Caesar.

     peace

     
     
298. 298Brad Risch

     Not a tough act to follow, but certainly a mess to clean up after. 18 months is certainly not long enough. Happy Birthday, America! Things are looking much better.

     
     
299. 299Bryan Thomas

     I guess presidential incompetence runs in the family. Franklin Pierce is George W. Bush's Great Great Grandfather.

     
     
300. 300Daniel Hicks

     “I don't need to find a law that allows secession, you need to find one that disallows it.”

     You might be interested to read the Supreme Court's opinion in Texas v. White (1869), which you can do here:
     http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1868/1868_0

     In it, the Court rules that no state has the right to secede from the Union, and that all actions passed even by a majority of rebel state assemblies are null and void. Have a nice day!

     
     
301. 301tonyf2

     Seems u say a lot that is easily misunderstood, or u r purpoaely vauge so that u can hedge later. Also, it is rue, all presidents and leaders(loosely used term) of any organization have screw-ups for which they may be crtiticized, but…..Bush II gave us so much to work with….

     
     
302. 302Walt

     I think both Mark Carrol and Morgan Vergara gave excellent replies that I need no further to comment on. But on the legacy of Bush… I have been thinking and thinking and I just can't come up with anything. 9/11 happened on his watch while Cheney was running things. His office intentionally led us into two poorly managed wars. He gave two huge tax cuts to the wealthy without ever paying for it. He oversaw an unhealthy economic bubble which eventually burst leading us into the worst recession since the Great Depression. I certainly would not say he kept us safe. Under his leadership we have seen the largest outsourcing of our military which has brought on much higher cost burdens on the tax payer. He left trillions of debt off the books. There is just too much to mention. I guess the best thing I can say about him is on the surface he is probably a nice guy but an unintellectual, spoiled boy, who grew up priveleged. He was in over his head as President of the United States but was likable enough to sell to main street. But as far as I am concerned living in today's time Bush is the worst President we have ever had.

     
     
303. 303Bu_dot_tt

     WTF??? Really? I mean really? We straddle a double-dip recession and all the media can do is blame Obama's failures on “W” with the fabricated non-sense.

     
     
304. 304theoracle

     And Bush II's response to being rated as one of the worst U.S. presidents: “Wait, wait a minute, I still haven't finished reading 'My Pet Goat,” er, ah, um, check with me after I get back from vacation, um, ah, er, what was the question again?”

     
     
305. 305davidgmills

     Unlike Bush, rattlesnakes do not deserve their nasty reputation. They actually do some good for the ecosystem.

     
     
306. 306sarasunshine

     Ha, ha, ha, ha….

     
     
307. 307Grey Hawk

     Five years ago…? Try seven.

     
     
308. 308oktoss

     I'm not a presidential scholar but I think W Bush was one of the lousiest excuses for a human that ever lived.

     
     
309. 309Oofloom

     I'll tell you what: when the days comes that Obama has whiffed on a terrorist attack that kills thousands of Americans, has turned the U.S. government into torture regime, allowed the biggest economic collapse in 80 years, turned himself into an international pariah, and screwed up not one but TWO wars… then maybe you can complain about the media scapegoating Bush. Until then, you're a retard.

     
     
310. 310Jonathan Wickert

     I don't see much improvement from Bush to Obama. Obama is still maintaining two wars, running a much higher deficit, has done nothing to address boarder security, and hasn't done anything to give GLTBQ people equal rights.

     
     
311. 311emil k

     Obama has already done all of that

     
     
312. 312emil k

     how exactly are things looking better. When Bush left office the unemployment rate was 7.7%. Now it is 9.5% and U6 is 17%

     
     
313. 313emil k

     You obviously played hookey from US History Class

     
     
314. 314emil k

     Some tell me one MAJOR policy Obama has revered from Bush. War still going on. Obama running up more debt in 2 years than Bush did in 8. If you hated Bush, you have no reason other than blind partisianship for loving Obambi

     
     
315. 315emil k

     “”But to ignore what good Obama has done and and ignore the fact that the Republican Party has been the most obstructionist,”"

     So the GOP is obstructionist and Obama has done a lot. One or the other pal. Not both

     
     
316. 316emil k

     Obama is the most corporatist Prez since Coolidge

     
     
317. 317emil k

     Obama will run up more debt in 2 years than Bush did in 8

     
     
318. 318darker

     Whatcha want from frat-brat FAKE COWPOKE Prez GWBush?
     He's still playing the “little boy who didn't do it”. She guy is a #1 SHIT.

     
     
319. 319darker

     bbbbbbbbbbbbblabbermouth.

     
     
320. 320Oofloom

     One major policy? Do you live under a rock? How about 5: (1) Creating a public sector oriented healthcare system, (2) stopped torture and rendition programs (3) engagement of the Muslim world… as opposed to just attacking it and calling whole regions “Axis of Evil” (4) Reaffirmed commitment to Kyoto protocol (5) Dramatically increased funding for green technology development.

     Oh and Obama's policies have so far added less than a trillion to the current deficit. He has another 6 or 7 trillion to go to catch the Bush-era deficits. But thanks to Bush's Great Recession, he's got a shot.

     What was that you said about “blind partisanship”?

     
     
321. 321tk422

     He hasn't stopped rendition. In fact he's increased it.

     
     
322. 322AtlanticCapers

     Maybe they're ranked highly because none of them are “Conservatives” or Libertarians.

     
     
323. 323Turnip Mcgee

     He wasn't the President. Not in 2000 or 2004. Never elected, just selected.
     Just like humans weren't riding dinosaurs.

     
     
324. 324gl74

     Stem cell research

     
     
325. 325Mum48

     Proof?

     
     
326. 326Mum48

     Huh?

     
     
327. 327Mum48

     Reagan is where this all started.

     
     
328. 328Mum48

     I really like it when people have the courage to admit that we are largely responsible for having “let him do it.” We need to hit ourselves upside the head often as a reminder.

     
     
329. 329Jack S

     http://revcom.us/a/157/rendition-en.html
     http://hotair.com/archives/2009/02/01/surprise-...

     
     
330. 330Jack S

     Oh yah and
     http://yankeephil.blogspot.com/2010/02/obama-al...

     http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/aug2009/pers-...

     
     
331. 331Gary

     | The Constitution doesn't authorize secession, but neither does it condemn it. |

     IAW Article I Section 10 of the United States Constitution the States were denied the right to band together and form the Confederate States of America. Secession aside, that alone was a violation of the Constitution.

     
     
332. 332Gary

     I didn't “let him do it”. I voted against him twice and supported his impeachment.

     
     
333. 333staunchdem

     You must be a Fzux viewer. Obama has Not run up more debt in his term than Bush did in eight.
     Reading is fundamental and you need to pull your head out of Glenn Beck's butt and get a breath of fresh air.
     Go home, brush your tooth then STFU.

     
     
334. 334Gary

     Please note this is about “Acting President Bush”, a man that was never legally elected.

     
     
335. 335staunchdem

     Congratulations, you are the retard of the day.

     
     
336. 336geza

     Emil k: Get your head out of your ass and take a realistic look at the improvements. And don't give all your shit about unemployment or the economy. If it wasn't for the current administration we might still be losing 700,000 jobs a month and I might not have any retirement money left in the stock market.

     
     
337. 337musashi1

     your dead on, two wars still raging,blackwater still on the payroll,oil companies still running our foriegn policy, huge bailouts,a health bill that was just a gift to the insurance companies,no single payer, no public option, toothless financial reform,no one AND I MEAN NO ONE FROM THE LAST CRIMINAL ADMINISTRATION HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR CRIMES! the beat goes on! obama is bush, 2 differences, hes black, he can speak the english language without butchering it.FUCK EM BOTH!

     
     
338. 338Todd Heldt

     Or, maybe there is no political agenda and you just finally have to accept what everyone else in the world who is not a willfully ignorant partisan already knows: that guy was ignorant, short-sighted, and damn near sociopathic.

     Eventually you might have to stop crying partisanship about everything and accept a few basic truths about the world. One, for instance, is that CO2 in the atmosphere causes global warming. Another is that humans are putting a lot of CO2 in the atmosphere. Another good one is that George Bush was evil, ignorant, and incompetent. He wrecked our country and YOU enabled him.

     
     
339. 339Patriot101

     Bush had a lot of help with the Republican controlled Congress that did nothing but run up debt and push de-regulation we will pay decades for!

     
     
340. 340Finny

     I am so glad to see this report. It seemed like the day after Obama was elected, Bush was allowed to disappear and “wait for his approval rating to go back up.” I heard that a few times…oh, history will make him look better. Yeah, NO. He was the worst thing to come along, and the only person who could possibly be as stupid and Gilligan-like would be Sarah Palin. She has taken up a lot of time and energy because she is the new up and coming neocon, with her fake pregnancy and her fake reformer rep. But honestly, how Bush has escaped investigation is beyond me.

     
     
341. 341geo1671

     http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?249485...

     Whole list full of cr@p. Yes bush is one of the worst presidents to many.Reason is–internet has exposed the abortion turd. Look at the facts-Bush give the Isrealies the go ahead for the Sept 11 2001 attacks and ordered the killings of over 2 million Muslims. However, Troops dead 5000+- and 911 victums dead3000+- -that is nothing compared to Crypto Jew Roosevelt's war II–over 63million died++++ millions of Japanese . Upon lies our troops thousands upon thousands died (Canadians,UK,USA troops).Pres.Truman another Crypto Ashkenazie –3 million yellow men'women/children and 58,000 US troops died–Korea,Cambodia,ect.
     Let's not for get LBJ (LOWBLOWJOB),that scum bag,who allowed JFK's death be unanswered (ISRAEL did it) and give Israel nuke missiles and worse he attacked Vetinam–over 3 million dead and 58 ,000 troops dead.
     Billy Goat Clinton–another terrorists who allowed the Israelies MOSSAD to wire up and plan 911 attacks.

