Halfway there

This column starts great. It sets up the hook that Reagan made a big mistate, by devoting the first half or more to an excellent argument that Reagan was fabulous.

Then it segues: George Herbert Walker Bush was a piss-poor choice for VP and successor.

Still great. Absolutely. Spot on.

But the segue is a mere touch-down to the real complaint: W is a tool.

Geez, what a dissappointment.

W isn't a tool. So far, he's running with a lot of problems, but on balance he's still clearly favorable.

Supreme court justices (and judges) are crucial, and he's doing well on that score.

Tax cuts are crucial and he's doing well on that score.

The war is huge and crucial and frankly he's doing fabulously.

Media bias and Democrat and Democrat interest group politics are significant for long term policy, and Bush is doing pretty well, there, too.

His failures? Part D, of course. Budget growth, of course. NCLB is bad constitutional policy and full of garbage, but it has some good elements, too.

Probably his most important failure is rhetorical leadership, but at least he's doing a notch better on that. You can't even say Bush is a mixed bag; he's a success, even if his failures nettle.