Tha Artstorian Weighs In: On The Great Decider Vs. The Great Emancipator...

"Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." ~Abraham Lincoln

"Now, there are some who would like to rewrite history - revisionist historians is what I like to call them...The true history of my administration will be written 50 years from now, and you and I will not be around to see it." ~George W. Bush

Recently I have been checking out the recent rankings of presidents done by armchair historians. TO ME it read more like a popularity contest than actually objective analysis. Some of the selection for the top ten presidents were a no brainer...Of course George Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt & FDR are definitely top ten material…Why is JFK no. 6 and why isn’t LBJ a.k.a. Mr. Great Society & Civil Rights not ranked in the top ten??? How about Old Hickory Andrew Jackson (President No. 7) who basically ensured that all White men got the vote, successfully and brutally took on the Banking interests of this country, the only president to have gotten the U.S. out of debt and successfully put the down the insurrection of confederates in South Carolina which could have led to a Civil War happening in 1832 instead of 1860 in guess where Fort Sumter, South Carolina…

And don’t get started on he lied to the Natives thing…Every president on the list lied to the Natives!!! This is after all until very, very recently was a White male job or a Country Club invite only…After they helped him secure Florida, New Orleans and his bright future, Jackson gave those Natives blankets with small pox and marched them on a Trail of Tears…A good friend from Oklahoma once told me in a half humorous and serious tone that the Natives in his state were known to refuse to accept a 20 dollar bill with Jackson's mug in their casinos and on their reservations...In other words Andrew Jackson is to Natives as Hitler is to Jews; one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist or psychotic megalomaniac authoritative dictator...George W. and Thomas J. both owned a large number of slaves and the latter a concubine for good measure…Race & Sex is as much part of the American Fabric as Hall & Oates...FDR failed to pass an anti-lynching bill to protect African American citizens from lynch law & mob rule; LBJ while passing legislation to ensure equal rights for all Americans continue to escalate the war in Vietnam killing poor people instead of spending more money to save them both at home and abroad…And we can go on and on…Being president is as complex and a mixed bag like a Rod Blagojevich press conference…

But anyways what compelled me to write this post was thinking about how would the legacy of Bush one of the most unpopular presidents of all time immediately after leaving office would be judged by future historians and generations to come…We must remember that many of our most revered presidents, such as Truman and Lincoln were not always beloved or revered by their American constituents as they are now…Which is interesting because all three of these men, Bush, Lincoln & Truman, had to make tough decisions that would affect the country and the world immediately as well as for generations to come…All three were very polarizing figures indeed there was no in between…As Truman would say if you want a friend in Washington get a dog!!!

Getting back on topic…If you look closely at the legacies of both the first Republican President and the 43rd U.S. President you can find almost eerie similarities…

First of all they both were elected under controversial circumstances…Lincoln first won the Whitehouse without support of the U.S. southern region (which was unprecedented at the time) while Bush won it without support from the popular vote or the electoral college (if O.J. did it then Bush didn’t win Florida sorry White Folks). Both men headed and initiated wars that were early promoted and supposed to be short in length and light on causalities and collateral damage. Both men made their inner circle even wealthier by the dogs & spoils of war: George Bush we know Halliburton and Oil interests while Lincoln allowed trade between the Union and Confederacy to continue for certain parties. This enraged some because Lincoln allowance of trade caused the war to be extended because in a way he was feeding and caring for the enemy with food and supplies. Wars are usually won by cutting the enemies’ supply lines not protecting them!!! Bush on the other hand has extended the Iraq War because of spreading the wealth in Iraq among his buddies has caused for a large contingent of contractors to be over in Iraq…So withdrawal is a logistical nightmare because of these 100,000 plus contractors currently in the region mining for monetary gold and black gold…

Lincoln wanted to end slavery in the republic while Bush wanted to give Iraqis freedom and democracy…By Any Means Necessary...

Both men were also notorious violators of human rights and civil liberties…For example, Lincoln suspended Writ of Habeas Corpus and jailed thousands without giving them a fair trial. He also suppressed Freedom of the Press and Free Speech as well because he thought it would affect morale and support for the war. Bush of course has jailed thousands of enemy combatants as well as non-combatants at Guantanamo Bay prison without a trial for years. His administration also allowed for outrageous prison abuses to go on in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He also suppressed the freedom of the press by not allowing the media to take pictures and shoot film of the flag draped coffins coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. They also lied about events that took place that involved American soldiers such as Pat Tillman, Pfc. Jessica Lynch and Pfc. LaVena Johnson for fear it probably would affect morale and support for the war.

With that said it is quite possible that the Bush brand can get out of the lower rung of hell or Dante’s Inferno in terms of mediocrity and unpopularity/infamy while simultaneously scaling the heights of Mt. Rushmore greatness.

Anything is possible. Time will tell. Don't Sleep.

Yes We Can!!!

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http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2009/01/check-out-first-installment-of-we-all.html

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http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2009/01/23/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio Special: Yes He Did...So Now What??? Defining The Obama Presidency...
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2008/11/16/Tha-Artivist-PresentsWE-ALL-BE-News-Radio

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