Topic: Ranking the US Presidents From Worst to First

[Rhinosaurus]

I like Ike!

Seriously no one's put Eisenhower in their lists?

He got some important things started at least, and let's not forget his exit message of peace and prediction of the military-industrial complex that is seriously harming us right now.

[shemps#1]

Ike would be in my Top Ten, maybe 6-8.

[Justin T]

Yes, I dont totally agree with those rankings either. Historians have their own bias due to their
own political beliefs. I've read plenty about various presidents from biographies to specific historical
books.

Some of the presidents I think are ranked too high are FDR, Wilson and Jackson. I read a good
biography of Jackson earlier this year, American Lion, learned alot more about him and most of it I
didn't like. As for FDR, I can't stand the New Deal but I like, for the most part, how he handled WWII
before he died. Wilson? I'll get to him when I name my worst.

I'll go over some who I consider the best, then the worst.

Best:

George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson.

Our first 3 Presidents were among the best. I never thought much of Adams until I read his
biography by David McCullough and came away with a much greater admiration of the man,
especially his time as President. He was able to keep us out of a war with France despite
the efforts of so many who opposed it. History has become much kinder to him, and I loved
the HBO mini-series based on McCullough's book.

Abe Lincoln

I don't worship the ground he walks on like some people do, he wasn't perfect by a long shot.
Yet his love for his country, and his political skills, can't be denied.

Teddy Roosevelt

I don't agree with some of his progressive politics and policies, but he did alot of good things too.
All the jobs and adventures he had in his life have fascinated me since I was a teenager. Not many
presidents had the presence and speaking skills to rally the people behind him like he did.

Calvin Coolidge

The more I read about him, the more I like. He may be one of the best presidents no one knows about.
Like Harding he made the right decisions concerning the economy, The Roaring 20's, all the prosperity before
The Great Depression hit? That happened under his watch and he gets no credit for it. He supported civil rights for African Americans, gave US citizenship to Native Americans, he supported anti-lynching laws but Southern Democrats blocked it in Congress. I also loved how he handled the 1919 Boston Police Strike when he was Governor of Massachusetts. One of the best conservative presidents we ever had, and a favorite of Ronald Reagan. I need to get my hands on a good biography or two of him.

Harry Truman

Another President that I admire for many things, while disagreeing with others. Dropping the Atomic Bombs, his handling of the Soviet Union as the Cold War began, The Marshall Plan to name a few. He was a New Deal libreral, but he made many good decisions. Sadly his handiling of The Korean War wasn't one of them. David McCullough's biography of him is one of the best books I've ever read.

Ronald Reagan

I didn't apprecaite him the way I do now, while he was President I went from age 3 to 11. It wasn't until I became more conservative in my politics that I came to admire and apprecaite the things he did for this country. He made his share of mistakes too, like the Iran Contra Affair, but I still love the man.

Like Shemps, I've come to like McKinley alot more. I wonder if any good books have been written about him. I like Ike too. Harding wasn't that great a president, but he is not one of the worst. Shemps has already pointed out some
of the good things he did, yet he had multiple affairs on his wife (some which produced children). He may have cheated more than Bill Clinton did on Hillary. For a good read on him, Coolidge and the 20's check out the
book 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents.

The Worst:

James Buchanan
Jimmy Carter
Richard Nixon
Woodrow Wilson

Buchanan sat on his ass while the Civil War was coming to fruition. Carter and Nixon make me sick, hate the
damage they did to this country. But, I consider Wilson the worst offender of them all. Through his progressive political beliefs he enacted some of the worst policies ever, especially during WWI. He was a huge egomaniac who believed he was the smartest man in the room. Oh, and he was probably one of the most rascist men to ever sit in the Oval Office. And let's not forget the Treaty of Versailles and his prescious 14 Points either, he had a big hand in shaping that disaster that helped lay the groundwork for the rise of Hitler, the Nazi's and WWII. He would have tried to run for a 3rd term, but a huge stroke in 1919 left him crippled. Thankfully American finally rejected him and his policies by 1920.

[shemps#1]

I still don't know what being a terrible husband has to do with being a good President or not. When you look at Harding accomplished and realize he did it on only two years in office it's very impressive.

Reagan is highly overrated by conservatives and I am convinced he was began suffering from dementia while in office. His foreign policy (except Iran Contra) was great, no doubt about it. However I would like to bring up a few key issues of contention that I have with Rappin' Ronnie (in honor of my mother who despised the man):

1. Trickle Down Economics: it destroyed the economy until Clinton fixed it (only to have W Bush make it worse than Reagan could dream).