     Ever done a history check on Woodward Wilson? This guy was blackmailed by the Jewish establishment to enter WWI–for a creation state for the the Jews—millions and millions died. This piece of sh!t–was photo graphed having sex with a senators wife—
     Fact is–most USA presidents have been tools of the Jewish money changers.Except Mckindley and John Kenndy–both were killed on orders by the Satan's Rejects–Ashkenazi Crazies
     Treat:
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p7tiUxhd7o&feat...

     
     
342. 342ladygeekIT

     Especially when the Education Dept. of Texas write the textbooks about him! I am still pretty pissed off about that even in my state of Minnesota, they buy those textbooks too. Whatever happened to the quality of education that I got when I was younger? (rhetorical)

     
     
343. 343mattdl

     Emil, are you serious? The economic meltdown that accounts for those unemployment numbers is Bush's responsibility. He helped create it and failed to address it – making it worse than it sould have been. Bush gifted Obama with the biggest steaming pile of excrement ever left an incoming President. Don't blame Obama for getting some stink on him as he cleans up Bush's messes.

     
     
344. 344B_Godot

     Golly, who knew?

     
     
345. 345Antenor1

     Wrong. Quit getting your facts from a comedian on HBO.

     
     
346. 346Christian Rewoldt

     No right wing-nut stupid comments? Left dumbofounded,

     
     
347. 347theghostpony

     I think the title of worst leader will forever be reserved for one Adolf Hitler.

     
     
348. 348squidd

     babs… was 5 generation descendant of franklin pierce…

     
     
349. 349Maribel Del Villar Pérez

     “Never elected, just selected” oh i LOVE that! stealing it!

     
     
350. 350theoracle

     And the Republicans respond: “Bush who???? Wasn't he one half of a comedy team that billed themselves as 'George and Dick”???? Stop pestering us. We don't know no George nor any Dick!!!!”

     
     
351. 351USNA_Ancient

     I'm shockeded, shocked to learn geo. dubyous shrub ranked that high !

     
     
352. 352drunkfoulmouthfilthybeast

     Animal behavior in the family, stays in the family, if you overlooked the last two paragraphs of this narrative, it seems Franlin Pierce was in the catagory as Bush, Ole momma Bush is a distant or maybe closer, relative of the F. Pierce's family tree, if you look real close, you'll find momma Bush there, look! Right there! third branch from the bottom, consuming mass quantities of bananas.

     
     
353. 353blackbow

     My favorite US president to bomb the ever living shit out of civilians was Roosevelt too… then Kennedy, then Truman, then Eisenhower, then Clinton, then Obama.

     Who was yours?

     
     
354. 354Ralph Drake

     Actually it was Franklin Pierce who made his Nephew Sam Bush the procuerment officer for the department of war….so the Bushes are cousins of each other like English royalty…..like the Nazi/social superiour breeding theories that Prescott Bush shared with his friends in the 3rd Riech and supported here in the U.S.

     My spelling might be off….but I'm not a former President!

     
     
355. 355Ralph Drake

     Yeah all the time folks are telling me that Palin can't be elected that the American people are too smart to fall for her winky winky politics….but I want to remind you that folks at the time thought that G.W.Bush wasn't smart enough , nor was that idiot Ronald W.Regan ….but man we got 'em and now we are paying for their distruction .

     
     
356. 356Ralph Drake

     tk422 is right sadl to acknowlage…Barrack came to the college in Penn. that my radio program is broadcast from….I was invited to meet him with members of the college staff….I declined as I did vote for him but was afraid I was gonna grab him by his tie and ask him…”who the hell got to you man?”

     
     
357. 357Ralph Drake

     you are the fool…my friend…Bush was and is a Nazi . He has brought shame upon this country. My dad a WWII vetern in the BIG RED ! would call him just what he is…a traitor!and h

     
     
358. 358Ralph Drake

     Hitler was created by Bush's grand father Prescott Bush …it's what they do
     create a dictator…build him up…..sell arms to all sides
     nad collect the power and the cash from the carnage they start.

     
     
359. 359PVperson

     Interesting that you missed Bush in that list of bombers of civilians, I guess your another con with memory loss between 2000 and 2008.

     
     
360. 360geo1671

     Ralp Honey Bunch–you know most of your history stuff. But, my concern/BEEF is with your anti-Semitic Slur/charge. Today's so called Jews are NOT semitec.Try calling me–anti-Zealot or Anti-AshkeNAZI or Anti SemiTICKS or better Anti-SemiDICKS–you'd be right Ralpie!
     Learn a lesson,check this out and please stop calling folks anti-semitic :^/
     http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/vo...

     
     
361. 361ProudPrimate

     A better approximation of history would be to say that FDR was the only president which was the object of a plot openly to overthrow him by force of arms and substitute a Fascist dictatorship along the lines of Mussolini. I recommend you listen to a splendid piece at BBC called The Whitehouse Coup, which aired several years ago.

     Here's a rough outline of the history of it.

     The veterans of WWI were promised a bonus for their service that they never received until decades later, after the events of this story. See The Bonus Army. When the economy collapsed after the Crash of '29, and reached its depth in 1933 when FDR had it dumped in his lap, the Bonus Army were camped out in one of the tent cities known as Hoovervilles, on the mud flats in the Anacostia section of DC. The man they admired most in the military was MG Smedley Darlington Butler USMC, a great friend of Labor, who encouraged them to demand their right of payment. Eventually Hoover sent Patton and MacArthur with the cavalry to drive them away.

     Now, prior to this, in 1927, Hoover forgave much of Mussolini's war debt. In the introduction to Mussolini's autobiography, My Rise and Fall, we read:
     

     In 1925 and 1926 Mussolini obtained diplomatic triumphs with the settlement of Italy's debts to the Allies arising from World War I. Italy's war debt to Britain was settled on the most generous terms by Winston Churchill, Chancellor or the Exchequer, who flouted the arguments of his Treasury advisors that Italy could afford to pay substantially more. This shows how much Churchill admired the Italian dictator. In Washington, Mussolini was equally successful in securing a similar generous settlement of Italy's debt to the United States, evidence or the esteem in which America held him.

     Other great capitalists in America and Britain were swooning over the Duce. J.P. Morgan arranged for a loan of $100 million, saving Fascism from extinction at its low ebb. A year later, in 1934, Fortune magazine's cover story was devoted to him, Fortune being the flagship of right-wing pillar Henry Luce.

     But when FDR came to office, again at the bleak mid-winter of economic history, a cabal of the richest men in America conspired to overthrow him and set up a Fascist dictatorship along the Italian model. Irenee DuPont, JP Morgan's organization, and a large group of other commercial interests conspired to effectively hire Smedley Butler to lead a 500,000 man Bonus Army to take power and act as executive in place of FDR. The Business Plot (Wikipedia):
     

     Contemporaneous media initially dismissed the plot, with a New York Times editorial characterizing it as a "gigantic hoax". When the [McCormack-Dickstein House Unamerican Activities] committee's final report was released, the Times said the committee "purported to report that a two-month investigation had convinced it that General Butler's story of a Fascist march on Washington was alarmingly true" and "It also alleged that definite proof had been found that the much publicized Fascist march on Washington, which was to have been led by Major. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, retired, according to testimony at a hearing, was actually contemplated".

     
     
362. 362Ronald Pritchard

     Lets blame Bush for what Congress does if you remember that it was a Democratically controlled congress 2 years before Bush left office Congress sets the budget, sets the laws to be passed to the President for his signature. When a slow down in the economy right after 9-11 Bush was blamed for that. Man you left wing ideologues don't make sense all you can do is hate no wonder this country is so screwed up and you aren't going to be happy until you lose all you freedoms with Obama's socialistic agenda. Replace all the Senators and House members of both parties this election they all think that they are entitled to more than they deserve. Can anyone say Term Limits!!!!!

     
     
363. 363Zak Stone

     don't forget Nixon and Johnson.. far higher on the list than obama, clinton, and kennedy and yes bush too

     
     
364. 364Mike

     Let's not forget that American people were too smart to vote for a peanut farmer or a community organizer with no managerial experience – or a trailer-trash redneck from Arkansas who chases fugly women – look at his wife!

     
     
365. 365Brian FitzGerald

     I think you meant, Mr. Bush. It will take decades to right what Bush screwed up.

     
     
366. 366Gee Willy

     Bush was the last air bender for the rich, the Wall street and not the main street. Intelligent??? Are you kiddin ? he is a moron of higher order. He waisted 1.5 trillions dolllar fighting a war for eight years with no tangible outcome. He precided over the worst economic in modern history and single handedly plunged the whole world into double digit depression. And, ofcourse he had help from the good for nothing Republican controlled congress who gave him a blank cheque to do what he likes. The worst congress in modern era. The Republican controllled congress. Take a bow. Do nothing congress.

     
     
367. 3671967ike

     It will take at least 30 years but fair minded people will agree that Bush was one of the best presidents of the past 100 years. The economy went bad after the Democrats won in 2006 and Iraq and Afghanistan wars had to be waged after 9/11, which was caused by Clinton's inaction in regard to terrorism for 8 years. The liberal media will continue to bash Bush to make Obama look good. The fact is Obama is a boy when we need a real man. I will take George W. Bush over this current idiot so called president any day.

     
     
368. 368Tchaka

     “Iraq and Afghanistan wars had to be waged”? Let's just say that EDUCATED fair minded people will not agree that Bush was one of the best Presidents of the past 100 years. He's not even one of the best of past 10 years.

     
     
369. 3691967ike

     Obviously, you are neither educated or fair minded so your comments mean nothing. Now go listen to NPR and continue to suckle on the liberal media's sour milk supply, you brain washed idiot.

     
     
370. 370quan nguyen

     I thought he was the bottom worst!

     
     
371. 3711967ike

     No, that would be Obama.

