USA Today founder Al Neuarth: BUSH IS WORST PRESIDENT EVER!

[kpete]

Mea culpa to Bush on Presidents Day
Plain Talk by Al Neuharth, USA TODAY founder

Our great country has had 43 presidents. Many very good. A few pretty bad. On Presidents Day next Monday, it's appropriate to commemorate them all.

I remember every president since Herbert Hoover, when I was a grade school kid. He was one of the worst. I've personally met every president since Dwight Eisenhower. He was one of the best.

A year ago I criticized Hillary Clinton for saying "this (Bush) administration will go down in history as one of the worst."

"She's wrong," I wrote. Then I rated these five presidents, in this order, as the worst: Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, Hoover and Richard Nixon. "It's very unlikely Bush can crack that list," I added.

I was wrong. This is my mea culpa. Not only has Bush cracked that list, but he is planted firmly at the top.

more at:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/plain_talk_by_a_1.html#more

[yurbud]

1. the more powerful and mainstream you are, the later you'll admit the obvious

[Kolesar]

2. He wants republicans, but not the type who embarasses the party...

...by letting out just how f-ed in the head they are.

[WinkyDink]

3. No, on Presidents' Day, it is "appropriate" to honor Washington and Lincoln. Period.

It's bad enough they were demoted to one no-school, all-shopping day.

[niyad]

4. took you long enough, al, didn't it? the rest of us have known this for years!

[faithnotgreed]

5. i will kick to that and appreciate ANY sanity that gets through

the corporate media

[Double T]

6. FINALLY!!! It is sinking in............

better LATE than NEVER!!

[Nite Owl]

7. So now what is he going to

do for not listening, for his blind partisanship? Nice to admit the mistake but the evidence was there and he refused to consider it. He owes amends.

[Sydnie]

8. Damn! Glad to hear it

Now, if someone NOT staying in a hotel room would read it ...

[indepat]

9. Planted firmly at the top and likely will always be at the top for we will not see the likes of him

again because this nation can not again survive the magnitude of disasters he's wrought, if it does indeed survive his fiscal, environmental, constitutional, and pre-emptive war disasters.

[roamer65]

10. I know if there is a * dollar coin, I absolutely will not...

put it in my dollar coin collector book. I also plan to take a hammer to everyone one of them that I may get in pocket change.

[Toots]

15. As the law currently stands no living President can ve on our money...

I am fairly certain I will never have to witness such a disgrace pictured upon our currency.

[Usrename]

11. Bush is a despot and he will be compared against other tyrants.

History will most likely find him worse than Saddam in the rankings.

He will not be compared with other Presidents.

[opihimoimoi]

13. He is THE WORST.....of the worst....over our entire USA History...

[KharmaTrain]

12. Is This Even A No-Brainer?

It's good to see the corporate media get their heads out of their asses and finally realize what their enabling is doing. Not that they'll help us in cleaning this mess up.

I always love to ask a Repugnican and/or booooshlicker to name me an accomplishment their numbnutz will be remembered for. Nixon, despite being a crook, still opened the door to China and saw the establishment of the EPA. It's interesting that Newarth puts Andrew Jackson, considered to be the father of the modern Democratic Party, on the list but doesn't throw Warren Harding on there. But back to the narrative...

Now I can give a laundry list of things this regime will be noted for in history and none are pretty. From wiretapping private individuals, condoning torture, devising a war and invasion for profit, screwing up royally that war, 3,000 dead in New York City on 9/11, another 3,000 plus dead in his on-going wars for profit, the destruction of the middle class, the greatest increase in our debt and cutting benefits and assistance to the neediest of Americans while catering to the richest. And that's just the headlines.

This regime will become the "gold standard" as "the worst" in virtually every social, economic, diplomatic and even military catagory. Fortunately a majority of Americans woke up last year to remove boooshie's rubber stamp, but 6 years of media enabling by Newirth and his minions made this very possible.

He doesn't owe Hillary Clinton an appology...he owes it to all of us.

[Danascot]

14. No accomplishments???

Reduced taxes for the wealthy
Stock Market at an all time high
Corporate profits at an all time high
Freed corporations from paying for health care, pensions and other worker benefits
Corporations unfettered from laws and regulations
Influence of Christian right has never been greater
Access to abortion has been greatly diminished
Appointments of Roberts and Alito to SCOTUS
Environmental agenda virtually dead since Bush took office
Liberal media elite has been neutered

... you're just looking at it from the wrong perspective.

[Poiuyt]

16. I'm amazed that he didn't think Bush could break into the bottom 5 a year ago

From the article Historians vs George W. Bush:

EVER: The second most common response from historians, trailing only Nixon, was that the current presidency is the worst in American history. A few examples will serve to provide the flavor of such condemnations. “Although previous presidents have led the nation into ill-advised wars, no predecessor managed to turn America into an unprovoked aggressor. No predecessor so thoroughly managed to confirm the impressions of those who already hated America. No predecessor so effectively convinced such a wide range of world opinion that America is an imperialist threat to world peace. I don 't think that you can do much worse than that.”

“Bush is horrendous; there is no comparison with previous presidents, most of whom have been bad.”

“He is blatantly a puppet for corporate interests, who care only about their own greed and have no sense of civic responsibility or community service. He lies, constantly and often, seemingly without control, and he lied about his invasion into a sovereign country, again for corporate interests; many people have died and been maimed, and that has been lied about too. He grandstands and mugs in a shameful manner, befitting a snake oil salesman, not a statesman. He does not think, process, or speak well, and is emotionally immature due to, among other things, his lack of recovery from substance abuse. The term is "dry drunk". He is an abject embarrassment/pariah overseas; the rest of the world hates him . . . . . He is, by far, the most irresponsible, unethical, inexcusable occupant of our formerly highest office in the land that there has ever been.”

“George W. Bush's presidency is the pernicious enemy of American freedom, compassion, and community; of world peace; and of life itself as it has evolved for millennia on large sections of the planet. The worst president ever? Let history judge him.”

“This president is unique in his failures.”

more-

http://hnn.us/articles/5019.html

[progressoid]

17. Bwaaahahahaha! Al is a big hero in South Dakota

Big, new media center named after him at the University of South Dakota.

Of course it took him long enough to see the light. Al's done his part as an apologist for these criminals.

[bobbie]

18. Wow. I'm stunned that a major media outlet bigwig would be so truthful

I thought it was all propaganda all the time.

Good going founder guy. And good find kpete.

[sakabatou]

19. Yeah, history will remmeber Bush

As being the worst yet.

[Cleita]

20. Neuarth as far as neo-con media types isn't that bad.

He actually does publish opposing views. He seems to remember what journalism should be. I even got a couple of LTTEs of mine published in USA Today and I wasn't agreeing with the editorial opinions I was opposing. When DH and I were traveling on the road, we always picked up USA Today because it was the only newspaper available in many states besides the local fishwrappers and we didn't have internet access back then. Even though his editorials were way right wing, there were opinions published from lefties as well in the editorial section.