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Between the economic crisis, the war in Iraq, a misguided foreign policy and divisive domestic policy that squandered international goodwill and Americans’ desire to unite in the aftermath of September 11th, warrantless wiretaps, torture, policies that inhibit scientific progress, and unprecedented undue corporate influence in regulatory agencies, there are many reasons that the Bush administration is one of the worst ever. However, future historians will probably judge Bush by the aftereffects of his policies that endure long after the incoming Obama administration begins to change the nation’s course. It is therefore worth asking the question, “what will be the enduring legacy of this administration?”

Running enormous government budget deficits and pushing through an ultra-expensive bailout package has dramatically increased the national debt and will likely take decades to pay-off. In the process, the nation’s debt may be downgraded and the cost of government borrowing may go up. In any event, it will likely cause future taxes to be higher and will make it difficult to implement expensive new programs like universal health care and may jeopardize existing entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. It is possible that my generation will lose the ability to retire at a reasonable age because of Bush’s overspending.

The Iraq war destabilized the Middle East and has emboldened Shiite Iran by eliminating the Sunni-led government in Iraq that had previously provided a counter-balance. Iran has already assumed a more aggressive posture by pursuing its nuclear ambitions and adopting a more aggressive posture toward Israel. A nuclear Iran would pose a far greater threat to the US and its interests than Iraq ever could and would have been enabled by the Bush administration’s policies.

Scientific progress occurs at a rapid pace. As a consequence of Bush’s ban on federal funding for stem-cell research, the US has fallen behind in embryonic stem-cell research. In addition, not addressing the rapidly increasing cost of higher education or, specifically, the shortage of workers in certain professions has our nation dealing with a shortage of skilled workers even as developing nations such as India and China are becoming increasingly competitive.

At least in the short term, Bush’s assault on citizens’ civil liberties and detainees’ human rights has caused the US to lose the moral high ground when confronting other nations about their human rights abuses. Even an immediate and dramatic repudiation of these policies by the Obama administration will not immediately change the way that the world views the US with respect to these issues.

In addition to having the lowest approval rating since it have been measured, Bush has been called the worst president in American history by many prominent people for many different reasons:

• Helen Thomas, who has covered every president since John F. Kennedy, was famously quoted back in 2003.
• Nobel laureate for Economics George A. Akerlof was quoted in 2003 as saying “I think this is the worst government the US has ever had in its more than 200 years of history. It has engaged in extradordinarily irresponsible policies not only in foreign policy and economics but also in social and environmental policy.”
• Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote in 2005 that “the resources he will have squandered and the size of the problems he will have ignored will put him in the running for one of our worst presidents ever.”
• A recent unscientific poll of over 100 historians had 61% of them ranking Bush as the worst president ever and 96% ranking him in the lowest tier of presidents. A full 98% label his administration a failure.

History will likely prove them all correct.

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