Presidential Rankings

[Cairo_East]

Here is my list.  A couple of notes:

I didn't include James Garfield, WH Harrison, and Zachary Taylor because they didn't have enough time to establish a presidential legacy.  I didn't include Clinton and GW Bush because it is too soon to recognize their legacy.  In fact, I think it's still a bit early to recognize GHW Bush's legacy, but I included it anyway.  Even though I'm fairly young, my choices lean more toward the historic than the modern.

Great Presidents

1   George Washington
2   Thomas Jefferson
3   Franklin D. Roosevelt
4   Abraham Lincoln
5   James K. Polk
6   Lyndon Johnson
7   Theodore Roosevelt

Excellent Presidents

8   Harry S. Truman
9   Ronald Reagan
10   John F. Kennedy
11   Dwight Eisenhower
12   James Madison
13   Andrew Jackson
14   GHW Bush
15   William McKinley

Good Presidents

16   Grover Cleveland
17   James Monroe
18   Calvin Coolidge
19   John Adams
20   JQ Adams

Good Presidents with critical negatives.

21   Richard Nixon
22   Woodrow Wilson
23   Benjamin Harrison
24   WH Taft
25   Jimmy Carter
26   Herbert Hoover
27   Ulysses S. Grant
28   Gerald Ford

Poor Presidents

29   Martin Van Buren
30   Rutherford Hayes
31   John Tyler
32   Franklin Pierce
33   Andrew Johnson
34   Chester Arthur
35   Millard Fillmore
36   James Buchanan
37   Warren G. Harding

Washington is easily the greatest president of all time, because he could have maintained power, becoming a defacto monarch or dictator.  It was critical to the success of democracy that he voluntarily pass on the power of the presidency.  He was also instrumental in maintaining the legimacy of federal power in a very weak and unstable union.

Harding made a mockery of the Presidency.  Whatever lack of respect you have for Clinton, it should be magnified one-hundredfold for Harding.

[Beet]

This argument is... astonishing. Wow. I am speechless.

Until I remember there are those who apologize for Hitler as well. A lot of them. They rule several Middle Eastern nations.

On second thought, Beet isn't so out of touch with reality.

So instead of making any points you launch an ad hominem attack and compare Carter to Hitler? Wow that post must have really struck a nerve. Carter is a real patriot and I'm surprised you hate him so much.

[jravnsbo]

For me I view Jimmy Carter as such.  Great person, HORRIBLE president.

When you think of bad economic times in the modern area think f Carter.  Gas shortages, grain embargo, sky high inflation.

[Inmate Trump]

Jimmy Carter deserves to be listed among the worst of presidents.  Just like Herbert Hoover.

I will admit that with both Carter and Hoover, the times of their administrations weren't great times, and there are many things that happened during their presidencies that aren't directly their fault.  The problem was that both Carter and Hoover reacted to those problems in ways that solved nothing, or they reacted too late, or simply didn't react at all.

Both Carter and Hoover were great humanitarians and they deserve to be recognized for that.  But their terms in office were horrible, and *that* deserves to be recognized also.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I think of lot of people are confusing good and great.

Nixon was a terrible President who abused his power and ruled a country that had been democratic for almost 200 years like a dictator.
However he was also *great* as he casts a very long shadow.

[NorthernDog]

the disaster of Carter (economic maliase and all

I think Carter is one of the most underrated Presidents in history.

I really disagree for the following reasons;
-Carter had poor relations with a US Congress controlled by his own party. He had very poor political skills with the give and take needed and casted everyting as a "moral choice".
-He was very naive dealing with the Soviets and was completely surprised when they invaded Afghanistan just 6 months after signing a peace agreement while they were amassing forces on the Afghan border.
-He let the Shah of Iran enter the US after he was overthrown and this infuriated the Muslim Revolutionaries (Ayatollah Kohmeni).
-While professing to seeking only a negotiated release of the hostages in Iran, Carter ordered a poorly planned rescue (Operation Eagle Claw) in April 1980.  Carter ordered the helicopters to fly very low which caused desert dust to overwhelm several helicopters - result was failure and many deaths -then his Sec. of State C. Vance quit.
-Carter kept saying that he had a plan to control inflation and interest rates but they both spiraled to record heights by 1980.
-And on election night 1980 Carter conceeded defeat right after the east coast polls closed which resulted in thousands of Democrats not voting in the Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones - the Democrats unexpectedly lost the US Senate as a result

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

Peace and prosperity can be achieved many ways. They can be achieved if the Nazis complete world conquest. Isolationism is not a worthy national goal.

