George W. Bush Legacy of Being Blamed

President George W. Bush will leave office in less than 24 hours handing it over to a popular new Democratic president, Barack Obama. George W. Bush leaves office with an approval rating of 22%, the lowest for any outgoing president. Some regard him as the worst president of all time, but was he really that bad or did he have a streak of bad luck?

Most unfavorable presidents usually leave office in 4 years usually because of a huge mistake or some tragedy or coincidence.

Herbert Hoover was falsely blamed for the Great Depression which Franklin D. Roosevelt used as the center of his campaign; thus he was regarded as one of the worst presidents. Jimmy Carter led us to double digit inflation, the Iran hostage crisis and it's subsequent mishandling, among numerous other mistakes but mostly economical mistakes. Lyndon B. Johnson had a fairly bad approval rating because of starting the Vietnam War and failed policies. Richard Nixon also regarded as one of the worst for his illegal activity and lies.

However, George W. Bush was a 2-term president and during his first time was fairly popular. He came out of the 9/11 tragedy as a hero. He led the battle against Al Qaeda, severely weakening it and kicking it out of Afghanistan with limited problems. He took down Saddam Hussein a terrible tyrant; but his eventual mishandling of the war in Iraq and failure to properly explain the reasons for going into Iraq cost him dearly.

The tides turned, and the pendulum shifted from the very right after 9/11 to the very left because people began to think his solutions weren't working.

Bush has had a legacy of being blamed, whether it was his fault or not:

• Iraq War - Somewhat his fault, but he did solve it in the end. Although his initial reasoning of WMDs didn't work to his advantage.
• Hurricane Katrina - Mostly local democratic governments fault but was still mostly blamed on Bush and federal government.
• Financial/Housing Crisis 2008 - Mostly Democrats fault for giving teeth to CRA in the 90s causing housing prices to rise artificially and destroying the balance of the economy. Democrats also blocked Bush who tried to regulate Fannie/Freddie who have contributed to the crisis. Bush was blamed anyway.
• Inherited Recession - He inherited a recession and an enormous terrorist attack all remnants of Clinton's administration. He was blamed anyway even though his tax cuts solved the problem.
• Diplomacy and Transparency - This was Bush's fault, he was blamed for not being too open and not being able to explain to the world America's interests.

I think most of these problems are rooted in the fact that his appearance on television, though usually normal, has involved a number of foul ups, gaffes, and funny quotes-- making the appearance that he is not smart at all.

Bush's southern accent is also something that Americans notice and attribute as an indication of him being "dumb."

These are the main factors in his unfavorable approval rating.

He may not have been the best president, not even close; but I am absolutely sure there have been worst presidents.

Like the television reinvented how we witness and see the Vietnam War and subsequent wars. The internet reinvented how we see our president, with the worst gaffes being captured on the internet and distributed widely throughout.

Thus, in a way, the internet has also helped contribute to Bush's legacy of being blamed. How many videos can you find of other presidents compared to Bush's videos on YouTube.

He did keep us safe since 9/11, which mostly is credit towards Homeland Security but Bush made this all possible. Make no mistake, terrorism did not disappear, but because of Bush's efforts they have been weakened.

Perhaps if he could have better articulated all his positions and his actions he would have been regarded as a better president. Perhaps he just should have been more patient and explained his reasoning for going into Iraq better.

I don't think we should decide on what kind of president he was; this is for historians and researchers to decide.