Americans Really Don’t Miss President Bush

By Amanda Terkel In recent months, not only have conservatives continued to ramp up their anti-Obama rhetoric, but they have also begun invoking nostalgia for the good ol’ days of President Bush. In April, College Republicans at

Western Kentucky University created a “W” Day to show support for Bush, and there have been billboards with the question “Miss Me Yet?” and a picture of Bush popping up around the country.

Last month, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) hit Obama for his handling of the BP oil disaster, saying, “Remember the criticism George Bush got during Katrina? They said it was a lack of leadership. Let me tell you, that leadership looks pretty good right now.” More recently, Jeff Shapiro — a man devoted to “correct the historical record about President Bush” — wrote an op-ed claiming that “a lot has changed since” last year, when he was being labeled a “failure.”

In reality, not much has changed; the American public still doesn’t really miss Bush. From a new Time poll:

– 71 percent blame the Bush for the “balky economy,” while 27 percent blame Obama.

– 53 percent favor Obama over Bush (33 percent).

– 55 percent favor Obama over Sarah Palin (34 percent) in a hypothetical 2012 presidential campaign.

The Siena Research Institute also just released a poll of presidential scholars, who rated Bush in the “bottom five” of U.S. presidents throughout history. They rated him 39th. Other presidents in the bottom five were Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin Pierce. Obama was ranked 15th.