How many presidents were failures?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Harrison, Pierce, Buchanan, Johnson, Garfield, Harding, Hoover, and Carter. But I'll be nice and vote six, because it's hard to be anything but a failure when you're in office for less than six months.

[Franzl]

Depending on the standard you use.....most (if not all) of them.

[tpfkaw]

Depending on the standard you use.....most (if not all) of them.

Wow, I'm actually agreeing with him on something.

Harrison was the best president in US history.  Horace Greeley, had he been elected, would have been even better.

[courts]

You'd have to define 'failure' first. You can be pretty effective at getting your agenda passed and still not be good for the country afterall.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Harrison was the best president in US history. 

Because he died before he could do anything?

[Mr. Taft Republican]

All of them, especially president David Rice Atchison.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

All of them, especially president David Rice Atchison.

If George Washington was a failure, the United States wouldn't exist.

[Mr. Taft Republican]

All of them, especially president David Rice Atchison.

If George Washington was a failure, the United States wouldn't exist.

If George Washington were a success, we wouldn't have had the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Civil War, virtually every foreign military intervention, the FDR pogroms against Japanese americans, or...well I think thats most I can think of at this hour .

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

All of them, especially president David Rice Atchison.

If George Washington was a failure, the United States wouldn't exist.

If George Washington were a success, we wouldn't have had the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Civil War, virtually every foreign military intervention, the FDR pogroms against Japanese americans, or...well I think thats most I can think of at this hour .

Am I falling for Poe's Law?

[Mr. Taft Republican]

All of them, especially president David Rice Atchison.

If George Washington was a failure, the United States wouldn't exist.

If George Washington were a success, we wouldn't have had the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Civil War, virtually every foreign military intervention, the FDR pogroms against Japanese americans, or...well I think thats most I can think of at this hour .

Am I falling for Poe's Law?

One way or another, it's extreme.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Still though, I'd like to see some serious opinions.

[dead0man]

most of them

[WillK]

Still though, I'd like to see some serious opinions.

I dont agree that a president is a failure because he dies unexpectedly (ie: Harrison, Garfield)

Political failures

Becuase they failed to be relected:  both Adamses, Van Buren, Tyler, Filmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Johnson, Arthur, B Harrison, Taft, Hoover, Ford, Carter, Bush(1).

Of these, Tyler, Filmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Johnson and Arthur failed to even get nominated. (Polk and Hayes dont count because they did not seek to be reelected.)

I didnt put Cleveland in there becuase of the closeness of his loss and that he came back to win a second time.

[WillK]

Then there are presidents who succeeded politically, getting re-elected, but who failed for other reasons.

Examples:

Jefferson -- the embargo

Wilson -- failure of the versailles treaty, economic problems, stroke

Johnson - Vietnam

Nixon -- Watergate and his resignation

Bush Jr -- Iraq/Afganistan, economy

[minionofmidas]

All of them, especially president David Rice Atchison.

If George Washington was a failure, the United States wouldn't exist.

If George Washington had succeeded in his historical mission, the United States wouldn't exist.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

How?

[Mechaman]

Bump.

Someday very soon I will make a very detailed analysis of which presidents I think were failures (from a pretty objective point of view):

2. John Adams (Federalist-Massachusetts)
10. John Tyler (Whig/Independent-Virginia)
13. Millard Fillmore (Whig-New York)
14. Franklin Pierce (Democratic-New Hampshire)
15. James Buchanan (Democratic-Pennsylvania)
17. Andrew Johnson (National Union-Tennessee)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (Republican-Ohio)
23. Benjamin Harrison (Republican-Indiana)
24. Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York)
28. Woodrow Wilson (Democratic-New Jersey)
31. Herbert Hoover (Republican-California)
36. Lyndon Johnson (Democratic-Texas)
37. Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)
43. George W. Bush (Republican-Texas)

That's fourteen presidents right there that I would consider failures in some way, shape or form.  In other words, they screwed up badly enough that the costs of their actions outweighed the benefits in the long run.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Bump.

Someday very soon I will make a very detailed analysis of which presidents I think were failures (from a pretty objective point of view):

2. John Adams (Federalist-Massachusetts)
10. John Tyler (Whig/Independent-Virginia)
13. Millard Fillmore (Whig-New York)
14. Franklin Pierce (Democratic-New Hampshire)
15. James Buchanan (Democratic-Pennsylvania)
17. Andrew Johnson (National Union-Tennessee)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (Republican-Ohio)
23. Benjamin Harrison (Republican-Indiana)
24. Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York)
28. Woodrow Wilson (Democratic-New Jersey)
31. Herbert Hoover (Republican-California)
36. Lyndon Johnson (Democratic-Texas)
37. Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)
43. George W. Bush (Republican-Texas)

That's fourteen presidents right there that I would consider failures in some way, shape or form.  In other words, they screwed up badly enough that the costs of their actions outweighed the benefits in the long run.