2. AIDS: he completely turned a blind eye to the AIDS epidemic, washing his hands of it instead of committing to discovering what it was (if you remember it was quite a few years before the layman truly understood the virus).

3. Religious Right: It was bad enough that he felated them to get their votes, but when it was there turn to felate him and even TRY to get some of things done that they voted for he didn't even give them a courtesy tap before he bukkaked all over them. I'm not one to come to the defense of Christian Fundies and I am glad he screwed them over, but the fact of the matter is he did screw them over.

[metaldams]

Not that I can contribute too much to this thread since I'm not all that knowledgable (though at least I know who the presidents are, which a lot of people can't claim), but I have to say this is interesting reading.  Thanks guys.  Perhaps I should research some of these guys.

[shemps#1]

You really should Doug: Harding was probably as close as we are going to get to having Dolemite run the country. He definitely kept his pimp hand strong!

In all seriousness though there is hardly a boring man in the group of 43 that have been President. Take for instance Grant and Ike: both war generals but one was a great Commander In Chief and one was anything but.

[Justin T]

I agree, there are many very good books about various Presidents out there that
are well worth the read.

[Boid Brain]

Washington is #1.....Teddy is #2....Jefferson #3.....FDR #4.....Andrew Jackson #5....Lincoln?...about 40. His crazy save the Union thing killed 600K men and women. And he is considered as great?

Forget about it! Truman is #6...big balls to drop the bomb! You know that the plans to invade Japan were well in the works,,,but Harry said:We built this bomb, so we will use this bomb!

In the blink of an eye he killed 120K innocent Japs.....and another 100K 2 days later. What a fucking thing to do....I could not do it.  Could you?

[stooge1029]

I see a lot of people here defending Harding and also throwing Coolidge into the mix. Keep in mind it was their administrations that preceded the great depression. You think that whole thing was Hoovers fault? Hoover did nothing to fix it, but theres no way he gets into office and fd everything up that badly within a year. Harding was unable to keep labor strikes at bay meanwhile he gambled and drank and slept with loose women while his buddies made terrible deals. Im sorry, but not every president does this. Not every president lets their wife call the shots politically either. Harding was less of a man and more of a boy who married a powerful old lady. Get out of here with this Harding was great he made lynching a crime and gave us all highways. A few good things happen in each presidency...but its the man, the leader you have to look at.
Also I  think if I had to do my bottom five again Id throw Carter in there..he was just a pussy.
I think Nixon was a very intelligent man who came into a horrible situation with us wrapped up in an unwinable and unpopular war and the economy on the decline after like 20 years of prosperety. Not bottom five material though.

[shemps#1]

Forgive me if I am misreading you, but are you really getting upset because I think Harding and Coolidge were great Presidents? Relax bud, we are talking about nearly a century ago here.

I do not understand what being a good husband has to do with being a good President. His marriage and his Presidency are two separate matters. I've already made my case for Harding in previous posts so I'll move on. As for Nixon, the man was a paranoid shit who was very brazen about going after his perceived enemies unlike any President before him or really after him. He wasted tax dollars going after John Lennon of all people. It's not only what he did but the fact that was stupid enough to get caught red-handed that has irreparable damage to the Executive Branch. On top of that (and this may not be a popular opinion) but thanks to him being in bed with Mao we are in the druthers we are in now with China to the effect that we owe them trillions of dollars and future generations could very well be required to speak Mandarin. He is most definitely deserving of a bottom 5 ranking. I remember when Nixon died Clinton (rightfully) did not order flags at half-mast to mourn the asshole. That was in 1994, almost 20 years after he resigned (before he could be tossed).

In a totally unrelated note, Nixon resigned on 8/9/74: three years to the day before I was born lol.

[Dunrobin]

In a totally unrelated note, Nixon resigned on 8/9/74: three years to the day before I was born lol.

You know, it's comments like that which make me feel old.   

I was in the Army at the time, and I remember sitting in the Company Headquarters with the First Sergeant watching Nixon announcing his resignation.  I remember thinking two things: "good riddance to bad rubbish," and, "oh shit, Gerry Ford's my Commander-in-Chief now?"   

[shemps#1]

You know, it's comments like that which make me feel old.   

I was in the Army at the time, and I remember sitting in the Company Headquarters with the First Sergeant watching Nixon announcing his resignation.  I remember thinking two things: "good riddance to bad rubbish," and, "oh shit, Gerry Ford's my Commander-in-Chief now?"   

LOL, sorry about that, but to further twist the knife in this guy who wasn't born when Nixon resigned has hair that is both greying and thinning at the same time!

