With the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist yet another struggle for power will begin in Washington, DC. Has any president ever had as much on his plate as George W. Bush? The collapse of the Internet boom and attendant loss of national wealth and jobs, 9/11, foreign enemies, fractious allies, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the rising price of oil, dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, appointing two new justices to the Supreme Court, and, now, appointing a new Chief Justice. Bush is a slender twig for such incredible challenges.
” Has any president ever had as much on his plate as George W. Bush? ”
There’s a lot of things I like about the guy and there’s a huge number of balls in the air right now but I think Bush II will have to yield pride of place here to Lincoln and FDR
Lincoln? Hated by half the country, subject to withering and unrelenting criticism.
FDR? Generally more popular, but presided over three straight terms of economic downturn that never really got better until after he died, and the biggest and bloodiest war of the century.
Bush a slender twig? Seems to be bearing up fairly well. History will judge him kindly in retrospect methinks.
Hi Dean,
Yes, but the magnitude of problems faced by FDR and Lincoln were immeasurably greater.
Overall, I too think history will be kind to Bush but whether he is thought of in the the great – near great class of presidents will depend on whether he can successfully use the war as the basis to transform the international security structure the way Truman did during the early Cold War.
If that is accomplished, then Bush’s position in history is assured. If not, then his significance will be much less.