# Who has been worst - Bush or Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 30, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979 "2014-09-30T16:54:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/21 "2014-10-01T11:18:44Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > This probably wasn’t your intention and just a side effect of bullet points, but I think it’s disingenuous to suggest that bombing ISIS is comparable in scope to invading and occupying a country with 100K soldiers for years and years. Fair point. You’re correct that this wasn’t my intention. > [@Amberlei](#): > > I’m surprised nobody has brought up the difference in stance the two have on gay marriage. During his presidency, President GW Bush endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples. In contrast, President Obama actively endorsed the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down part of DOMA, thereby granting the same tax, health, and pension benefits to same-sex couples as afforded to traditional husbands and wives. I have difficulty giving Obama much credit for this. It seems that he just changed his opinion when the public opinion changed. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/22 "2014-10-01T11:29:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Oh. please. Obama is a politician like all the rest. His position on SSM “evolved” when it became politically expedient to do so. You say this like it’s a bad thing! ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/23 "2014-10-01T12:21:30Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > It depends upon whom you ask. For democrats Bush can do no right and Obama no wrong. If a democrat writes a history book, that opinion will come out. > > It’s like now when you read histories of famous democrats like Kennedy, Roosevelt, or Truman you only hear the good. Except that that’s totally wrong. Name a legitimate accomplishment of the Bush administration (such as the auto industry bailout), and democrats will acknowledge it. And even in this thread you’ve seen various liberals call out Obama on some of his failings and things we disagree with him on. It’s not just partisanship - some presidents are legitimately better than others. Bush was a _huge_ stinker. Obama is, at worst, “meh”. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/24 "2014-10-01T12:44:56Z")
Bush is worse. He did almost nothing right in eight years. Obama kills a lot of terrorists and helped get rid of Qaddafi without getting us involved in a quagmire, so he’s the better President. Although it’s a low bar. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/25 "2014-10-01T13:12:58Z")
Bush was the worst president of our lifetimes. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/26 "2014-10-01T13:24:09Z")
Obama has done some things I disapprove of and not done some things I wish that he had. I think his biggest shortcoming is believing that he could put an end to partisan politics. Didn’t happen. Republicans were determined from literally the day he was sworn in to fight him on every front. On health care, Obama bent over backward offering concession after concession until finally realizing that Republicans were not going to take “yes” for an answer. He also refused to consider prosecuting Bush and Cheney for war crimes, continued with the so-called Patriot Act, and continued domestic spying. He was far too generous to Republicans in allowing the Bush tax cuts to continue for virtually all but the richest Americans. He cannot articulate the benefits of the ACA to save his soul and he allowed the right wing to cripple it by not fighting back against the lies they were pushing against it. He probably reasoned that Americans were too smart to listen to such hare-brained lies, but he was wrong. Still, he got some things right, ending discrimination against gays in the military, appointing outstanding Supreme Court justices, avoided boots on the ground in Libya, passed the stimulus, let the shuttle die a deserved death, and other things too numerous to list. So all in all, I’d rate Obama as a slightly above average president. George Bush, on the other hand, was an unqualified disaster, the worst in history. Irag, torture, ill-conceived tax cuts, unfunded Medicare benefits, saber-rattling, axis of evil, rendition,… ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/27 "2014-10-01T13:25:53Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/28 "2014-10-01T13:57:58Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > I’m no fan of Bush, but [the last stages of the repeal of Glass-Steagall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Legislation#Glass.E2.80.93Steagall_decline_.26_effective_repeal) occurred while Clinton was president. Whaddya know. You’re correct. I mistakenly thought that because the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act was sponsored by 3 Republicans that the repeal of Glass-Steagall was done under Bush. I retract my criticism in this regard. Bush, et al, has done enough damage to the US and other countries without attributing to him something he had nothing to do with. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/29 "2014-10-01T14:48:49Z")
Speaking from the Right… Obviously, Obama and I have very different rinciples and priorities. Even if he were a much better leader and a much more ffective Chief Executive, it stands to reason I’d be unhappy with his performance. As it is, I consider him a bad President but not a particularly disastrous one. Bush was a disaster in every way, and ESPECIALLY from a conservative standpoint. He started what we all know now was an unnecessary war, one that has killed numerous people, that has empowered Islamic militants, and that has made it difficult (if not impossible) for our allies to trust us again. Obama has not handled the Middle East well, but let’s face it: Bush left him an unbelievable mess. Beyond that, Bush was a profligate spender, he was an irresponsible administrator, and had no principles that resemble traditional conservatism (Harriet Miers proved that cronyism was his only guiding principle). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/30 "2014-10-01T14:56:35Z")
Also speaking from the right, I agree with astorian’s assessment completely. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/31 "2014-10-01T15:24:36Z")
Speaking from the north (so not particularly well informed), it’s obviously Bush. The Bush debacles have been mentioned above. I am impressed that Obama was able to get something going, finally, to remedy what from this foreigner’s perspective is the ‘American Shame’ - the absence of universal health care. And, he managed to do it despite the oppositional defiant antics of the Republicans (runners up for the ‘American Shame’ award). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/32 "2014-10-01T15:28:51Z")
We have universal health care now? I think you might get corrected on that one. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/33 "2014-10-01T15:31:46Z")
I was sloppy and should have said ‘began to address the absence of universal health care’. Actually, maybe I wasn’t. I said “Obama . . . began to get something going . . . to remedy . . . the absence of universal health care”. Don’t see why your snark. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/34 "2014-10-01T15:33:29Z")
Actually, that began with LBJ with Medicare and Medicaid, was continued by President Clinton with SCHIP, and continued by President Bush with Medicare Part D. ACA is just another step, and not a particularly notable one compared to the other steps. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/35 "2014-10-01T15:36:47Z")
Then why the rabid opposition to it if it was ‘not a particularly notable step.’? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/36 "2014-10-01T15:43:24Z")
Both are bad in different ways. Bush = war in Iraq Obama = trillions of extra $ national debt ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/37 "2014-10-01T15:44:03Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Then why the rabid opposition to it if it was ‘not a particularly notable step.’? Because Republicans are determined not to give Obama a win on any front, even though the ACA is nowhere near the disaster Republicans promised and hoped it would be. They have nothing left but to dismiss its significance. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/38 "2014-10-01T15:54:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > We have universal health care now? I think you might get corrected on that one. We could have had UHC, or at least have gotten much closer to it than we are, had it not been for the concerted efforts of your team and, admittedly, Obama’s caving. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/39 "2014-10-01T15:59:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > ACA is just another step, and not a particularly notable one compared to the other steps. I’ve enjoyed your “evolution” from decrying the ACA as disastrous, predicting it will destroy itself, complaining about the rollout, finally bitterly accepting that it probably won’t go away, to the understanding that it’s actually pretty successful. You still try and subtly criticize it as above, of course, but in another year or two you’ll come around to recognizing that it is, as Joe Biden said, a “big fucking deal”. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979/40 "2014-10-01T15:59:22Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Bush was the worst president of our lifetimes. You kids. Johnson and Nixon were both President in my lifetime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-been-worst-bush-or-obama/699979.md?page=3)