Bush: The Irrelevant Ex-President

Kerry/Edward's is neck-and-neck, and gaining momentum, projected forward to Nov 2, placing the presidence well within reach. Now's a good time to ask: what kind of ex-president will George W. Bush make?

In the pantheon of ex-Presidents, we can see:

• Richard Nixon -- resigned in disgrace but, without power, made a credible commentator on international issues. Seems that only Nixon knew China.
  
• Gerald Ford -- irrelevant in office, rose to fill the roll of ex-Presidential golf-player.
  
• Jimmy Carter -- his presidency associated with a period of national malaise, he is now a Nobel-prize winning figure of international stature, fixing troubled democratic governments, observing elections, providing long-term support for Habitat for Humanity, founding the Carter Center ("Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope").
  
• Ronald Reagan -- out of office only long enough to remain a becon to conservatives, until he withdrew from public life with Alzheimers.
  
• George H. W. Bush -- serving as an international consultant, pulling down the big bucks, when he's not jumping out of planes, only to tease us by pulling a chute at the last second (dang! where'd he get that thing?)
  
• Bill Clinton -- what is he doing now? Most likely, playing a support role for his wife's political aspirations --- like a good husband should.
  

Where will George W. Bush fit into this? Probably somewhere between Ford and Bush Sr. Too noisy to go quietly, he hasn't learned anything in office that he might credibly pontificate on out of office (similar to, for example, Dan Quayle), and -- compassionate conservative moniker to the contrary -- has never exhibited the kind of care and belief in fundamental human rights which have made Carter an international figure. Reporters won't be calling him for quotes, because he has no insights. Politicians won't be calling him for support, because he doesn't represent an over-arching ideology, as Reagan did. He controls no one. His golf score is worse than Ford's.

Who wants him to even come to funerals? Never showing an inclination for magnanimity, he's likely to show up at Carter's funeral, and dance a funny monkey-jig on his grave.

George W. Bush will set new standards for the irrelevancy of an ex-president. Perhaps this will give him the opportunity to read all those newspapers he's been skipping for the past 4 years.