I believe a President should leave the country better than he found it. That’s not unreasonable. But in my lifetime, three Presidents have failed that test. Lyndon Johnson left us mired in Vietnam. Richard Nixon extracted us from Vietnam and did other good things, but those pluses were outweighed by the nation-shattering disillusionment of Watergate. And then George W. Bush.

Jimmy Carter was not a great president, but he did some good things and left us slightly better off than he found us, particularly in putting us some distance from the bummer days of Watergate. George H. W. Bush did no harm. Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton (I know, you object to me saying anything good about Clinton) left America in much better shape than they found it.

George W. is, in my book, the worst president of my lifetime (not the worst ever, just the worst since I’ve been around). I voted for him twice, thank you. He entered office in 2001 with enormous promise and almost unprecedented advantages–control of both the House and Senate, a sympathetic Supreme Court, a majority of governorships, a severely reduced national debt (thanks to Clinton and the dot-com boom), and a leaderless Democratic Party. But to me, he has squandered it all, accomplishing practically nothing. He’ll blame it on 9/11, which was a true-blue disruption in his Presidency. But I don’t think history will let him cop-out with that excuse. With many issues, Bush has been very intentional in producing lots of bad outcomes.

When George W. Bush leaves office, America will be in much, much worse shape than when he took office. Consider the following:

• The gap between the rich and poor has greatly widened, as the Administration has consistently acted in the interests of the wealthy. God hates, despises, detests such behavior. Can you spell S-I-N? The Bible is very clear on that. Blatant sin as a matter of national policy. God will not bless an America which neglects and makes life tougher for the poor (not only in the US, but around the world).
• Global warming is a huge, cataclysmic threat to the world, and its impact will be felt most deeply (and, in fact, is currently being felt) by the world’s poorest peoples. Bush will have squandered eight crucial years, making the likelihood of environmental catastrophe much greater as we speed toward a point of no return. He pulled us out of the Kyoto Accords, which other countries are following. At least they are doing something.
• There’s Iraq, with its many-splendored blunders.
• Bush’s arrogant, cowboy foreign policy has alienated the world. Our allies distrust us, and everyone else dislikes or hates us. Beyond Britain, we lack dependable friends. In that way–our absence of true friends–our national security is greatly compromised. Who will come to our defense, should we need it?
• Bush will have done nothing with Social Security or national health care (which I fully favor).
• Bush has flaunted the Constitution with his ever-ready “signing statements,” which seemingly permit him to disobey laws. Congress can pass a law saying two plus two equals four, and Bush can sign a statement saying, “I understand this to mean that two plus two equals four, unless circumstances arise in which I would prefer that two plus two equal a different amount.”
• Bush will leave his successor with a huge national debt, even as he continues cutting taxes for the rich.
• Bush may well leave the Administration and Congress in the hands of Democrats, as disenchanted Republicans (and severely, cynically manipulated evangelicals) can not in good conscience remain loyal.
• Because of Bush’s campaign tactics and his dismissing demeanor in office toward people who don’t agree with him, the nation is severely polarized. The Democrats contributed to this mess, but Karl Rove and Company delight in making it flourish, because it has suited their political ends.
• Bush’s endorsement of state-sponsored torture (as long as the US is doing it) and our snubbing of the Geneva Conventions has dismayed and disillusioned our allies, and shattered any claim by America to moral authority. Moral authority is a terrible thing to lose. Increasingly, we operate on the basis of pure self-interest, and the rest of the world knows it.

Of course, Bush can blame everything on 9/11. And it certainly was a big disruption. But trying times produce great presidents. Our trying times have shown this president to be enormously inept. That’s how I feel about it.

George Bush is still my President. Still worthy of my prayers. Still the leader of the greatest nation on earth. But he long ago shattered my trust and forfeited my respect. No President has entered office with a better hand. And perhaps no President has done less with it.