Best post Eisenhower Republican President?

[MATTROSE94]

Probably Reagan, though Ford and Bush Sr. were pretty decent as well.

[Cassius]

Did more good than bad: George HW Bush, Gerald Ford

50-50: Nixon

Awful, awful Presidents: Dubya & Reagan

How so?

Where to begin?

Blowing up deficits and the debt, reckless deregulation of financial markets, gutting social welfare spending causing massive social carnage, handing us an unsustainable military-industrial complex, supporting genocidal terrorists and interfering in other country's affairs, and generally ruined America and the world  by pushing economic liberalism, the results of which we have seen over the past 33 years with the slow deathspiral of our cities, manufacturing base, and middle class.

Basically he began the destruction of America.

Then why do/did you support Mitt Romney?

I mean, I think his increasing the size of the deficit and debt is one of the more dissappointing features of his tenure in office. However, given that two of his major policy planks when he came into office were to cut taxes and increase the military budget, it's understandable as to why he made the choice to pursue these objectives over the one of a balanced budget. I mean, what was he do do? Try and fail to wrangle concessions on social spending from a largely Democratic congress in the hope of achieving all three objectives simultaneously. That probably wouldn't have worked, so I feel that he correctly chose to pursue more important objectives in that time and place.

As for his 'reckless deregulation of the financial markets', it is true that he did deregulate them, quite substantially, but the fact is that the really damaging deregulation occurred under the seemingly-beloved Bill Clinton in the 1990's, not Reagan.

I think 'supporting genocidal terrorists' is rather wide of the mark. Agreed, the U.S government did support groups like the Contras who used violent methods to achieve their objectives (of course, the Soviet Union did the same). But I think to call them 'genocidal' is a substantial exaggeration. You also talk of his 'interfering in other countries' affairs', as if that is a blanketly bad thing (which in my view it isn't). Even if it was, it certainly doesn't make him stand out in particular from any of his predeccessors or successors.

[Sopranos Republican]

Reagan, of course.

[TNF]

There hasn't been a good Republican President since the Grant administration.

[Ebowed]

Gerald Ford, but far more importantly, Ronald Reagan is objectively the worst President in the last century.  He, more than anyone else, deserves credit for creating the culture of dependency on government that conservatives now enjoy.

[Sec. of State Superique]

1. Ford
2. George H. W. Bush
3. Ronald Reagan
4. Richard Nixon
5. Dubya

No Watergate:

1. Richard Nixon
2.Ford
3.George, the first.
4. Raygun
5. Dubya

[Goldwater]

Gerald Ford, but far more importantly, Ronald Reagan is objectively the worst President in the last century.  He, more than anyone else, deserves credit for creating the culture of dependency on government that conservatives now enjoy.

You misspelled "arguably".

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

I'm sorry, but to me saying Nixon was good without Watergate is almost like saying Godwin's Law was good without the camps.

[Mechaman]

There hasn't been a good Republican President since the Grant administration.

[Mechaman]

Somebody please explain to me what the hell George HW Bush did in his actual term of office that was more moderate or liberal than Ronald Reagan?  Hell, Reagan at least wasn't naive enough to think he could make a "No New Taxes" pledge.  And don't get me started on the elder Bush's bullying of various politicians for not being "American" enough or his comments on atheists.

[TNF]

Somebody please explain to me what the hell George HW Bush did in his actual term of office that was more moderate or liberal than Ronald Reagan?  Hell, Reagan at least wasn't naive enough to think he could make a "No New Taxes" pledge.  And don't get me started on the elder Bush's bullying of various politicians for not being "American" enough or his comments on atheists.

Not to mention Blood for Oil Round 1.

[Sec. of State Superique]

I'm sorry, but to me saying Nixon was good without Watergate is almost like saying Godwin's Law was good without the camps.

When I say Nixon was a good President without Watergate, I'm saying that in an alternative world where Nixon wasn't an obsessed freak, he would have been a man witha great record in the White House. Nixon was good at using the Conservative Rhetoric for Liberal Purposes

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

This Nixon fetishization is off the chain. Wake up, Sheeple. This isn't about ideology for Pete's sake. Regardless of your political views, once you read a full account of the Nixon presidency, you, as a hypothetically sane and decent person, would be disgusted. End of story. I wonder if the campus library has "Nixonland"...

[politicallefty]

This Nixon fetishization is off the chain. Wake up, Sheeple. I wonder if the campus library has "Nixonland"...

I'm not one of those that considers him one of the worst Presidents due to corruption (and I'm one to think he should be tried and convicted for said actions). If we're going to pick and choose like that, most Presidents would be disqualified almost immediately. I choose to judge him on the merits as a whole. He wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible either. Nixon was far more pragmatic than ideological, which is an admirable quality in the opposing party. I can under why you, a Republican, may not find that as admirable as Democrats do.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

This is far from paltry "corruption", my good man. He jerry-rigged the economy with short-term and disastrous policies for the sake of his re-election, while needlessly extending the VietnamWar for the same reason. And those are just the main points.

[Dancing with Myself]

Reagan is prob the best answer. He served two full terms and had accomplishments. Wasn't the best economic President but improved relations with USSR and was a strong leader overall.

Nixon was decent, without Watergate one can imagine what would happen. He wasn't great at economic policy but he eliminated the draft and increased the voting age, which made life easier for everyone in those ways. He was great at Foreign policy, one of our better ones.  Without Watergate and his paranoia he could have finished well. Due to Watergate he couldn't focus on anything and the economy tanked which helped to do Ford in.

Ford is one of America's more underrated Presidents, I really wish he could have won in '76.  The last 30 years could have been drastically different though.

Bush Sr was like every Republican, great at diplomacy but not the best with at home stuff. W was too far in over his head. Given a time of peace I would have wondered how he would have done.