Historians rate Jefferson seventh-best president

Of course, there seem to be ample contemporary reasons why Dubya will likely go down in history as an inept, incompetent, bad president. First, there's the squandering of the budget surpluses to pay for tax breaks to benefit the wealthy (a resumption of Reagan's supply-side economic policies). Then, there are the big budget deficits that followed....in eight short years, Dubya more than doubled the national debt. The there is the failure to act on the PDB of August, 6, 2001 ("Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the US"), manufacured intelligence, and the contrived war in Iraq (no trace of WMD). Next, the convoluted Justice Department legal memos redefining torture (it's not torture unless it causes organ failure or death). And illegal spying on American citizens. And the firing of federal (and Republican!) prosecutors for not engaging in political persecution. And the rewriting or deletion of scientific data (especially in regard to endangered species and global warming). And botching the war in Afghanistan...and in Iraq. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there's the utter mismanagement of the economy; never submitting a balanced budget, deregulating big business, and acting too little and too late to confront the rising tide of recession. If there were a Comedy & Tragedy category for ranking presidents, perhaps Bush would be #1.