Was Bush 43 The Worst President Of The Last 50 Years?

Not everyone appreciates George W. Bush's sense of humor as seen in the following quotes.

"You know, I could run for governor and all this but I’m basically a media creation. I’ve never really done anything. I’ve worked for my dad. I worked in the oil industry. But that’s not the kind of profile you have to have to get elected to public office." ~ George W. Bush. In an interview with the Midland Reporter Telegram on July 4, 1989, quoted in Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential (John Wiley and Sons, 2003) by James Moore and Wayne Slater, p. 161.

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." ~ George W. Bush, speech in La Crosse, Wisconsin, (October 18, 2000)

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." ~ George W. Bush, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. (June 18, 2002).

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." ~ George W. Bush, signing ceremony for a $417bn defense spending bill, 5 August 2004

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. (Short pause) And having said that, all options are on the table. (Laughter)" ~ George W. Bush, meeting with E.U. leaders, February 22, 2005

For the motion: Simon Jenkins, journalist and author and Jacob Weisberg, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of The Slate Group "I had great respect for Bush when he came to power. I liked his courtesy, I liked his moderation, and I liked his concept of humility in America's power projection. I think, tragically, after 9/11, he allowed the politics of fear to get the better of him; he persuaded my prime minister, Tony Blair, to let the politics of fear aid his re-election campaign as well. The politics of fear is the most corrosive of all forms of politics in a democracy." ~ British journalist Simon Jenkins, a columnist for the Guardian and the Sunday Times

"Bush was never up to the job of being president, and it's not a matter of lacking in intelligence; it's a matter of lacking character. Bush wasn't interested enough in policy; he couldn't tolerate challenge or dissent or disagreement; he couldn't open his mind long enough to consider alternatives or admit the possibility that he might sometimes be wrong. He let his righteousness and his arrogance and his anger get the better of him. And in the end, I think what's so damning about Bush and what does make him the worst president of the last 50 years is that these were things within his control." ~ Jacob Weisberg, chairman and editor-in-chief of The Slate Group

Against the motion: William Kristol, Editor of the Weekly Standard and Karl Rove, Fox News Contributor "In the real world, the choices are not, you know, perfection, and ... in the real world, he's made a lot of tough decisions, most of them correct. ... There's no reason not to be critical of Bush, not to disagree with Bush, not to prefer Obama, not to have voted for Gore and Kerry — most people in New York, obviously, have all those views. But to think that he's the worst president in 50 years is just silly." ~ William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard and columnist for The New York Times

"I will defend the president, and I will defend the record of the last eight years. Not always successful, but enormously successful over the long term and the long sweep of history." ~ Karl Rove, chief architect of Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns, and Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff from 2001-07

Moderator: John Donvan, author and correspondent for ABC News. This debate was conducted on December 2, 2008.
Source: intelligence2: BUSH 43 IS THE WORST PRESIDENT OF THE LAST 50 YEARS

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