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Worst. President. Evar.*

Ask most people who the worst president in recent history is, and I'd wager that most people would offer up Richard Nixon. I think he's got a lot of competition from this Administration though.

Let's see. First, let's talk about wars:

Both Bush and Nixon were faced with a bloody war on their hands-- a war extremely unpopular with the public, where thousands of Americans have died. Nixon's exit strategy: "The Nixon Doctrine", which is basically a plan "to gradually build up the South Vietnamese Army so that it could fight the war on its own". Similarly the "Bush Doctrine" is the same thing-- to build up the Iraqi forces to they can fight the insurgency alone. I'd call this one even, but the point for W.P.E. goes to Bush for the simple reason that the French got us IN to Vietnam, and they were trying to keep us OUT of Iraq. Nixon didn't get us into Vietnam, so point goes to Bush.

They both had war scandals. Seymour Hersh broke the My Lei Massacre. Bush had Abu Ghraib. The buck stops with Nixon, who went so far as to pardon the perpetrator of the massacre. Not bringing Rumsfeld to justice is damning, but the Iraqi people were tortured and humiliated, not massacred. Point Nixon.

Nixon had the Plumbers and G. Gordon Liddy. Bush has I. Scooter Libby outing Plame. Verdict: Tie.

Nixon's administration had the Watergate scandal, where the President, in an effort to quell anti-war sentiment, broke the law in authorizing illegal search/seizure of Democratic Party Headquarters. This operation was orchestrated by G. Gordon Liddy. Nixon also asked the CIA to obstruct the FBI's investigation into the break-in. Bush, meanwhile, broke the law in authorizing the NSA to conduct illegal wiretaps contrary to FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Verdict: Tie-- what's worse, a political opportunist trying to dig up dirt to stay in power, or a demagogue willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater to catch "terrorists". I call it even.

Nixon had Hanoi Hannah. Bush had Baghdad Bob. Decision: Bush.

Nixon: "I'm not a crook". Bush "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie". Point decidedly Bush.

It's 5:3 by my count: Bush wins!

* Considering "Evar" was coined most likely in the late 20th century (I would guess on "The Simpsons"), "Evar" does qualify for "recent history", from a particular point of view.