     
     
372. 372Paul Horstmeier

     To rank Reagan as only 18th shows that we should pay absolutely no attention to this group of liberals.

     
     
373. 373hounddogg

     You're right!.. he should ranked right below Bush. The man was nothing but a puppet. The only reason the GOP picked him was because he looked good and could read a script…Fox news uses that strategy today with all their dumb blond “journalists”…I am amazed they can talk without forgetting to breath!

     
     
374. 374Bryan

     Judging by your spelling I can only imagine that the quality of your liberal public education does not qualify you to post here let alone offer an opinion one way or the other.

     
     
375. 375congo614

     Wow…way to regurgitate the same crap that the right has lobbed at Obama. Not to say you're right or wrong (you're wrong) but come up with something a little more origianl than that.

     
     
376. 376Watching99

     Bryan, you have a grammatical error. You forgot a comma:

     Judging by your spelling, I can only …

     
     
377. 377congo614

     Wow…way to regurgitate all the bs you have heard lobbed at Obama from the right. Not saying you're right or wrong (you're wrong) but, at the very least, come up with something more original with your reply.

     
     
378. 378congo614

     Sorry for the redundancy. This registration thing is a little like the Obama health care plan. Cumbersome at best.

     
     
379. 379yahoo-AGZLCJKZYDCI6OUK3C2OE4DRGY

     Okay we all know he was the worst. Now, lets say something good about the man. He was very funny and entertaining when he wasn't off destroying our economy, waging wars or destroying our reputation in the world. I loved it when he got that blank, distant look in his eyes. It was soo funny when he became all visibly frustrated when the media asked him an intelligent question. And David Letterman's out takes of him were the best. Darn I almost miss him……………….NOT, lol.

     
     
380. 380Jeff Birnberg

     Bush was an idiot. This isn't a political judgement, no, it's one human being judging another. The man was and probobly still is an idiot.

     
     
381. 381Sean I

     Sounds like you have some personal experience on the topic, Jeff. Since Bush never did anything as idiotic as allowing a gigantic problem to fester without any interest, like Obama has with the Gulf Oil Debacle, we've never seen the kind of failure Barack produces. This goes without saying since Bush is currently the standard for the worst. So, how you going to deal with the loss of your hero, Birnberg — pick up your poodle and sob into its fur for hours? Just curious, of course — expert on all things idiotic.

     
     
382. 382Sean I

     A michael jackson impersonator slams Bush while a michael jackson president is burning down Washington. Hilarious.

     
     
383. 383JoAnn

     Why exactly did these wars have to be waged and what exactly did they have to do with 911?

     Do you believe in the tooth fairy too? The lies were repeated so often by Faux news and the GOP that you think they are facts.

     911 had nothing to do with Iraq

     
     
384. 384Lisa Jarrett

     duh.

     
     
385. 385vicweast

     Sean: The point is there is a difference between creating situations and working them. I don't think we really appreciate the nature of the oil gusher problem in the Gulf. Specifically, the volume of oil, the depth of the gusher, the total lack of BP preparation, the complete faith Americans had in the oil industry NOT doing this and BEING able to stop it should it occur…

     What I am saying is that there are not many things anyone with a title really could do after the spill took place and developed into the disaster it is. (Please note that's a two-part point. It became a disaster after it became apparent it could not be stopped in a timely manner.)

     You blamed Obama, what do you think he could have actually done here? And please answer the question from the standpoint of “what could anyone have done at that point”?

     …Perhaps take measures to insure BP actually pay for the economic damages?

     …Destroy the company, leaving the US Taxpayer holding the bag?

     …Assume complete control of the well head (which no one really believes IS a government skill)?

     What then?

     
     
386. 386vicweast

     Sean

     Based on your posts: You have issues with reality and facts.

     
     
387. 387vicweast

     Congo: I think your error is due to your own actions.

     If you ran into furniture in the dark, would you blame your mother?

     
     
388. 388Raybo12

     If this great “Think Tank” put as much effort into helping solve the problems that Presidents face and stop worrying about judging them, this Country may be better off. I do not agree what ANY president does all the time. However, His or Her name and what they do are on the 24 hour news cycle and I believe the “Think Tank Judges” are not so who is the coward?

     
     
389. 389lanche

     I wish Bush was still here compared to the idiot that is in office now. You can take your liberal, socialist agenda and shove where the sun doesnt shine. Siena Research is probably funded by another liberal group that has no validity and they base a lot of their pollsters out of New York another flaming state and also CNN commends this group. Bias BS. Vote the liberals out of office this year and hopefully forever they are horrible backwards thinking people.

     
     
390. 390lanche

     Speaking of Fox News and the women they have on there. They are very attractive are they not? You look at most of the liberal channels and even some of the hardcore versions and the woman there are so fugly that my dog even cringes watching those pasty nasty women.

     
     
391. 391lanche

     Obama doesnt get asked questions by the media because hes above all that. So the media goes on and on with out having any ballz to ask real questions, because they know where their bread is buttered and they have failed the Country and the people because they know that Obama is even worse than Jimmy Carter who was undoubtly the worst president ever. Btw go get me a Billy Beer liberals.

     
     
392. 392lanche

     Now you just have the comedy crew of Oboobma and Biden quite the pair. Overspending gluttonous socialists.

     
     
393. 393The Saint

     What a pile of horse manure. I'd love to meet these 238 presidential scholars. I'm afraid this is blatant socialist agit-prop. Bush seems like the model of morality and caring next to this gangland President now in office. And as for FDR, who brought us the economic mess and deficits we have today by blackmailing the supreme court, he goes down as one of the worst Presidents in history. Tell the leftist scholars to get a real job – though I know they have no skills worth marketing – because I'm afraid even as presidential scholars they are uneducated socialism loving failures.

     
     
394. 394SteveSwimmer1

     I disagree. President Obama is the greatest, smartest and best President of our times.

     However, for the sake of argument with you: How about spit balls at 10 paces? What do you think?

     
     
395. 395Rick

     I smell a rat.

     
     
396. 39627freshair

     “The Saint” – you just don't get it. Too bad tour going through life with blinders on.
     238 Presidential scholars- not fox news. WAKE UP!!!!!

     
     
397. 397The Saint

     Actually since Clinton's watch let Chavez rise to power in his second term, Venezuela cut much of the sales of oil to the US. This created a chain reaction of finding a source to replace the oil. Saddam, the US fly-zone plane shooting idiot who was bribed by European oil companies and the UN, was targeted by the US for regime change.

     The immigration problem today is due to the unconstitutional minimum wage. We would have no illegal slave workers if FDR hadn't blackmailed the Supreme Court. We also would not have the huge SS created deficit.

     9/11 had everything to do with oil. Oil made Osama Bin Laden rich and funded his terror activities. Anti-US propaganda flourished as a result of European socialists who deal with murderers because the US doesn't. All the terrorism against America and the west can be placed at the feet of the socialists and countries like France, Belgium and their state run oil companies like TOTAL/ELF. Socialism, the failed philosophy, appeals to the uneducated poor and the “lifelong teacher troff feeders” that brainwash university students. The students repeat the trip until time and experience deprograms them.

     
     
398. 398bravetruth

     Gee why would this story be the number one 'spotlight' on my morning Google News?

     sergey brin and larry page- liberal 2% ethnic minority

     rawstory Political Reporters:
     Brad Jacobson
     Sahil Kapur

     Why dance around the fact that a liberal ethnic minority of 2% took over our media and now our government? Let's talk about what has happened honestly. They hate Newt, Beck, Rush and any other free thinkers their Soros,MSM,ACLU,SEIU,AIPAC machine can't control. Wake up Majority, it's the eleventh hour for this 'Democracy'.

     
     
399. 399Marcello

     Too recent a mandate to be correctly evaluated. Political maneuver is on.

     Examining the list you see an old History phenomenum: evaluating the past always present an evaluation of ppl conducting the study and their times instead of their object of research.

     Tip: consider the chagings in the list and think about the years where the changes occurred.

     
     
400. 400The Saint

     I know scholars. Lots of scholars.They live in a subset of the real world. A subset so leftist it boggles the mind. They must all speak alike, agree politically with socialist ideals and bash Bush and praise Obama. Or else they are persona-non-grata and they can flush their career goodbye. Because leftists blackmail those who speak the truth and rock the boat.

     This article is a hit piece of poorly composed agit-prop. And google news promotes it because they are a corrupt company that spies on the masses, achieved a billion dollar IPO by gaming the corrupt banking/stock system. They can afford to be socialist. Anyone who doesn't have any real skills – SURPRISE – is a socialist.

     
     
401. 4011967ike

     Your side is so misinformed by the liberal media that anything that has
     anything to do with the truth will be ridiculed and mocked. You will never
     get it. Thank you for doing the obligatory Faux News reference that all
     liberals do. It's funny how you don't mention the bias of MSNBC, CNN and the
     rest of the liberal media. Fox News has the guts to break away from what the
     rest of the media does. Fox gives both sides of the story and reports
     stories that CNN and MSNBC ignore because it doesn't fit their liberal
     agenda. But Fox News gets mocked by your side because they expose liberal
     lies. There's an old saying: judge me by my enemies. When idiots ridicule
     you, you know you are right. By the way Fox News kills CNN and MSNBC in the
     ratings 2-1. That's a fact, not an opinion. I guess Americans still love the
     truth. I can't wait until November 2010 and November 2012 when most of the
     filth is flushed out of Washington. By the way I don't believe in the tooth
     fairy but it is quite apparent you believe in the devil Obama, the anointed
     one, the man that said there were 57 states during the campaign. Oh yes, so
     intelligent! Between him and Biden's blunders it really makes you wonder how
     much longer this country can last with such morons running it. Then there's
     those geniuses, Pelosi and Reid, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. I must stop
     now and take a shower as just typing these names makes me feel dirty.

     
     
402. 402True American

     Sorry Mr. Bush, you're going to be number 2 real soon… Obamas got you beat.

