Who Was The Worst Republican President?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

[terrya]

1. I never would have dreamed that in comparison to George W. Bush...

Reagan would be better. Note that I said "in comparison"

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I Wanted Bush* To Win A DU Poll For Once

eom

[Kutjara]

3. Don't worry, Republican presidents are insidious.

Each one lowers the bar from the one before. Three more of the bastards and we'll be scooping the next one off the top of a fishtank.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. At The Risk Of Being A Heretic I Would Say Reagan Had A Kinder Heart...

Tip O'Neil said Reagan was a sucker for a sad story... He just couldn't see that some of his policies were punitive toward less advantaged folks... I don't think Reagan would look at a bunch of gazionallionaires and call them "my base"... Reagan came from a modest background... He wasn't the pampered prince the Bushes are...

[terrya]

6. That's a pretty insightful analysis.

Reagan certainly didn't come from a privileged family like Bush did.

I pretty much agree with what you said.

Needless to say, I'm not exactly proud of finding myself defending Ronald Reagan in any way. But in comparison to what we're saddled with right now...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. I Certainly Didn't Vote For Him But I Could See His Appeal

He was the quintessential optimist who made people feel good about their country...He made the mistake that many successful people make ;that their success can be easily duplicated...That all it takes is hard work... They fail to realize they were born with certain assets... Like in Reagan's case- conventional good looks, and a great set of pipes...In Bush's case he was born with a dowery and a name... You can say that about some of our leaders as well but I think most of them realize that...It's a huge difference...


I also don't think Reagan would have gotten us involved in a land war in the heart of the Middle East...

[A wise Man]

16. Also Reagan was an actor

he was good at reading scripts,Bush can't read.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. Read Tip's Memoirs

He recounts a meeting with Reagan where he tells him of a young girl who can't get the medical treatment she needs because she was caught in the government bureacray... Reagan was incredulous and personally intervened on her behalf while leaving the problem that caused her not to get treatment in the first place intact...

[anniebelle]

5. The King and Queen era started under

Saint Ronnie and Queen Nancy so I have to give him the No. 1 slot as worst presidents. And how the RNC machine has pulled the wool over their flock. Here in Tennessee, the 26 per centers think Fredrick "of Hollywood" Thompson is King Ronnie incarnate. His little philly, not so much.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Objectively- I Would Have To Say Hoover And Bush* Were The Worst...

On one hand you have the greatest economic disaster in the history of the republic and the other hand you have the biggest strategic blunder in the history of the republic...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. Jeri Thompson Has All The Imperiousness Of Nancy Reagan And None Of The Panache...

Plus the Reagans appeared to be a well matched couple... Fred Thompson looked as if he married his son's girlfriend...

[TwilightGardener]

20. Nancy was old-time glamour. Jeri is total trailer.

[Yupster]

38. That's not fair to Hoover

By the time he took office the Depression was already well under way, especially in the agricultural sector which was far larger than it is today.

Hoover also went further in government intervention in the economy than any president before him. The fact that FDR went way further shouldn't take away from Hoover's efforts.

Hoover was also perhaps the best man to ever become president. From an orphan he went to Stanford and spent his life going around the world helping people in famine. He was maybe the most prepared man ever to become president.

I think he's our most underrated president so I stand up for him when he's made fun of.

[LeftishBrit]

44. Hoover was disastrous to the economy, but I would still have to rate him better than Bush...

(1) In Hoover's laissez-faire economic policies, he was, as I understand, largely following in the footsteps of his predecessors Harding and Coolidge. He didn't invent the policies, though he was too rigid to change them when faced with a crisis. Bush has moved away from his immediate predecessors in a number of important and bad ways.

(2) Hoover did some important humanitarian work before he was president. Bush did a lot of drinking, failed in several businesses, and executed a lot of people in Texas before he was president.

(3) (As Secretary of Commerce, not as President), Hoover responded quite effectively to a disaster similar to Katrina. Bush - well, we know.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

8. Tough call between Reagan and Bush...

Bush is clearly worse in action but Reagan laid the groundwork that made Bush possible (and to many, palatable).

[The Gunslinger]

9. How many can choose????? nt

[PFunk]

11. How about the guy that came before Lincoln...

After all in addition to other things he help create the mess that eventually lead to the Civil War.

After him Bush Jr is second.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. James Buchanan

But most politicians in the mid eighteenth century were trying to kick the "slavery" can down the road...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

23. James Buchanan wouldn't be in this poll

He was a Democrat. This poll is about Republican presidents only.

[Colobo]

27. Buchanan was one of the worst Democratic presidents ever.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Richard Nixon Owes Bush* A Debt Of Gratitude

Because if not for Bush* he would probably be winning this poll...

[Somawas]

19. Exactly my thought.

I never thought that anyone could make Nixon look good by comparison.

