# Will Bush go down as one of the top five Presidents of the last 100 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 3, 2005, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143 "2005-02-03T07:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/101 "2005-02-06T08:41:23Z")
> [@The\_Raven](#): > > Howyadoin, > > Just goes to show ya… You can post the most inane shit on the SDMB, but if you have the temerity to praise Bush, out comes the ban-stick! > > 😉😉😉😉😉😉😉😉😉 > > -Rav I don’t know if I’m being whooshed by the above, but to my eye, you probably believe you’ve just posted something at least mildly amusing. Just in case you’re harboring the notion that there is a grain of “it’s-funny-because-it’s-true” validity in your witticism, I am posting, free of charge a link to the actual [enumeration of offenses.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=300796) The sharp-eyed observer will note that this thread did not make the cut. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/102 "2005-02-06T08:42:50Z")
That maniacal laughter was with reference to the “vomit on the keyboard” remark almost 100 posts ago. That’s the first time I ever used “quick reply”. . . and the last time I will do so. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/103 "2005-02-07T15:23:17Z")
> [@RTA](#): > > Yes - but only in the same schoolbooks that talk about “intelligent design”. Indeed! History’s not going to be kind to this turkey. I’m betting that by 2050, historians will point to GWB as the main reason this century isn’t a second American century. Can we have Nixon back?? I’d take him over Bush in a heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/104 "2005-02-07T20:13:05Z")
And now I’m wondering if Bush will go down as one of the _bottom_ five Presidents of the last 100 years. Hell, I’m wondering if it’s even possible to find four other candidates who’d outrank him for suckitude. (Insert predictable “Hillary Clinton” reply from one of the Usual Idiots™.) ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/105 "2005-02-07T22:20:21Z")
I always cringe when I hear someone tout Regan as a truly awesome president while failing to note, to at least note, that while his insane military spend-a-thon (which, I give him credit, actually worked, whether he meant it to in that way or not) he was silent on the problem of AIDS. We could be in a far different situation as both a country and the world had his policy been different. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/106 "2005-02-08T00:49:26Z")
As I’ve said in many Dubya-bashing posts, it goes _way beyond_ any political ideologies. Sure, I’m a liberal and personally I did not like Reagan but at least he acted presidential, he spoke well and he didn’t make you embarassed that he was president of your country. To use rjung’s vernacular, “Dubya” Bush does rank extremely high in his degree of “suckitude”. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/107 "2005-02-08T01:13:30Z")
That’s true; Reagan didn’t get embarassing until near the end of his second term. Bush has been embarassing since Day 1 (“nooclear”). ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/108 "2005-02-08T15:17:31Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Bush will be in the top 100 presidents until the 101st is inaugurated. In the past 100 years, my list would be: > 1- F D Roosevelt > 2- Johnson > 3- Clinton > 4- Carter > 5- Wilson > 6- Kennedy > 7- Truman > 8- T Roosevelt FDR got us in the hole on Social Security to start out with. Johnson got us toasted in Vietnam. Clinton dishonored the office of the Presidency more than any 5 others I can think of. Carter was an incompetent dweeb from day one. Etc., etc. And you call them the top 100? No wonder people who have the ability to reason know that liberals are clueless. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/109 "2005-02-08T15:26:36Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Clinton dishonored the office of the Presidency more than any 5 others I can think of. You honestly believe that Clinton dishonored the office of the Presidency more than Nixon all by himself? What a strange opinion you have. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/110 "2005-02-08T20:54:23Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > FDR got us in the hole on Social Security to start out with. Social Security has kept tens (hundreds, possibly) of millions of old people out of poverty. Before Social Security, for most people, being old meant being poor. You worked until you dropped, and because you were old, you didn’t even make very much while you did that. Now most old people live decent lives. I consider that a tradeoff well worth my payroll taxes. Sorry you don’t. > [@](#): > > Johnson got us toasted in Vietnam. I don’t know if you support the Iraq war, but if so, it’s a funny thing for you to be criticizing. Suffice it to say that the Republicans of the time were at least as eager as the Democrats to fight that particular war, and the one that got the honor of taking it over in midstream found it just as unwinnable as Johnson did. And as unwinnable as Bush would find the Iraq war, if his aides weren’t afraid to give him bad news. > [@](#): > > Clinton dishonored the office of the Presidency more than any 5 others I can think of. Yeah, he lied about a blowjob. Too bad he didn’t lie about something _honorable_, like whether Saddam was about to get nukes. > [@](#): > > Carter was an incompetent dweeb from day one. I’m not a fan of the Carter presidency, but I fail to see how anything Carter did remotely compares with the damage Bush is doing to this country. > [@](#): > > Etc., etc. Do go on. > [@](#): > > And you call them the top 100? No wonder people who have the ability to reason know that liberals are clueless. The funny thing is, you’re the one who’s calling them the top 100, not **BobLibDem**. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/111 "2005-02-08T21:28:50Z")
