How would you rank (from Best to Worst) the past 12 presidents (FDR-ON)

[WI_DEM]

From Best To Worst:

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
saved the country during the Depression thru his innovative New Deal. Guranteed an income to senior citizens by creating Social Security and led it for most of WWII. Only president elected 4x's.

2. Harry S Truman
In the words of the historian David McCullough "he proved that an ordinary man could be an extrordinary president." Saved Europe through "The Marshall Plan" and Desegregated the Armed Services. First president since Lincoln to send congress a Civil Rights Bill.

3. Lyndon B. Johnson
Vietnam is a giant blot but he also was the president who successfully won passage of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare, Named the first racial minority to the US Supreme Court and did more to help the poor than all the presidents up to his time.

4. Dwight D. Eisenhower
First Republican in 20 years protected the gains made by the New and Fair Deal and solidified them. Got the U.S. out of Korea and was a true budget hawk and warned the country about the "Military-Industrial Complex." Appointed two great liberals: Earl Warren and William Brennan to USSC (even if he didn't really know it).

5. Jimmy Carter
Much maligned during his term but his achievements were substantial: Peace Treaty with Egypt and Isreal (which has kept the peace), The Panama Canal Treaties, Formal Diplomatic Recognition of China, A National Energy Act which was working until RR dismantled it, The Alaskan Lands Bill (the greatest conservation/land preservation act of all-time). Successfully negotiated to get US Hostages released from Iran. World-wide Inflation ate into his popularity.

6. Bill Clinton
Inherited a budget mess from his predecessor and went about balancing the budget and led the U.S. during a period of unprecedented prosperity. Impeached by the GOP House but not convicted he maintained an approval rating of 65-70 percent through much of his second term.

7. John F. Kennedy
He served too short of a period (1961-1963) to achieve great legislative goals. But he was one of the most inspirational presidents in US history--like Ronald Reagan he proved that image is sometimes more politically advantagous than substance. Averting war with Soviet Union during the Cuban Missle Crisis is his greatest achievement.

8. Gerald R. Ford
An interim president (Aug. 1974- Jan 1977)Ford probably defeated himself by pardoning Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed during his presidency. Ford, however was more open than his predessesor and his successor in his Inaugural Address said of Ford, "I want to Thank my predesesor for all he has done to heal our land." Perhaps the last real Republican president not controlled by the religious right.

9. Richard M. Nixon
Some historians have said that Nixon was the last liberal president. He wanted a guranteed income for all Americans and negotiated a SALT agreement with the Soviets and was the first president to open diplomatic ties with Red China. But a secretive WH which continually broke the law and culminated with the Watergate scandal dooms Nixon to the trash-heap of history.

10. Ronald Reagan
His "aw, shucks" screen presence along with the US recovering from the worst recession in it's history kept Reagan popular, but he also presided under a mean-spirited administration which tried to make "ketchup" a vegtable on school menus, Drove up the Budget Deficit to unprecedented heights all the while providing tax cuts for the rich and a huge increase in defense spending.

11. George HW Bush
"Poppy" who as president covered up the arms for hostage scandal (of which he was knee deep involved in) by issuing pardons. His obsession during his term was, like his son, Saddam Hussein--and his lack of interest in domestic issues led to his receiving only 38% of the vote in November, 1992.

12. Chimpy Bush
Without question the worst disaster to hit the US since the years just prior to the civil war. Everything he touches turns to dust. Doctored intelligence to involve a nation in a war. Is a captive of the religious "nut" right. Is a captive of the global money interests. His big domestic "achievement" is cutting taxes for the very rich. Presided over two great disasters to hit the US--9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. His responses to both prove his ineptness.

[FSogol]

1. I agree, except I'd place Reagan 11 and Bush the Elder 10

Reagan started the privatization that is crippling our nation, ignored the largest health crisis in US history and sold weapons to everyone we are currently fighting.

[eallen]

2. Nixon goes on bottom, in my opinion.

How can you review Nixon's presidency without mentioning the illegal and clandestine bombing of Cambodia, that led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge? Not only was that nefarious, the end result was millions slaughtered. Many of the practices we now condemn in Bush were first practiced by Tricky Dick, carried there by the original henchmen. Nixon left a long stain on American history. It's far too soon to say that Bush has equaled that.

