Historians: Bush presidency 'battered,' 'incompetent,' 'unlucky'

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/bush.legacy/index.html

Historians: Bush presidency 'battered,' 'incompetent,' 'unlucky'

Presidential historians weigh in on how history will perceive President Bush

Zelizer: "There is not a lot of good will among historians" for Bush

Bush is often compared to Harry Truman, whose reputation improved over history

Kellerman: Bush will be remembered for his "incompetence"



(CNN) -- With record low approval ratings and intense criticism for his handling of the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the economy, the word most used to label George W. Bush's presidency will be "incompetent," historians say.


President Bush makes remarks on the presidential transition November 6.

"Right now there is not a lot of good will among historians. Most see him as a combination of many negative factors," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

"He is seen as incompetent in terms of how he handled domestic and foreign policy. He is seen as pushing for an agenda to the right of the nation and doing so through executive power that ignored the popular will," he added.

But like so many presidents before him, Bush's reputation could change with time.

Harvard University political history scholar Barbara Kellerman said when President-elect Barack Obama takes over in January, people may view Bush in a new light. Watch Bush address staff about transition of power »

"I think it's possible when people have stopped being as angry at the Bush administration as they are now ... that they will realize that some of this is just ... the luck of the draw."

Kellerman, author of the book "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters," noted that Bush has not had luck on his side for the past eight years.

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. If you lose all your money in a slot machine

there's more going on than just "Bad Luck".

[Metta]

2. Malicious, criminal, cold hearted, self serving.

and so on.

[Vickers]

3. "Bush's reputation could change with time"

I think it will actually get *worse* as more and more is revealed about just how far his abuses of power extended.

[The Magistrate]

7. Exactly, Sir: That Is The Only Change It Will See

[Stuart G]

4. It isn't the luck of the draw..it is the size of the lies.......

Bush has lied about every single important decision.. No leader, of any group of people, can go down as anybody with good traits with that many lies.

Leadership involves trust, and trust means truth. Bush is a pathological liar. That is it. He will never have goodwill among historians. And as the truth comes out, he will be hated more.

[Fuzz]

5. Luck of the draw my ass.

[lunatica]

6. But there's so much to write about that we only suspect right now

Historians should dig as deep as they can to get the facts about everything about this secretive and furtively malicious Administration. Oh to know the truth about Bush and Cheney and Rove! To know the truth about 9/11, about what their reals plans were!

[Solly Mack]

8. Being a war criminal is "just ... the luck of the draw." ?

Implementing a torture policy is just bad luck for Bush? Kidnapping people and holding them in secret prisons...torturing them....illegal detentions...Just a matter of bad luck for Bush?

Seriously?

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Harry S Trumman... you've got to be shitting me!

Here is an inside secret about some historians (especially those doing Presidential history)... a few are rather conservative... and tend to find little trouble with Presidents

Inside baseball, yes....

Then again, some at the time thought Buchannan would get better too.

[nilram]

10. Hey, I can compare Bush to Truman...

In comparison to Harry Truman, whose reputation has improved with time, George W Bush will go down in history as a lying scoundrel, hungry for power, who willfully subverted the constitution that he swore to uphold.

Gee, that was easy! Look, Ma, I'm a historian!