     
     
403. 403robt55

     “presidential scholars”…………….. read as psuedo intellectual, liberal elitists who are card carrying members of the dimocratic party. Who ever thinks they can rank the events of the last 10 years in the context of national history when those same events have not even come full term with current history is an idiot.

     
     
404. 404Alex

     Bush 43 will definitely go down as one of the worst. Increased gov't spending 36%, went from budget surplus to deficit, invaded a Iraq for reasons that were not true (4k+ americans killed and hundreds of billions of tax payer money wasted) made the Afghan war a quagmire that now surpasses Vietnam.
     No matter who would have been elected president after him would have been handed an almost impossible situation. And yet, there are still those is such deep denial that objective reality cannot budge their ideology.

     
     
405. 405mrgardon

     I need a good laugh… let's see how fox news would rank the presidents.

     
     
406. 406robt55

     “Presidential scholars”……………read as pseudo intellectual elitist who are all card carrying dimocrats.

     To show what a total joke this justr read these two lines 1) Bush supporters that “history will be very kind” to the former president, as his Attorney General John Ashcroft put it. History????????????????/ Who othwer then absolute morons thinks 11/2 years past an event is history enough to gage the events in the context of “history'? 2) Obama ranked 15th!!!!! That's not a joke – that's total BS. 15th??????????? The imbecile has yet to accomplish one thing. Oh wait, I forgot about that Nobel and the beer summit. Do any of these failures sound at all familiar to these “presidential schollars”??????? Cash for clunkers, FISA, GITMO, records deficit, record unemployment, record bank closures, record home foreclosures, handling of the oil spill??????????????// No??? Of course not.

     
     
407. 407ignatzfattis

     Again -what did Iraq have to do with 9/11?

     
     
408. 408Past_tense

     Obama would rank higher if he didn't have 8 years of total Bush disaster to clean up. (Oil spill being the latest).

     
     
409. 409foleyworld

     Braveheart…YOU called Rush Limbaugh a “free thinker” ? That is perhaps the funniest thing I've ever read! That fat, nazi,closeted gay, junkie has never ever had an independant thought enter his neanderthal brain and likely never will

     
     
410. 410Pete Davis

     “Presidential scholars”……………read as pseudo intellectual elitist who are all card carrying dimocrats.

     Perhaps, but at least they can spell.

     
     
411. 411Martha Nurse

     So who is the worst VP? Biden? He's a walking disaster. Why does his idiocy get a pass? This guy is a clown.

     
     
412. 412bravetruth

     Maybe you and Soros can get him off the air so we can bring Air America back. And careful with that Gay stuff, not very PC.
     You fit the liberal troll profile to a tee. Lot's of 'independant thought' in your reply.

     
     
413. 413Martha Nurse

     Obama will dethrone carter as the worst. We forget this little thing called a Dem congress the last years of Bush, don't we? Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, Frank, they did the real damage. Then blame Bush.

     
     
414. 414bufftrucker

     Doesn't second from the bottom mean he's already number two? Read it again.
     Yet another “True American”.

     You're ALL a pile of number two.

     
     
415. 415Sarah Marshall

     Sweet!!! Blaming Bush again. Wait… quick!!! Obama falls down because he trips….. but lets not blame Obama for tripping over his own feet. Lets blame Bush. Really it's been over a year and he's till finding ways to blame the Bush administration. Own up to your job and find a solution instead of finding another reason to use Bush as a scapegoat. And as for you Past Tense, please explain to me again, how Obama who has yet to be in office that long, should rank so high up with all the great Presidents? What has he done to deserve such an honor?

     
     
416. 416Dobie McArthur

     The presidential historians surveyed do not represent the American people. They are a bunch of liberals who get paid by academic institutions, which are havens for liberals with no experience in the real world. They are wrong on two counts: 1) George W. Bush is far better than 5th from the bottom, and 2) Barack Obama is not in the top third, by any stretch of the imagination. George W. Bush was elected to two terms. When President Obama is not re-elected, will the historians continue to claim that he is great? I suspect they will, but that will only reveal their liberal bias. The people of the Gulf Coast have said that Bush did a better job with Katrina that Obama has done with Deepwater Horizon. The facts speak louder than the historians…..

     
     
417. 417Whitney

     Of course we can all debate the facts of a presidency for years – that's fun, and if done right it can be very intellectually stimulating. But here's my problem with this: it sounds to me like these 238 scholars have their own agenda (which is fine, but everyone seems to have one lately). I went back to school a few years ago as an adult. I took an American Government class. One discussion we had was about the best and worst presidents in history, and the prof. asked us for our opinions. When the subject of Reagan came up, he went to GREAT LENGTHS to stop the discussion, saying, “Presidents are not ranked on the list while they are still alive. True scholars wait until the former president passes away before beginning a discussion on their rank.” So, if that was true, why are we now having this discussion involving Bush and Obama? ESPECIALLY since Obama is still in office? Something about this just doesn't smell right, and I think we would all be wise to be careful/critical of putting too much weight in this.

     
     
418. 418Dobie McArthur

     Gore did not win FL, and hence did not win the electoral college vote. You fail to mention that all of the surveys done after the fact by the media showed that Gore did not ever overcome the vote deficit from election night. As for the butterfly ballots which you claim cost Gore the election, why didn't you mention that they were created by Democrats, and it was Democrats who were too stupid to express their views correctly.

     Speaking of morons, the proper spelling is “whose brother” rather than “who's brother”….

     
     
419. 419steve riederer

     Bush and Obama are both more the same than different. They are both subservient to 'Big Power'. People argue like one is good and the other is bad like they are sports fans defending each others team. But the reality is that this is not a sports debate – both of of us, each 'side', each 'team' is being massively ripped off by Big Power as we both sit here and stupidly debate how horrible each other are. Powerful people must laugh until their sides hurt at how stupid we are.

     That said, Bush did a very poor job by any standard.

     
     
420. 420Dobie McArthur

     Let's apply that same standard to Presiden't Bush's response to Katrina. What could he have done to stop the water and the wind from doing damage?

     The fact is that the people on the Gulf Coast believe President Bush did a better job handling Katrina that President Obama has done handling the Deepwater Horizon spill.

     That's a fact…

     Live with it….

     
     
421. 421SmokesA

     Dim, not misspelled, just not very bright, like you apparently.

     
     
422. 422WillA

     “allowing a gigantic problem to fester without any interest”

     Bush: Katrina, 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (i.e. Mission Accomplished), budget surplus to budget deficit, offshoring of a majority of our IT and Manufacturing industries, border control, the War on Drugs, Education, Healthcare, MMS coke parties (Bush liked that stuff a lot himself), lack of scientific research and friendly scientific policies, STD control, teen pregnancy control, Welfare Reform, Immigration Reform, Energy Independance etc., etc. etc.

     Not that Obmama's doing a bang up job either lately, but seriously think before you speak. Any of the above items I mentioned before have been touted by politician after politician as their main goals, but honestly, I'd rather *one* of them tackle and successfully win at *one* of these battles than fight on all fronts and continue to lose at *all* of them.

     Look at the top 5 Presidents listed, you can easily figure it out for yourself, they took on much less at once. This is why our government is so ineffective. If you took on a new job with a ton of problems and you tried to tackle them all at once, how many would you actually solve? None.

     Sean, I'm not trying to be mean here dude, but let's be realistic, pointing fingers and calling names is so third grade, if you want to be part of the solution, pick one issue to solve and make sure whatever politician you help elect also has a clear view and understanding of that problem. -Make sure he keeps to solving that issue which you elected him to solve and doesn't get distracted by anything else. -Otherwise, we'll never have *any* of these problems solved to our satisfaction.

     
     
423. 423ljwaks

     The great thing about ideology is that all of the facts support your view. The great thing about right wing 'know-nothing' ideology is that all informed 'know-something' people are in a conspiracy against you. As a result you become ever-more stupid.

     They may be laughing at us in Europe, but from this side of the Atlantic there is nothing funny about this.

     
     
424. 424Mace

     Note that are two Republicans and two Democrats in the top five. Does not sound like liberal bias to me. And there are only two Democrats if you cound Thomas Jefferson who technically was a “Democratic-Republican”. Bush was misplaced, he should be at the very bottom. It's still too early too judge the effects of any of Obama's policies, so I agree with some here that sitting presidents should not even be included in the discussion.

     
     
425. 425eliapalmieri

     Was this done by a bunch of professors. We pay to send our children to college to be taught by these clowns! Our hard-earned dollars are what pays for their tenure.

     DOWN WITH TENURE!!!

     
     
426. 426Coach Eyer

     So tell me the validity of a survey that ranks Obama ahead of Reagan? How does any “scholar” have the audacity to make such a proposition…any rational person should not place any weight in such opinions.

     
     
427. 427Mace

     Yeah it's bad to blame previous presidents, just like the Republican'ts are still blaming Clinton for just about everything that's wrong.

     
     
428. 428Kimberly Collins

     So, they should poll Dairy Queen workers instead of a group of highly educated people who have made their life's work studying presidents? So much for highly qualified experts, they couldn't possibly know anything.

     This has become the new answer to everything for many Americans. You don't like something someone says, you just say someone is elitist (aka too educated), or they don't represent “real people.” Never mind that they know the facts far more than “real people.” They aren't supposed to represent the American people. They represent people who actually know about facts, policy, and the real accomplishments of the presidents.

     
     
429. 429Kimberly Collins

     No, the worst by far is Dan Quayle, hands hown. Then Biden.

     
     
430. 430Mace

     Agree. But the Republican'ts still try to defend him. I'm amazed at how frothing at the mouth they are about Obama after suffering through 8 years of Bush's “gasoline on a fire” efforts.
     I'm also amazed at the number of pugs that just don't want to accept the results of an election, like we were some sort of third world country. I disliked Bush a lot, but I a supported him in that I wanted him to do well. My hope AND my prayer was that where we disagreed as far as running the country, that he would turn out to be right and I wrong. Unfortunately most of the time it didn't work out that way, but to want anything less from your current president is about as unpatriotic as any attitude possible.
     I am grateful to Bush for reigniting interest in the space program, and now hope and pray that it doesn't get slashed too much by the current administration.

