Direct answer: Yes, GW was (and still is) an idiot.

Now, pardon me while I jack the thread momentarily.

Idiot or no, I don't blame GW personally for the travesties that passed through Congress during his tenure (although he certainly benefitted financially from some of it), much like I don't blame Obama for the recent legislation of which I have not been fond. Yes, the POTUS is a powerful figurehead, but he is still, first and foremost, a figurehead in the end. He is the one that delivers the message to the public, but it is Congress and the Supreme Court that have the final say in 99% of the hand we are dealt every term.

With that, I believe we should rate the Legislative and Judicial branches rather than the Executive.

On another note, I think this thread points out the ills of the two-party system (as if we needed more evidence on that front). I think if the vast majority of us really looked closely at the constantly moving targets that are our preferred party platforms, we would find that we disagree with at least a few of the stands taken by our chosen parties. Likely, it is our passion for specific issues that leads us to side with one or the other, but in doing so, we all cheat ourselves.

Take, for example, our friend Bankmaggot. He apparently has good reason to hate the Democrats, yet, being a working class guy (I'm assuming here - forgive me if I'm wrong), he likely doesn't benefit from the side of the Republican platform that works to make the rich richer. When he goes to the voting booth, he is forced to decide which of his interests is most important and turn his back on many of the others, all of which are likely nearly as important to him. The rest of us, whether we call ourselves Democrats or Republicans, are faced with the same dilemma.

Do I know how to fix it? Nah. Not really. By adding a third party, we would only introduce a new set of compromises. Popular vote on all issues seems to be the only way to truly enact the will of the general public, but that is hopelessly unrealistic, for too many reasons. As usual, in the end, a post about politics has amounted to little more than pointless whining.