Reader TTS

The dedication of the George W. Bush library gives loyalists of the former president a chance to highlight what they see as the positive legacy of his eight years in office. But even among

supporters there is a sense he'll never be given historical vindication. Former White House press secretary Ari Fleisher told NBC News: "I'm increasingly doubtful, just

because I think the lens of history is not changing. A lot of us used to say President Bush will look good and he'll be vindicated in the public eye. But realistically speaking, I

don't see a lot of the people who write history all of a sudden changing their mind about George W. Bush." SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the

news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the

best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. As Jill

Lawrence points out, the polling of historians seems to back this up. Nearly 60 percent of the historians and political scientists in a 2006 Siena College survey rated Bush's presidency

a failure and two-thirds said he did not have a realistic chance of improving his standing. A 2010 Siena ranking of presidential scholars rated Bush as one of the nation's five worst

presidents. A similar 2009 C-SPAN ranking put Bush in the bottom eight. It is certainly possible that years of reflection and a reinterpretation of his presidency could end up putting Bush

in a more positive light, but there's no avoiding the reality that his decision to go to war in Iraq and policies of fiscal recklessness led to huge problems for the country. These are

problems the country may still be reeling from as historians give Bush their second look. A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com

Although Bush himself is giving a series of interviews for the first time in years for the opening of his presidential library, it's clear he has no real interest in visiting the past

either. "I really don't miss Washington," Bush said, according to _Politico_, adding, "So while we've got friends in Washington I'm not all that friendly to

Washington."