George W. Bush: the Platinum Arsehat winner for the most appalling person of the decade

This one looked like a no-brainer. Despite the best efforts of also-rans Rupert Murdoch and Robert Mugabe, former US President George W. Bush has taken home the Platinum Arsehat for Most Appalling Person of the Decade.

Where do we start? Bush failed in domestic and foreign policy and will forever be remembered as one of worst presidents in United States history. His name has become a byword for an anti-American sentiment that has grown increasingly powerful throughout the 2000s.

From committing the US — and with it Australia — to two bloody and open-ended wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (at least one of which is quickly becoming more than just “the new Vietnam”) to his reaction to the 2001 World Trade Centre collapse — which has seen a rise in Islamic extremism, rather than a decline. Domestically, there was also a list of failures — including his government’s much-scorned response to the hurricane Katrina disaster, which claimed the lives of more than 1500 people.

And then we get to the state in which he left the US economy. Unemployment at 15-year highs, an extra $4 trillion of debt and an economy in recession. Not to mention fostering the self-regulation of investment banks,  which led to a string of failures on Wall Street, contributing to a financial crisis still being felt around the world. And this is all just scratching the surface. It’s safe to say that nothing can improve the legacy of George W. Bush — this is one well-deserved Arsehat.