Prediction
I have a prediction. This is predicated on the idea that our system will self-correct and remain as democratic (and as undemocratic) as it has been over the last 100 years.
Twenty to fifty years from now, the historical consensus will be that George W. Bush stole both the 2000 and 2004 elections. This view will be widely held by liberal, moderate, and probably even conservative historians.
I can’t say that this will necessarily cause the historical consensus to be that his presidency was illegitimate. There’s pretty widespread agreement that LBJ stole and election or two and that Kennedy’s defeat of Nixon was the product of corruption in Chicago.
My guess is that if the U.S. largely recovers from what Bush has done to us by getting our economic, budgetary, and diplomatic course back on track, he’ll be judged as a mediocre to bad president. If he’s set us on a course of permanent and sharp decline or lingering wars for another decade, he may not be judged so kindly. If he’s judged really harshly and my prediction comes true, there’s a small possibility that he may be judged by history and as disastrous and wholly illegitimate president. It’s the judgment he deserves, but I’m sure that I don’t want things to deteriorate to the point that he gets it.
