Which of these two presidents was better?

Which of these two presidents was better? George Herbert Walker Bush or George W. Bush?

About the same.

They both were handed significant international crises and they both handled them very well.

H.W Bush let himself get suckered by the Democrats on the "read my lips" thing...but W. Bush made the mistake of bucking his own party a couple of times. They were both good Presidents.

Didn't hit puberty until after Herbie's reign, so all I have are vague impressions of it not being as good as the Clinton years. Dub left a decidedly negative impression of two extraneous wars, spurring an increase in obdurate partisan intransigence with Rovian techniques, and presiding over a profligate economy that collapsed into the second worst depression in recorded history before he could make it out the door.

Asking which was better comes across like asking if I'd rather have a goofy looking farmers tan or have my penis amputated.

H.W. did much less damage than W. so I would say H.W. was better.

The only ting I didn't like about Bush was his Reaganomics. Shrub was an idiot that should have stayed in the local bar - or church.

I would have to say G. H. W. Bush was the better. Did a lot of good things and was very smart about a lot of things. Forced change in China through trade agreements. Better balanced trade with Japan through manipulation of exchange rate and also took steps to that lead to them opening more of their markets. Not his fault that they just don't want to buy American crap, but at least we get to own things there now. He was almost always measured in his responses to things, unlike his son who a few times made "knee jerk" reactions. He also seemed to be much more aware of what was going on than G.W.

G.W. Bush I don't think was that good of a President. I liked some things, but not a lot. He was given a Republican majority Congress but did not take the opportunity to reverse a lot of damage done by Liberals over the years. While I agree with the wars, even think we didn't go far enough, I cannot agree with his handling of the occupations that followed the initial operations. While he may have been somewhat limited during his first term, his second term should of been an all out assault upon the Liberal/Socialist agenda spreading across America. National Right-to-Work should of been pursued. Massive entitlement and welfare reforms should of been done. Massive restructuring of the government agencies should of been handled. EPA and other rogue agencies that exist to carry out Liberal agendas should of been dismantled or redone. He was the first Republican President since Eisenhower to have a Republican Majority in Congress, and Ike didn't have all the socialism/Liberalism in the government that GW had. GW and the Republicans should of went on the warpath against socialism/Liberalism. Instead, it was almost like he wasn't even there. He did very little.

HW, but only by the smallest of margins.

GHW Bush by a long shot

He worked to reverse some of the poor economic policies that started under Reagan, a far more rational foreign policy

Had it not been for Perot, he would most likely have won a second term, and have been regarded as a more influential president

HW would be leagues better if not for "Read my lips". That included, just a bit better.

This is like picking which is your favorite turd.

Both are fine men and served your country well - the fact they left the Presidency the way they did, refusing to criticize those that followed and keeping out of the headlines while others serve in that office, is a lesson all former Presidents should learn, particularly those named Carter, Clinton, and soon Obama.

CanadaJohn said:

Both are fine men and served your country well - the fact they left the Presidency the way they did, refusing to criticize those that followed and keeping out of the headlines while others serve in that office, is a lesson all former Presidents should learn, particularly those named Carter, Clinton, and soon Obama.

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Very true statement about their grace upon leaving office. Both have been virtually silent since leaving. While I understand Bill Clinton has a hard time doing that due to Hillary, Carter has mucked up so much since he left that he needs to be locked away. I would wager my retirement that Pres Obama will be the biggest headline seeker post Presidency in the history of the country. The guy can't let go of the spotlight. He's still friggin campaigning for heaven's sake.

MarineTpartier said:

Very true statement about their grace upon leaving office. Both have been virtually silent since leaving. While I understand Bill Clinton has a hard time doing that due to Hillary, Carter has mucked up so much since he left that he needs to be locked away. I would wager my retirement that Pres Obama will be the biggest headline seeker post Presidency in the history of the country. The guy can't let go of the spotlight. He's still friggin campaigning for heaven's sake.

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Actually, GHWB hasn't been "too" silent. He's actually teamed up with Slick Willie to do some altruistic work and public advertisements for certain charities and foundations. He's hit a bit of a philanthropic streak in his post-prez years, and when the both of them were together it really looked like a bipartisan effort toward the advancement of American humanitarianism.

Dubya has been very silent, but that's because tens of millions of Americans still blame him for killing their houseplants and their cars breaking down on the way to work - even to this day. Did you hear Bush 43 also shot Kennedy and came up with the original concept of "new Coke"? May he rot in hell for everything people falsely accuse him of doing.

About the same.... AWFUL. Just like every other POTUS since 1860.

President Bush the Elder did less harm, but had less time to accomplish conservatism, or bad things.
In my opinion
He, Bush 1, should not have fallen in love with this silly "tax" thing.

I wasn't around for GHWB so I voted Dubya

Gipper said:

Actually, GHWB hasn't been "too" silent. He's actually teamed up with Slick Willie to do some altruistic work and public advertisements for certain charities and foundations. He's hit a bit of a philanthropic streak in his post-prez years, and when the both of them were together it really looked like a bipartisan effort toward the advancement of American humanitarianism.

Dubya has been very silent, but that's because tens of millions of Americans still blame him for killing their houseplants and their cars breaking down on the way to work - even to this day. Did you hear Bush 43 also shot Kennedy and came up with the original concept of "new Coke"? May he rot in hell for everything people falsely accuse him of doing.

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I meant silent politically. Bush Sr has been very hands off in the political realm. I think anyone worth their salt would do the charity work he's done with Clinton.

GW by a long shot, solidified my retirement with some of the best financial years of my adult life

I don't think we've had a competent president in quite some time. Every one in my life wanted to grow government in some form. It continues today, and not a single one of them has wanted to get government out of affair that it has no business being in.

Luna Tick said:

Which of these two presidents was better? George Herbert Walker Bush or George W. Bush?

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I respect GHWB far, far more than either of his sons.

Sr, by quite a bit. I've little reason to believe that the period of prosperity experienced under Clinton would've gone unrealized under a Bush second term.