Bush Ranked America's Sixth-Worst President

Published in Wen Wei Po
(Hong Kong) on 30 October 2008
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Peter Stevens. Edited by .
With America's next president soon to emerge, the Times of London ranked all previous presidents on their effectiveness, placing the outgoing George Bush in a tie with Richard Nixon for thirty-seventh place (sixth from the bottom) due to his launching of the long, drawn-out War on Terror.

Eight top international political science commentators from the Times ranked the 42 American presidents in terms of their greatness, with James Buchanan (1857-1861) selected as the worst president. His failure to stop the outbreak of the civil war is considered by historians to be the worst mistake ever committed by an occupant of the White House. The second-worst president is Buchanan's successor, Franklin Pierce, whose term in office saw the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, an act of appeasement toward slavery that generated fierce acrimony.

Bush, ranked sixth to last, is most criticized for leading the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of the War on Terror, which led to protracted warfare and declining popularity for the president. In addition, Bush was also severely criticized for his poor handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the global financial crisis.

Tied with Bush for thirty-seventh place is Republican Richard Nixon, who, charged with concealing his involvement in the Watergate scandal, resigned from Office with a heavy heart.


新一任美國總統快將誕生,英國《泰晤士報》為歷來42位美國總統的政績優劣排名,結果行將卸任的布什因發動的反恐戰曠日持久,以致民心盡失,在歷屆總統之中排第行尾六(第37位),與尼克松不相伯仲。

 《泰晤士報》8位頂尖的國際和政治評論員,按照42位美國總統的偉大程度作出排名,被選為最差總統的是1857至1861年任總統的布坎南,他任內未能阻止內戰爆發,被歷史學家視為歷來白宮主人中所犯的最大錯誤。排尾二的是布坎南上一任的皮爾斯,他任內簽署了《堪薩斯-內布拉斯加法案》,被視為向奴隸制度屈服,惹來激烈反對。

 排行尾六的布什,任內以反恐戰為名揮軍入侵阿富汗和伊拉克最為人詬病,隨著戰事越拖越久,布什的聲望亦如江河日下。此外,處理「卡特里娜」風災善後工作不力及美國金融次按問題引發全球金融海嘯,也令布什遭受嚴厲批評。

 與布什同排第37位的還有共和黨的尼克松,他因被指隱瞞民主黨總部被竊聽醜聞的水門事件而黯然下台。
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