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PCTiming is everything for Presidents.
Bush came in when times were good, and big problems brewing -- his public approval could only go down.
Obama has come in when times are real bad, with those big problems in full force -- his public approval, which will likley go down in the near term, will most likely be positive at the end of his term(s).
Blaming Bush for everything is popular, and overly simplistic. He did not create the bad lending practices and the government programs that supported those practices, which brought down the international banking system. Those policies came into being under Clinton, and a liberal Congress. No other President had to deal with such a large scale attack on American soil. His reaction was (necessarily) militaristic, something that will always be unpopular, and vocally unpopular in the left wing press. And if you think Gore would not have gone into Iraq, you're not seeing the big picture, or you've bought into the left wing "Bush vendetta" and "they lied to us" mantras. And as far as trampling the Constitution, no one on this board, and I'm certain no one you know or met, has been denied any Constitutional rights under Bush, whether it be under the Patriot Act or otherwise. Regarding Gitmo, I think it has served its purpose and Obama will close it, but the legal reality is that the "detainees" are not protected by the Constitution.
And for the far left that is up in arms over the Patriot Act, but seem to be big FDR fans, try to remember all the things that FDR -- the beloved founder of modern government liberalism -- did, in the face of economic and military crises, all of which make the Patriot Act and Gitmo appear inconsequential. FDR's two biggest violations include incarcerating American citizens based on race (the Japanese internment camps), and he tried to expand the Supreme Court to pack it with judges sympathetic to his most clearly unconstitutional policies and programs. And he ran for a third term ... viewed now and then as dictatorial. Oh, don't forget Pearl Harbor and WWII.
I'm not a Bush fan. I think he listened to bad advice, and could have done better. But if you think our economic, foreign relation and environmental problems would not have existed under Gore or Kerry, then I think you give far too much credit to some, and too much blame to others.
I certainly hope things improve under Obama. We need him to be successful.