I would rank Clinton the better part of middle of the road except for lying under oath, which brings him down to lower part of middle of the road. What great thing did he accomplish for the expansion of the ideal that "all men are created equal"? Nothing.

George W. Bush should not be ranked yet. So far, however, he has shown a moral clarity not seen since Wilson, but unlike Wilson and like Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan especially, he has had the guts to get it done against strong opposition. This is evidenced by his incredible vision of spreaqding democracy and self-determination to the entire Near East.

I put FDR at 3. He did the most ever to expand democracy (our system was truly in danger of collapse during the depression, but he saved it. Then he not just won WW2, but turned the Axis into thriving democracies.) Abe Lincoln is higher, his moral clarity and determination not to allow the Union's split and later to eradicate the evil of slavery make him one of the greatest men in history. Washington, though, founded more traditions about running the country than it is possible to count. Unlike any other president ever, there was broad support for him to be made King or Dictator. He turned all these offers down, and governed with the principles of Locke and Montesqieu. He truly was First In War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen.

 

I beg to differ that Clinton did nothing for the expansion of the ideal that "all men are created equal," he had an affair didn't he. He shares a love for Oral Sex, which is incredibly awesome, if he or she knows how to please. He lied about sex-further acknowledging the old addage that "a gentleman never tells." So, he did a lot for his fellow man. He showed all of the country his humanity, that he is not a perfect being. He did a lot.

[jravnsbo]

Always said Clinton was the PERFECT DEMOCRAT Candidate and so GOP couldn't beat him.

Draft Dodger, adulteror, lied through his teeth and directly to the American people many times.

Hard to beat their perfect candidate

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

Always said Clinton was the PERFECT DEMOCRAT Candidate and so GOP couldn't beat him.

Draft Dodger, adulteror, lied through his teeth and directly to the American people many times.

Hard to beat their perfect candidate

I am glad you're coming around! Clinton is contagious, if only other Republicans would catch it like people catch the flu. It would be a better country. And, before you blow your tops, I think if us Democrats jumped on the Bush Bandwagon, noone would have to worry about supporting a DEM candidate they despise, especially if it's Dean. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I will go Bush if Dean is the Nominee.

[Wakie]

Draft Dodger, adulteror, lied through his teeth and directly to the American people many times.

Can we agree to drop this myth of Clinton as a draft dodger?  Say what you want about the guy, but he was in school (as a Rhodes Scholar I believe) at the time of the war.

It would be more accurate to call George W a draft dodger (I'm not so don't get fired up).  Bush was in the same National Guardsman unit as Lloyd Bentsen's son and the son's of several other prominent Washington politicians.  I doubt that happened by chance and I sure as heck doubt that unit was EVER getting called to do ANYTHING.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

They were defending Texas from North Vietnam goddammit!

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

They were defending Texas from North Vietnam goddammit!

hehehehehehehehehehahahahahahehehehehe

[© tweed]

Great Presidents

FDR
Lincoln
Washington
T. Roosevelt
Jefferson
Truman

Good Presidents

Eisenhower
Kennedy
Clinton
Wilson
A. Jackson

Fair Presidents

Polk
Monroe
LBJ
Hayes
Cleveland
Grant
McKinley
GHWB
Taft
B. Harrison
Ford
Nixon
Van Buren

Moderately Bad

Reagan
Madison
Carter
Buchanan
Pierce
A. Johnson
Quincy Adams
Tyler

Crown Jewel of badness

Herbert Hoover

Those unlisted I have not feeling to.

[© tweed]

Always said Clinton was the PERFECT DEMOCRAT Candidate and so GOP couldn't beat him.

Draft Dodger, adulteror, lied through his teeth and directly to the American people many times.

Hard to beat their perfect candidate

You lost twice, didn't you?

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

That's right. They lost twice! And, if Clark gets elected, they'll have lost the White House after one term again. But, not if it's Dean!

[M]

MiamiU's list is pretty good, a few places I disagree, but the glaring problem is your ranking of Reagan, which is utterly ridiculous/ Winning the Cold War and restoring the nation's faith in govt is moderately bad? What the heck?

