There's apathetic incompetence, and then there's ambitious incompetence. The guy who currently has the job is making an impressive play of his own for the title you mention, I think. He is bumbling some pretty big issues - spending, oil dependence, US global standing, nation building - 8 years of aggressive incompetence may have a big price tag. While we're not headed for civil war, I do think it's a potentially catastrophic path that we're on. We're facing years of increased taxes to pay for his lack of discipline on spending, and years of war (with few allies) to pay for his mis-adventures in the middle east. The cost of his further institutionalizing the US's oil dependence remains to be seen.

Best line from my PA HS history teacher - "Buchanan is the only president from Pennsylvania. . .and we ain't proud of him."