Bush's legacy...Great President? or THE GREATEST President?

[Tru2Blu]

Originally Posted by den9

i hope obama is worse than bush, teach the dumbasses who voted for a him a lesson.

Damn its like that for real?

This is why this country will always have problems. They have two main parties, and the supporters of each are die hard for one side. Obama one so STFU about it and support your fuccn country. Help the guy fix things rather than ****ting on him.

[97TurboDSM]

Originally Posted by ndubz

Okay guys. I took the question from Stephen Colbert. Sarcasm: YES. LOL. He is probly the worst and most corrupt pres we have EVER had in our country's history. And as far as him "ending" terrorism. HA. It IS impossible to end. and that is a hypocritical statement coming from the govt of a country that gained its own sovereignty through the use of terrorist tactics. (at the time anything but putting on uniforms and marching in big lines while shooting at eachother would have been considered terrorism) And the whole 6 degrees of separation thing comes into effect here. Because every person we kill over there has family and friends who will become terrorist upon the person's death. so if we want to end terrorism, We just need to kill everyone on the planet. (And dont forget those f*cking scientists down in antarctica the need to go too or terrorism will survive LOL) Also, our govt is just as guilty of terrorism as Al Queda or the IRA or any of them, we are just the ones in power right now, so the "terrorists" are the one who oppose us. We have all the scariest sh*it. F*ck car bombs, we have stealth aircraft that can deliver nuclear weapons anywhere in the world without any warning, not to mention all our precision cruise missles, and predator UMAV's. Examples of this? i remember a few years ago in Iraq we "accidentally" hit a hospital with a cruise missile. the targeting systems on those missiles are among the most advanced systems we have, so a miss is HIGHLY unlikely. In basically every war ever fought both sides have engaged in guerrilla warfare or "terrorism" against eachother and eachothers people. It is a fact of war and will never be ended. So all of u who talk about "the terrorists" and how bad and scary they are...just know that if u have payed one dollar of ur taxes, YOU ARE ONE TOO. Welcome to reality people...

Ok lets hear the sh*t storm of heated negative comments u have to say to this. LOL

worst and most corrupt is far from the truth. im not a proponent of Bush at all, but he's nowhere near the worst. excuse me for jumping in late, but i was on leave.

[Twinz]

Originally Posted by Eclipse GSX 61

The biggest **** up this country has ever seen.

wrong are you are uninformed or do you just ignore things that happened in the past...yes he was bad and not a great president..but he is no where near the worst president we have ever had

10. Calvin Coolidge 1923 - 1929

In 1919, three quarters of the Boston Police Force went on strike. Coolidge (then Governor of Massachusetts) had observed the situation throughout the conflict, but had not yet intervened. Furious that the mayor had called out state guard units, he finally acted. He called up more units of the National Guard, restored Police Commissioner Curtis to office, and took personal control of the police force. Curtis proclaimed that none of the strikers would be allowed back to their former jobs, and Coolidge issued calls for a new police force to be recruited. Many people criticized Coolidge as part of a general criticism of laissez-faire government. His reputation underwent a renaissance during the Reagan administration, but the ultimate assessment of his presidency is still divided between those who approve of his reduction of the size of government and those who believe the federal government should be more involved in regulating the economy.

9. Richard Nixon 1969 - 1974

In June, 1972, several of Nixon’s men were caught breaking into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC - bringing to light the infamous Watergate Scandal. Nixon himself downplayed the scandal as mere politics, but when his aides resigned in disgrace, Nixon’s role in ordering an illegal cover-up came to light in the press, courts, and congressional investigations. Nixon owed back taxes, had accepted illicit campaign contributions, and had harassed opponents with executive agencies, wiretaps, and break-ins. In addition, he had ordered the secret bombing of Cambodia. Unlike the tape recordings by earlier Presidents, his secret recordings of White House conversations were revealed and subpoenaed and showed details of his complicity in the cover-up. Nixon was named by the grand jury investigating Watergate as “an unindicted co-conspirator” in the Watergate scandal. In light of his loss of political support and the near certainty of both his impeachment by the House of Representatives and his probable conviction by the Senate, he resigned on August 9, 1974, after addressing the nation on television the previous evening. He never admitted to criminal wrongdoing, although he later conceded errors of judgment.

