The Legacies of Presidents

Respected presidents served during turbulent times in history. The men we tend to place on the top of the president's list, like FDR, Lincoln, and Washington, all served during a time when the future of the country itself was really uncertain, and no one would have been nutty to predict a bleak future. The Great Depression, the Civil War, the founding of the freaking country itself. Yet, they, their aides, congress, and the citizens all teamed up and reasserted the strength of the nation, and they are considered great, even though few people would love to visit 1931, 1862, or 1790. The great presidents served at times when life in the nation was rough.

Yes, Bill Clinton seems to have been a pretty good president. Sure, he left office with a surplus in the budget. But he didn't save the country from dissolution. All the military actions committed during his presidency had to due with locations and interests with no direct effect on most citizens. Yeah, he helped improve the economy, but he didn't have to deal with a complete, utter and unprecidented failure in the system, where even the federal government doesn't seem to have the money to fund it's own programs, the credit markets seem to be drying up, and the ultimate damage on most people has yet to occur. That's why Bill only gets a gold star and a handshake, even if he had the ability to confront a calamity.

Dow dropping below 8,500. Nobody can buy their own home. Gas sucks. Debt sucks. A 10 trillion dollar national debt. Hell, I am more worried about the health of the national government than I am about what's happening on 'Main Street.' People are robust, and can watch their own backs; governments are transitory entities held together by enough consent from the governed, and enough power from the governors. And the governors are running out of cash. Ron Paul would probably pop a vein to see my analysis of this, but a successful president would get a lot of credit should he implent and support a variety of policies that turn around this financial failure.

Whoever wins the presidency will go down in history as one of the greats (FDR, Lincoln, Washington) or as one of the greatest asshats (Buchanan, Hoover, George Walker Bush). It doesn't matter how hard he tries, how many hours he puts into the job, how hard he sweats; the results are what matters. If he is unable to have a prominent hand in turning things around, historians will be likely to plant a big 'dunce' cap on him.