It is, of course, too early to make such a distinction now. But if Bush continues to govern as he has for the past 6 years, I believe he will easily surpass Pierce, Buchanan and Warren G. Harding as the worst U.S. President in history.

In Peirce's and Buchanan's presidencies, their failure was the gross mismanagement and exacerbation of a pre-existing problem, slavery. Warren G. Harding's presidency, although inauspicious, did not, in and of itself, cause any major problems for the country. The most visible problem during his administration was the Teapot Dome Scandal, and that was hardly his fault; if anything, it was endemic of the type of congressional corruption that is still with us to this day.

President Bush is unique in that he is the sole author of his greatest problem. He invaded Iraq, a country which did not attack us, did not pose any direct or pressing threat to us, and was largely contained. This military adventure has made life more deadly and difficult for the average Iraqi than it was under Saddam Hussien's rule, and has caused the deaths of at least 2750 U.S. soldiers (not to mention the at least 10,000-12,000 or more who have been wounded); it has also diluted the deterrent effect of our military, diminished our standing in the world, both with our allies and our antagonists, and robbed resources and focus from what was a generally effective response to the 9/11 attacks. Compounding this mistake was the complete mismanagemnt of the war and the reconstruction. It remains to be seen whether we can extract even a marginally positive outcome from this mess, and it is anybody's guess what the long term effects of an unstable, oil-rich, and essentially divided Iraq will be.

There are many problems that predated Bush, things such as global warming, international terrorism, and nuclear proliferation, and he hasn't handled them well. But Bush stands out among U.S. presidents in that his administration created an enourmous problem out of whole cloth, and proceeded to make it worse. The invasion of Iraq is possibly one of greatest military blunders of all time, and it is certainly without precedent in our presidential history.

He or she has just submitted completely to the idea that your personal feelings about a candidate or a president are the most important measure of their worth. This idea has been promoted by the increased role that television plays as a major source of information about candidates, and by the candidates themselves, who would prefer to run on images of them with their families and their hairstyles as opposed to running on the way they voted and governed.

It's obvious that Poco hates, hates, hates Clinton. He or she is not alone. But that certainly doesn't mean that Clinton is the worst president ever. What was really so bad about Clinton's tenure as president? Hilary's campiagn for national health care (God forbid - I love sending in my $224.00 premium every month for partial coverage)? Or the Monica Lewinsky scandal? This was a scandal that had no effect on my life except that the media was obsessed by it, and you couldn't get away from it. The fact is, Clinton did not have any major problems while he was in office, and things ran smoothly.

Clinton did not make a problem much worse under his watch, nor did he create any major problems. Therefore, he is not even in the running for the worst president of all time. Sorry, Poco. This doesn't mean that you, like too many of our fellow citizens, have to stop wallowing in your intense hatred of a man you barely know. Feel free to continue.

"If you want to blame Bush for the Iraq war you better be prepared to also blame those who abdicated their responsibilities. Perhaps you have forgotten that the house, Democrats, Republicans and all, handed sole authority over to the president to start the Iraq war. Have you forgotten? It is all their faults."

George Bush is not a child. He is not mentally defective. He is the President of the United States. He asked for the authority to use force against Iraq, he was given that authority by Congress, and he decided to make war upon Iraq. The invasion was the brainchild of his administration. Democratic representatives and congresspeople did not demand that he invade Iraq. Many people were responsible for allowing him to go to war, but only a small group of people are responsible for the war itself, and that is President Bush and his adminstration. Hell, he takes responsibility for it, and attacks the Democrats for not standing behind his plan. How could anybody think what you wrote in your letter is true?

While you're out there on Mars, be sure to bring back some rocks.