[speedoo]

4. Bush lied to start an unnecessary war.

Forget all his other failures, that is enough to place him at the bottom of any list.

[eallen]

13. Iraq has a long way to go before it is as big a fuck-up as Cambodia.

[speedoo]

16. Maybe so, but Iraq is fast approaching that.

Civil war in Iraq has begun, and that means many many more Iraqis will die. How is that any different from what happened in Cambodia, other than the number of dead?

And what happened in Cambodia was a direct result of a war that Nixon inherited. Did Nixon prolong it unnecessarily and prosecute it in a terrible way? No doubt about it.

But he did not lie to start it. That is the difference.

I'm no defender of Nixon, but * is far worse.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Best to Worst

1. FDR- for the reasons you said.

2. Truman-though he was flawed, he did try and do a good job. He had personal courage and integrity that haven't been seen for a long time.

3. Carter-he brought idealism to the Presidency and really looked at the office as a trust given to him by the people. Like HST, he had courage and integrity and a desire to really bring peace to the world.

4. Johnson-a pol, a vain fellow who was into personal power, he still cared about his legacy. That's why Medicare was so important to him. His tragedy was not finding a way to get out of Viet Nam.

5. JFK-as you said, an inspiration. I'll never forget how he kept us from nuclear war over the missles in Cuba.

6. Eisenhower-I don't know that the neocons would consider Ike a Republican today, because the general had brains and knew better than to get into foreign adventures.

7. Clinton-a disappointment mainly because his plans for health care, commons sense approach to birth control, and other issues were thwarted by the neo-cons.

8. Reagan-the biggest liar of our time. His greatest role was playing the President of the US for 8 years. People who were really pulling the strings decided that, after him, they could relax and be more blatant.


9. Nixon- I never thought I'd see someone as sleezy again in my lifetime.

10. Bush 41-the less said the better.

11. Bush 43-if our country survives the chimp, it will be by the grace of God imho.

[chaumont58]

5. I wouldn't rate Carter above Clinton

and I wouldn't rate Eisenhower that high. There were three recessions during Eisenhower's presidency.
LBJ did get the Civil Rights Bill though, but he knew that the VietNam war was a civil war, but still let the military try to win it.
Carter was just not really a politician, and the presidency requires real political skills. For my money, FDR and HST one and two is spot on. I was born during FDR's second term. HST was the first President I was truly aware of. I came of age during the Eisenhower years and was 25 when JFK was killed, so I remember his Presidency vividly.

[WI_DEM]

8. I respect your views but I would also argue that Carter

achieved more goals than Clinton who was often too tame after the Health Care debacle and was too willing to simply ride on the prosperity of his administration.

[Sparkle]

6. On President's Day Cspan had a historian on rating the presidents

Carter received good marks for his actions when he left office but all the right wingers that called in were bad mouthing Carter very badly and some of them had to mention Clinton and how disgraceful he is. :eyes:

[WildEyedLiberal]

7. Same as yours except

5. Kennedy

6. Carter

7. Clinton

Inspiration isn't a tangible "achievement" but its power can't be denied. Kennedy inspired a generation of Americans to service and to work for the best this country to be, even if he was unable to watch those goals materialize.

[stillcool]

9. Unfortunately....I no longer trust...

my history. In my quest to make sense of current events, discrepancies of the past have necessitated my rejection of my own common knowledge. I guess it will be some time before I can again form an opinion.

[Yollam]

10. My Rankings

1. FDR - For creating at least some of the Socialist institutions any just society needs, and for using the New Deal to modernize rural America.

2. JFK - For Trying to divert cold war spending and energies into the more peaceful and constructive space race, for attempting to begin disengagement from Vietnam, for supporting civil rights.

3. LBJ - Despite his murderous role in Vietnam, he did much to try to combat poverty and passed the Civil rights act.

4. Clinton - For being a competent, appealing and successful democrat in ultra-right-wing times, and surviving amazing odds. Had his policies been more progressive and his pants zipped, he might have been 2nd place.

