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How do you think Bush compares to other presidents?

SMS

00:48 / 28.06.02

I only started following the news well near the end of the Clinton administration. I'm interested how people here think Bush's performance compares to the following:

*Recent U.S. Presidents
*Earlier U.S. Presidents
*Other heads of state (if relevant)

Thjatsi

07:08 / 28.06.02

As far as the issues that I care about go, I have trouble telling the difference between Clinton and Bush. On legalization of drugs, both have used them in the past, and both refuse to do anything other than maintain the status quo on the drug war. Clinton and Bush also share a general policy against cloning and stem cell research, though Bush is more vocal about it. And, neither one seems to have an opinion regarding funding for aging research.

It seems like the big confrontation between the two parties in my country is usually over economics and money alocation. And, since I haven't read enough about economics to make an informed decision on the subject, I end up having a lot of trouble telling the difference between the democrats and republicans in general.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

12:47 / 01.07.02

I would agree that Clinton and Bush are only different in the degree of which they push their agendas. Everyone is slagging Bush for the excesses of Corporations, but Clinton loosed them as well, and just wasn't around when they started getting caught.

It APPEARS that Bush is more pandering because he doesn't seem to care if we know that he's in office to help big business, which Clinton tried to put it in terms that made it SEEM like he cared about people. For me, the only issue that matters is how the government protects us from the excesses of capitalism, and for the past 20 years or so, it's been "hands off" in every way.

Kit-Cat Club

13:17 / 01.07.02

Perhaps we're being a little unfair on Clinton here; I understood that he would have been able to push through a few more policy reforms if he hadn't had to cope with a republican and rabidly anti-Clinton Congress (under Newt Gingrich IIRC, though that may have been the Senate, am horribly shaky) during his second term.

It's pretty obvious that he was almost as much in thrall to big business as Bush is (but not quite perhaps - certainly the personal links aren't quite as blatant) - but then show me a successful major-league politician who isn't connected to big business in some manner...

SMS

22:51 / 01.07.02

Oh, come on. Are these really the only issues we care about? Off the top of my head, I can think of health care, public education, the environment, racial equality, and the economy. There's the issue of how big the government is.

Our foreign policy now extends all over the world. Russia and the former Soviet States, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Latin America, China.

How about foreign aid?

And rhettoric? I know that Clinton sounded better than Bush, but I'm looking for comparison with any of the presidents, not just Clinton. And rhettoric is important. What you say and how you say it can have a great impact on your effectiveness as a leader.

One correction: In my first post, I asked about other heads of state. I really meant other heads of government. If anybody wants to take a stab at Queen Elizabeth vs. Bush, that's fine, but I'm going to guess Tony Blair/Maggie Thatcher vs. Bush would be more enlightening.

Thjatsi

23:33 / 01.07.02

Are these really the only issues we care about? Off the top of my head, I can think of health care, public education, the environment, racial equality, and the economy.

The issues I mentioned are mine because I've managed to read enough on those subjects to develop a semi-educated opinion. The next issue on my list is economics, but that's so complex that it's going to take me a few years to figure out. I'm sort of curious as to when you had the time to sit down and do the massive reading required to make an informed decision on all the issues you've listed.

SMS

00:38 / 02.07.02

I never said I had made a decision on any of these subjects. If I had I wouldn't have started this topic. I know Barbelith is full of people who have lives outside of the study of political science, but these are the kinds of folks that vote, so it seems like we ought to have some ideas about them.

Thiazi, I really do appreciate your more cautious response. The big list was more to jog some memories or give some topics that most recent presidents have had to deal with.

Thjatsi

03:30 / 02.07.02

I apologize for my the way I phrased my previous response to you.

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