News Roundup for 2/17/09

Was Buchanan a mental patient or what?

-Headline of the day-
"Historians: Six presidents worse than Bush."

Hey all you frothing Bush-haters, George W. isn't the "worst president ever." He's the seventh worst. So there.

A Presidents' Day C-SPAN survey of historians finds that Abraham Lincoln was the best president ever and, much to the surprise of many, that George W. Bush wasn't the worst. Worse than Bush was Millard Filmore, Warren G. Harding, William Henry Harrison, Franklin D. Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and -- Worst President Evah -- James Buchanan. I'm not sure what these guys could've done that was worse than Bush, but you've got to assume that at least one of them declared war with the moon or backed currency with kidney beans something.

Not worse than Bush are Herbert Hoover (34th from the top), whose policies became synonymous with economic boneheadedness, and Richard Nixon (27th after Honest Abe), who resigned in disgrace. Also fun, conservatives' popular choice for WPE -- Jimmy Carter -- scores surprisingly well with 25 from the top.

See? All you Bush-haters are crazy. Bush wasn't the worst, he was just the worst in your lifetime.

It's not all about you, you know... (Raw Story)


-Congress doesn't suck!-
Not as much as everyone thought they used to, anyway. According to a new Gallup poll, congress's approval rating has "skyrocketed" with the passing of the stimulus bill. Not that they got very high, they're only 31% now. But considering that approvals were 19% before, "skyrocketed" is actually a fairly accurate description.

Always out there alone in CrazyWorld, Republican voters were the only demographic to see the numbers fall. A month ago, 23% approved. This month, only 19% do. Looks like the GOP is in a lockstep march straight out of the mainstream. (Politico)


-Bonus HotD-
"Pat Robertson denounces Rush Limbaugh’s comments: He’s ‘not exactly thinking rationally.’"

In an interview with US News, Pat Robertson -- a senior citizen who thinks a magic shake lets him leg press a literal ton -- says that radio windbag Rush Limbaugh is thinking goofy. I guess Pat'd be an expert. Asked if Robertson shared Limbaugh's hope that Obama would fail, he said that was crazy talk.

"That was a terrible thing to say," Robertson said. "I mean, he’s the president of all the country. If he succeeds, the country succeeds. And if he doesn’t, it hurts us all. Anybody who would pull against our president is not exactly thinking rationally."

When you're too irrational for Pat Robertson, you've got a real problem. I think Rush may be back on the drugs. (Think Progress)