Not nearly as atrocious and incompetent as his son or his former boss/predecessor Reagan (whom, it should be remembered, was attacked for his "voodoo economics" by Bush himself in the 1980 GOP primary).

Head of CIA during Kennedy Assassination, claims he has no memory of the event.
What was his part in the S and L scandal of the 1980's?
Some evidence to suggest that he and others provoked the Iraqi invasion on Kuwaits soil.
Very shifty character. Makes Nixon look like a saint by comparison.

Bush Sr. was very good on Foreign Policy, but bad on Domestic issues. Pretty average president.

Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency; operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf at a time of world change; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later.

Again, lukewarm. Even with Gulf War I, lukewarm.

Spawned Dubya, claims he doesn't know where he was when JFK was assassinated

In some areas, he was pretty good but he made a couple of serious blunders that cost him the election.

He did great in the Persian Gulf. he shouldnt ban off shore drilling

Following on the heels of the greatest American manipulator of public opinion, he was an utter disaster, a man without the populist touch. If I may be forgiven for taking the pop-culture approach to H.W. here, then, he looks like a worse buffoon than anyone the Democrats have put forth. The two most memorable reflections in pop culture are the bumbling character of Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski; and, delivering the summary judgment, Thurston Moore singing "Youth Against Fascism" in 1992:

The president sucks
He's a warpig f**k
His shit is out of luck

The one who got all this mess started

He was kinda an idiot in office as he didn't kill Hussein when it was justifiable.

hmmm...head of the CIA...2nd re-election was not "of the ppl"...again, nuff said

FAG

This guy is just a waste like his son and his whole family.... Its just war after war.... this country's history is just war.. and if we get more presidents like him and his son... thats all that there is going to be... WAR!

Just for siring W.

A lot like Reagan, but with war. Still smarter than his son though....and at least he stepped up and help the gulf coast out (with Clinton I might add) after Katrina. I guess Daddy really HAS to do everything

His primary reason to go to Iraq was to free Kuwait-not attack a corrupt dictator and put its country into shambles like his son is doing. He did say "No new taxes," but he did do them for a good reason. He is more caring to the people than his son and did a good job in dealing with enviornmental issues that he ranks to me, as part of the top 25 presidents in history. He is not better than Clinton and Reagan in the late 80's to now, but exponentially better than his son.

Father of the Worst President Ever. Payed his boys way through college, war, sports and politics. Left us with the rubble.

An average president who tried to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest presidents in history. 

Some of these reviews display, once again, that certain indivduals labor under the illusion that a Republican and a conservative are the same thing. Bush 41 was a big governement Republican and another goon for the "new world order crowd". Further, he broke his now infamous "read my lip" pledge. Lastly, he and his administration promised help to the Shiite if they would rise up against Saddam. Though an insurrection was started, no help was ever given to them. Welcome mass graves in southern Iraq. 

Update: One more time...Bill Clinton was closer, in reality, to being a Reagan Republican than either Bush 41 or 43. I agree with Oskar's review overall; but I cannot believe that some of you still think that either of the Bush Presidents is even remotely anything like a true conservative.

While I didn't like him at the time--I was quite a bit farther left in those youthful days--I've come to appreciate his mastery of foreign affairs, his wisdom and intelligence (even though he said a lot of anti-intellectual things during the election season, which I now recognize as a tactic to win votes).  I still don't like his running up of the deficit, because I want a balanced budget with spending limited as much as is consistent with maintaining the level of services we expect in a prosperous country.  I know my liberal friends will hurl things at me, but I've come to like this guy.

As several reviewers below have noted, Bush I was a maestro at foreign policy but weak on domestic issues.  With an approval rating of 90% after the end of the first Gulf War, he could have passed anything he wanted though Congress, including an effective deficit-reduction bill.  Instead, Bush dithered and babbled about a 'capital-gains tax cut' as the solution to the recession, and ignored or dismissed Americans' concerns about the economy.  Bush I managed to alienate both right-wing Republicans and independents (symbolized by Buchanan's primary run and Perot's independent candidacy) and lost what should have been an easy election.  He failure was due, ultimately, to his own shortcomings-not Perot or Clinton.  Despite his weaknesses, Bush I was a decent president-a far better one than his son.

He was a good man and did a good job. He ran afoul of a crazy billionaire, Ross Perot, who ran against him and siphoned off enough votes so that Bill Clinton could win with 41% of the vote.

Steady, Smart

Bush the father doesn't get enough credit for the good sense he had as president, and for having diginity and some measure of class; how could he have fathered the idiot son who now occupies the White House? He had the good sense to stop short of invading Iraq, and made strong alliances throughout the world.

