Best President of the 20th Century

[Deldem]

Who is the best president of the 20th century, and why? Discuss.

My vote:
FDR: While many would level (somewhat) fair criticism at the New Deal, what FDR managed to achieve domestically is the restoring of confidence and a few programs now considered essential (like Social Security). In addition, he successfully guided his nation through what was the worst war in history. In short, while most presidents only deal with merely a crisis at home or an international one, FDR managed to execute an excellent response for both.

Honorable mentions:
1. Teddy Roosevelt: First president to acheive some sort of social/progressive reform since Lincoln, though he loses points for imperialism. Best Republican of the Century
2. Harry S. Truman- expertly led us through the beginning of the postwar era. Supremely underrated.
3. JFK- Managed to stand up to the Soviets, and defused the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, created NASA, and has provided inspiration for many a young person since his time in office.
4. LBJ- Though he badly botched Vietnam, he deserves credit for reinvigorating social reform, and also for his push for equal rights.
5. Richard Nixon- Yes, the Watergate guy deserves an honorable mention. He was a foreign policy god. Oh, and he did crazy things like help protect the environment. Indeed, had it not been for scandal, he would have been remembered as one of the best moderates ever to sit in the Oval Office.

[Deldem]

He was a foreign policy god.

China and Soviet detente. All I'm going to say.

[Deldem]

3. JFK- Managed to stand up to the Soviets, and defused the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, created NASA, and has provided inspiration for many a young person since his time in office.

Eisenhower created NASA.

By create I mean really pushed for it. There was no sense of urgency until he spoke about putting the man on the moon. The program in the late 50s was very haphazard, and accomplished little.

3. JFK- Managed to stand up to the Soviets, and defused the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, created NASA, and has provided inspiration for many a young person since his time in office.

JFK screwed up the Bay of Pigs invasion and also caused the Cuban Missile Crisis by foolishly placing American missiles in Turkey and provoking the U.S.S.R., causing them to place missiles in Cuba in exchange. Also, JFK threatened to place sanctions on Israel (an American ally) for building nuclear weapons even though its enemies were threatening to destroy it and "throw all the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea." In contrast, JFK allowed the U.S.S.R. and China to build and have nukes.

And yes, I know the Cuban Missile Crisis beginning was mostly the fault of JFK, but he managed to avert disaster once it began. Notably, much of the issue was taking the advice of his military advisors and going through with the Bay of Pigs. His ability got noticeably better after that.

You also seem to imply that JFK really had control over the internal workings of China and the USSR. I believe that he was justified to keep nukes out of Israeli hands- they should not have them even today.