Rate the Presidents, Installment #11: James K. Polk

[JonathanSwift]

James K. Polk, 1845-1849

Previous Results
George Washington: 4.42 Stars
Thomas Jefferson: 3.65 Stars
James Monroe: 3.57 Stars
John Quincy Adams: 3.5 Stars
James Madison: 3.23 Stars
Martin Van Buren: 3.04 Stars
John Adams: 2.58 Stars
Andrew Jackson: 2.43 Stars
William Henry Harrison: 2.38 Stars
John Tyler: 2.11 Stars

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

One of the absolute best we've had. Did more in four years than most Presidents did in eight.

[Yelnoc]

Warmongering, genocidal slavocrat.

[TDAS04]

2 stars

[Rockefeller GOP]

Apologist and active enabler of slavery.  1 star.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

When the least terrible thing about you is that you willingly choose to have a mullet, you're pretty dire.

[SWE]

One of the absolute best we've had. Did more in four years than most Presidents did in eight.

True, very few presidents were capable of doing the amount of damage he did, but is that really a positive?

[ScottieF]

Without question the most accomplished single-term president ever. In an effort to separate the morality of the Mexican War from my evaluation of him, four stars. His actions indirectly precipitated the Civil War but to debate the rightness or wrongness of his policies is to shed crocodile tears.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Two stars. One really should not attempt to separate the fact that he was very accomplished with the fact that most of his accomplishments were morally reprehensible.

[RINO Tom]

I TRY to judge a President within his time period, and it's hard not to note how efficient and "bold" of a President he was.  I also very much respect that he said he'd serve one term, and that's what he did.

It's also hard to completely ignore his role in maintaining and even expanding slavery, which is a HUGE negative.

I'll give him 2 stars.

[OSR stands with Israel]

4 stars , judging him from the time period when imperialism was viewed normal.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I TRY to judge a President within his time period, and it's hard not to note how efficient and "bold" of a President he was.  I also very much respect that he said he'd serve one term, and that's what he did.

It's also hard to completely ignore his role in maintaining and even expanding slavery, which is a HUGE negative.

I'll give him 2 stars.

This.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Eh, three stars. I like having the west but I'd have preferred it if we just purchased it.

Two stars. One really should not attempt to separate the fact that he was very accomplished with the fact that most of his accomplishments were morally reprehensible.

This as well, though I don't know if I'd completely define the Mexican American war as completely reprehensible. At least the part over Texas.

[Cryptic]

I TRY to judge a President within his time period, and it's hard not to note how efficient and "bold" of a President he was.  I also very much respect that he said he'd serve one term, and that's what he did.

It's also hard to completely ignore his role in maintaining and even expanding slavery, which is a HUGE negative.

I'll give him 2 stars.

Pretty much this.

[JonathanSwift]

Final Result: 2.85 Stars

[Mr. Smith]

1 star.

His vice president would've been better than him.

[ElectionsGuy]

The only good thing he did in his term was lowering tariffs. 2 stars.