Matt Yglesias

22 Responses to “The Final Days”

1. Why oh why Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

   Bush’s inaction on climate

   Probably just another typo!

2. fumphis Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

   Actually, no, Why oh why. He’s being straight-up proactive now, just in the wrong direction.

3. cmholm Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 7:02 pm

   The more I think about it, the more I think that from the vantage point of 2108, Bush’s actions on climate may well rank right up their with the Buchanan administration in the annals of bad presidenting.

   I’ll just have to work that much harder to make it to 148, so that I can around to say: we always knew he was a shitty President, even before we really knew how much he fucked things up.

4. Richard Steven Hack Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pm

   By 2108 – and maybe 2058 – you chimpanzees will no longer be involved with the climate – or anything else.

   You’ll be (forgotten – or at least ignored) history.

   Have a nice day.

5. Grumpy Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

   What is the carbon footprint of midnight oil, anyway?

6. joejoejoe Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 8:07 pm

   The US wasn’t the preeminent global power when Buchanan sucked and so George W. Bush is far, far worse President because the global consequences are more severe. The global consequences of the US Civil War were actually positive even as they were horrific domestically. It’s lose/lose for the Bush presidency.

7. JohnH Says:
   November 26th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

   I always thought that Buchanan’s top rating was bit too much, given that no one knew how to stop secession, and it became a war despite Lincoln’s best intentions, although Lincoln’s response was so magisterial. So I could definitely see top billing to Hoover, and Bush is challenging that rank every day. He even created a foreign policy disaster, unlike Hoover, and one at that that strongly feeds the domestic and financial one. A look in Wiki at Mellon’s policies as secretary of the treasury sure sound like Reagan’s, but it takes real guts to push the inanity to Bush’s conditions.

8. PaulB Says:
   November 27th, 2008 at 1:57 am

   In general I think our system of government is superior to the European parliamentary systems (too many factions, weak coalitions, etc) but one feature I’m jealous of is the vote of no confidence. Bush has had the look of someone ready to hand over the keys and walk out the door for the last 6 months or more. I actually think he would welcome a chance to get out of the job early. It’s just too bad we have no way to help accelerate his retirement. This is going to be an agonizingly long 2 months.

9. jimBOB Says:
   November 27th, 2008 at 2:30 am

   I actually think he would welcome a chance to get out of the job early.

   So what’s stopping him? Just have his secretary pull up an old copy of Nixon’s resignation, switch the names, sign it, and then take a nice relaxing ride on Air Force One to Crawford. He could have the whole thing done by tomorrow afternoon.

10. SLC Says:
    November 27th, 2008 at 7:56 am

    It’s amazing how the commentors on this blog keep avoiding the fact that the piece of filth, James Earl Carter was certainly one of the worst presidents in this nations’ history. However, I would agree that the current incumbent, the coke snorting, pot smoking, draft dodging, lying drunk in the White House has probably surpassed slimeball Carter in incompetency.

11. JonF Says:
    November 27th, 2008 at 10:27 am

    Re: then of course Buchanan sat idle as it occurred
    And dat idle while his Secretary of war (who would next show up in Jeff Davis’ cabinet) shipped all the munitions he could get hold of to arsenals in the South.

12. Brock Says:
    November 27th, 2008 at 11:06 am

    Bush’s actions on climate may well rank right up their with the Buchanan administration in the annals of bad presidenting.

    Matt’s junior-high grammar teacher weeps.

13. Adam Villani Says:
    November 27th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    It’s amazing how the commentors on this blog keep avoiding the fact that the piece of filth, James Earl Carter was certainly one of the worst presidents in this nations’ history.

    Would you care to support your assertion with evidence, or are you just going to throw it out there without so much as a “he looked upon women with lust!”

14. roac Says:
    November 27th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

    SLC’s beef with Carter is presumably that he failed to do whatever it took to keep the Shah in power. Thus making it necessary for us now (in SLC’s view) to exterminate the Iranian people.

15. Brock Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 8:11 am

    “Jimmy Carter!? He’s history’s greatest monster!”