Opinion: Poll: Fair to speculate on Bush’s legacy?
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Probably not, but it sure doesn’t help that everyone’s asking the question before the next guy takes over. The observation below by University of Texas political scientist Sean Theriault puts the talk of letting the historical perspective on the Bush presidency work itself out over time into, well, historical perspective. From the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jan. 4 front-page feature on the Bush legacy:
Conditions are worse now than when Truman left office, said Sean Theriault, a political scientist at the University of Texas. ‘The objective standards by which we can evaluate the presidency are just so bad. The economy is truly in tatters, and I don’t think any Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, can dispute that. When Bill Clinton left office you could argue that Americans were generally pleased, but people thought he wasn’t a beacon of integrity. But we can’t have an argument about the success of Bush’s economic policies.’
Theriault touches on a good point: When the emotions surrounding Bush have faded and it comes time to evaluate him purely on his merits and historical context, it will still be hard to think of any mitigating factors that could whitewash his well-known failures (and I’m sure you thought of more than a few without my having to provide examples). Indeed, it may be indicative of Bush’s eventual legacy that much of the current speculation over it has just as much to do with whether it’s fair to place him among the pantheon of failed chief executives as it does with his actual policies. Ouch.
As for Bush’s competition, he’ll have to compete with current bottom dwellers James Buchanan, Warren Harding and Franklin Pierce (whom the Chronicle notes is a distant relative). If it comes down to a Pierce-Bush horse race in need of a tie-breaker, the 43rd president can at least take comfort in his staying on the wagon.
So I’ll ask you, dear Opinion L.A. readers, in a completely unscientific poll:
Hat tip to Nick Gillespie at Reason’s Hit & Run blog.