     
     
431. 431billpryor

     I've been saying Bush was the worst in history. But not being a historian, I'll have to bow to the knowledge of the scholars and accept that he's only he worst in modern history.

     
     
432. 432Kimberly Collins

     Gee, the three people I work with who have Ph.D.'s are all conservative. All have been college professors too. Funny how that works since everyone seems to be claiming that all of these types of people are liberals.

     
     
433. 433Goldie48

     You don't have to be a scholar to know Bush IS one of our worst presidents. He started a war based on totally false intelligence. The rest of the world, except for his friend Tony Blair, told Bush he was wrong but he stubbornly, and stupidly, forged ahead spending and wasting billions of taxpayer money to destroy and slaughter thousands of innocent people. And all of these things you blame on Obama – all this economic mess was inherited. It is fact that the US is better off after cash for clunkers – it saved the auto industry, or don't you follow the news??? And the US is, for a FACT, in better condition economically than when Bush left office. How you people can close your eyes to the facts – just look at the stock market – and look at the billions the banks are paying us back — you just close your eyes to the facts to deny the obvious. You deride real scholars because you want to deny the truth: He was, indeed, an unsuccessful president just as he was a terrible businessman when he drove his company into bankruptcy.

     
     
434. 434Mace

     Nonsense. The reviews show that if a complete re-count of Florida had been done, Gore would have won.
     However, the supreme court is the final authority of the land, and fairly or unfairly when they ruled that he was the new president, he was, and I accepted that. I also prayed for him to do well. Unlike the current crop of Tea Party idiots.

     
     
435. 435bravetruth

     Not 'by any standard', by YOUR standard. The surge, the lack of terror attacks are two standards of mine that he did okay on.
     And your 'Big Power', is that just evil corporations or does it include Soros,MSM,ACLU,SEIU,AIPAC?

     
     
436. 436Whitney

     An education does NOT prevent someone from having biases, though… and that's the issue people are wondering about on this.

     
     
437. 437Kimberly Collins

     Except that one was a natural disaster where clean up could happen right after the disaster was over and the goverment didn't have a private company to hurdle over. Katrina has nothing to do with the BP oil spill. They aren't even comparable. Katrina was natural and did not have to be “fixed” before clean-up could take place. The BP oil spill is a man-made disater brought about because of the negligence of a private corporation who still continues to hamper clean up efforts, point blame elsewhere, and otherwise is doing a really bad job of cleaning up the mess they are making.

     How come Republicans whine about the government getting involved in private industry, yet now, they think the government should basically seize control of a private company to clean up a mess that private company made? Rally against the stimulus to clean up the mess giant corporations made, then complain about the government not fixing and putting money into another one? Hypocracy at its American best.

     
     
438. 438AwakeinSC

     Reagan, who pi**ed on the constitution as fast as his elderly bladder could, who espoused, indoctrinated, and institutionalized “trickle down” economics (a suspect theory, to say the least) and who began the sprint towards deregulation of everything? His is a legacy that made the rich richer at the expense of the poor, all while selling weapons and supporting those who went and killed priests and nuns: this is a legacy of shame, as any “rational” person would know. Reagan disgusts me, even more so now that he is dead and sainted by the myopic “my money above all else” nimrods of this nation.

     
     
439. 439Kimberly Collins

     Just becasue people don't like Bush doesn't mean Obama is their hero. I think Bush did a far less than stellar job, but I am certainly not reallying behind Obama as my hero. I can see both for exactly what they are.

     Instead of focus on waging a hate war against “the other side”, people need to start looking at facts instead of wearing rose-colored glasses and professing their side is always right while the other is dead wrong. Many Dems agree that Carter was pretty much the worst, that Reagan was very good, and that Bush–eh not so good. But many Republicans never seem to want to admit that everything they touch is not gold (I do know quite a few who are not this way.)

     I love being in the middle. It makes life so much easier. I can love or hate either side, analyze either side, and answer to no one for it.

     
     
440. 440AwakeinSC

     you mean the last 2 years out of 8 for the Bush regime? That leaves Bush and Congress in the same camp for 6 out of the 8 years of the Bush presidency, controlling everything for the majority of his time in office. I'm sure you'll say that “the dems” somehow messed that time up, too. The bottom line, imo, is that neither of these parties are really responsive to anything outside their agenda except for the loudest noises.

     
     
441. 441Kimberly Collins

     That is one thing I will give to Bush. He was generally funny and upbeat. His personality is one thing that makes me soft towards him. Now Cheney and Rove–eh, not so much.

     
     
442. 442Kimberly Collins

     Because good looks are so important in researching and reporting facts. Wait, Fox doesn't do that do they? My bad.

     
     
443. 443Kimberly Collins

     Funny how people will say that Obama has been in office for a whopping year and it is time to stop blaming the past administration for problems, yet they take something like 9/11, which was 9 years ago under Bush's regime, and they blame it on a President who was not in office at the time. They never say that Bush should have stopped blaming the past administration for problems. So apparently, Democrats can't blame, but Republicans can.

     
     
444. 444Henry

     Reagan was the first President to borrow (and not pay back) money from social security, his unemployment numbers were huge, he borrowed money from the Chinese that we're still paying off today and he spent money like a drunk sailor while giving huge tax cuts to the rich. His deregulation of the banking industry gave us the junk bonds and savings and loan fiasco's and he sold arms to Iran in order to support dictatorships in central and south America. Those wars killed tens of thousands in their respective countries and led to a huge influx of El Salvadorians to the U.S. whom we granted asylum to, in return for that asylum we got the wonderful gang known as M.S. (look it up knuckle head). I could go on but I want to vomit when I hear people say what a great President the B movie actor was, check your facts and reality.

     
     
445. 445Henry

     Did you forget Dan Quail ?

     
     
446. 446Kimberly Collins

     Now that, I can agree with. I am scratching my head on that one too. Reagan was well loved on both sides, hence the term “Reagan Democrat.” He did a great job, cleaned up messes, and had much of the public on his side.

     
     
447. 447Kimberly Collins

     Yeah! Screw those college professors. Our college population should be taught by “The People of Walmart!”

     
     
448. 448appleinvestor

     Obama has already trumped Bush on every point these scholars are using as criteria. Soon, he will top this list and we will have experienced the biggest one-two punch in presidential flops this country will have ever known. Let's just hope the second punch isn't a knockout blow.

     
     
449. 449appleinvestor

     Obama has already trumped Bush on every point these scholars are using as criteria. Soon, he will top this list and we will have experienced the biggest one-two punch in presidential flops this country will have ever known. Let's just hope the second punch isn't a knockout blow.

     
     
450. 450Kimberly Collins

     Hey! Stop hating on pugs. They're awesome. So cute and wrinkly.

     
     
451. 451Henry

     My favorite Bush quote “The French don't have a word for entrepreneur”

     
     
452. 452Kimberly Collins

     Gee, in the last press conference I listened to the press was catapluting tough questions at him faster than he could answer. They were still shouting them as he walked away. While I'm not sure that his “script” helped him to answer those tough questions, if you watch/listen to the press conferences he is, in reality, getting asked many tough questions, he just isn't really ansering them. Big difference.

     For some, it's like a tree in the woods–If I don't hear the questions, then they must not exist. Never mind that you aren't even watching the press conferences.

     Counting the seconds until poster claims to watch them all. 3, 2, 1…

     
     
453. 453Kelley Gardner

     I've been saying Bush was the worst in history for 2 yrs now. Anyone who says he isn't is living under a rock OR watches Fox News. Obama has a lot of mess to clean up…its not going to happen overnight. Took Bush 8 yrs to almost destroy this country.,

     
     
454. 454Kelley Gardner

     How do you figure? He has done more for this country under 2yrs than Bush did for 8yrs. Oh never mind you're one of those low information people (fox news) becker head.

     
     
455. 455appleinvestor

     You couldn't be further from the truth, I happen to be a high-info type that is also deeply involved in finance and the business world. Obama is destroying the environment for businesses through fiat and nationalism. This is not the purview of just the right, this is a fact of life in business commerce.

     
     
456. 456steve riederer

     hi brave – by most standards – and mine – but not yours. respectfully, you are in the minority if you think bush was a good prez. i'm not sure what you men by lack of terror attacks. 9-11 was a terrorist attack that happened on his watch. he had been warned about bin laden and didn't protect us. it's true. lack of terror attacks?? my goodness. good Lord in heaven. you associate bush with a 'lack of terrorists attacks'? what do they tell you to say about that?

     and yes I mean the evil corporations when i say “big power”. we are both, you and I getting massively ripped off by them as you may know, as we sit here and debate George Soros.

     
     
457. 457BDJL

     Typical Republican lying response. All of the surveys done after the 2000 election had the same answer to the question ” who did the majority of the people of Florida think they had voted for” Answer, “Gore”. Period. If you really believe that over 5000 voters from Palm Beach County in South Florida ( I thought it was Dade) really voted for Pat Buchanan then you're a moron. In addition there was the confusion about voting for both President and Vice President. Voters thought the instruction printed on the ballot ” Vote for Group” meant they had to vote for both president and vice president so some of them punched Gore's chad and then the Libertarian candidate's chad thinking they were voting for Lieberman for VP along with Gore. That's 25,000 votes, cast by Democrats based on their voting for the Democratic Senatorial candidate that were meant to be cast for Al Gore. They were thrown out because of simple mistakes that could have easily been corrected by an impartial review system, one that didn't exist with Bush's brother's hacks in Florida and the right wing Supreme Court.