Ford's death blow was of course pardoning Nixon. I personally think the two struck a deal and it Nixon resigned knowing full well that he would not pay for his crimes, but I can almost understand the rationale behind Ford saying he wanted the country to be able to move on. However that whole mess left a generation completely disillusioned with their Government and left many baby boomers asking Ford the same question Red Foreman once asked him on an episode of That 70's Show (and I paraphrase): why the hell did you pardon Nixon? I actually spoke to my mother earlier and mentioned that someone on this site thought Nixon was not a bad President. It took her a while to stop laughing.

[metaldams]

LOL, sorry about that, but to further twist the knife in this guy who wasn't born when Nixon resigned has hair that is both greying and thinning at the same time!

No grays, but the hairline ain't what it used to be.  I had my hair long for a while to hide it, no such luck, so it's short again.  Oh well.

The back and neck ain't what it used to be, the knees aren't what they used to be......no wonder why the Red Sox wouldn't sign Victor Martinez.  He's a day older than me, an old guy.  I caught two games in Little League, so that must be the reason for my problems, (truthfully, it's probably playing bass).

[metaldams]

I actually spoke to my mother earlier and mentioned that someone on this site thought Nixon was not a bad President. It took her a while to stop laughing.

My Dad thinks Nixon was a great president and owns a George W. Bush coffee mug.  Maybe this explains why I've eased into extreme caution with politics.

[shemps#1]

I never understood how anyone can be so deluded like that. People like your father don't even think when it comes to politics: "elephant good, donkey bad" or vice-versa.

I wish more people would think for themselves instead of following a political party's platform straight down the line.

[metaldams]

I never understood how anyone can be so deluded like that. People like your father don't even think when it comes to politics: "elephant good, donkey bad" or vice-versa.

I wish more people would think for themselves instead of following a political party's platform straight down the line.

I love my Dad, don't get me wrong, but his views on, well, everything are about as stubborn and black and white as you can imagine.  He views the world the exact same way now as he did when I was a little kid, not an ounce of change.

What views I do have, I'm conservative in some ways and liberal in others, and I try my best to keep an open mind.

[Lefty]

What views I do have, I'm conservative in some ways and liberal in others, and I try my best to keep an open mind.

I have known way too many people who vote strictly on party lines, no matter how bad the politicians are (Bush II, Fat Boy Christie, Willie B. Goode & Johnny B. Street from Philly, etc.).

I'm a registered Republican, yet I would never vote straight up for them.  My wife and I always split the ballots, as it were, voting first for Jewish candidates, then Independents, then those who are not as crooked as the others (if it's possible).  After his death, I found out that Nixon was an anti-Semite.  That was another reason for me to despise him.

[Dunrobin]

After his death, I found out that Nixon was an anti-Semite.  That was another reason for me to despise him.

Interesting, if true, since as I recall he was always a strong supporter of Israel.

[stooge1029]

I NEVER said Nixon wasnt a bad president, he just isnt one of the five worst. If you look at his approvial rating it wasnt always unfavorable and he was much better than most of his successors at foregin affairs. Once Watergate happened he turned into the symbol of corruption. I was saying people like Carter were worse in my opinion because they didnt know how to lead a nation or how to command respect of their peers and foreign powers. I hope Obama doesnt turn into another Carter. For the record, Nixon was definitly a BAD PRESIDENT.

[falsealarms]

Has anyone read George W. Bush's DECISION POINTS book?

[metaldams]

Saw this thread from years ago and while I am way more opinionated about this stuff than I was in 2010, I am impressed by how this thread remained civil.

Not a fan of presidents in general, but if you gotta pick, it warms my heart to see respect for Harding and Coolidge here.

[Moose Malloy]

Lots of presidential knowledge shown around here. I don't remember knowing about Harding's contributions in spite of the fact that I've watched that history channel's THE PRESIDENTS about 10 times. Goes to show what a sieve of a brain I'm working with. But what synapses are still firing compel me to challenge a couple of things. First off, Washington, Adams and probably even Jefferson shouldn't qualify for the list (especially George) Too new to a brand new job. That knocks two off Rushmore

Secondly, Old Hickory's brutality vs. his Bank busting cancel each out. His grade should be a "C" Give Abe a solid "D"  All that bullshit about a great emancipator makes me sick. He was as racist as the next guy, wasn't respected by his cabinet and sucked massive elephant cock picking generals. That's three off the rock

Finally, the man at the top of the heap is a tie, and they both share the same last name,.Ted and Frank. no need to list their accomplishments or failings. Both prevailed in spite of serious challenges. Frank's legs and Ted's psychopathy.

It's moot to discuss the worst prez because Trump has raised that bar to heights unknown, great news for the Bushes