Is George W. Bush the worst American who ever lived?
OK, that’s the question I meant to raise. It is, of course, a question that needs qualification. Is George W. Bush worse than, say, Jeffrey Dahmer? Or Richard Speck? Obviously, he isn’t beyond the pale of good and evil that these men were. But neither Dahmer nor Speck were bad qua Americans. I’m not saying that mass murdering makes you a good American, but if mass murdering does anything, it makes you less of a human being. Citizenship doesn’t really enter into it. I’m a fair student of American history. I know at least something about all the American presidents (except Franklin Pierce, who I believe is a myth anyway), and most of the major figures of American history. In looking over that history, I have a great deal of trouble locating anyone who I believe has done more harm to the nation than George W. Bush. The potential harm that he can do to this country is simply terrifying. Many on the Right, of course, believe that those of us on the Left hate Bush with no especially good rea