     The Florida Supreme Court had ordered just such a re-count of all 111,000 rejected “overvotes”, those that had markings for more than one candidate. Every review of those ballots judged that if a common sense approach to determining who the person had intended to vote for were applied then Gore would have gained 25,000 votes, Bush would have gained less than a thousand. That's more than enough to swing Florida to Gore and make him what W should never have been.

     I know you'll never acknowledge that W was an illegitimate president. But if you want to educate yourself on the subject at least read the USA Today articles from Friday May 11, 2001. Five Florida newspapers including the Miami Herald and Pensacola News Journal partnered to perform a comprehensive study of the disputed and uncounted ballots. They reached the conclusion that the majority of Florida voters had intended to vote for Al Gore, not W. He should never have been president and you know it. Remember over 500,000 more Americans voted for Gore than Bush nationwide. Real Americans acknowledge who should have really won the 2000 election.

     
     
458. 458Benjamin Stevens

     I wonder what criteria has been used and whether there was a certain agenda involved. NOT! I know where this came from. If you favor print to view this report, it will make great wrapping for taking out the garbage. If you favor online perusal, there's only one remedy. Drop your laptop or Iphone in the fish tank!

     
     
459. 459mike3k

     fuck you.

     
     
460. 460Vince B

     For all the right wing am brainwashed tools not seeing the light at the top of the oil well, if you read passed the first line (I know some of you are still working on it) you'll find that the majority of the bottom listers are democrat, and well deserving of it. I understand, it's to comprehend that something could be fair and balanced after watching your daily objective newscasts.

     
     
461. 461ProudPrimate

     Wishful thinking — misery loves company, I guess

     
     
462. 462ProudPrimate

     Oh no! You don't mean it! Now we'll never find our way back to Dickensian England, home of the very rich, the very poor, and a trace element of middle class consisting of just enough Scrooges to do the toenails of the Upper Crust! [sob! boo-hoo!]

     Regulate gambling? Whatever can he be thinking of? Now we'll have to loan other peoples money to start-ups. There's no windfalls in that! Socialism is only for the rich. Why can't he get that through his head?

     
     
463. 463ProudPrimate

     Two comments on your insightful post:

     The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis, by Bill Moyers, 1987

     and

     A Tapestry of Lies, On Which We Feed — Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

     
     
464. 464ProudPrimate

     “if that was true” — well, was it? Or was it merely ducking an unwieldy issue. Manure is easier to handle after it ages for a year or two, but is it less a good fertilizer?

     
     
465. 465ProudPrimate

     Sitting presidents need at least an asterisk

     
     
466. 466ProudPrimate

     If Carter's energy policy had continued till now, we would not need foreign oil, or much oil at all. Reagan's first act in office was to rip the solar panels off the roof of the White House, a sop to his owners.

     
     
467. 467Kevin Violette

     I was born in 1961 and spent my twenties during the Reagan era. He was not universally loved. Have a look at the Iran-Contra affair, the dismantling of our nation's unions, the record deficits, the Star Wars debacle, the erosion of environmental protection and the roll-back of Carter's energy policies designed to reduce dependence on foreign oil. I saw the beginning of the erosion of the middle class in this country, and growth in the gap between rich and poor. Reagan had personal charm and bad policies, in my opinion.

     
     
468. 468markusgarvey

     In an effort to serve the online community best, please verify your account so that your comments will post as soon as they are posted in the future. Thanks

     
     
469. 469oneStarman

     THERE YOU GO AGAIN – Disrespecting the mythical Great Communicator-bot and his idiot bastard.. That is surely heresy to the brain dead, the soon to be dead elder berries and the no nothing Tea Bags.

     
     
470. 470Mark L. Bloss

     “I wonder what criteria has been used…..”?

     Perhaps the article changed since you read it, but the version I see includes this information.

     
     
471. 471hank72

     Sounds like all 238 so called presidental scholars tagged were liberals !! What qualifications do you need to have to be a presidental scholar?

     
     
472. 472jraymondcpa

     First he stole the election ten years ago.
     then he proceeded to steel the life out of our economy.
     we will be paying the price for his term in office for decades to come

     
     
473. 473hank72

     GW Bush graduated Yale yet dumbos call him dumb. the Harvard clown who has to read from a teleprompter and is completely incompetent on his own,is called interlectual by liberals.The american people are fed up with the lies,lies this clown thrives on.This should help balance this liberal site

     
     
474. 474mjbrockwell

     You hard earned tax dollars are worth what they are, because college professors taught the inventors, engineers, and innovators who made the U.S. economy great

     
     
475. 475Mrarizona

     What qualifications do you need to have to be a presidential scholar? They need the ability to see reality and to see beyond partisan politics.

     
     
476. 476troubleeveryday

     Well, start paying up, my family needs the money after Capitalists threw my husband out of work. But I must confess, I don't know what “dirty secrets”(blackmail) I am holding over you Profiteers to keep you from speaking your little evil minds. President Obama is not a “socialist” or a “leftist”, where do you get this? If President Obama was, we would have single payer healthcare but instead we get this crap known as Health Care Reform. Also he is not against War, killing is ok with him just like you “cuz there's money to made” yay haaa!

     
     
477. 477David P

     Better insight and judgment than you. And maybe the ability to read and understand more than big words like “nuculur”. They also are scholars who, if you had read more than the headline, are NOT just liberals. If so then any conservative president would have been low in the ranking. No, W “earned” his bottom spot for all the reasons stated and for “outing” a CIA operative and selling the country to Dick Cheney. Eisenhower was right. He is correctly quoted as having told the American people to “beware the military-industrial complex. According to his daughter he originally wrote that we should be aware of and beware the military-industrial-congressional complex. Prophetic Republican

     
     
478. 478David Buckley

     FDR was the ONLY President worth his salary. None of the others are worthy of the hagiographic mega-tomes written by their journalistic “biographers”. (In America, “scholar” is a loose and ambiguous term). It would be FAR more profitable and helpful if these “scholars” came out and declared that Bush is a CRIMINAL, who allowed this country to be attacked on 9/11. and who instigated TWO illegal, immoral and unnecessary wars while ensuring that the Rich became Super-Rich. Bush KILLED America.

     
     
479. 479Sharoney

     If Junior hadn't had a famous and wealthy daddy, C-Plus Augustus would have been laughed out of the admissions office. It's called a “legacy admission.” Look it up. Like the late great Jim Hightower once said, Dumbya was “born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.”

     Meanwhile, PRESIDENT (hurts to read it, doesn't it?) Obama graduated from Columbia and then earned his way to Harvard Law School by dint of hard work and ability. He edited the Harvard Law Review after his freshman year and edited the Journal after his second, graduating magna cum laude (“with high honors,” since you can barely read English, never mind Latin).

     Meanwhile all Dumbya managed to do at Yale was get drunk, coast through classes, and give sucker punches to opponents on the playing field before Daddy pulled more strings to get him into Harvard Business School, where he coasted to another C average.

     Man, the stupid never stops with you teabaggers, Pathetic idiots one and all, just like your idiot idols.

     By the way, it's spelled “intellectual.” Try learning how to use a dictionary before you start calling your betters ignorant, hank.

     
     
480. 480robt55

     Poor little pete – more interested in spelling than facts. If I cared about spelling on some lame-ass board, I would put on foxfire – I don't so BFD. I noticed you failed to refute any of the commentary so I assume tacit agreement on the post. Thanks, maybe you're smarter than I thought.

     
     
481. 48127freshair

     Painting with big brush strokes- hard to see your mistakes.

     
     
482. 482Vilaviki

     President Bush was a liar and a cheat so of course he was a terrible president. The man had no intelligence and real contempt for those with intelligence. Bush plus Cheney did a job on America with corruption, lies, war, war profiteering, oil greed, corporate elite only policies, lies, evil, and the same republicans who are opposing all the things that are right for America now. Republicans are the enemy of the good and they are determined that Americans will suffer because of them.

     
     
483. 483Vilaviki

     hank72

     Bush – ignorant President Obama – genious Bush – liar President Obama – honest Bush – criminal Bush, son of a president, spoon in mouth, easy ride to everything, real loser, drunk and failure.

     President Obama – law abiding, just, morale and fighting liars who lie like you. President Obama was a Harvard scholar, President of Harvard Law Review and a man of humble beginnings who made himself by hard work, college loans and determination. Just who we need to get us out of the disaster corrupt republicans made of America. You think Bush was so great because you never wanted to see how Bush was corporate-owned and only doing every single thing for rich cronies. You won't see how republicans in office are doing their darndest to keep anything from changing for the better.

     
     
484. 484Vilaviki

     appleinvestor President Obama has done good things in spite of lying right wing politicians and their lying fox fiends and the other lying republicant radio/internet. President Obama has had one agenda and that has been to right the wrongs. Republicans have had one agenda to oppose the fixing. Republicans have become the enemy of the good for America. Republicans oppose because they have tea party barfers who believe it is just great for the country to fail if President Obama fails. Let the car industry fail. How dare President Obama give them a hand. Let the health care industry keep shutting more middle class people out while continuing to reap profits instead of improving one policy for better care for more people. Republicans definitely oppose better health care for more people. Make no improvements to protect consumers or stop another financial crisis. Republicans stand against all things Obama. How can that be right when the President stands for all Americans?

     
     
485. 485sender

     Whatever his positives may have been, I can't forgive Jackson the Cherokee atrocities. He's the worst, in my book.

     
     
486. 486Vilaviki

     President Obama has already been called the worst of the worst of the worst by all the stooges at Fox, republican/conservative liars, right wing radio repuks and republitard internet sites. President Obama has been dragged through the mud/filth by stooges on the right since he dared to run for this great office and dared to win. Our President will get the same rabid, anti-American, unpatriotic and republican hate and evil treatment that any Democratic President gets from the hate and wicked right wing republicans and their out there in total hate extremists. President Obama is everything right and republican politician stooges are everything wrong. Our President is a just man who has the best intentions. Republicans just oppose the best intentions for their corruption and greed.

