Like Father Not Like Son

Brad DeLong notes how tidy it is to view Dubya in contrast to his father's presidency:

George H.W. Bush had three main accomplishments as president to his credit: the first big steps to eliminate the Reagan budget deficits (through the 1990 Budget Enforcement Act, tax increases, and discretionary spending caps), strong support for open-society reformers rather than authoritarians in Russia, and the construction of a broad U.S.-led coalition to enforce international law.

George W. Bush has revived Reagan's deficits, strongly supported Putin's shift back toward a much more authoritarian politics in Russia, and broken George H.W. Bush's coalition into shards.

It's hard for me at least not to see George W. Bush's actions as, at some level, a message to his father: "See Dad? See? I've broken everything you built!"

Obviously, ensuring that they're both one-termers helps in preserving the balance inherent in this analysis.