The Bush Legacy

Matt Yglesias sums up the last eight years (emphasis me.)

Thinking back to George W. Bush’s farewell address it’s striking that the best thing the man can say about his record in office is that only once during his term in office were 3,000 people killed by foreign terrorists. And it’s really striking that other people in the conservative movement seem to take this “accomplishment” very seriously.

There's a reason why conservatism is dead right now. It's on the slab and the Republicans along with it are not going to be able to stop Obama. Why? BooMan explains (again, emphasis me).

It's mostly raw numbers. The Democrats have the votes to do almost anything they want. But there two other factors that are new and poorly understood. The first is Obama himself. The Democrats haven't seen a president like this with this much congressional support since LBJ, and we all remember the Great Society was the result. The most important factor though is that the Republicans have suffered a total collapse on all fronts. They have lost elections, partisan support, the ability to raise money, the ability to redraw districts in their favor, their credibility on the budget, taxes, national security, and family values...in essence, they no longer have a coherent ideology to rally around.

The Republicans also lack a national leader. They don't even have a Barry Goldwater. Therefore, Republican politicians are rudderless and will increasingly find the safest course is to look out for themselves and their own interests. And the only way for a Republican to be relevant in this Congress, and to make tangible achievements that they can bring back to the voters in their states or districts, is to work with the Democrats on their committees as they draft new laws. They will have to work with the Democrats on energy, financial regulation, agriculture, transportation spending, non-proliferation, and education, and then they will have to vote for that legislation.

This is especially true in the Senate, where the Republicans are more inclined to work in this way and, in any case, they still have some relevance. But the idea that Minority Leader McConnell will be able to filibuster Democratic legislation is absurd. He will never kill off bills that his members have had a say in crafting. And this is why Obama's refusal to make hard ideological stands and demands is not a signal that he is going to move to the center. He's not moving to the center, he's co-opting the center and making it part of his coalition. If you don't believe, just watch. Obama is going to be the most powerful president since LBJ, and he will leave a similar legacy of progressive legislation.

That's a nice thought. We'll see if it holds true. There's a reason why Bush's approval rating is 22%. He's the worst President of anything, ever. The man that follows will hopefully be one of the best.

He has to be. If he's not, America is in serious trouble.