What with Obama finally being sworn in, I thought it would be appropriate to look back upon our departing President, George W. Bush, and the legacy he will leave to history: how do you think future generations will judge his two terms?
This is not a troll, or a bashing thread - I've actually tried to some work into representing different opinions in the available options, and I sincerely hope to inspire debate. Please, I implore you; don't get this thread closed by starting a foolish political flame war...
As for the poll itself, please note that I fully realise that some of the above answers overlap: if I could allow you to vote for more than one option, I would. However, poll mechanics being what they are, I tried to cover a wide spectrum of opinions, rather than a single "Did he suck; yes/no?" Hopefully you can identify with one of the options above, elsewise I ask you to make use of the "Other" option, as I put it there for just that reason.
EDIT: Just one thing, if you voted "Other" and want to specificy what you ment, please write "Voted: Other" or somesuch in your post to distinguish it from the general discussion!
As for the options:
Quite good, actually
With the limited number of options available, there is unfortunately no "Best President" option; I hope no offense is taken. Never the less, if you think Bush is unfairly diminished, this is your option.
An average President, no more, no less
Not as bad as many make him out to be, but nothing special.
A President with good intentions, overtaken by events
A President with good intentions, misled by his advisors
These two are similar, but subtly different: both cases assume that Bush had the capacity to be a good President, but that he was undone either by events beyond his control (9/11, Katrina etc.); or by his political advisors, hawkish war-mongers or dishonest NeoCon ideologues.
He will go down in history, but for the wrong reasons
His Presidency will not be soon forgotten, and his name will become something of a byword. But not, alas, for success...
The President that single-handedly ended the "American Century"
Just what it says, flowery language and all: will George W. Bush be seen by history as the president who brought a century of indisputable American dominance to a close, more or less on his own - the president after whom American power and influence waned, as other powers grew to supplant it?
The worst President in US history
Simple enough, if you happen to hold that opinion...
This is not a troll, or a bashing thread - I've actually tried to some work into representing different opinions in the available options, and I sincerely hope to inspire debate. Please, I implore you; don't get this thread closed by starting a foolish political flame war...
As for the poll itself, please note that I fully realise that some of the above answers overlap: if I could allow you to vote for more than one option, I would. However, poll mechanics being what they are, I tried to cover a wide spectrum of opinions, rather than a single "Did he suck; yes/no?" Hopefully you can identify with one of the options above, elsewise I ask you to make use of the "Other" option, as I put it there for just that reason.
EDIT: Just one thing, if you voted "Other" and want to specificy what you ment, please write "Voted: Other" or somesuch in your post to distinguish it from the general discussion!
As for the options:
Quite good, actually
With the limited number of options available, there is unfortunately no "Best President" option; I hope no offense is taken. Never the less, if you think Bush is unfairly diminished, this is your option.
An average President, no more, no less
Not as bad as many make him out to be, but nothing special.
A President with good intentions, overtaken by events
A President with good intentions, misled by his advisors
These two are similar, but subtly different: both cases assume that Bush had the capacity to be a good President, but that he was undone either by events beyond his control (9/11, Katrina etc.); or by his political advisors, hawkish war-mongers or dishonest NeoCon ideologues.
He will go down in history, but for the wrong reasons
His Presidency will not be soon forgotten, and his name will become something of a byword. But not, alas, for success...
The President that single-handedly ended the "American Century"
Just what it says, flowery language and all: will George W. Bush be seen by history as the president who brought a century of indisputable American dominance to a close, more or less on his own - the president after whom American power and influence waned, as other powers grew to supplant it?
The worst President in US history
Simple enough, if you happen to hold that opinion...