tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post4045413015002565858..comments2024-03-08T13:21:43.158-05:00Comments on Saideman's Semi-Spew: Ranking Presidents or Rank PresidentsSteve Saidemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-17816711408167793752010-07-08T11:36:40.274-04:002010-07-08T11:36:40.274-04:00They have a law in Quebec (as they probably do in ...They have a law in Quebec (as they probably do in most jurisdictions) that you can't name a street, municipality, or public institution after a deceased person until a certain number of years have passed. I believe the reason for this law is that there is an overzealousness in the immediate aftermath of a death to honor the dead and that the time ban is to allow us to have a sober second thought on it.<br /><br />There should be a similar ban on popularity polls on presidents. One inevitably sees a just-retired president fare badly for several years after they leave office.Tony Kondakshttp://www.whycanadamustend.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-66005626543594655612010-07-08T09:04:09.994-04:002010-07-08T09:04:09.994-04:009/11 wasn't Bush's fault. But on the other...9/11 wasn't Bush's fault. But on the other hand, it's clear that when they took office, the Bushies immediately downgraded terrorism from the priority that Clinton had placed on it. Remember how they were trumpeting the great new threat was China during the campaign and in the first months? And how terrorism was virtually nowhere to be found? ANd how panicked they were at the time of the 9/11 commission to make sure these facts were kept out of the public eye?<br /><br />Who knows if anything would have been different had terrorism remained a priority. In this particular case of 9/11, part of it may have been bad luck, but part of it was ideological blinders that led them to what we could call incompetence - I guess that's in the category "mistake". And that incompetence, caused in part by ideological blinders, marked the Bush years the entire time. So his place in these rankings is well deserved.Chipnoreply@blogger.com