What about Carter?

[Mechaman]

Bump.

Someday very soon I will make a very detailed analysis of which presidents I think were failures (from a pretty objective point of view):

2. John Adams (Federalist-Massachusetts)
10. John Tyler (Whig/Independent-Virginia)
13. Millard Fillmore (Whig-New York)
14. Franklin Pierce (Democratic-New Hampshire)
15. James Buchanan (Democratic-Pennsylvania)
17. Andrew Johnson (National Union-Tennessee)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (Republican-Ohio)
23. Benjamin Harrison (Republican-Indiana)
24. Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York)
28. Woodrow Wilson (Democratic-New Jersey)
31. Herbert Hoover (Republican-California)
36. Lyndon Johnson (Democratic-Texas)
37. Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)
43. George W. Bush (Republican-Texas)

That's fourteen presidents right there that I would consider failures in some way, shape or form.  In other words, they screwed up badly enough that the costs of their actions outweighed the benefits in the long run.

What about Carter?

I'm not sure about Carter.  I mean yeah he did drop the ball in 1980 but I would argue that his mistakes weren't as bad as any of the guys I mentioned and they were pretty short term.  Adam's mistakes as president kept the Federalist Party a mile away from getting any majorities in the US Congress until they died off.  Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan made mistakes that would speed up the fracture between the north and the south and thus lead to the Civil War.  With how much he had working against him there was no way Johnson could've been anything besides a failed president.  Grant's support of military enforced Reconstruction did a lot more harm to the long term status of Civil Rights in this nation than any benefit minorities gained from his efforts at expanding Civil Rights.  Benjamin Harrison's support of the McKinley Tariff destroyed our economy, Grover Cleveland's inability to reconcile the different factions within his own party would lead to an intraparty civil war that would give the GOP 16 years of white house rule.  Woodrow Wilson's FU to Irish and German voting blocs would lead to solid Republican majorities for the next decade.  Don't forget World War I, a war that was unpopular with Americans yet we still fought in it for some reason.  Hoover's support of Smoot-Hawley would destroy the US economy in the middle of the worst economic depression of the 20th century.  Lyndon Johnson's bullheaded support of the Vietnam War would be so unpopular he would drop out of re-election against Eugene McCarthy and created a generation of hippie people.  Nixon...hmm yes Watergate and the destruction of American trust in government for an entire generation.  Bush Jr., well I think we all know how bad he was.

Carter may have fumbled on the economy (hey so did Van Buren and Bush Sr.) and made a few mistake with the Iran hostage situation but I don't think any of that is as bad as the people I listed.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Bump.

Someday very soon I will make a very detailed analysis of which presidents I think were failures (from a pretty objective point of view):

2. John Adams (Federalist-Massachusetts)
10. John Tyler (Whig/Independent-Virginia)
13. Millard Fillmore (Whig-New York)
14. Franklin Pierce (Democratic-New Hampshire)
15. James Buchanan (Democratic-Pennsylvania)
17. Andrew Johnson (National Union-Tennessee)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (Republican-Ohio)
23. Benjamin Harrison (Republican-Indiana)
24. Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York)
28. Woodrow Wilson (Democratic-New Jersey)
31. Herbert Hoover (Republican-California)
36. Lyndon Johnson (Democratic-Texas)
37. Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)
43. George W. Bush (Republican-Texas)

That's fourteen presidents right there that I would consider failures in some way, shape or form.  In other words, they screwed up badly enough that the costs of their actions outweighed the benefits in the long run.

You could probably add John Q. Adams, Ford, and H.W. Bush to that list.  I really don't think LBJ, the first Adams, Wilson, or Nixon should be on the list though. Nixon and Wilson were arguably very bad people, but I don't think they were complete failures.

[WillK]

 Adam's mistakes as president kept the Federalist Party a mile away from getting any majorities in the US Congress until they died off.  

Which mistakes did you have in mind where Adams had such an impact on the federalist party at the congressional district level? 

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Why not throw in Polk and Taylor too, since they also sped up the fracture between the north and south? 

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I completely disagree. 

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No it didnt.

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Or conversely, Cleveland's success gave the Democrats there only shot at the white House in a 52 year stretch of GOP dominance. 

[Mechaman]

 Adam's mistakes as president kept the Federalist Party a mile away from getting any majorities in the US Congress until they died off.  

Which mistakes did you have in mind where Adams had such an impact on the federalist party at the congressional district level? 

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Why not throw in Polk and Taylor too, since they also sped up the fracture between the north and south? 

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I completely disagree. 

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No it didnt.

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Or conversely, Cleveland's success gave the Democrats there only shot at the white House in a 52 year stretch of GOP dominance. 

