Other Big Screwups

I liked this quick item from the LA Times. Just throws some historical perspective around the incompetence the Bush administration has shown in Iraq by comparing it to the vast incompetence of past presidents in other conflicts. It points out the obvious corollary to the old “History is written by the winners” maxim that mistakes are generally forgotten if in the end the war is won, but are remembered much more clearly if the overall results are negative. The article provides a few examples from various presidencies.

History Can Offer Bush Hope …
(Max Boot, LA Times)

Reading the depressing headlines, one is tempted to ask: Has any president in U.S. history ever botched a war or its aftermath so badly?

Actually, yes. Most wartime presidents have made catastrophic blunders, from James Madison losing his capital to the British in 1814 to Harry Truman getting embroiled with China in 1950.

(via The Volokh Conspiracy)

(Note, Volokh exerpts the entire text of the article, so if you don’t want to bother with the LA Times free registration, you can just read it at Volokh.)