Presidential Rankings

[JNB]

  Clinton was in the right place at the right time and had a amazing string of luck on both the international and economic fronts. When Clinton came into office, the major international threat that the US faced, the USSR was gone, and it looked like the Middle East was on the mend, the only real problem at the time was Bosnia, and that was a small country whose impact was strictly local.

  As for the economic front, the fact a GOP congress was elected in 94 held the line of Clintons spending hikes(conversely he held the line on the GOP excessive tax cut proposals) so the combination of the two produced a unusual amount of fiscal restraint. This fiscal restraint produced dropping intrest rates. As for inflation, the fact Japan for most of the 90s was mired in various recession caused inflation, especially on fuel, to be far lower than it otherwise would have been, and Japans deflation led the Japanese to buy record amounts of US tresuries, further taking pressue off intrest rates.

   The 90s economically in part was real, but also was in part illusion, the economic stats from the 90s, especially when one measures productivity gains(and these stats are still quite suspect because the Clinton era methods of taking them are still in place). History will show Clinton not as a horrible president, but not as a great one either, he will be viewed as somthing equivlent to William Mckinley.  On the other hand, Clintons insane strong dollar policy under Robert Rubins advice, the trade gap that exploded and the illegal immigration problems that got far worse are problems that will impact the US for decades to come.

[JNB]

 I would say that LBJ and Nixon are among the most damaging presidents the US ever had,  in terms of how they dramatically increased the size and scope of federal govrenmnet and how both LBJ and Nixon pushed the federal govrenment to micromanage the affairs of its own citizens. Most of the social problems the US has todaym, and many of the fiscal problems can be laid at the feet of both the Great Society programs and the social programs Nixon introduced in the early 70s.

   To me, the lats great president was Truman, a man who did not care about world opinion, a man who did what he thought was best, regaurdless of what others thought.

  My list would be for the top 5 would be., though in no order are

  1.)  FDR
  2.) Truman
  3.) Lincoln
  4.) Jefferson
  5.) Madison

   Reagan had he had congressional majorities to impliment what he wanted to implement on domestic issues may have been in the top 5, but he didnt because of the annoying aspect of split ticket voting, a aspect of Americans politics that has for the most part vanished in the last 10 years thankfully.

[JNB]

 James Madison was the author of a large portion of the constituion. Yes it was before his presidency, but his influence on the US was monumental.