8. Zachary Taylor 1849 - 1850

The slavery issue dominated Taylor’s short term. Although he owned slaves, he took a moderate stance on the territorial expansion of slavery, angering fellow Southerners. Taylor urged settlers in New Mexico and California to draft constitutions and apply for statehood, bypassing the territorial stage. New Mexico was too small to act but California — which had high population growth from the gold rush — wrote a constitution that did not allow slavery; the voters approved it and a new state government took over in December 1849 without Congressional approval. Southerners were furious with Taylor and with California. Taylor held a stormy conference with Southern leaders who threatened secession. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army. Persons “taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang … with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico.”

7. John Tyler 1841 - 1845

Tyler’s Presidency was rarely taken seriously in his time. Opponents usually referred him to as the “Acting President” or “His Accidency”. Tyler shocked Congressional Whigs by vetoing virtually the entire Whig agenda, twice vetoing Clay’s legislation for a national banking act following the Panic of 1837 and leaving the government deadlocked. Tyler was officially expelled from the Whig Party in 1841, a few months after taking office, and became known as “the man without a party.” In 1843, after he vetoed a tariff bill, the House of Representatives considered the first impeachment resolution against a president in American history. A committee headed by former president John Quincy Adams concluded that Tyler had misused the veto, but the impeachment resolution did not pass.

6. Millard Fillmore 1850 - 1853

Fillmore ascended to the presidency upon the sudden and unexpected death of President Taylor in July 1850. The change in leadership also signaled an abrupt political shift in the administration, as Fillmore removed Taylor’s entire cabinet, replacing them with individuals known to be favorable to the Compromise efforts. Fillmore signed into law the Fugitive Slave Act as a compromise between Southern slaveholding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. The act sought to force the authorities in free states to return fugitive slaves to their masters.

5. Ulysses S Grant 1869 - 1877

Grant achieved international fame as the leading Union general in the American Civil War. The first scandal to taint the Grant administration was Black Friday, a gold-speculation financial crisis in September 1869, set up by Wall Street manipulators Jay Gould and James Fisk. They tried to corner the gold market and tricked Grant into preventing his treasury secretary from stopping the fraud. The most famous scandal was the Whiskey Ring of 1875, exposed by Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow, in which over 3 million dollars in taxes were stolen from the federal government with the aid of high government officials. Although Grant himself did not profit from corruption among his subordinates, he did not take a firm stance against malefactors and failed to react strongly even after their guilt was established. Grant’s career is also marred by rumors of anti-Semitism due to his involvement with the infamous General Order Number 11.

4. Andrew Johnson 1865 - 1869

Johnson succeeding to the presidency upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson vetoed the first civil rights bill, stating that it gave “a perfect equality of the white and black races in every State of the Union.” In a letter to the governor of Missouri he wrote: “this is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men.” The Republicans in congress overrode his veto (the Senate by the vote of 33:15, the House by 182:41) and the Civil Rights bill became law. Johnson tried to remove Edward Stanton as Secretary of War directly violating the Tenure of Office Act which Johnson had vetoed. He was impeached (and is the first president to be so) but found innocent by only one vote.

3. Franklin Pierce 1853 - 1857

Two months before assuming his place as President, Pierce watched his son die in a train accident. He took office nervously exhausted. The most controversial event of Pierce’s presidency was the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and reopened the question of slavery in the West. The Act also caused widespread outrage in the North and spurred the creation of the Republican Party, a sectional Northern party that was organized as a direct response to the bill. Pierce is ranked among the least effective Presidents as well as an indecisive politician who was easily influenced. He was unable to command as President or to provide the required national leadership. Pierce is the only elected president (as of 2007) not to be renominated by his party for a second term.

2. James Buchanan 1857 - 1861

In his inaugural speech, Buchanan stated that the slavery issue was of “little practical importance” because the Supreme Court was about to settle it. Two days later they announced the Dred Scott decision in which it ruled that people of African descent, whether or not they were slaves, could never be citizens of the United States, and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. Buchanan was widely believed to have been personally involved in the outcome of the case. Additionally, Buchanan’s administration was troubled by the Panic of 1857 - a sudden downturn in the US economy. Before Buchanan left office, seven slave states seceded, the Confederacy was formed, all arsenals and forts in the seceded states were lost (except Fort Sumter and two remote ones), and a fourth of all federal soldiers surrendered to Texas troops. Historians in 2006 voted his failure to deal with secession the worst presidential mistake ever made.

