DBWI: John McCain's Legacy

It's been just two months after John Sidney McCain left the office of President and already historians have named him 5th on the list of the greatest presidents. So do you think he was a great president and if so what was his greatest accomplishment. Personally I think it was his humanitarian liberation wars in the Sudan, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe. However his economic policy of moderate regulation has resulted in the DOW reaching the record mark of 18,422 today.
 
i have to say he was one of the best presidents, but the war in Venezuela would be uite the stain on his legacy.
 
Well, there still is going to be the trade deficit to address, and nobody is quite sure how subprime is going to unwind, so I wouldn't put too much store by his economic numbers. It has been speculated that without the deficit reduction policy and the tacit support Beijing has given him, we'd already be in a financial crisis. Of course, that speaks well of his diplomatic skills, or maybe those of Colin Powell (he's said to have problems controlling his temper personally, for all his foreign policy smarts).

Afghanistan, I think, was unavoidable, and I'm not sure you could call Sudan or Zimbabwe wars, really. Khartoum has the Chinese sitting on things while AU forces are in control of Darfur (well, nominal control, but they do most of the legwork, the Americans are just there for training and logistics). Zimbabwe is all but run by the MDC militias. Not that I disagree with either move (and don't get me started on Jesse Jackson's opinions...), but war looks different.

Venezuela... well, people say it was a genuine instance of temper. Almost Rooseveltian. Teddyish, I mean. Nothing big came of it, fortunately, but it damaged a lot of diplomatic goodwill in Latin America. I wonder, what happens the next time a leftist is elected?

Incidentally, put no store by the rhetoric from Berlin, the Germans are quite worried about Clinton. McCain's style grated, but his substance was highly respected by and large.

I don't think 5th on the list of greats is anything but regret that he must go. His approval ratings were good, and everyone felt that he got the USA safely through choppy waters. I think of him like Truman, a competent man to take the US through a paradigm shift in foreign policy. He will go down in history as the first genuine post-Cold-War president, the one who understood the realities of emerging multipolarity and moved Washington into a new global alliance system. Incidentally, I don't think he liked it one bit - remember his 'no black and white' speech about China and Africa? He sounded very different on the campaign trail.
 
I'm more worried about his second step in campaign finance reform removing the 60 day limit and have it on constantly.
 
Gentlemen, I think you have all missed in mentioning his captivity in the Hanoi Hilton, and his suffering to support the United States in terrible conditions.

John McCain might not have been an Eisenhower, but he had made heroic sacrifices for his country well before he had ever began his political career.

I shudder to imagine what would have happened if George W. Bush had managed to win the Republician Nomination--fortunately, despite claiming to be a "Compassionate Conservative" Bush's attack dog politics and his shameful attacks on McCain's military service doomed his campaign.

Of course, bad things happened--but McCain did the best he could. Al Qaeda hit the World Trade Center; Hurricane Karl devastated New Orleans, and the tech bubble of the 1990s ended with some economic pain. But all things considered, McCain has shown a visionary leadership--a reproachment with Russia, strengthening of the NATO alliance, offering real answers to the dysfunctional Middle East. McCain might not be the best president of all time, but he's probably the best in the last 50 years...
 
Who says that we ( the Germans ) are afraid of Hillary Clinton? This is typical American mis-interpretation of our indifference. As long as you mind your own buissiness when it comes to European Affairs, we dont care who is sittin in the white house.
 
We try to mind our own business. When when we do, though; you people go and invade half of Europe...So we're compelled to get involved.:p
 
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