It's Early, But It Looks Like Karl Rove Was Right

During the waning years of the Bush presidency, some were saying that history would view him as the worst president ever. No no, Karl Rove replied, historians will view the president much more favorably. I'm paraphrasing.

C-SPAN has surveyed some historians and while it's true that Bush has only been out of office for a month, he's not ranked as the worst president ever. In fact, at #36 he's seventh worst. He mops up the floor with Buchanan and Harding.

Interestingly, in 2000 Clinton came in at #21 and is now up to #15, so I should probably keep my mouth shut for another 9 years before I start gloating.

(h/t Wonkette)

5 Decades And Their Iconic Objects

Decade: The 1950's
Object: A Pit Barbecue
Why: The 50's was a reaction to World War II. Instead of traveling to foreign lands to commit the ultimate transgression of killing to save the world, men were called upon to make a home and raise a family. The pit barbecue is a place where men cook, not alone, and the brick enclosure represents a permanence.
Prominent Object which doesn't represent the decade: bongo drums. Sure there were beatniks around, but they were nowheresville.

Decade: The 1960's
Object: A Gun With a Flower In The Barrel
Why: You'll be hard pressed to find a decade in American history which had this much internal conflict. Yeah, there was that one with the Civil War, but the sixties actually posited, among other things, youth versus age, war versus anti-war, black versus white, witch versus mortal, electric versus folk, and God (Clapton) versus Satan (Jagger). Conflicted decade, conflicted symbol.
Prominent Object which doesn't represent the decade: black monolith - could have made the cut had it been a duolith!

Decade: The 1970's
Object: Puka Shell Necklace
Why: Like the fifties, the seventies was more a reaction to a turbulent decade than a decade itself. Having taken on society's greatest problems and failing to resolve them, we were content to retreat into trivia, novelty and silly pleasure. Do not forget that a disco remake of Beethoven's 5th symphony topped the charts during the seventies! Hence the necklace, which was jewelry and yet unattractive. It literally screamed, "leave me alone! Don't look at me!"
Prominent Object which doesn't represent the decade: mirrored disco ball - they were all over the place, but too fragmented to reflect anything meaningful.
Footnote: We went through the whole decade without a single good president.

Decade: The 1980's
Object: The Korg Synthesizer
Why: It is no coincidence that music in the eighties was so synth-heavy. The synth is a single piece of musical equipment which, when properly tweaked, can take the place of any other. It represents unlimited potential. And so in the eighties. Without a big trauma for ten years, people were ready to dream big. The stock market swelled as people committed their funds to make them even more funds. The gyms of America were overrun with flabby bodies of all ages, now realizing that they could be perfect. Cocaine, the meglomanic's drug of choice, flourished. We all wanted it all, right now.
Prominent Object which doesn't represent the decade: Rubik's cube. Don't be such a braniac, spazz.

Decade: the 1990s
Object: Blue Dress With Semen Stain
Why: Let's face it, aside from that impeachment unpleasantness, things were pretty good in the nineties. We had record economic growth, we weren't at war with anyone significant for any significant length, and technology was advancing pleasantly along. Things were going so swimmingly that we could afford to waste time on trivia like the president's sex life and treat it like a high crime. Idle hands! Come to think of it... never mind, the innuendo wasn't worth the space.
Prominent Object which doesn't represent the decade: Cell phone. But they ARE really cool.

Now of course we're rounding up another decade... any early ideas on what this decade means and what the object is?