Notes:

As it goes for Adams I was thinking just the impression people had of the party in general after the whole ASA fiasco.
Polk was seen as successful in his agenda to annex Texas and win the War against Mexico.  I don't agree with it but he was a success in that regard.
Taylor only lived like a year and a half into his first term so I can't really find that much stuff to lay on him as Fillmore.
However admirable Grant's stance on Civil Rights his administration's support of military governments in southern states rubbed off on southerners the way wrong way.  Would we have been better off doing nothing?  Hell no!  However, when a federal government sends down the army to run states for a number of years and Radical Republicans are the majority in the state governments how do you not expect local whites in the South to react the wrong way?  Redeemers taking over the state governments in the 1870s (a lot of times by force) and then getting a hand in dictating how the state governments in the South are run for the next 70-80 years?  Governments that passed poll taxes, Jim Crow laws, and all sorts of other goodies that limited the voting ability of blacks and poor whites?  I don't consider that a success.
The McKinley Tariff raised the ad valorem tariff rate to 48.4%, how can that not have negative impact on non-manufacturing sectors of the country or people reliant on the availability of cheap and affordable imports?  Along with the Silver Purchase Act caused prices on goods to go up.  I guess saying it destroyed the economy is a misnomer, but it caused enough short term damage in the early 1890s to get Cleveland back into office and drastically reduce Republican representation in the House.  I will concede that my subjective hatred of protectionism may have impaired my reasoning for this, but definitely not in regards to Smoot Hawley.
As for Cleveland, touche.

I might have to remodify the list a little bit to be a bit more strict and objective about what a failure is (thinking about whether or not Grant, Harrison, Cleveland, LBJ should still be on here after some discussion).  When the more detailed entries are up you'll get what I think is a bit more accurate of a description of presidential failures.
Thanks for the input guys.

[Mechaman]

Bump.

Someday very soon I will make a very detailed analysis of which presidents I think were failures (from a pretty objective point of view):

2. John Adams (Federalist-Massachusetts)
10. John Tyler (Whig/Independent-Virginia)
13. Millard Fillmore (Whig-New York)
14. Franklin Pierce (Democratic-New Hampshire)
15. James Buchanan (Democratic-Pennsylvania)
17. Andrew Johnson (National Union-Tennessee)
18. Ulysses S. Grant (Republican-Ohio)
23. Benjamin Harrison (Republican-Indiana)
24. Grover Cleveland (Democratic-New York)
28. Woodrow Wilson (Democratic-New Jersey)
31. Herbert Hoover (Republican-California)
36. Lyndon Johnson (Democratic-Texas)
37. Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)
43. George W. Bush (Republican-Texas)

That's fourteen presidents right there that I would consider failures in some way, shape or form.  In other words, they screwed up badly enough that the costs of their actions outweighed the benefits in the long run.

You could probably add John Q. Adams, Ford, and H.W. Bush to that list.  I really don't think LBJ, the first Adams, Wilson, or Nixon should be on the list though. Nixon and Wilson were arguably very bad people, but I don't think they were complete failures.

I'm just shooting around a list to see what kind of reactions I get from the forum at large.  I hope to make a detailed list (with essay explanation) of "failed presidents" up sometime soon.  Obviously I'm not going to put people like Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Kennedy, or Reagan up (due to wide perception of those presidencies being popular and/or successful).

[Person Man]

Then there are presidents who succeeded politically, getting re-elected, but who failed for other reasons.

Examples:

Jefferson -- the embargo

Wilson -- failure of the versailles treaty, economic problems, stroke

Johnson - Vietnam

Nixon -- Watergate and his resignation

Bush Jr -- Iraq/Afganistan, economy

Everyone has their failures-

Bush- The War on Terrorism, The Foreclosures
Clinton- Couldn't Fix Healthcare, Internet Bust, Right-Wing Militias
Bush- Couldn't survive the business cycle and lost re-election
Reagan-  The Manufacturing Collapse, Iran-Contra, Lebanon
Carter- The Iranian Revolution, Couldn't beat high prices, lost in a landslide just 6 years after watergate
Ford- Couldn't beat high prices or win re-election
Nixon- Watergate, losing Vietnam, oil shortage
Johnson- Escalating Vietnam, Crime Wave, Riots
Kennedy- Losing Cuba, Starting Vietnam, was killed 
Eisenhower- Was cut out of the Civil Rights dialogue by his own court picks (not neccesarily a bad thing), Sputnik
Truman- Union strikes, Couldn't Fix Healthcare, Couldn't win in Korea and lost China
Roosevelt- couldn't stop the Cold War, Couldn't finish the New Deal, Died in office
Hoover- The economy was destroyed on his watch
Coolidge- Teapot Dome
Harding- League of Nations
Wilson-  Failure to get a strong treaty out of WWI, stroke