(CNN) — With record low approval ratings and intense criticism for his handling of the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the economy, the word most used to label George W. Bush’s presidency will be "incompetent," historians say.
President Bush makes remarks on the presidential transition November 6.
"Right now there is not a lot of good will among historians. Most see him as a combination of many negative factors," said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.
"He is seen as incompetent in terms of how he handled domestic and foreign policy. He is seen as pushing for an agenda to the right of the nation and doing so through executive power that ignored the popular will," he added.
But like so many presidents before him, Bush’s reputation could change with time.
Harvard University political history scholar Barbara Kellerman said when President-elect Barack Obama takes over in January, people may view Bush in a new light.
Watch Bush address staff about transition of power »
"I think it’s possible when people have stopped being as angry at the Bush administration as they are now … that they will realize that some of this is just … the luck of the draw." Kellerman, author of the book "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters," noted that Bush has not had luck on his side for the past eight years.
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"He [Bush] has been a quite unlucky president. Certain things happened on his watch that most people don’t have to deal with — a 9/11, a [Hurricane] Katrina, the financial crisis, being three obvious examples," she said.
"And yet they happened on his watch. He is being blamed," she said.
And that fact — coupled with approval ratings around 27 percent, according to CNN’s poll released October 21 — is in large part why Obama and Democrats won big on November 4.
Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian and professor at Rice University, said the country is dealing with a "lame duck president" who will most likely face an uphill battle in getting anything passed through Congress before he leaves office.
"We’re dealing with an economic meltdown … We’re dealing with two wars. So everything Obama does now is going to be seen as he is the de facto president," Brinkley said Thursday. Read Zelizer’s take on what Obama should avoid
Historians, beginning to examine Bush’s legacy, note that the 43rd president could end up with a better reputation down the road — something that happened to Harry Truman.
At different points in his presidency, Truman earned some of the highest and the lowest public approval ratings in history: 87 percent approval in June 1945 vs. 23 percent approval in January 1952, according to a CNN analysis of polling at the time.
Truman, who is often noted for his upset victory over Thomas Dewey in 1948,
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