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History has a way of being overly kind to the legacy of some Presidents, and overly cruel to others. For example, Woodrow Wilson's legacy, in my humble opinion, is lofted too highly. History regards the Treaty of Versailles as a positive accomplishment. I tend to agree with Keynes that it was fuse for World War II. History, in my humble opinion, has been overly cruel to Andrew Johnson. Upon Lincoln's assassination, Johnson was the first to oversee Reconstruction. He also was the only southern legislator who remained loyal to the union. He was ineffective, not so much because he lacked talent, but because those in the north regarded him as a spy, while those in the south regarded him as a turncoat.

Timing seems to be everything.

As such, I believe the current President Bush's legacy will unfairly include the crash in the stock market during the 'cooked books' scandal, which had been going on for years. If one were to critically examine just that, he or she might logically conclude that the stock market was 'artificially inflated' under Clinton, who benefits with the 'good economy,' and did not crash so much as 'correct itself' under Bush.

The events of September 11, 2001 will be attributed to Bush's legacy, but most likely would have occurred had Al Gore become President. I believe it was not 'incidental' to Bush's Presidency, but merely 'coincidental.' Nonetheless, history will likely record it as 'what they did to us when George W. Bush was President.' That, to me, is an unfair attribute.

However, the resultant legalization of violating civil rights called the Patriot Act is his cross to bear. I do not believe history will regard him as heroic as he regards himself. His resolution of the failure of domestic and foreign intelligence agencies to coordinate information, was to add a third, more powerful element with a louder voice than the others. I suspect that will haunt his legacy, but only time will tell.

Also, if public opinion is any indication of what his legacy will be, these unfair attributes will only add slight gravity to the gravity he has placed on his own legacy. His critics largely contend he is ill advised and shows favoritism; his supporters, at least many of them, contend he was the lesser of two evils. It seems his critics' contentions have more gravity. I suspect his long term legacy will be closer to that of his legitimate critics (which discounts those who hate him because they hate him).

President Bush has presence and charm, but not an abundance

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