Bush compared to FDR.

From BananaPhishZero, a commenter over at Dependable Renegade:

Bush is a modern day cowboy leading his party with a "No plan" towards victory. He continues to preach "Stay the course and be humiliated." The boy king now asserts the party of FDR has become a bunch of cut and runners. If he's so anxious to compare the trials of our own time to the challenges of World War II and others on the right equate what we're now facing with the greatest dangers of the past, it only seems appropriate that we see how GWB stacks up against the man who successfully led America through those darkest days towards victory and peace.

George W. Bush vs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The Economy:

FDR comes in with an enormous depression that left the economy in ruins. Foreclosures outstripped new home construction as businesses closed, factories were boarded up and millions left without work or homes.

GWB slipped into office with some of the most prosperous and productive years in the nation's history. He had a record government surplus. Unemployment and interest rates were both at historic lows, causing a huge surge in home construction and consumer spending.

The Military:

FDR inherited a military that was the 17th largest in the world. Every weapon system in the army was either outdated, or simply non-functional. There were very few experienced officers and most of the men were poorly trained and equipped.

GWB is gifted with a US military that outspent every other military in the world combined, the world's only "superpower." The U.S. weapon systems are a decade ahead of any other including an array of new "smart" weapons and advanced aircraft. American soldiers are the best trained on the planet and the military's ability to project US power was nearly unlimited.

The Event:

On 7 December, 1941, the Japanese military staged a massive surprise raid on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In a matter of minutes, not only were 2400 Americans dead, but the US had lost most of the Pacific fleet, severly crippling its already weak military forces. There was fear that the Japanese would stage a full scale invasion of US Pacific territories or even the west coast.

On 11 September 2001, 19 terrorists associated with the group Al Qaeda took the controls of four civilian aircraft, flying two into the World Trade Center towers, one into the Pentagon and crashing a fourth when passengers fought back against the hijackers. In a matter of minutes just under 3,000 people were dead and the giant towers collapsed in a horrific ruin.

---

The Enemy:

FDR faced off simultaneously with two superior militaries in the world, both of whom had more soldiers under arms, more ships, more tanks and more planes. Germany, Japan and Italy supported their military with enormous industrial resources and boasted research programs that gave them the best weapons in the world. German tanks were better and faster than any the US could field. Japanese Zeros could outperform any other plane. Both the Germans and Japanese were well trained and provisioned, already defeating other forces in the field and had experience in fighting a modern mechanized war.

GWB's enemy is a small, irregular force of less than 10,000 men, most of them poorly armed. They don't have a single plane in their air force, not one ship in their navy and barely a handful of artillery. The most modern equipment they could boast were cast-offs from our own forces that were two decades or more out of date. Their training was erratic. They were outcasts, even among their own people, with little support and no ability to make or repair their equipment.

Wartime Strategy:

FDR swiftly pulled the nation together with a combination of skillful planning, he turned the tide of the fight into bold positive action. Soon, new ships were rolling out of the shipyards to replace the damaged fleet. Newly designed planes and tanks were replacing the outdated models. American forces were on the move making big gains in the Pacific and in Europe.

GWB started out well tackling Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, but long before that fight was done, he drove the nation apart with divisive rhetoric. Then sent American troops plunging into a second fight in Iraq. A country that had nothing to do with the attacks on 9/11. Soon, those troops were facing a growing insurgency and a lack of any plan for victory.

Wartime Economy:

While fighting the war, FDR not only held the economy steady, he made gains as great as those of the soldiers in the field. He put in place programs that created jobs and turned the nation into an industrial powerhouse that produced decades of good wages and rising standards of living and he capped it all with Social Security, protecting the country from another depression.

During the first five years of his war, GWB racked up flat income growth, a stagnant economy causing the crumbling of the American infrastructure and industrial sector. His record surplus turned into even larger record deficits. A rising consumer debt and a growing trade deficit has made the economy less stable. Meanwhile, GWB funneled funds to his pals, while weakening the same safety measures FDR had put in place to protect the public.

---

Results of the War:

In less than four years between Pearl Harbor and VJ Day, FDR led the nation with the skill to face down any enemy, the well trained military accomplished victory after victory. The dominating German war machine was crushed and Europe set free. The imperial Japanese navy was defeated and Japanese armies on the mainland of Asia were forced to withdraw. Victories were won in Africa, Asia, Europe, and in every ocean. At the end of the war, the army that had started 17th in the world had clearly become the premiere fighting force around the world. Japan and Germany were converted from foes to allies and both became peaceful members of the world community.

At the end of five years, GWB's forces are worn down, stretched thin and facing one hit and run attack after another. The enemy is still on the march, stronger than ever. The insurgency in Iraq is growing, the Taliban are back in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda are recruiting faster than it is losing troops. Exhausted American forces took areas of Iraq and Afghanistan again and again. But with no real plan they gave up those areas and had to fight the same battle time after time. Despite all the surmounting evidence that his tactics aren't working, GWB refuses to change and the war drags on.

Five years since September 11th, GWB hasn't even managed to defeat an enemy two hundred times smaller than the one FDR faced. An enemy with no factories to make weapons, no economy to keep them going, not even a country to call their own - an enemy so small they couldn't fill a basketball arena. With billions of dollars spent, GWB through his boneheaded tactics has let this ragtag militant non-army run circles around the greatest military ever created.

Compared to FDR, GWB is a dismal failure. GWB doesn't even come close to FDR's leadership qualities. Good thing GWB wasn't President during World War II. Bottom line, if America wants to win this war against terrorism, GWB needs to transform himself into a man like FDR. Unfortunately, we know this isn't about to take place. The man or women with FDR's character and courage to lead has not yet stepped forward. Who is this future unknown leader amongst us with FDR's strength and wisdom? Please, who ever you are, America needs you now. We need you to once again shine a beacon of light and lead this nation out of the darkness