The New Hoover?

When historians are polled on the best and worst Presidents in U.S. history, one name that seemingly always appears at (or near) the cellar of the list is Herbert Hoover.

That's probably because Hoover is remembered as the President who presided over the country as it fell into the worst economic collapse in its history.

But many historians will tell you that Hoover often gets a bad rap - that it wasn't so much his mistakes that caused the country's problems, but rather the country's problems that caused (or led to) his mistakes.

In many ways, I see a lot of similarities in President George W. Bush to Hoover.

Today, Bush has become a laughing stock around the world - the butt of political jokes, the dart-board for angry liberals, the easy target for op-ed columnists.

It seems more common to see him referred to as "the worst President in American history" than as simply "the President."

Now, I will agree that Bush's eight years in office have been far from perfect. There have been many mistakes (see: the handling of Katrina, the unchecked influence of Vice President Cheney, the WMD disaster in Iraq, the economic debacle).

But is he really the worst President in history?

Try this: next time you are hearing someone bash Bush, ask them to name a few good things President Bush did. Chances are, they won't know any. That's a shame, because they'd be missing:

- the dismantling of the suppressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan

- the turnaround of a recession early in office

- the disarming of Libya without military force

- the most diverse Cabinet in Presidential history

- the banning of partial birth abortion

- the formation of the USA Freedom Corps - the largest volunteer organization ever created

- the tripling of aid to Africa

Do these accomplishments outweigh the mistakes? History will decide that.

But for a man who inherited a recession, had to react to the worst attack on American soil in history, and served during perhaps the most heated political climate this country has seen its inception, I would say that he deserves better than a knee-jerk, emotional verdict.

Two interesting (and polar opposite) articles on Pres. Bush's place in history, each written by foreign columnists:

The Star: Goodbye to worst President ever

Telegraph: History will show Bush was right

Whatever the final judgment on the Bush administration is, it appears clear that - for now, anyway - the cloud of our current circumstances and political atmosphere won't allow much praise for number 43.

At least Herbert Hoover will have some company.