2/17/2009

An Academic Study of Bush Derangement Syndrome


C-Span has recently release a poll of 66 presidential historians ranking the first 42 men who have acted as our Commander-in-Chief. In that poll President George W. Bush ranked 36th and President Jimmy Carter ranked 25. This is solid evidence of the liberal bias on our college campuses today.

By any objective measure, the Bush Presidency was far more successful than the Carter Presidency. Let's start by reviewing some of the objective facts. The average inflation rate during the Carter years was 10.7%. The average inflation rate during the Bush years was 2.7%. Interest rates hit 22%. Interest rates during the Bush Administration were historically low. And, on the date that Ronald Reagan took office, one-third of our military aircraft could not fly due to disrepair.

Now let's get to the intangibles. 444 days of Americans being held hostage in Iran was quite a finish to a single four year term. In comparison, George W. Bush acted boldly and decisively in responding to the tragedy of 9/11.

Thanks to the inaction of President Carter in 1979, the Shah of Iran fell and the Iranian Islamic Revolution was born. This emboldened the Islamist world and allowed for 30 years of Islamist terror, including the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. By contrast, Mr. Bush vowed to protect the homeland and did everything in his power to prevent another attack. While Al-Qaeda remains a major threat to the security of the West, it is no longer as potent as it was on September 10, 2001.

As if President Carter did not do enough to try to ruin this country during his time in office, in retirement he has actively attempted to subvert the foreign policies of his successors. Prior to the first Gulf War, Mr. Carter attempted to dissuade Arab countries from joining the coalition that ejected Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. He injected himself into the talks with North Korea during the Clinton Administration against the express wishes of President Clinton and claimed that he had reached a "deal" with the North Koreans to halt their nuclear program. We saw how well that deal worked. And, most recently, he attempted to have our European allies withdraw their support for the War in Iraq. This doesn't even begin to get into his anti-Semitism and support of Palestinian terrorists. Upon reflection, as hard as it is to believe, Mr. Carter has had a worse post-presidency than he had as his presidency.

There is no measure by which President Carter can be viewed as a better President than President George W. Bush. The only explanation is Bush Derangement Syndrome among these academics. What a surprise!

1 comment:

Chris Janc said...

This is not a surprise and the most consequential presidencies have a tendency to rise in the rankings after being given time to ferment like a fine wine (see Truman and Reagan). No doubt, when all the facts are laid on the table years down the road, and historians and Americans see the evidence of what we might have been subject to if not for the actions of the Bush admin, he will no doubt take his proper place in the ranks of those who have led our nation.