1. Warren G Harding 1921 - 1923

Harding’s term as president was beset with scandal - both personal and political. Albert B Fall, Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, became the first member of a presidential cabinet to go to jail for his role in the Teapot Dome affair. When Harding was elected, he raised many of his friends (known as the Ohio Gang) to prominent political positions. Some of these appointees used their power to rob the government. Harding is reputed to have said: “I have no trouble with my enemies, but my damn friends, my God-damned friends… they’re the ones that keep me walking the floor nights!”

Afterword

In the original list, William Harrison ranked 5th worst, but as his term was so short I do not think he can be fairly included. Additionally, James A Garfield ranked at number 9, but with the second shortest presidential term (6 months) I have also excluded him. As a result, Nixon, at number 11, moved in to 10th place, and Coolidge, at number 12, moves in at position 10.

As he is not on the list, I am sure you are all eager to know how the current President, George W Bush, fared. He ranked at number 21 worst, followed closely at 22nd worst by Bill Clinton. Jimmy Carter ranked at 14th worst.

http://listverse.com/politics/top-10...us-presidents/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...al-goofs_x.htm

again im not saying he was a good president but he is by far not the worse...america has been left in far worse situations with other presidents

this is just the first 2 sites i looked at search for worst presidents of all time there is a very large list and any writen by reputable sources dont list bush even on the top 10...and there weren't any at all that said he was the all time worse

[JET02WRX]

Originally Posted by Twinz

22nd worst by Bill Clinton.

That doesn't even make sense. I would think he'd be much better ranked. Bill Clinton left office with an approval rating of over 60% the HIGHEST of any exiting president since WWII. By contrast... Bush is currently at 20% today. THE LOWEST for any president. EVER. I'd say that poll is a little outdated and/or biased.

[97TurboDSM]

he had a high approval rating because of what he walked into and people dont realize that the things that happened during his terms were not solely because of him.

[DropTopChevy]

Originally Posted by lownslow95

Ok, to every one who commented on me, why don't you all get your head's out of your asses. I just said one comment about Obama. Am I not allowed to have my ****ing oppinion? I just said one thing about him, and I don't think he is going to be the best president. You all think that he is a god, and that he is going to do the best he can for the country. So next time, don't ****ing argue with me. I'm done with this thread. If any one has a problem with it, i'm not going to argue in here, so pm me.

/rant.

Eric I just got done talking with you via AIM. I proved:
1. You know nothing about Obama's plan
2. You know nothing about McCain's plan
3. You know nothing about Georgia (the country) and Russia
4. You didn't even vote so stop bitching

You claim to know that Obama is going to be worse than Bush. How so? Logic? Crystal ball/ time machine? help me out here buddy.

Please stop posting unless you are going to admit you were wrong for saying Obama is going to be horrible if you have nothing to back it up.

<3 Miller

[DropTopChevy]

Originally Posted by DropTopChevy

Eric I just got done talking with you via AIM. I proved:
1. You know nothing about Obama's plan
2. You know nothing about McCain's plan
3. You know nothing about Georgia (the country) and Russia
4. You didn't even vote so stop bitching

You claim to know that Obama is going to be worse than Bush. How so? Logic? Crystal ball/ time machine? help me out here buddy.

Please stop posting unless you are going to admit you were wrong for saying Obama is going to be horrible if you have nothing to back it up.

<3 Miller

Originally Posted by lownslow95

Why must you bring this in here to make me feel like more of an ass. ****in' drop it already.

And you still won't give up. I love a man that won't admit when he's wrong. I can post the convo It was hilarious when we got to talking about Russia and Georgia.

[JET02WRX]

Originally Posted by 97TurboDSM

he had a high approval rating because of what he walked into and people dont realize that the things that happened during his terms were not solely because of him.

Reread my post chief... that approval rating was on his EXIT from the presidency... after 2 terms..... His approval rating was only 49% when he took office. Get your facts straight.

His good approval rating may not have been solely him, but his administration....who where appointed by him....

[97TurboDSM]

listen here chiefton. i know his approval rating was that high when he left. the economy was booming, unemployment was low, people were happy go lucky. what i said was, the reasons for the booming economy, low unemployment, etc. were not all his doing. meaning he benefited from previous administrations. im not saying that he wasn't a good president and obviously he had to maintain what was given to him, BUT his approval rating was not ALL because of him.