5. Eisenhower - Presided over a prosperous economy and was instrumental in building the Interstate Highway System. Unimpeachable honesty, and his warning about the Military Industrial Complex echoes to this day.

6. Nixon - Despite foot-dragging on Vietnam, he did get the wheels turning for our withdrawal. His diplomacy with China was remarkable, and overall he was a competent president.

7. Carter - Poor leadership skills, failure to delegate and unforgivable weakness in dealing with the Iranian hostage-takers doomed his administration to failure. He completely failed to inspire the people, even democrats, and the country fell into malaise. He deserves credit for his efforts to promote energy conservation and his decency as a man.

8. GHW Bush - A weak and ineffectual leader, he decided to concoct a war with Iraq when Reagan's trickle-down policies began to wreck the economy. Luckily, he broke his promise not to raise taxes and we were spared another Bush Sr. Term.

9. Reagan - After being shot, he was the puppet of Bush sr. A loveble man and a great speaker, his policies have done more to convert America into a third world banana republic than any other. His covert wars in central America murdered thousands, and he never submitted a balanced budget to the congress, earning himself the moniker "Red-Ink Reagan". His entire administration should have been imprisoned for the traitorous act of selling weapons to our terrorist enemies in Iran to fund illegal wars in central America, but Bush Sr. pardoned them all.

10. Truman. Although he had some progressive policies, I cannot put this man near the top. The murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was completely unnecessary and a black mark on the reputation of our country to this day.

11. Gerald Ford - An appointed, replacement veep, then an appointed, replacement president, his term was remarkable for its lack of remarkableness. Most memorable act - pardoning Nixon & co. I still don't know if I agree with that decision or not.

12. Bush Jr. - What can I say that we don't say here every day? Unsurpassed in terms of corruption and incompetence, fearmongering and lying, and unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility. It may be his administration that caused the beginning of the end of the great American experiment, the democratic republic.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Damn! I count 10 good reasons there for a parliamentary system.

With the exceptions of FDR & Carter, I do think we'd probably be better off with a prime minister.

[mb7588a]

12. hrm...

1. FDR
2. Clinton
3. Ike
4. Carter
5. JFK
6. Ford
7. LBJ
8. Truman
9. Reagan
10.G HW Bush
11. Nixon
12. GW Bush


LBJ had the Vietnam thing...
Truman didn't need to drop the bomb...he, like the Bushes, was a product of machine politics, not qualified for the job.

[SaveElmer]

14. A bit different...

1. FDR
2. Truman
3. LBJ
4. Bill Clinton
5. Jimmy Carter
6. JFK
7. Ike
8. Gerald Ford
9. Reagan
10. Bush I
11. Bush II
12. Nixon

[EFerrari]

15. You forgot Gore and Kerry.

What will history say about these two men that were elected and did not serve? Alternately, Bush was not elected in 2000 and probably not elected in 2004. We have reached the Rubicon.

[PBass]

17. Nixon did a couple of good things

He would be considered a tree hugging liberal by today's right wing extremists:

EPA (environmental protection agency)
OSHA (occupational safety)

I have personally benefitted twice from OSHA, who came in and forced two different employers to make my unsafe workplace, safe to work in.

I believe these agencies are both Nixon actions (correct me if I am wrong).

I am also glad Nixon began normalizing relations with China.

Don't get me wrong, Nixon would be around 9 on my list, just above both Bushes and above Reagan. I wouldn't put him last though.

[eggman67]

18. What bugs me

is that I have trouble with FDR at the top, but I can't find anybody else to put there.

Internment camps. Just can't get past that.

[Arkham House]

19. JFK is #1

...and for a simple reason. He saved the world during the Missile Crisis. Period. Anyone who doesn't believe that, read the book of White House transcripts that came out a few years ago about the crisis...he sounds cool, determined, and in control, just like his admirers have always claimed. And we know now how close we came, indeed how close the Joint Chiefs came to taking matters into their own hands. We sort of take this--the successful conclusion of the Crisis--for granted...but if the bombs had fallen, bothing else would have mattered. American history would have ended, and our discussion would be meaningless. And *any* other potential President of the time would have either invaded Cuba, thereby triggering the war, or been in effect deposed by the military, also starting the war.