I present the following argument to refute Armando's assertion that Bush 43 is "the worst President of my lifetime."
To properly weigh the analysis of a President's tenure one must look at his complete record. George W. Bush has made substantial conbtributions to our country and to the world that far surpasses all his predecessors.
Before dismissing this as the rantings of a BushCo kool-aid drinking troll, I challenge you to follow me below the fold.
Armando's argument is flawed in two aspects. First, he only supplies one reference that supports his argument that by Mark Schmidt made at TPM Cafe. Second, Armando gives only a one-line personal, vindictive, ad hominen summation of a few previous Presidents with no substantive examples of their actions while in office. Take his comments on Nixon and Carter, for example:
Nixon - A paranoid lying crook with no respect for the law. But other that, how did you like the play Mrs. Lincoln? Pretty well in fact. Nixon was a pretty liberal President on domestic policy. Certainly, he was not an incompetent.
Carter - Blasphemy - Carter was a bad President. Bad instincts. Bad decisions. Bad leadership. But incompetent? Not at all.
How can you ignore Nixon in China or Carter's Camp David Accords when evaluating and making comparisons between these men?
Armando concludes his diary with this concluding statement about George W. Bush:
Bush 43 - Is there anything left to say that has not been said already? A reckless, incompetent, stubborn idiot who surrounded himself with more reckless, incompetent, stubborn idiots. Hands down, by a country mile, the worst President of my lifetime.
In answer to his question, I say yes! YES! There is much left to say that Armando willfully chose to ignore in contradiction to his conclusion.
I challenge Armando to prove that any President, at least in his lifetime, that out performed Bush 43 in any of these achievements:
Environment - Bush's record on the environment is unequaled. Even Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a lifelong environmental legal advocate and writer, produced a major work to highlight Bush's efforts on the environment in his book, Crimes of Nature.
Foreign Policy - No other President can take pride in claiming success for one of the largest foreign policy blunders in our nation's history.
Intelligence Communtiy- There can be no higher mark than what Bush 43 has set for the intelligence community. George W. Bush is the only President in our history that defines failure of intelligence and ability to deal with a lack of intelligence.
National Security - Everything changed after Septempber 11. What other President's legacy can compare to having the largest terrorist attack in our nation's history occur during their watch? Add in the consideration of Bush's foresight of a month long vacation, for himself and top White House staff, not wasting time or resources to convene a meeting of Cheney's task force on terrorism prior to the attack, and his response to the attack during the morning of September 11.
Fiscal Resposbility - In support of Bush, the Congress just passed legislation to increase our nation's debt limit to $9 trillion. They proudly supported this legislation with Bush's staggering fiscal record having borrowed more than our first 42 presidents combined.
Healthcare - The number of uninsured Americans was at an all-time high in 2004 and the numbers continue to rise. No other President has endorsed an expansion of this magnitude.
Poverty - The number of Americans living in poverty has increased every year since Bush took office. No other President has overseen and supported policies, tax cuts and the elimination of programs to insure a continued rise in poverty for our nation.
Armando has it wrong, George W. Bush is not just the worst President in his lifetime.
George W. Bush the most incompetent, largest idiot, and biggest liar that has ever held the office of President of the United States. Bush is the worst President ever!
(crossposted at MLW)
Update [2006-3-21 7:30:7 by Disgusted in St Louis]:
lipris in the comments pointed out that I had failed to include Bush is overseeing the largest ever restoration & renovation of an American city.
Several people expressed the need for me to include some of Bush's personal achievements outside his duties as President:
- world class cyclist
- healthy snack food promotion
- support of Alcoholics Anonymous
- personal integrity
Update [2006-3-21 8:19:57 by Disgusted in St Louis]:
swarf pointed out that any evaluation of Bush requires pointing to his accomplishment of the largest increase in history to the value of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.