Who was the last honest president?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Jerry Ford.  But come to think of it, I don't recall Dubya affirmatively lying about anything.  He just didn't turn in his homework assignments on a very regular basis is all.

His entire campaign (both of them) was a lie. And before someone says it's true for every politician... of course, to some extent, but few come close to his levels.

[minionofmidas]

Nixon has no libertarian instincts whatsoever. He was  too insecure a person to be able to just chill as it were.  It is hard to do that when the demons are here, there, and everywhere.  Nixon didn't like himself very much, and with good reason.

True statement, wrong thread.

[Napoleon]

I

Nixon has no libertarian instincts whatsoever. He was  too insecure a person to be able to just chill as it were.  It is hard to do that when the demons are here, there, and everywhere.  Nixon didn't like himself very much, and with good reason.

True statement, wrong thread.

I made a similar mistake earlier today. It happens.

[Torie]

Nixon has no libertarian instincts whatsoever. He was  too insecure a person to be able to just chill as it were.  It is hard to do that when the demons are here, there, and everywhere.  Nixon didn't like himself very much, and with good reason.

True statement, wrong thread.

Indeed. My bad!  

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Carter

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Washington was the first. Jefferson was the 2nd, and Cleveland was the last.

Ford? Harrison? Lincoln? Coolidge?

 Lincoln was a terrible President (a good man).

HE WON THE FREAKING CIVIL WAR.

He was still a dishonest jerk.

Bushie made a suprisingly good point. You don't need to be saint to be an effective President and vice versa.

[Deleted on the grounds that I had a senior moment.]

I missed the show again

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

He posted a response to "Was Richard Nixon a libertarian?" here instead of in that thread.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

The most outstandingly honest president was probably Carter.

Given how poor a president Carter was, that suggests that honesty is overrated.

People want the President to lie to them.

"Give me sweet lies and keep your bitter truths" - Tyrion Lannister /aka. The Imp

[TheGlobalizer]

Liars and thieves, all.

[GMantis]

Carter, but if what LBJer says is correct, then maybe Cleveland (Coolidge doesn't qualify as one must actually say something to be able to lie).

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

For those who said Carter, why do you feel Bush 41 was dishonest?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

For those who said Carter, why do you feel Bush 41 was dishonest?

"Read my lips: No new taxes."

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

For those who said Carter, why do you feel Bush 41 was dishonest?

"Read my lips: No new taxes."

Carter never broke a campaign promise?

[useful idiot]

For those who said Carter, why do you feel Bush 41 was dishonest?

"Read my lips: No new taxes."

That's only really dishonest if he knew he was going to raise taxes when he said it. Broken promises aren't really dishonest so much as they show a lack of forethought.

Generally people go to Iran-Contra when they want to point out Bush's dishonesty. I don't know that there's enough evidence there to conclusively say he was dishonest though.

I don't think he was a boy scout by any means, but compared to most of the other post-war presidents he was fairly clean.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Carter. He was probably one of the least effective of all time, so it just goes to show...

Nixon was probably the most dishonest president of all time, but he most likely would have had a positive legacy if Watergate hadn't come to light.

[Dancing with Myself]

Ford. Carter seems like he did not really cared for what he was doing after a while and placed the blame on everyone else