Let me say the same thing today that I said about Bush when he was President: Although I think Bush did a much better job on national security issues and foreign policy than people give him credit for, he was a huge disappointment on the domestic front.

Yet, horrible approval rating and terrible messaging aside, Bush was a much better, more competent, and skilled President than Obama. That's even the case if you set aside ideological issues.

Bush was more transparent, worked better with the other side, was a much more skilled diplomat, had a much better idea of what government could accomplish, and was several orders of magnitude more honest.

Bush was not a great President. On the domestic front, he wasn't even a good one. He also did great damage to the Republican Party by being so stubborn, obtuse, and by making so little effort to get his message out.

But, all that said: When you get beyond the hyperbole and polling data, it's Obama, not Bush, who suffers when the two men are compared.