His mind was on the golf course. His so-called great resume was actually pretty weak for a presidential candidate. Like his son, he tried to represent only a small segment of the American people - mainly the rich and the ultra-conservative. (See royal family comment with his son's rating.) ....Cy

I worked a medical/ security detail for him when he was in Florida. He is a very personable president. He made some tough decisions while in office and some hard/ quick commands during war. War time presidents will always be a product of years of criticism and speculation but I believe he did a good job while in office.

Strong honest leadership. He did what he thought was right for the American people and refused to budge on issues he was passionate about.

Hey badgirlsobad: how about some facts? You can't criticize someone without pointing out their flaws. Just because you might not like someone does not justify rating someone poorly. This is an administrative job, not a popularity contest. I wish everyone would back up their claims with facts, otherwise a lot of Republican presidents would be higher on the ratings.

Ok here are mine: Bush protected Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion under Saddam. Clinton was notorious for inaction. He did nothing to protect the Tutsis from the Hutus in the Rwandan Genocide. No action against Al-Qaeda after 93 WTC bombing, 98 African Embassies, USS Cole, etc. Bush continued Reagan's economic policies, which fueled Microsoft and other high-tech companies into the 90's explosion, which Clinton unrightfully took credit for. You do the math. No matter how you twist and turn the numbers, you're gonna get the same answer. Democrats' lack of facts says a lot about them.

A decent man- who because of his background was out of touch with the needs of ordinary Americans- smarter then his stupid slow witted spoiled brat son 'W' - G H W B tried to ride the coat tails of the 80s boom. He also fell into the pocket of the extreme far right- with their bigoted messages of hate and intolerance.

One of the biggest CROOKS and ELITISTS this country has EVER seen as POTUS! And of course, the father of 'W', the WORST POTUS in U.S. history!

Good on defense bad on the economy.

He gave us GW, what else is there to say?

Strong on foreign affairs, fairly weak on domestic issues. Fell prey to the Clinton Propaganda Machine which told the lie that Bush presided over the weakest economy in fifty years. That simply was not true. Still, he was an average president. Out of the forty-two presidents, I'd likely rank him twenty.

Cheap, dimestore facsimile of his hero, J. Edgar Hoover. A closet case if there ever was one. Hide your children, because THIS monster has designs on them...Did somebody say Bohemian Grove?

Maybe a bigger crook than his retarded son.

He f ed up by not taking down Saddam in the 90's. But, at least he had the sense to approve tax increases when needed, unlike his dimwit son.

If you pick the name of a bad Star Wars guy of course you have problems. H.W. kicked Saddam in the balls, hard in the Gulf War. Iraqi Wipeout

UPDATE: Thank you Andrew Olsen, thank you very much for the props. I appreciate it. ... Anyway, I don't hate Bush41, but what he did during the 1988 Election was unforgivable. He injected race into his campaign by citing the case of Willie Horton and won that way. C'mon! That showed Bush 41 was insensitive and vile. OLD STUFF: Unlike his retarded son, at least Bush41 can be reasoned with and he's much smarter than his baby boy. But still, Bush41 was a weak leader. Didn't advance the causes of this nation, domestically. Out of touch with reality. To prove it, he was stunned at seeing an electronic price scanner at a supermarket checkout.

It is because of his failure to finish the job in Iraq that we are in the situation we are in now

I can guarantee, he will have left a much better environmental legacy than his son, who actually has eliminated many of his fathers initiatives, such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. (So now all those people who live around the Great lakes will suffer. (not because of GHWB)

Outside of beating Saddam Hussien back out of Kuwait, there really wasn't much accomplished during Bush 41's term. A second term might have brought great things, but we'll never know.

I was not impressed with his tenure in the White House. History will treat him as one of the worst preseidents to lead this nation. Out of touch with the common man, woman, and child. I remember when he ran for re-election against Clinton; it took an act of congress to get him to approve extended Unemployment benefits for unemployed American workers. He put too much emphasis on US foreign policy and not enough on the US economy.

Liked him better then clinton and kerry. Jar-Jar you have problems

Dumbass.

Compared to his son, this empty suit seems like a statesman. While the elder Bush had no qualifications beyond his resume listing of time served, at least his placeholding acquainted him with the world beyond the borders of the USA.

i admire his courage in ww2....however, as president, he sucked and deserved to be force-fed his least favorite food.....broccoli

More corrupt than the Harding administration.

One of the most corrupt presidents, now he's using his idiot son as a puppet. Sold weapons to countries who now use them against us. Sounds like he is a master of the setup, making himself look like a hero. Now he's doing it for his son.

Not as bad as Jr., but he was a liar and a horrible economist.