Bush = (Wilson + Hoover) * Buchanan
Mathematically inclined historians may calculate for decades before finding the right equation to fully assess the Bush presidency. While measuring the gap between the federal budget surplus Bush inherited and the massive deficit he will leave behind is a start, those numbers merely hint at the burdens that this president will pass along to future generations. Here is an initial attempt to quantify the damage.
Woodrow Wilson – Empire dreams
Like Bush, Wilson never accepted responsibility for the failings of his administration, but instead blamed his political opponents in Congress for hurting the country by blocking his initiatives. Woodrow Wilson had an expansive view of US influence in the world and would have understood the sentiment behind Bush’s plan to create a “beacon of hope” through democracy in Iraq. Wilson’s grandiose plans were never realized. The beacon in Iraq is still a little dim.
Herbert Hoover – Poor get poorer
Bush’s philosophy on government closely resembles President Hoover’s hands off approach to regulating industry. The disparity between rich and poor is greater now than at any time since the Hoover years. Isn’t that what got Louis XVI into trouble?
James Buchanan – Fiddling while Rome burns
The original bubble boy, President Buchanan managed to anger both northern and southern politicians prior to the countries descent into civil war. Rather than aggressively respond to South Carolina’s secession from the United States, Buchanan argued that the Constitution did not allow the federal government to coerce a state into submission.
In the last months of his presidency, Buchanan retreated to his country home and left a broken nation behind for his successor to deal with. Buchanan was followed in office by a lanky lawyer from Illinois.
George W. Bush, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, James Buchanan
July 8th, 2008 at 10:57 am
[...] Radical Avenue Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Encouraging Health. It’s Free! « Back Home Posted in [...]