# What would it take for George W. Bush to mend his reputation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 10, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835 "2010-08-10T16:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/1 "2010-08-10T16:09:56Z")
Would it be possible for him to pull off a Jimmy Carter? Granted the Carter Administration is still viewed as something of a disaster, but the man himself has managed to build up a sterling personal reputation through his humanitarian work. What would it take for Bush to get back into the public’s good graces? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/2 "2010-08-10T16:12:59Z")
Hard evidence that an alien symbiote had attached itself to the base of GWB’s spine thirty years ago and has been manipulating him ever since. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/3 "2010-08-10T16:17:04Z")
Baby steps, people! [This](http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/08/02/the_only_man_who_can_stop_the_mosque_madness) would be a good, genuinely brave, integrity-based start. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/4 "2010-08-10T16:21:52Z")
Find some way to reverse the damages in death and destruction he caused by invading Iraq. That would mean somehow resurrecting all our military personnel who have died there, as well as the hundreds of thousands of innocent dead Iraqis. > [@](#): > > What would it take for Bush to get back into the public’s good graces? In other words, there is nothing he can do. Besides, he never was in my “good grace.” I hated him from the getgo and for him to get “back” into my good graces would mean he had a spot there in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/5 "2010-08-10T16:34:02Z")
> [@Cinebar](#): > > Find some way to reverse the damages in death and destruction he caused by invading Iraq. > > That would mean somehow resurrecting all our military personnel who have died there, as well as the hundreds of thousands of innocent dead Iraqis. > > > [@](#): > > > > What would it take for Bush to get back into the public’s good graces? > > In other words, there is nothing he can do. > > Besides, he never was in my “good grace.” I hated him from the getgo and for him to get “back” into my good graces would mean he had a spot there in the first place. If the outcome is positive, people are willing to accept the sacrifice. George Washington, FDR, Harry Truman are all war presidents responsible for far more death and destruction than George Bush. If Iraq turns out positively and becomes a strong peaceful ally for democracy and human rights (and I’m not holding my breath), then we will see a significant turn around in how Bush is viewed today. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/6 "2010-08-10T16:34:12Z")
From a non-USA perspective I doubt that in Europe there is anything that can be done to save his reputation unless he does a complete U turn on something basic to his administration- admit that there was collective cockthink in the decision to invade Iraq for instance, and set up a meaningful foundation to return the Iraqi people to the level of modernisation and social structure it had before the invasion. I fear he will always be seen in Europe as a clown. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/7 "2010-08-10T16:34:39Z")
get a better team and a better agenda. Dropping the notion that “God” wants him to bring democracy to the Middle East would also help. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/8 "2010-08-10T16:41:26Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Would it be possible for him to pull off a Jimmy Carter? Granted the Carter Administration is still viewed as something of a disaster, but the man himself has managed to build up a sterling personal reputation through his humanitarian work. What would it take for Bush to get back into the public’s good graces? I would disagree on the general assessment of Carter’s reputation. His latest pronouncements on Israel show him to be an irrelevant old fool and his inability to follow convention and refrain from personal attacks on other presidents reveal him to harbour an undue amount of bitterness. Very unbecoming. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/9 "2010-08-10T16:42:01Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > If Iraq turns out positively and becomes a strong peaceful ally for democracy and human rights (and I’m not holding my breath), then we will see a significant turn around in how Bush is viewed today. This is exactly right. If there’s no Al Qaida hits in the next couple decades due to our playing the away game…and if Iraq and Afgh turn out, in say 20 years, to look like Turkey… and even better if democratic influences spread to Saudi, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan (and even Iran?) then his strategy will have been proven correct and made the world immeasurably safer for the US. Not likely, but also not impossible. ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/10 "2010-08-10T16:44:00Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > If Iraq turns out positively and becomes a strong peaceful ally for democracy and human rights (and I’m not holding my breath), then we will see a significant turn around in how Bush is viewed today. At best that would, if it happens within the next ten years, allow die-hard right-wingers to claim he had done some good. Others would simply say that had happened despite him rather than because of him. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/11 "2010-08-10T16:52:18Z")