     
     
487. 487Johnathan Stout

     Lack of terror attacks? You mean, besides 9/11, right? You're pretty naive.

     
     
488. 4885920

     Kimberly maybe you never heard the old saying “the masses are asses” Reagans popularity just proves how easily peaple are lead. Reagan took us off policies searching for energy independence, and indebted us to big oil because the masses wanted cheap oil. Worst of all was Reaganomics, the philosophy of deregulation of business, destruction of the unions and good paying jobs, destruction of the working class, tax breaks for the wealthy and the belief that business would be self correcting. He introduced us to Alan Greenspan and Laisse Faire economics. All of these circumstances have lead 30 years later to the total collapse of the economic system. And Reagan is much hated by the working poor who lost their future to Reaganomics

     
     
489. 489SDAI TECH

     “Siena Research Institute” is a Catholic Franciscan Religious School. Anyone who believes they are are a real think tank and are presenting a credible study of the Presidents…I have a bridge to sell you. Reading the comments has been amusing here. Leave the analysis to the real think tanks who are not idiotic enough to include the rankings of a President that hasn't even completed a single term. Look at the funding of the “Siena Research Institute” and you will discover why they are so leftist. I'm not going to tell you. Work a little. Google it. It shouldn't take you more than 5 or 10 minutes to see the longstanding funding and biased agenda. Obama's poll numbers are dropping as I type and the usual sources are hoping to kindle the last embers of Bush-Derangement Syndrome in the poor (and getting poorer) leftist electorate.

     Quite sad actually. Very cynical exploitation of their target dupes. The saddest part is, to some degree, it clearly works.

     http://www.siena.edu/uploadedimages/home/about_...

     
     
490. 490SDAI TECH

     You have to ask yourself about the background of the sort of person who “spends their life studying presidents” if one wants an answer to the results of this survey. The socialist elitists who see FDR as a saint and any capitalism loving, Constitution-abiding President as the antichrist.

     They hail from the class of poverty stricken elitists that forever resent those who actually know enough to make money and for whom a religious like faith in socialism permits them to feel better about their lives and lifestyles.

     
     
491. 491DawnKehoty

     SDAI TECH: All Siena did was conduct a poll of presidential scholars. Sadly, your fascist snobbery doesn't work here. You would rank your man Dubya where exactly?

     
     
492. 492liberal6

     When GW Bush took office we had a budget surplus, thanks to Bill Clinton. We then got led into wars with two countries (neither of which attacked us, though probably were sites of training for those who did). Taxes were cut to the rich; the war effort has depleted whatever surplus we had; the banking industry took us all for a ride, and now President Obama is left to pick up the pieces and unreasonably assume the blame for the Bush Fiasco. A few years ago a friend said his daughter asked “Daddy, what are some things President Bush done for us?” The last I knew my friend was still looking for an answer; and I cannot recall any positive outcome from the GWBush 8 years. What President Bush did do was spend us into a hole because he refused to raises taxes (I do not think TAXES is a dirty word); and, along with Dick Cheney, made sure all their cronies in big business and big oil got their fair share. Some of the very policies President Obama is trying to initiate and enact were the same ones touted by the Republicans when Bush was president; but the Republicans will not agree to ANYTHING that Pres. Obama suggests. They are so afraid that he will succeed they have become blatant obstructionists; foster partisanship; and do not seem to realize they are each elected to represent the best needs of the American people. And I can't believe that the Republican National Chairman, Michael Steele, has the audacity to call the war in Afghanistan President Obama's war. What kind of coma has he been in for the past 8 years? Bush started the war and did not have the ability or brains to see it to a successful conclusion. I shudder to think what will become of this country if the Republicans, at least the ones with the current mentality, achieve more power. Canada doesn't look too bad.

     
     
493. 493SDAI TECH

     Hi Dawn,

     In a realistic assessment of George Bush in a presidential line up, he would be somewhere around number 18. Franklin Delano Roosevelt would be at the very bottom. Why? Because he altered the Republic. He blackmailed the Supreme Court with threatened age-based retirement if they didn't rubber stamp the minimum wage and the Social Security administration. The result? Trillions of dollars of debt as baby-boomers reach maturity. Illegal immigration started in earnest in the mid-forties after the minimum wage ( Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA of 1938) was passed. By interfering in the constitutionally protected act of setting wages and engaging in free commerce, the floodgates have been opened and now the southwest is overrun by illegal immigrants who work for under the minimum wage. 400,000 alone are in Phoenix.

     Nothing threatens a nation worse than a complete invasion by peoples who share different values, beliefs and who don't respect the rule of law on which the nation was founded. Look at the cities boycotting Arizona for upholding immigration laws?! Lawlessness is spread by lawbreakers. Its a contagion and one look at Mexico right now is the look at the future of the USA – thanks to the shortsightedness of Franklin Delano Roosevelt whose infatuation with socialism and desire for power in the hands of the government shortcircuited the natural flow of commerce. Outsourcing? Two parent working families with kids in daycare? All these can be placed at FDR's feet as well.

     If this wisdom can only be found by reading the words of alleged fascist snobs, my suggestion to you is to make the most of it.

     

     
     
494. 494Whitney

     I agree, no question about it. I am not advocating a wholesale dismissal. I am suggesting, however, that in addition to being wary of dismissing something just on the basis of its “not in alignment with our own political leanings,” it is every bit as reckless to accept something just because it happens to agree with our own political leanings (especially when there is evidence that their is bias somewhere in the process). That kind of scrutiny is usually much harder to exercise..

     
     
495. 495TucoBendicto

     Oops. I actually posted my comment in the wrong place. Sorry to sound as if I was railing on your comment — which I think is on the money. Getting a higher education credential does not magically make biases go away. Nor is college education necessary for cultivating the sorts of critical skills needed for managing one's own biases (though hopefully it helps, or I am not doing part of my job). That many people seem to think that it does (probably the sorts of people who habitually correct peoples' spelling and grammar on these blogs), is likely part of the reason many people in this country have lately reacted so negatively to anything “academic” or “intellectual.”

     
     
496. 496Justin D. Haslett

     “Nothing threatens a nation worse than a complete invasion by peoples who share different values, belief.”

     I wonder if this poster has ever been to the base of the Statue of Liberty:

     “Give me your tired, your poor,
     Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
     The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
     Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
     I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

     You'll note that nowhere in that inscription does it say: “only send me motherfuckers who look, talk, think and believe exactly like the rest of us. The rest of you can fuck off.”

     
     
497. 497pg

     Jefferson was known to be a horrible public speaker. Does that make him low in intelligence, too?

     And if you think Bush did any of his “eloquent” talking without a prompter… well… Fool me once, shame on you… fool me twice… won't get fooled again…

     
     
498. 498Matty

     Obama's poll number are better than Reagan's at the same time in their presidencies. We all know Reagan went on to be loved by republicans across this land. And both Reagan and Obama have many of the same issues the economy, security, and immigration. So I think Obama's poll numbers are just fine! You are just worried that Obama is going to be more loved than Reagan.

     http://www.pollster.com/blogs/obama_as_reagan_c...

     I'd also like to point out currently republicans poll worse than democrats, in fact, according to an AP GfK poll people prefer that democrats keep control of congress and not give it republicans. People also currently blame republicans for this economy mess, 2 to 1. And of course, the tea party polls worse than them all having a disapproval rate at 50%. So things aren't too positive for the Grand Ol' Party.

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/15/new-po...
     (please save the argument that Huff Po is biased because it is an AP GfK poll, not a huff po poll)

     http://jeffpelline.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/tea...
     (Tea party disapproval at 50% from Washington Post-ABC News poll)

     As for your claim that the poll is biased, well I beg to differ. The reason the results that Bush is one of the worst presidents ever isn't biased is because every poll of presidents puts Bush at the bottom. The Times polls in 2008 puts him near the bottom, CSPAN poll of 2009 puts him near the bottom, and of course Siena puts him near the bottom. So everyone agrees Bush sucked. And that fact that you can't see that suggests you are wrong or ignorant.

     http://www.c-span.org/PresidentialSurvey/presid...

     
     
499. 499Matty

     Sorry my post was in reply to SDAI Tech, that wasn't clear.

     
     
500. 500ProfessorRhetoric

     SDAI TECH,

     A quick Google search tells me that the Siena Research Institute is not a Think Tank. SRI is part of Siena College and is a public opinion research center that conducts surveys on various issues (http://www.siena.edu/pages/1161.asp). Think Tanks conduct research (like SRI), but are also social advocates for change in politics, society, etc. With that established…

     If you feel Siena Research Institute is biased, then the burden is on you to prove this claim, not on everyone else to find the backing you assert is out there. Please provide source material for your claims.

     If Siena is biased then who would you propose offers a fair assessment? C-Span? Washington College? Gallup? Rasmussen Reports? Pew? Wall Street/CNN? The ad hominem approach is not much of a productive approach in an argument of this nature.

     Likewise, if Siena's research of presidential scholars (political scientists, historians, etc.) is flawed, then whom should they contact in order to get a fair assessment of past presidents?

     Finally, please let me know how you declare an institution to be biased (as in your assertion that the SRI has a biased agenda). I did not see any criteria as to what constitutes an objective or biased institution in your answer.

     Many thanks,
     Professor Rhetoric (yes, I am a college professor)

     
     
501. 501ChicagoJohn

     GW didn't get a surplus due to Clinton, Liberal6. Clinton ran deficits until the Republicans took over congress. Even then, Clinton shut down the government rather then letting Republicans cut government programs.

     And if you think/believe that Bush spent us into a hole??? What the heck do you think Barack has done?? Bush's deficits didn't take off until 2007. Remember who was in charge of congress that year?

     What this poll reminds me is that Democrats love to rewrite history.
     You're still trying to.

