Thursday, April 12, 2007
The.Worst.Ever.
Reading this post at Tapped brought to my mind an interesting proposition which I will detail shortly. Mark Schmitt posts about speculation that Bush is the worst President ever, and Schmitt's determination that Cheney and Gonzales are the worst Vice President, and Attorney General ever.
The people a President surrounds himself with are instrumental in the success, or lack there of, of the Presidents tenure. Scmitt is convinced that not only is Bush the worst ever, but he has determined to pad his "lead" in the category before he leaves office. It seems to me that one of the biggest reasons Bush is such a failure is because of his choice of people like Cheney and Gonzales. It may be possible for a self centered, whiny, intransigent little bully to not be considered so horrible if he were to let competent people run his administration. When you have all the character flaws evident in President Bush magnified by incompetent yes people, it's not hard to see why this administration is setting such a high standard of awfulness.
So here is the proposition set up by Scmitt's post. What other "worst evers" have populated the administration?
Here are a couple more for consideration. Worst ever Secretary of Defense: Donald Rumsfeld. It is Rumsfeld's misbegotten experiment in post modern warfare, known as the Rumsfeld doctrine, that led to inadequate force levels in Iraq. The fact that the deadliest military force in world history has been fought to a standstill by 20,000 insurgents with home made bombs is all that needs to be considered in regards to Rumsfeld's effectiveness at leadership in time of war. His insistence on experimenting with the tried and true methods of warfare were coupled with a prickly personality which alienated Rumsfeld from his subordinates, fellow administration members, and Congress. The disastrous nature of Rumsfeld's reign of error is acknowledged by people with widely divergent outlooks ranging from John McCain on the right to Al Franken on the left.
Worst ever U.N. Ambassador: John Bolton. The President nominated Bolton but could not move that nomination through the Republican controlled Senate. Foiled by his own party, Bush used a recess appointment to give Bolton a chance to be the worst ever. In fact it seems that Bolton was positively determined to be the worst, and would have considered himself a failure had he been perceived in any other way. One remarkable note from Bolton's tenure was his ability to unite Republicans and Democrats... in opposition to his leadership. This was best illustrated by a letter signed by 59 ambassadors who served 5 administrations all objecting to Bolton's continued abuse of his office. In what can only be considered a fitting end for a disastrous tenure, the administrations attempt to have Bolton confirmed failed a 2nd time, again with Republicans in power, as reiteration of the bipartisanship Bolton brought to affairs in Washington, against him. The last time I saw him, Bolton was on the Daily Show insisting that President Lincoln only hired yes men. Doris Kerns Goodwin set the record straight on the next show.
I think having 3 top cabinet positions, and the top American ambassador led by strong candidates for worst ever must spell doom for success of any President. And there are many other sub cabinet level positions that qualify for worst ever as well. Worst ever FEMA director: Michael Brown. Worst ever Supreme Court nominee: Harriet Miers (you have to be pretty bad when it is the Presidents own base who robble robble against you). Worst ever Presidential council: Alberto in a worst ever two-fer... he is the guy who signed off on the torture memo and he found some legalism which he thinks justifies illegal wire tapping by this administration... you actually have the Presidential council giving opinions which would lead to the Presidents impeachment in nearly any other time in our history.
You get the point I'm sure... No wonder Bush is The. Worst. President. Ever. He's surrounded himself with many of the worst evers in their own right.
The people a President surrounds himself with are instrumental in the success, or lack there of, of the Presidents tenure. Scmitt is convinced that not only is Bush the worst ever, but he has determined to pad his "lead" in the category before he leaves office. It seems to me that one of the biggest reasons Bush is such a failure is because of his choice of people like Cheney and Gonzales. It may be possible for a self centered, whiny, intransigent little bully to not be considered so horrible if he were to let competent people run his administration. When you have all the character flaws evident in President Bush magnified by incompetent yes people, it's not hard to see why this administration is setting such a high standard of awfulness.
So here is the proposition set up by Scmitt's post. What other "worst evers" have populated the administration?
Here are a couple more for consideration. Worst ever Secretary of Defense: Donald Rumsfeld. It is Rumsfeld's misbegotten experiment in post modern warfare, known as the Rumsfeld doctrine, that led to inadequate force levels in Iraq. The fact that the deadliest military force in world history has been fought to a standstill by 20,000 insurgents with home made bombs is all that needs to be considered in regards to Rumsfeld's effectiveness at leadership in time of war. His insistence on experimenting with the tried and true methods of warfare were coupled with a prickly personality which alienated Rumsfeld from his subordinates, fellow administration members, and Congress. The disastrous nature of Rumsfeld's reign of error is acknowledged by people with widely divergent outlooks ranging from John McCain on the right to Al Franken on the left.
Worst ever U.N. Ambassador: John Bolton. The President nominated Bolton but could not move that nomination through the Republican controlled Senate. Foiled by his own party, Bush used a recess appointment to give Bolton a chance to be the worst ever. In fact it seems that Bolton was positively determined to be the worst, and would have considered himself a failure had he been perceived in any other way. One remarkable note from Bolton's tenure was his ability to unite Republicans and Democrats... in opposition to his leadership. This was best illustrated by a letter signed by 59 ambassadors who served 5 administrations all objecting to Bolton's continued abuse of his office. In what can only be considered a fitting end for a disastrous tenure, the administrations attempt to have Bolton confirmed failed a 2nd time, again with Republicans in power, as reiteration of the bipartisanship Bolton brought to affairs in Washington, against him. The last time I saw him, Bolton was on the Daily Show insisting that President Lincoln only hired yes men. Doris Kerns Goodwin set the record straight on the next show.
I think having 3 top cabinet positions, and the top American ambassador led by strong candidates for worst ever must spell doom for success of any President. And there are many other sub cabinet level positions that qualify for worst ever as well. Worst ever FEMA director: Michael Brown. Worst ever Supreme Court nominee: Harriet Miers (you have to be pretty bad when it is the Presidents own base who robble robble against you). Worst ever Presidential council: Alberto in a worst ever two-fer... he is the guy who signed off on the torture memo and he found some legalism which he thinks justifies illegal wire tapping by this administration... you actually have the Presidential council giving opinions which would lead to the Presidents impeachment in nearly any other time in our history.
You get the point I'm sure... No wonder Bush is The. Worst. President. Ever. He's surrounded himself with many of the worst evers in their own right.
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