[Michael Z]

I see many Republicans here claiming that Reagan singlehandedly "won" the cold war. He didn't. Reagan's foreign policy undoubtedly contributed to the collapse of the USSR, but the Soviet Union failed primarily on its own accord due to having an economic and sociopolitical system which was utterly unsustainable.

You're also disregarding the involvement of Gorbachev, Kohl, and others.

[jravnsbo]

Reagan I would say defeinately Accelerated the Soviet Unions demise.  They just couldn't keep up with us.  Yes Reagan ran up deficits, but Russians just couldn't keep up militarily then and fell.

God Bless Ronald Reagan!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Right now Reagan needs all the help he can get...

As far as the Cold War goes, the U.S.S.R collapsed because it had to(see: Davies, "Europe. A History")

[CHRISTOPHER MICHAE]

I see many Republicans here claiming that Reagan singlehandedly "won" the cold war. He didn't. Reagan's foreign policy undoubtedly contributed to the collapse of the USSR, but the Soviet Union failed primarily on its own accord due to having an economic and sociopolitical system which was utterly unsustainable.

You're also disregarding the involvement of Gorbachev, Kohl, and others.

There are four people who are responsible for winning the Cold War. These are: Pope John Paul II; President Ronald Reagan; Margaret Thatcher; and last but not least: tada, Mikhael Gorbachev.

[M]

Yes, certainly others contributed to the CCCP's fall, including Thatcher, Kohl, John Paul II, Walesa, Havel, Yeltsin, Schervadnadze, and of course Gorbachev, but certainly Reagan's victory in the Cold War should not rank as moderately bad! Even if you make Iran-Contra out to be as Watergate, MiamiU still ranks Reagan below Nixon! This can only be explained by ideological considerations, which should be strongly avoided as a factor when ranking presidents.

[Wakie]

There's certainly a major problem in evaluating Presidents for which the ranking party had the opportunity to vote.  No one ever likes to admit that they were wrong.  So the rankings of any President from JFK through GW Bush are going to be skewed.  Long after either Jefferson or Lincoln were in office you could find people who called them the worst thing that had happened to America.

Reagan and Clinton are the perfect examples of what I'm talking about.  It seems rather rare to find someone who loves them both.  I think both men did some excellent work while President ... I also think they both made some horrendous mistakes.  At the end of the day the good and the bad balance them out in my opinion.

[Gustaf]

I wont make an attempt at a comprehensive ranking, since it is so hard to compare different feats (like getting 5 points for winning WWII, I mean seriously, that is kind of priceless). I also think that the influence of presidents is overrated. Economy, for example, mostly just happens, the notion that politicians decide about it is largely a myth.

Still, those who would make top 10 would be (in no particular order, though I might rank some higher than others) Washington, Jefferson, Truman, Reagan. Arguably Lincoln, though I have my doubts there (free trade and centralization).

FDR sold out Eastern Europe and chose Stalin over Churchill, betraying democracy and the western world. He did a great deal of good things, but I just can't forgive him for that. Carter I think was a good guy doing his best during harsh times and with a lack of statemanship. Pretty much the same could be say of LBJ, although less good guy and more decisivness. The rest of the 20th century presidents I don't really like.

And I know I only put 5 people in top 10 but I couldn't bring myself to making Truman top 5 and I didn't come up with more good names.

[Flying Dog]

top ten

1-FDR
2-LINCOLN
3-CLINTON
4-WASHINGTON
5-TRUMAN
6-WILSON
7-REAGEN
8-LBJ
9-CARTER
10-EISENHOWER

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I think that the most under-rated president is LBJ, while the most over-rated is Lincoln.

LBJ's domestic policies helped millions of people escape from poverty and gave Blacks basic civil rights.

I don't like Lincoln.
He is usually credited as freeing the slaves and ending the Civil War.

Lincoln caused the Civil War(which was NOT about slavery, which although a terrible institution would have died out within a few years as it would have become economically stupid), he only freed the slaves(most of which continued to work for very bad wages under their old masters and on the same plantations),  because it would ruin the economy of the south.
He was an abominable racist(his view of Black people apparently shocked many southern congressmen) and did nothing to help black people other than a token proclamation of their freedom.