I’ll turn to positive approaches soon, but for now, when discussing Bush I think we can keep it to three simple themes:

1) He’s reckless. The Iraq misadventure is the main case, obviously. But also the general refusal to accept science.

2) He’s dishonest. Where to begin? How about the middle class benefits of the tax cuts. OR medicare. OR no child left Behind. Or… you get the idea.

3) He’s corrupt. In two senses. His stock sales shenanigans come to mind, but also the way he corrupts the political system with his evil attack ads (e.g., against McCain and Kerry) , and also the way he corrupts government with hiding data (e.g. with medicare) or secret deal making (e.g., Cheney’s “energy summit”). **Tip of the Iceberrg Dept.** When Bush was on board of Harken Energy, he dumped stock just before significant losses, saving him $600,000.