Post by islandgirl on May 28, 2004 15:36:44 GMT -5
No surprise here.....
History profs rate Bush a disaster
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Responding to a national survey by George Mason University's History News Network, 81 percent of the 415 historians who expressed a view of the Bush presidency so far classified it as a failure and 12 percent see it as the worst presidency in American history.
At least eight of the 77 historians who expressed a belief that Bush's presidency has been a success so far seemed to be pulling our leg. Seven said Bush's presidency is only the best since that of Bill Clinton, his immediate predecessor, and one said the country hasn't seen a president of Bush's caliber since Millard Fillmore (1850-53) who filled the remaining term of Gen. Zachary Taylor after Taylor's death. Fillmore's time in office was unmemorable. He was defeated by a rival from within his own party.
"Actually, I think [Bush's] presidency may exceed the disaster that was Nixon," said one historian who was not named. "He has systematically lied to the American public about almost every policy that his administration promotes."
Robert S. McElvaine, who teaches history at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., reported the survey's findings, adding his own astonished comment that so many people still support a president with so many strikes against him.
McElvaine ticked off a list of 13 major Bush failings, starting with the wrong-headed decision to go to war in Iraq.
"He misled (to use the most chari- table interpretation) the American public about weapons of mass destruction and supposed ties to al- Qaida in Iraq and so to a war that has plainly (and entirely predictably) made us less se cure, caused a boom in the recruitment of terrorists, is killing American personnel needlessly, and is threatening to suck up all our available forces and be a bottomless pit for the money of American taxpayers for years."
Among McElvaine's other points:
The loss of 3 million American jobs in the first 2½ years under Bush, the worst record since Herbert Hoover.
Turning the great worldwide outpouring of good will after the 9/11 attacks against the United States into worldwide hatred by breaking all major international agreements, declaring our right to invade any country that we wish, and "bull-headedly charging into a quagmire" in Iraq.
Inheriting an annual budget surplus of $230 billion and transforming it into a $500 billion-plus deficit in less than three years.
Cutting taxes three times for the benefit of the rich, a policy that McElvaine says can be stated succinctly: "If you had to work for your money, we'll tax it; if you didn't have to work for it, you can keep it all."
Calling upon American service people to serve ever-lengthening tours of duty in a war zone while telling Americans to "sacrifice" by going out and buying things.
Proclaiming to be a conservative while big government runs roughshod over the Bill of Rights and keeps "all sorts of secrets from the people, while allowing the people no privacy from the government."
"Some voters may judge such assessments to be wrong," McElvaine says, but they are assessments informed by historical knowledge and the electorate ought to have them available to take into consideration during this election year."
History profs rate Bush a disaster
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Responding to a national survey by George Mason University's History News Network, 81 percent of the 415 historians who expressed a view of the Bush presidency so far classified it as a failure and 12 percent see it as the worst presidency in American history.
At least eight of the 77 historians who expressed a belief that Bush's presidency has been a success so far seemed to be pulling our leg. Seven said Bush's presidency is only the best since that of Bill Clinton, his immediate predecessor, and one said the country hasn't seen a president of Bush's caliber since Millard Fillmore (1850-53) who filled the remaining term of Gen. Zachary Taylor after Taylor's death. Fillmore's time in office was unmemorable. He was defeated by a rival from within his own party.
"Actually, I think [Bush's] presidency may exceed the disaster that was Nixon," said one historian who was not named. "He has systematically lied to the American public about almost every policy that his administration promotes."
Robert S. McElvaine, who teaches history at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., reported the survey's findings, adding his own astonished comment that so many people still support a president with so many strikes against him.
McElvaine ticked off a list of 13 major Bush failings, starting with the wrong-headed decision to go to war in Iraq.
"He misled (to use the most chari- table interpretation) the American public about weapons of mass destruction and supposed ties to al- Qaida in Iraq and so to a war that has plainly (and entirely predictably) made us less se cure, caused a boom in the recruitment of terrorists, is killing American personnel needlessly, and is threatening to suck up all our available forces and be a bottomless pit for the money of American taxpayers for years."
Among McElvaine's other points:
The loss of 3 million American jobs in the first 2½ years under Bush, the worst record since Herbert Hoover.
Turning the great worldwide outpouring of good will after the 9/11 attacks against the United States into worldwide hatred by breaking all major international agreements, declaring our right to invade any country that we wish, and "bull-headedly charging into a quagmire" in Iraq.
Inheriting an annual budget surplus of $230 billion and transforming it into a $500 billion-plus deficit in less than three years.
Cutting taxes three times for the benefit of the rich, a policy that McElvaine says can be stated succinctly: "If you had to work for your money, we'll tax it; if you didn't have to work for it, you can keep it all."
Calling upon American service people to serve ever-lengthening tours of duty in a war zone while telling Americans to "sacrifice" by going out and buying things.
Proclaiming to be a conservative while big government runs roughshod over the Bill of Rights and keeps "all sorts of secrets from the people, while allowing the people no privacy from the government."
"Some voters may judge such assessments to be wrong," McElvaine says, but they are assessments informed by historical knowledge and the electorate ought to have them available to take into consideration during this election year."