I see that Dubya has an autobiographical [book](http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Points-George-W-Bush/dp/0307590615/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281458873&sr=1-1) coming out in November: > [@](#): > > In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings readers inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; at the head of the table in the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century. > > President Bush writes honestly and directly about his flaws and mistakes, as well as his accomplishments reforming education, treating HIV/AIDS in Africa, and safeguarding the country amid chilling warnings of additional terrorist attacks. He also offers intimate new details on his decision to quit drinking, discovery of faith, and relationship with his family. > > A groundbreaking new brand of memoir, Decision Points will captivate supporters, surprise critics, and change perspectives on one of the most consequential eras in American history – and the man at the center of events. I’m genuinely curious whether anything he will—or could—say will genuinely “change perspectives” about him and his administration—though probably not enough so to actually read the book for myself. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/12 "2010-08-10T16:55:48Z")
Death mends all reputations. This should not be taken to mean that I want him to die, just that people will largely stop saying mean things about him when he does. See Jackson, Michael. ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/13 "2010-08-10T16:57:04Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I see that Dubya has an autobiographical [book](http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Points-George-W-Bush/dp/0307590615/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281458873&sr=1-1) coming out in November: Hmm, the editor of that book will certainly have earned his fee. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/14 "2010-08-10T17:01:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I see that Dubya has an autobiographical book coming out in November What’s it going to be called? “My Pet Goat, Part 2?” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/15 "2010-08-10T17:18:01Z")
I’m not sure that Carter is really the appropriate comparison. People certainly may have thought Carter incompetent, but I don’t think he was ever (except on _The Simpsons_) regarded as actually evil. Carter’s reputation was of a basically decent man who got in over his head. When he’s hammering together a house frame for Habitat for Humanity, he’s not in over his head any more, so his basic decency comes back to the fore. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/16 "2010-08-10T17:33:08Z")
It depends on who you are talking about. After what he’s done, nothing could mend his reputation with me. He’s a torturing, mass murdering monster and an utter incompetent. The Right on the other hand will no doubt look for any excuse to call him a success. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Booker\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@Happy\_Booker\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Booker_1)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/17 "2010-08-10T17:36:26Z")
He has the same options available that Pierce, Buchanan and Harding had, and will likely use them to the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/18 "2010-08-10T17:57:01Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > This is exactly right. If there’s no Al Qaida hits in the next couple decades due to our playing the away game…and if Iraq and Afgh turn out, in say 20 years, to look like Turkey… and even better if democratic influences spread to Saudi, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan (and even Iran?) then his strategy will have been proven correct and made the world immeasurably safer for the US. > > Not likely, but also not impossible. Even if that happens, Bush’s legacy will still be dead in the water. Suppose there’s never another terrorist attack like 9/11. Why should Bush get credit for that? There was never an attack like that prior to Bush being President and there will be an attack like that after Bush was President. What people will remember is that Bush was the only president who allowed a major terrorist attack like that to happen. Same with capturing Osama or achieving peace in the Middle East - if they happen now, why would Bush get the credit? Suppose special forces capture Osama tomorrow. And Iraq and Afghanistan become peaceful democracies. What people will remember is that Obama was able to do what Bush couldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/19 "2010-08-10T17:59:04Z")
> [@Happy\_Booker](#): > > He has the same options available that Pierce, Buchanan and Harding had, and will likely use them to the same effect. Harding died in office. Did you mean Hoover? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835/20 "2010-08-10T18:21:37Z")
[quote=“Thudlow\_Boink, post:11, topic:549835”] I see that Dubya has an autobiographical [book](http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Points-George-W-Bush/dp/0307590615/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281458873&sr=1-1) coming out in November: > [@](#): > > President Bush writes honestly and directly Clearly false advertising. Bush couldn’t be honest or direct if Cheney held a gun to his face. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-for-george-w-bush-to-mend-his-reputation/549835.md?page=2)