Most of a dozen historians canvassed by Bloomberg News voiced skepticism about Bush's legacy, saying it will be defined by his decision to invade Iraq.
``A possible analogy here might be James Polk, who rather wantonly provoked war with Mexico in order to secure Texas and take California,'' Kennedy said.
``History will look very closely at Iraq,'' said Bruce Miroff, a political science professor at the State University of New York at Albany. Future generations will view as arrogant Bush's determination to attack the Middle Eastern country without gaining the support of U.S. allies such as France and Germany, unless the war is resolved in favor of the U.S., Miroff said.
``Right now, he's heading for a pretty low ranking,'' said Miroff, whose 2000 book, ``Icons of Democracy,'' compares the leadership of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John Adams and John Kennedy. ``His foreign policy already has failed.''
Polk, who was a Democrat, encountered similar skeptics, who called him ``Polk the Mendacious'' during his single term in office. |