[ITSTOCK]

Originally Posted by JET02WRX

Reread my post chief... that approval rating was on his EXIT from the presidency... after 2 terms..... His approval rating was only 49% when he took office. Get your facts straight.

His good approval rating may not have been solely him, but his administration....who where appointed by him....

Now before I start, the President's approval ratings can be in large thanks, or disdain, in relevance to the Congress and the entire administration that serves under him.

President Clinton served an excellent two terms regarding the economy mainly because of timing. He was POTUS during the tech boom.

Anyway, looking back now, even with the excellent economy and low unemployment rates, he had his faults as President. From handling foreign problems, to looking out for the long term wealth, he screwed the pooch. Even after promising tax breaks for the middle class during the Presidential race, one of his first statements after winning the election was that he would not be able to fulfill that promise and middle class income taxes would rise. That ended up becoming a moot point thanks to finally lowering taxes during his second term, and more importantly the booming economy and the onslaught of the internet and other technological advancements which created ridiculous amounts of wealth and employment.

What the approval ratings didn't show is one of the largest problems with the economy. Everyone was living it up, and everyone was spending money. EVERYONE. President Clinton STRONGLY supported the Community Reinvestment Act (passed during the Carter Administration), and just as or more important, the Fair Housing Act (there is a longer name to this, I just don't remember). Even after being warned that the only people that should be able to acquire loans should be those that can afford them, the legislation was pushed through. Of course everyone was happy with the economy, and money is the most important factor, in one form or another, whether people admit it or not. That left us, ultimately, with the epic failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack, over a decade after the Fair Housing Act was passed. That's a huge negative for President Clinton, and a decade later, we are feeling the pain.

The largest foreign "problem" that he messed up on was probably in association with Iraq and their failure to oblige to UN resolutions. Towards the beginning of Bush's term, that was probably his greatest crowning moment, now, not so much according to WE the people (I tend to disagree though). As you see, Clinton left this problem unattended, making others clean up the mess.


Some other notable achievements that I can recall of President Clinton were the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and the Brady Act which were supposed to have some magical solution to crime. They never did end up working. He also wanted to push Universal Health Care (thank the congress that didn't happen), and overall through two terms, he didn't do much. We won't even get involved with the moral dilemmas that President Clinton divulged in, both personally, and politcally. He certainly was not a great President and left plenty of damage in his wake.


To get back on topic, President Bush took action at a time when the United Stated, WE the people, ALL (the overwhelming majority) wanted SOMETHING to be done. He listened, he responded, and overall, in the LONG term, his actions involving Iraq and terrorism will show that at a challenging time in history, he did what needed to be done. President Bush had some of the highest approval ratings in history, even if they were for only a short time, and now we are stuck with a huge mess in the economy as well as hatred for an occupation in which we once embraced.

Will the trillion dollar bailout work in the end? Will the occupation of Iraq be perceived as successful (even though it already has been)? We might not find out for another decade.

I don't think that he is a GREAT President, but I certainly think that he is a man of his convictions and dealt with what was given to him in the best ways possible the vast majority of the time.

[ITSTOCK]

Ahh, corruption, you mean like Haliburton and how Bush has mysteriously pocketed millions, or billions, maybe even trillions of dollars? How Bush stole the Florida election? Or how Bush created and directed Katrina to New Orleans? How he was the mastermind behind 9/11? Can any of this be directly attributed to Bush? Do you have any facts to base that on? I'm just curious. Most of them are called CONSPIRACY THEORIES, not corruption. Perhaps in a couple years you can compare them to Clintons long list of corruption, PROVEN corruption (proven to be the most corrupt based on multiple categories). Only time will tell.

The problem is that you get your education and influence from a sometimes funny COMEDIAN. Take it for what it is worth.

