Bush and Gladstone

Critics of my criticism of President Bush are fond of saying that history will prove him to be a visionary. This, of course, is a convenient way to avoid having to concede that the view from The Here and Now isn't pretty.

Niall Ferguson looks backwards rather than forwards in an unflattering comparison on the Los Angeles Times op-ed page of how Bush is destroying American foreign policy as Gladstone destroyed British foreign policy in the late 19th century (with an ample assist from Disraeli, whose policies he promulgated).