Matt May dissects the statement of Searchlight, NV's dim bulb, Harry Reid, likening George W. Bush to Millard Fillmore.

When, decades from now, the definitive histories of the current age are written, one thing is certain: Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada will be but a mere footnote in a history that has seen the removal of tyrants and murderers and the blossoming of freedom and democracy where once the exercise of free speech resulted in one's tongue being impolitely removed and the raping of one's wife. [snip]

Sen. Reid's latest attempt to make himself relevant in these truly revolutionary times is to make a prediction that is exactly backward: Reid prophesizes that President Bush will be known as this century's Millard Fillmore. Reid's swami—like declaration: "I think he's done a terrible job as president. I think he's going to be known, perhaps, as being the Millard Fillmore of the last 100 years."

Although it is true that Fillmore was the last Whig president, his low standing among historians ought to be tempered by the one significant triumph of his presidency: the dispatching of Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan, which cause that nation to re—enter the world system, and eventually bring us Toyotas, anime, and a cornucopia of cheap and high quality gadgets, not to mention sushi.

What has Harry Reid ever accomplished?

Thomas Lifson   11 02 05