Approval for the legacy of will likely rise in the estimation of historians as time goes by, say two political scientists.
A poll by CBS 狐狸视频 and The New York Times near the end of Bush鈥檚 2001-2009 presidency showed his approval rating at 22 percent, making him one of the most unpopular departing presidents in history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 inevitable that George W. Bush鈥檚 stock will go up, in my view, because he was rated so low to begin with,鈥� said . 鈥淚t鈥檚 common for the person in power to take some heavy knocks during their term and directly afterward.鈥�
One issue that could make or break Bush鈥檚 reputation is how events in the Middle East unfold, said Geer and at Vanderbilt. Bush鈥檚 decision to invade Iraq is still debated.
“If 10 years from now Iraq is peaceful and democratic and a source of stability in the Middle East, we are going to assess Bush鈥檚 decisions much more favorably,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淪imilarly, if there鈥檚 a terrorist attack during the Obama presidency, people will assess Bush鈥檚 presidency differently, because they鈥檒l say he kept his eye on the ball and kept us safe.鈥�
Democratic may be the best example of Bush鈥檚 current situation with historians, Geer and Lewis said.
鈥淗arry Truman left office with very low poll ratings, but he steadily moved up the ladder because he didn鈥檛 necessarily do what was popular, but he certainly did a lot of things to change the country and many of those changes were for the good,鈥� Geer said.
Bush will likely get high marks for his efforts to improve education with and increasing funding for green power initiatives and the Lewis said.
鈥淭hese funding increases could turn out to be the beginning of a golden age of scientific discovery where we find the cure for cancer and save the environment,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淚f that happens, Bush will get credit for having great vision.鈥�
Bush鈥檚 conservative philosophy might cost him with historians, because they tend to rate presidents higher who are more active, Geer and Lewis said.
鈥淚f you truly have conservative principles, then government shouldn鈥檛 do all that much,鈥� Geer said. 鈥淭herefore, a very successful conservative president might not have accomplished so much in the sense of active programs. was one of those, more a 鈥榟idden-hand鈥� president where things went well but the changes weren鈥檛 as noticeable.鈥�
One very noticeable Bush trait that will become more appreciated over time is his courage, Geer said. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Bush decided he needed to be a visible president during a time when many of his advisers, and certainly his security detail, thought it was too dangerous.
鈥淢y sense is that Bush made the decision that we couldn鈥檛 act scared,鈥� Geer said. 鈥淎nd for a while after 9/11 they really didn鈥檛 know what the devil was really happening and it probably made sense for the president to stay under cover.
鈥淏ut Bush overrode them and insisted on taking risks and appearing in public. That鈥檚 pretty courageous.鈥