[Labors of Hercules]

15. What, no "all of the above"? nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. This Was A Push Poll

I wanted to manufacture a George Bush* victory on DU...

[TwilightGardener]

21. Gonna have to go with the Chimperor, because of his sheer unsuitability

for the office--he wasn't otherwise qualified and screwed up. He should never have gotten anywhere near the power he ended up with. He wipes out the "Governors make better Presidents" theory that so many now accept as conventional wisdom. There are plenty of mediocre governors.

[Grandrose]

22. One word......

Iraq! Bush has caused untold death and destruction based on a lie...case closed!:mad:

[jumptheshadow]

24. How about Nixon?

How soon we forget.

[Colobo]

25. GWB and Hoover, by far.

[ThomWV]

26. The Demonspawn Ronald Reagan who brought the current filth into Government was the worst

Virtually every one of Bush's strings is pulled by someone who got into Government with Ronald Reagan.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

28. Bush = worst president in the history of the US, Ronald Reagan = 2nd worst

[Colobo]

30. Reagan is not even close of being the second worst

Hoover, Buchanan, Polk, Harding... quite a few were worse than him. Gosh, I think Carter was less succesful than Reagan.

[LeftishBrit]

34. I would guess that some 19th century presidents were worse..

but certainly in recent times, I'd agree that Bush was the worst, followed by Ronnie.

[AngryOldDem]

29. Ulysses Grant n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

31. I So Disagree...

Grant was merely incompetent...Bush is incompetent and evil...

Plus, Grant supported the rights of the newly free slaves...

[yurbud]

32. I can't believe anyone thinks any of the others worse than Bush

He is far more corrupt, dangerous, and anti-democratic than all of them put together.

[Richard Steele]

33. Well, it takes all kinds...

Bear in mind, we've got a post on this very thread
saying Carter was worse than REAGAN. :eyes:

[Colobo]

35. Not worse, less succesful.

[LeftishBrit]

36. Reagan (or his handlers) probably *were* more successful in achieving their goals...

The problem is that most of their goals were bad goals.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

39. When Reagan Left The Federal Government Was Larger Than When He Arrived

I don't how it was in the UK after the Iron Lady...

[LeftishBrit]

41. On the one hand, more had been privatized and funding for public services was lower

On the other hand, the powers of national government had been greatly increased relative to local government. The latter continues to this day.

Blair put more funding back into the public services, but unfortunately continued to treat public services as though they should be run like businesses (as if most businesses were all that efficient), with excessive emphasis on management and 'targets'. As I've said in other posts, imagine NCLB applied not only to education but to practically everything else.

So I suppose the brief answer is: on the one hand, increased privatization; on the other hand, increased centralization.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

43. Bush Destroyed Blair's Standing In Britain And In History

I like Blair a lot and feel bad for him... I wonder if Bush has any regrets...

[LeftishBrit]

46. Actually, I'd say that Blair did quite a lot of that for himself.

He is much more intelligent, and probably better-intentioned, than Bush; but he combines an excessive belief in himself and whatever is his current cause, with a lack of attention to detail and an excessive predilection for spin.

He was causing major problems for our public services before he got involved with Bush. He got re-elected because the opposition was so bad, not because he was much liked. And I think that his readiness to go into Iraq was to a large extent based on an attitude, not dissimilar to the (often very idealistic) 19th-century imperialists that he knew best how other countries should be run, and that it was his job to make them act as he wished. Since we have not had an empire since the 1940s, he went along with Bush's 'empire'. If he had really not believed in the policies, he would not have gone along with Bush.

Blair's government has one great achievement: the Good Friday Agreement which largely brought peace to Northern Ireland (it was also, of course, an achievement for the Irish parties). For the rest, he has been a great disappointment.

P.S. I doubt that Bush has any regrets. Does he ever have any regrets for anything?

[Richard Steele]

45. Well, you conflated those two terms with the fashion in which you used them.

Your post boils down to:
"Many were worse than Reagan; even Carter was less successful."

Parsing those two statements in that order requires the implicit
assumption that you are using both terms to refer to the same
concept. Otherwise, the Carter reference is completely irrelevant
to the subject at hand, and doesn't belong there at all.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

37. Where

[Madspirit]

40. Back in the Day

I lived through Nixon, as a young adult and we thought nothing could top that. We were so wrong.

Our present president is the worst ever, in my opinion. Jeez, at least Nixon resigned.

Lee

[lpbk2713]

42. RayGun

Nancy's astrologer was a better President than that sorry-assed 'B' grade actor.

[Marr]

47. GW is what Reagan would've been without any restraints.

They've got the same puppeteers, for the most part. Their goals and methods are very similar.

[bridgit]

48. This is a trick question, right?

:)

[Kadie]

49. Looks like * is winning this one without any doubt.

:rofl: