All the presidents of the 20th century ranked from furthest left to right

[Signet]

hoover                 refused to help during depression

This is a really common (mis)belief.  Hoover enacted lots of programs designed to help during the start of the Depression.  Most of these, in fact, were continued for the remainder of the depression under FDR, such as the RFC (though it received significantly higher funding under FDR).  Unfortunately, most of these programs had the exact opposite effect of what they were intended to do - they hurt our economy.  FDR accused Hoover of being the most reckless-spending, oversized gov't administration in the history of America, an accusation that was founded upon hard facts.  Hoover's interventionist policies caused prices to skyrocket, such as steel which saw a 140%+ increase after a few tarriffs and trade-blocking bills passed.  Roosevelt campaigned in 1932 under a platform of promising less government interference/intervention in the economy, if that gives you an idea of how much Hoover unfortunately *was* doing to "help" our economy. Ultimately, it was a campaign promise he did not deliver on.  Result: unemployment still above 10% eight years later, until the military draft provides plenty of "jobs"...

[Signet]

wilson                  father of fascism during wwi
right

Would place bush2 right before wilson. Bush hasn't taken away free speech yet.

What was going on under Wilson that was more restrictive of civil rights than Internment and such during WWII?  Or is it different because US soil was deliberately attacked in WWII but not in WWI, when the "provoking incident" was a naval attack that sunk a US ship?

(also I should note that I'm not criticizing FDR's WWII leadership, but given his bent towards national security over personal liberty during that war, I'm curious how much *more* of that was going on during WWI?)

[Signet]

I have Kennedy farther to the left than anyone else so far. Was he really not that liberal? Personally, whenever I think of him I always think of "Ask not what your country can do for you..."

Some would consider that a pretty conservative quote ;-)  If you consider large gov't programs "your country doing for you."

Economically, JFK was probably the most conservative Democrat we have had... that or Clinton.  JFK slashed income taxes while Clinton did a lot to promote free trade and still had low taxes compared to many Democrats.

JFK was a bit of a defense hawk too.  The Cuban Missile Crisis was perhaps his boldest stand against the Soviet Union, and was possibly the closest moment we ever came to a not-so-cold war with them.  Also there was the Bay of Pigs invasion and sending a few military advisors to Vietnam.

[Signet]

LEFT

FDR - probably the closest the US has come to socialism.  Nonetheless, a brilliant leader in his third term.  Policies concerning the War - even before the US entered, such as Lend-Lease - were far from leftist, but his social and economic policies during this time are left enough to still place him on this far end of my list.

Wilson - stayed out of WWI for quite a long time, League of Nations

hypothetical - John Kerry - originally, his website had many socialist-like plans for rural urbanization programs and hinted at the start of a NHS system.  Now he has dropped that (perhaps for electibility), though his voting record also places him high on the list of the authoritarian-left, socially.  Defense-wise, again it is hard to tell.  I don't like to use cliches, but he changes his platform very often... if he is not elected then it will really be impossible to know where he would have fallen on this list.

Carter - all-around liberal, though not a socialist like FDR nor the internationalist Wilson was

LBJ - Vietnam being a big exception

Truman - aside from being the only president to use nuclear force - which I used to frequently hear modern Democrats question the necessity of doing.  Continued many of FDR's policies, though scaled down.

Eisenhower - Korean War, socially a tad left iirc, and economically a very big spender

JFK - even more than his policies he should be remembered for his optimism and vision

Clinton - social liberal (exception: DOMA), economic mix, maintained internationally active military

Teddy R - a true progressive, carried a big stick too!

Nixon - got us completely off the gold standard!  pull out from Vietnam.  this guy comes to mind when people say "crooked as a politician"

Ford - restored confidence in the office after Nixon

Hoover - a really bad mix of economic passiveness and interventionism almost getting things backwards there!, poorly oversaw "moderinzation" of US military including passing on the T-34's prototype

Bush Sr - all-around conservative, though he did raise many trade barriers towards non-warring countries which is not a conservative thing to do imo

Taft - trust busting, but did a lot to anger progressives as well by dropping TR's conservation policies.  made efforts (unsuccessful) to expand trade

Harding - despite the boom of the early 20s, this wasn't a great time for American labor...

McKinley - last expansionist president, very aggressive military policy

Reagan - massive military buildup, Reaganomics and the end of high inflation, oversaw Fed transition to monetarist policy, moralist social policy.  I still think he was overall a great president.

Bush, Jr - not a true conservative, though very aggressive militarily (imo justified... imo) and has a moralist social agenda.  economically, he cut taxes yet spends an excessive amount on a wide range of programs.  He'd be hard to place if it weren't for the Patriot Act.

Coolidge - not that this is specifically a "righty" trait, but he was also really corrupt and imo incompetent.  Also, wrt the then-upcoming depression, this would be your example of a president who didn't care as he ignored many little problems during his term that became huge problems in 1928-29.

RIGHT