Historians Still Despise George W. Bush [View all]

[BainsBane]

By David Austin Walsh
4-26-13

"Former president George W. Bush has had his best week in years. His public approval ratings have hit a seven-year high, publications around the country have published articles reassessing his legacy, and he was warmly joined by all of the living former presidents at the dedication of his new presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. . . .

The past week, however, saw Julian Zelizer pen an article for CNN entitled "History's still out on George W. Bush," while Stephen Knott, writing for the Washington Post, claimed that the former president has been the victim of a "rush to judgment" by historians.

So will historians revise their collective opinion of George W. Bush?
It doesn't appear likely.

The History News Network conducted an informal poll on Thursday asking American historians from the nation’s top research universities and liberal arts colleges to grade the presidency of George W. Bush on an A-F scale, based on fourteen different metrics, ranging from foreign policy to the economy to transparency and accountability.

Sixty-four historians responded. Thirty-five -- over half -- rated his presidency an outright failure.


Overall (not a composite): F
Communication ability D-
Relationship with Congress C
Supreme Court appointments D
Handling of the economy F
Executive appointments D
Diplomacy & foreign policy F
National security D-
Civil rights & civil liberties D-
Innovation and initiative D
General leadership D
Vision D
Transparency & accountability F
Integrity D+ 1.45
Crisis management D
Ability to learn from mistakes D- "

http://hnn.us/articles/historians-still-despise-george-w-bush