# May 2016: Former President George W. Bush, primarily remembered for .... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516 "2006-02-28T20:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/41 "2006-03-01T20:58:40Z")
Well, what do we rememember the senior george for? It’s been over ten years for that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/42 "2006-03-01T21:07:14Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well, what do we rememember the senior george for? It’s been over ten years for that. Probably “read my lips: no new taxes,” Desert Storm, vomiting on the Japanese ambassador and a recession. Although people who were older than I was may have a better perception of his term. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/43 "2006-03-02T01:38:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Probably “read my lips: no new taxes,” Desert Storm, vomiting on the Japanese ambassador and a recession. Although people who were older than I was may have a better perception of his term. I could point out what I remember him for, but I’m not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent. Nagadooit! ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/44 "2006-03-02T06:07:14Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 “Conflict with Islam”? The US and much of the rest of the world (including some Muslim regimes) are certainly having a conflict with particular politicized, violent forms of Muslim fundamentalism. But is it meaningful to broad-brush that as a “conflict with Islam” as an entire religion? :rolleyes: Sigh. Forgot I was on the SDMB. Please insert a 143-word train of qualifiers to explain the tediously obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/45 "2006-03-02T10:30:54Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Sigh. Forgot I was on the SDMB. Never, never, never forget you’re on the SDMB! 😉 > [@furt](#): > > Please insert a 143-word train of qualifiers to explain the tediously obvious. “143-word train of qualifiers”? Shoot, boy, I can fix your terminology problem a whole lot cheaper than that! Here you go: in place of “conflict with Islam”, substitute “conflict with Islamist extremism”, a mere one-word difference! (For the same low low price, you get a selection of alternative terms such as “theocratic Islamism” or “Muslim-fundamentalist violence”.) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/46 "2006-03-02T15:14:56Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I could point out what I remember him for, but I’m not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent. Nagadooit! Ya know, that’s right - there are probably way too many people who remember Dana Carvey’s impersonation of him more than they remember _him_. Still, his resume will read “Gulf War” and that’ll be pretty much it. That’s not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/47 "2006-03-02T15:26:22Z")
I’ve been following this thread, but not posting, while I have tried to post my honest answer without coming across as being a smartass. Haven’t figured it, except to say this is not hyperbole, or intentionally funny, but my real prediction: Bush will be remembered primarily for mushrooming the deficit and leaving us in an even bigger lurch than we would have been when a huge recession hits circa 2015-2020. As baby boomers retire, there will be less produced, and with giant IRAs, there will be more dollars chasing fewer goods. We’ll have rampant inflation, a gigantic standing debt, a huge trade deficit, and China holding us by the balls. He will also be remembered as the the most incompetent, amoral president ever, who not only didn’t want what was best for the American people, but didn’t even care. He will be viewed as somebody who was entirely a product, a reaction, who lacked a center, or a vision, and who just did as he was told. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/48 "2006-03-02T15:27:42Z")
Yeah, essentially both Bush’s will be remembered for their activities covering foreign policy in the middle east. Bush I better than Bush II, for my money. But either way that’s the defining event of their respective presidencies. ---
**Author:** ![aspen31](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@aspen31](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aspen31)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/49 "2006-03-02T15:41:08Z")
i think it is unbelievable that people here could see the u.s. economy as being in good shape. there may be lots of debate regarding various economic theories, but borrowing the vast amounts to facilitate the spending has been proven wrong time and again. if there is 1 lesson to be learned from history, it is that when borrowing this money, you may have some decent trade, but sooner or later that economy is going to run into trouble. how gwb will be remembered by historians will vary by historian. personally i think he is the worst president you’ve ever had, but i can’t say i’ve researched every one. ick ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/50 "2006-03-02T15:45:32Z")
Usually Warren Harding is listed as the worst President ever, for endemic corruption, incompetence, and generally being a poor excuse for a human being, but remarkably he attained that distinction in less than one term. The Ulysses Grant administration was noted for its corruption as well, but not as much for simple incompetence, and usually he’s ranked #2. True, it’s hard to see what this guy could do with his remaining time to finish above them in the league tables. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/51 "2006-03-02T21:07:02Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Yeah, essentially both Bush’s will be remembered for their activities covering foreign policy in the middle east. Bush I better than Bush II, for my money. That’s rather a low bar, since you can find things on the side of the road that have better leadership capabilities than Bush II. 😉 Say what you will about Bush Sr., but at least he had enough sense not to do something dangerous just because his bajillionare buddies told him to. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/52 "2006-03-02T21:31:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Pat Buchanan disagrees, FWIW. [http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006\_02\_27/buchanan.html](http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_02_27/buchanan.html) And apparently he is not the only one. You are joking, right? Pat…Buchanan!!! :smack: Has he been snorting the gram crackers again? Buchanan is an isolationist dinosaur…not exactly a free trade advocate of the first order. Look at the article…its the standard ‘outsourcing is evil’ rhetoric. (you can probably tell at this point that I’m no Buchanan fan here). I’m not going to hold my breath for this dire turn of events on Pat Buchanan’s say so. Certainly from what I’ve read I see no indications we are poised for another Great Depression free fall… YMMV BG. 🙂 -XT ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/53 "2006-03-02T22:10:04Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > You are joking, right? Pat…Buchanan!!! :smack: Has he been snorting the gram crackers again? Buchanan is an isolationist dinosaur…not exactly a free trade advocate of the first order. Look at the article…its the standard ‘outsourcing is evil’ rhetoric. (you can probably tell at this point that I’m no Buchanan fan here). Nor am I, but even a blind squirrel, etc. In any case, in this article he’s mainly warning about the economic dangers of easy credit and hyperdebt, not outsourcing. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/54 "2006-03-02T22:18:27Z")
True, its mostly about how we’ve become a debtor society…beholded to those damn furriners. But he gets his digs in on outsourcing here (with a bonus swipe at unions…that of course I am sympathetic too :))… > [@](#): > > As Chinese goods come to us, our technology, factories, and industrial jobs go to them. As China talks of exporting a $10,000 sedan to the United States, Ford joins GM in slashing 30,000 jobs, as the last two great American automakers, loaded down with “legacy costs” from the health and pensions plans of the great years gone by, fight to keep their creditors away from the door. I don’t agree with the ‘blind squirrel’ part…he’s more like the nut. 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516/55 "2006-03-04T01:10:53Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Usually Warren Harding is listed as the worst President ever, for endemic corruption, incompetence, and generally being a poor excuse for a human being, but remarkably he attained that distinction in less than one term. The Ulysses Grant administration was noted for its corruption as well, but not as much for simple incompetence, and usually he’s ranked #2. > > True, it’s hard to see what this guy could do with his remaining time to finish above them in the league tables. au contraire. neither harding nor grant (possibly for lack of opportunit) will be remembered for choosing, as their foreign policy template, the Thelma and Louise Manuever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/may-2016-former-president-george-w-bush-primarily-remembered-for/346516.md?page=2)