**RT Firefly** _Social Security has kept tens (hundreds, possibly) of millions of old people out of poverty._ I certainly agree with you on that one. Democracy is _not_ based on the “what about me” principle. Yes, we have to pay taxes for _everybody’s_ needs and not just your own. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated “taxes are the price we pay for civilization”. Sorry **clothahump**. Civilized society comes with a price tag. It seems to me that **clothahump** is the ‘clueless’ one (to use his vernacular). He also stated:\* No wonder people who have the ability to reason know that liberals are clueless.\* Yes, that is a good one !!! 😃 Our current President is one of those conservatible types and his ‘eloquence’ speaks volumes about his abilitude to thinkify and analyticize complex world issues and arrive at well-thought and clearly defined solutionables. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/112 "2005-02-08T22:09:18Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > FDR got us in the hole on Social Security to start out with. FDR got us in the hole on SS? I didn’t think that SS got close to being “in the hole” tell the early 80’s, some 35 years after FDR went to meet his commander and chief. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/113 "2005-02-08T23:52:49Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Johnson got us toasted in Vietnam. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Those of you who think Johnson was a bad president purely because of Vietnam need to take a trip to the LBJ Library in Austin and see the long wall of social and civil rights policies he introduced. There are hundreds of them, without which life would be a lot tougher for a lot of Americans. It’s a real eye-opener. We are, after all, in the profession of fighting ignorance. That fight should always start at home. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/114 "2005-02-09T01:04:12Z")
The current President will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the worst five Presidents ever… Well, out of all the ones we’ve had so far. It’s entirely possible we’ll just keep getting worse and worse ones. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/115 "2005-02-09T01:52:22Z")
> [@Dan Norder](#): > > Well, out of all the ones we’ve had so far. It’s entirely possible we’ll just keep getting worse and worse ones. If that’s the case, Bush will likely go down in history as one of the _last_ five Presidents ever… ---
**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:** [February 9, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/116 "2005-02-09T02:38:54Z")
> [@Legolamb](#): > > We are, after all, in the profession of fighting ignorance. That fight should always start at home. I’m stealing this for a sig. That’s wisdom for the ages. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/117 "2005-02-09T12:34:47Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > I’m stealing this for a sig. That’s wisdom for the ages. No probs. Any chance I can have credit for it in the sig though please? I think that may be my first decent contribution in 330 posts - it could be quite a while before the next one… 😉 ---
**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:** [February 9, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/118 "2005-02-09T13:26:49Z")
Your wish is my command. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/119 "2005-02-09T15:54:46Z")
A soldier’s Mom gets it in one. Unfortunately, her son’s no longer with us: [**Not Worth My Son’s Sacrifice**](http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/sheehan1.html) > [@](#): > > My son, Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan (KIA, Sadr City, 04/04/04) enlisted in the Army to protect America and give something back to our country. He didn’t enlist to be used and misused by a reckless Commander-in-Chief who sent his troops to preemptively attack and occupy a country that was no imminent threat (or any threat) to our country. Casey was sent to die in a war that was based on the imagination of some Neo-Cons who love to fill our lives with fear. > > Casey didn’t agree with the “Mission” but being the courageous and honorable man that he was he knew he had to go to this mistake of a war to support his buddies. Casey also wondered aloud many times why precious troops and resources were being diverted from the real war on terror. > > Casey was told that he would be welcomed to Iraq as a liberator with chocolates and rose petals strewn in front of his unarmored Humvee. He was in Iraq for two short weeks when the Shi’ite rebel “welcome wagon” welcomed him to Baghdad with bullets and RPG’s, which took his young and beautiful life. I think my son’s helmet and Viet Nam era flak jacket would have protected him better from the chocolates and flower petals. > > Casey was killed after George Bush proclaimed “Mission Accomplished” on May 1, 2003 – he was also killed after Saddam was captured in December of that same year. Casey was killed before the transfer of power in June of 2004 and before these elections. Four marines were tragically killed after the election. By my count, about five-dozen Iraqis and coalition troops were killed on Election Day – is that the definition of “Catastrophic Success?” But is that a good day in Iraq? Hundreds of our young people and thousands of Iraqis have been needlessly and senselessly murdered since George Bush triumphantly announced an end to “major combat” almost 2 years ago now. All of the above events have been heralded by this administration as “turning points” in the “war on terror” – or as wonderful events in the “march of democracy.” Really? I don’t think, judging by very recent history, that the elections will stop the bloodshed and destruction. > > I would have asked Mr. King if he would want to sacrifice one of his children for sham elections in Iraq. Would he or George Bush send their children to be killed, or maimed for life, for a series of lies, mistakes and miscalculations? Now that every lie has been exposed to the light for the invasion and occupation of Iraq – why are our sons and daughters still there? NOT ONE MORE DROP OF BLOOD SHOULD BE SPILLED FOR THIS PACK OF LIES. > > This war was sold to the American people by a slimy leadership with a maniacal zeal and phony sincerity that would have impressed snake oil salesmen a century ago. The average American needs to hear from people who have been devastated by the arrogance and ignorance of an administration that doesn’t even have the decency or compassion to sign our “death” letters. Chickenhawk response? What else? Rah rah! USA #1! ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143/120 "2005-02-22T02:04:43Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > Casey was told that he would be welcomed to Iraq as a liberator with chocolates and rose petals strewn in front of his unarmored Humvee. He was in Iraq for two short weeks when the Shi’ite rebel “welcome wagon” welcomed him to Baghdad with bullets and RPG’s, which took his young and beautiful life. I think my son’s helmet and Viet Nam era flak jacket would have protected him better from the chocolates and flower petals. Wait a minute … he was in an **unarmored** Hummer, he was apparently **not** wearing a helmet or body armor, and yet it took **multiple bullets and rocket-propelled grenades** to kill him?!? Man, that kid had more hit points than half the monsters in **DOOM**! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bush-go-down-as-one-of-the-top-five-presidents-of-the-last-100-years/288143.md?page=7)