     
     
502. 502Guy Savage

     I don't know who these people are from the Institute, but I can tell you that they must be leftist communist liberal pigs to already put Obama up there at 15th. You have got to be kidding me. This moron has spent more in one year than Bush did his entire 8 years. Oh yeah, don't let me forget to mention the brilliant idea about paying for health care which is going to cost my company $300,000 a year off the bottom line. Do you think we are thinking about hiring right now? Hell no. Do you think we will try and pass the costs down to our clients? We have to. Do you think that it will trickle down to products going up? Duh, of course it will.

     
     
503. 503lilyboosh

     You discredit yourself by merely using the term “Nobama”. You should have called the health care bill “Obamacare” too. Do you remember the disaster that was Bush II with and without a prompter? Try http://www.dubyaspeak.com for a bit of nostalgia.

     
     
504. 504lilyboosh

     Indeed, because anything less than laissez-faire and utter free market (which brings about lovely debacles like the one we're living through) is “destroying the environment for business”.

     
     
505. 505lilyboosh

     George Dubya on vacation: (from dubyaspeak.com)

     Number of Vacations Spent at Camp David: 149, totaling all or part of 487 days.

     Number of Vacations Spent at His Crawford, Texas Ranch: 77, totaling all or part of 490 days.

     Number of Vacations Spent at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport, Maine: 11, totaling all or part of 43 days.

     Total Number of Days Spent on Vacation: 1,020

     Compared to Previous Presidents:
     President Bill Clinton (D):
     152 days (over 8-year span)

     President George H. W. Bush (R):
     543 days (over 4-year span)

     President Ronald Reagan (R):
     335 days (over 8-year span)

     President Jimmy Carter (D):
     79 Days (over 4-year span)
     (Source: Counterbias.com)

     
     
506. 506lilyboosh

     Railing against the minimum wage? You probably are not a poor person, “SDAI TECH”.

     
     
507. 507tito999

     maybe it should!

     
     
508. 508tito999

     maybe it should!

     
     
509. 509Icarus

     Your right Guy, Health Care should only be available for wealthy people. We should live by the law of the jungle in business, no regulation at all. Let's transfer all the wealth in this country to the top 5% You might want to check your math on the spending though.

     
     
510. 510Icarus

     Where do you get the Bush's deficits didn't take off until 2007? Not the GAO, Wikipedia or any other credible, factual source. It's obvious to everyone but your deluded self that you are the one trying to rewrite history.

     
     
511. 511Icarus

     Exactly what I was thinking when I read the post you just replied to so well. thanks for saving me a few minutes of my life.

     
     
512. 512Becky

     I dont know what your problem is with FDR. Maybe it is because he created the middle class and tried to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Ever since then, the GOP has been trying to destroy the middle class and make the rich richer. If that is the agenda that you agree with, you must be rich, lucky you.

     
     
513. 513Becky

     I was just thinking that no one is defending harding…i mean all he did was die in office, according to the article. And by the way to everyone bitching about spending…anyone who has taken a beginning economics class knows that government spending stimulates the economy. Geez…read a book or something and turn off fox news.

     
     
514. 514OETKB

     Bush = some guy who puts something together without instructions, a mess that falls apart kills allot of young folks and destroys the village but his family and friends like him allot so they believe he did a great job and defend him while they are on fire and starving.

     
     
515. 515Billy Joe Sr.

     TURN OFF FOX AND INCREASE AMERICAS IQ. / BUZZ FLASH.ORG & BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER BY AMY GOODMAN ; ALSO HOWARD ZINN'S BOOK ON THE PEOPLES HISTORY AND THE PROPAGANDA THE PEOPLE EAT EVERY DAY :

     
     
516. 516Rock the Vote - Page 2

     [...] Posted by Contained Chaos Barry may be chasing Boy George, but he hasn't caught up quite yet: 238 presidential scholars: Bush worst president of modern era, fifth worst in US history | Raw Story That's just because if they would have said Obama was the worst, they'd have been called racist. [...]

     
     
517. 517The Infinite Sarah Palin Theorem

     [...] she is at actually understanding and expressing complex ideas. In this way, she is exactly like her hero, George W. Bush and so half of her comparison is [...]

     
     
518. 518100 Best of Digg Weekly May 25 – July 27, 2010

     [...] 238 presidential scholars: Bush worst leader of modern era [...]

     
     
519. 519Flavia

     & he might want to check on the fact that it was the Bush admin that started the bailout.

     
     
520. 520Flavia

     (This is just a point, not a refutation of what you are saying)

     There is a difference between “thinking differently & having different values” and those who are hellbent on destroying us. You can be all different religions & political parties & still be four-square behind what America stands for.

     I believe that the previous poster is contending that those who think differently & have different values are among the sort who actually wish to tear down America. Now, I don't agree with him, & I assume you don't either – but I certainly hope you would agree that the Statue of Liberty's welcome message is not for those who come here with actually bad intentions.

     
     
521. 521Flavia

     Just checked the list. If Carter ranks 7th in integrity, there's a serious problem. Carter has been bought & sold by oil money, as proven by the terrorist causes he so strongly supports, with increasing degrees of openness. He's already admitted that he lied when he called Israel an “apartheid” state & he's openly called for Hamas – of all organizations! – to be *removed* from the list of terrorist groups. That's SICK!

     
     
522. 522Flavia

     Just checked the list. If Carter ranks 7th in integrity, there's a serious problem. Carter has been bought & sold by oil money, as proven by the terrorist causes he so strongly supports, with increasing degrees of openness. He's already admitted that he lied when he called Israel an “apartheid” state & he's openly called for Hamas – of all organizations! – to be *removed* from the list of terrorist groups. That's SICK!

     
     
523. 523mat

     Nah, don't waste your pixels on the wingnuts, since like all Fundamentalist types, they're really only about ideology, not facts. In another time, they were once marginalized as the uneducated, paranoid crazies they obviously are. But thru the power of the internet and the conservative media echo chamber that profits off them, wingers have finally acquired an illusion of legitimacy, no matter how crackpot their “rage du jour”. Although it probably doesn't help that mainstream media insists on repeating their idiotic claims, in the interests of “balance”!
     BTW, interesting that Dubya has dropped even further since the last poll, and at this rate will likely be rated the worst president in history as well. But just personally, the fact that 9/11 happened on his watch, should automatically qualify him right there.

     
     
524. 524TheSkepticalCynic

     Flavia, do you really think the Savage in interested in facts, really?

     
     
525. 525TheSkepticalCynic

     The billions of dollars pissed away on the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan during the Bush Administration were all “off budget”, ie, not calculated into the deficit until Obama in a little bit of transparency did just that to let John G. Public get some idea of the incredible hole Bush (the Fake) put this nation and strutted away with the hubris that proves what a mentally, morally. and spiritually bankrupt sociopath, he really is. It's in his DNA, as it is in all of his piggish brothers spawned by that Seminare di tutto Semina, Barbara. She makes Ma Barker and her brood look like Mother Theresa taking care of orphans. If this bunch had been a litter of puppies, they'd have been immediately euthanized and the Bitch of all Bitches would have been spayed.

     I mean this all in a nice way, of course.

     
     
526. 526Phil Mauracher

     LOL. Amen. Why scold mental retardation. Just feel sorry for it.

     
     
527. 527Phil Mauracher

     HAHAHAHA! Thank you very much. I needed a good laugh today.

     
     
528. 528Phil Mauracher

     No he didn't. He just gave us a bruise! We'll recover!

     
     
529. 529Webster

     Really? That high? Franklin Pierce at least had good table manners.

     
     
530. 530TheSkepticalCynic

     Well, thank you Phil.

     John B. Mendolusky
     is
     The Skeptical Cynic

     The Skeptical Cynic sayeth thus:

     “It is truly written in the sands of time.
     One must never spit in a man's face.
     Unless, of course, his moustache is on fire!”

     
     
531. 531Michael Mulloy

     Most of those coming here actually have similar values and desires to every other wave of immigrants to come here over the years, all the way back to those who founded the colonies. And those who were here before each wave have always looked down their noses at the next “batch.” Look how the Irish and Italian and Chinese immigrants were viewed when they first arrived and for decades after.

     
     
532. 532Why extend the Bush tax cuts? - Page 3 - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum

     [...] Considering where the nation went after the Bush tax cuts, only Rip Van Winkle would think keeping them in place was a good thing. "Today, just one year after leaving office, the former president has found himself in the bottom five at 39th rated especially poorly in handling the economy, communication, ability to compromise, foreign policy accomplishments and intelligence. Rounding out the bottom five are four presidents that have held that dubious distinction each time the survey has been conducted: Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin Pierce." 238 presidential scholars: Bush worst president of modern era, fifth worst in US history | Raw Story [...]

     
     
533. 533July 6th | Yesterday on the Internet

     [...] 238 presidential scholars: Bush worst president of modern era, fifth worst in US history | Raw Story – Sienna College seems to run this survey whenever they feel it will make a good story. There’s no fixed period between reports. Just, whenever. They guessed right this time, giving everybody something to talk about. GWB makes his debut in the Hall of Shame, and ol’ Barry nudged past Reagan for the 15th spot. Fox News is livid. LIVID! Also of note, the top ten seem to get more and more “founding Fathers” over time. Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy all have fallen off the list. [...]

     
     
534. 534Bikeric

     Obama: “Intelligence?”-Through the roof. A++; “Foreign policy accomplishments?”-Allowed Iran to become a nuclear nation. A++; “Handling of U.S. Economy?”-18% real unemployment with millions more Americans’ dependent upon the government for their survival. A++
     Obama should work his way to the #1 favorite President of the Siena Research Institute within 2 more years. As far as favorite American President by the people…..not in this lifetime.

     
     
535. 535B-wilkinson

     Not just the Cherokees all Native Americans east of the Mississippi. He was rewarded for his genocidal successes with the Presidency. He had shown total disrespect for the Constitution and our system of government. I agree.I would put him down there with the bottom.

     
     
536. 536Lacy Espree

     Maybe in this situation there is.

     
     

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