Originally Posted by ndubz

Okay guys. I took the question from Stephen Colbert. Sarcasm: YES. LOL. He is probly the worst and most corrupt pres we have EVER had in our country's history. And as far as him "ending" terrorism. HA. It IS impossible to end. and that is a hypocritical statement coming from the govt of a country that gained its own sovereignty through the use of terrorist tactics. (at the time anything but putting on uniforms and marching in big lines while shooting at eachother would have been considered terrorism) And the whole 6 degrees of separation thing comes into effect here. Because every person we kill over there has family and friends who will become terrorist upon the person's death. so if we want to end terrorism, We just need to kill everyone on the planet. (And dont forget those f*cking scientists down in antarctica the need to go too or terrorism will survive LOL) Also, our govt is just as guilty of terrorism as Al Queda or the IRA or any of them, we are just the ones in power right now, so the "terrorists" are the one who oppose us. We have all the scariest sh*it. F*ck car bombs, we have stealth aircraft that can deliver nuclear weapons anywhere in the world without any warning, not to mention all our precision cruise missles, and predator UMAV's. Examples of this? i remember a few years ago in Iraq we "accidentally" hit a hospital with a cruise missile. the targeting systems on those missiles are among the most advanced systems we have, so a miss is HIGHLY unlikely. In basically every war ever fought both sides have engaged in guerrilla warfare or "terrorism" against eachother and eachothers people. It is a fact of war and will never be ended. So all of u who talk about "the terrorists" and how bad and scary they are...just know that if u have payed one dollar of ur taxes, YOU ARE ONE TOO. Welcome to reality people...

Ok lets hear the sh*t storm of heated negative comments u have to say to this. LOL

[97TurboDSM]

thank you for typing all that out so i didnt have to waste my time doing so.

[gpzjack]

Bush was popular with Religous people and Gun people. Thats about it. He's an idiot. Failed at everything he did in his life. Read his "Clean Air Act" its funny reading. The man wiped his ass with the constitution while everyone cheered. I love the idiots that think america is "Safer" because of him...... Silly Americans.

[james_ls]

Already ready to rock...

[den9]

Originally Posted by Tru2Blu

Damn its like that for real?

This is why this country will always have problems. They have two main parties, and the supporters of each are die hard for one side. Obama one so STFU about it and support your fuccn country. Help the guy fix things rather than ****ting on him.

im not 100 percent serious, and i dont consider myself republican or democrat, i just hate obamas views and policies and i hate the fact that it was the cool thing to vote for him this year. and of course ill support him if he does the right thing. taxing hard working people and giving free loaders hand outs isnt one of them.

just remember

America is a melting pot: all the people at the bottom get burned while all the scum floats to the top

[den9]

Originally Posted by gpzjack

Bush was popular with Religous people and Gun people. Thats about it. He's an idiot. Failed at everything he did in his life. Read his "Clean Air Act" its funny reading. The man wiped his ass with the constitution while everyone cheered. I love the idiots that think america is "Safer" because of him...... Silly Americans.

i dont like bush one bit, but atleast he had balls, im gonna make a prediction that obama is gonna be hesitant about invading any country if needed.

[ASIAN JUL]

I think by now everyone realizes that neither side will change their mind about how they feel about this election.
Oh and bitching endlessly until 2012 is also not going to change the fact that he won the election.
So, in conclusion, get the **** over it.
OR join a ****ing forum about politics and talk about this there.

[SovXietday]

Originally Posted by den9

i dont like bush one bit, but atleast he had balls, im gonna make a prediction that obama is gonna be hesitant about invading any country if needed.

I'm gonna uses ItStocks own words here, sadly.

Obama wants to pull out of Iraq, and go to Afghanistan. So much for your prediction, lol.

[den9]

Originally Posted by SovXietday

I'm gonna uses ItStocks own words here, sadly.

Obama wants to pull out of Iraq, and go to Afghanistan. So much for your prediction, lol.

were already in afghanistan though so its not like hes making the choice to invade them, hes just adding more troops, which is good, but i think if it comes down to confronted countries who are doing nuclear testing he wont do much about it. i also think its dumb if he pulls everyone out of iraq

hopefully im wrong about this guy

[Twinz]

Originally Posted by JET02WRX

That doesn't even make sense. I would think he'd be much better ranked. Bill Clinton left office with an approval rating of over 60% the HIGHEST of any exiting president since WWII. By contrast... Bush is currently at 20% today. THE LOWEST for any president. EVER. I'd say that poll is a little outdated and/or biased.

i think it was from 2007 so yea slightly outdated, i wasn't posting it for his exact number, simply to show that he wasn't even near top 10 worst..there were a bunch of sites all varying slightly..just used that one because it gave reasoning for why they were bad...not even mentioning the 70's when our economy was 100x ****tier but like i said, bush was not the worst or even close to the worst..maybe the least liked ha....but also certainly not anywhere near the best...he was a medioker president dropped into office in a bad time, if he were pressident 10 years ago he would have been viewed much better because the economy wasn't on a downward spiral along with all the other BS that happened to this country during his presidency