Who was the best president ever?
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  Individual Politics (Moderator: The Dowager Mod)
  Who was the best president ever?
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Poll
Question: ??
#1
Lincoln
 
#2
Washington
 
#3
FDR
 
#4
Someone else (specify)
 
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Total Voters: 70

Author Topic: Who was the best president ever?  (Read 1363 times)
TheReckoning
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« on: January 24, 2021, 03:13:33 AM »

I think it’s Lincoln, followed closely Washington.
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President Johnson
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« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2021, 04:33:03 AM »

Franklin Roosevelt. He pulled the US out of the worst economic depression and with it helped to stabilize the democratic system while fascism and totalitarianism was on the rise elsewhere; then he guided the West through World War II and helped set up a more peaceful planet while the US was on the peak of its power and prosperity. I think these combined narrowly edges out Lincoln's accomplishment to keep the union together, which is larger than each of FDR's feats. But FDR's combined legacy, given how long he governed, makes him objectively the best president.
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Computer89
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« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2021, 04:45:29 AM »

George Washington- The Bill of Rights were ratified when he was president , important legislation: such as the judiciary act, coinage act, bank bill also were passed that helped us keep the new constitutional republic stable, crushing the Whiskey Rebellion which set a precedent that the rule of law must be abided by, and leaving office after two terms which helped create one of the most important rules of a democracy and that is the peaceful transfer of power.
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Lechasseur
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« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2021, 05:34:03 AM »

Washington probably
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Sopranos Republican
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« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2021, 11:32:18 AM »

Any answer that’s not Lincoln is wrong.
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Unconditional Surrender Truman
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« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2021, 11:59:15 AM »

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andjey
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« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2021, 12:02:35 PM »

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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progressive85
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« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2021, 12:57:29 PM »

Really Washington and Lincoln.
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TheReckoning
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« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2021, 12:58:55 PM »

Franklin Roosevelt. He pulled the US out of the worst economic depression and with it helped to stabilize the democratic system while fascism and totalitarianism was on the rise elsewhere; then he guided the West through World War II and helped set up a more peaceful planet while the US was on the peak of its power and prosperity. I think these combined narrowly edges out Lincoln's accomplishment to keep the union together, which is larger than each of FDR's feats. But FDR's combined legacy, given how long he governed, makes him objectively the best president.

Japanese Internment. Practically handed Eastern Europe to the Soviets. New Deal had a questionable effect on the Great Depression, while digging us into massive debt.

Still a great president because of his leadership, but I definitely wouldn’t call him the best.
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Alben Barkley
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« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2021, 01:05:34 PM »

FDR for the reasons President Johnson said, though Lincoln isn’t too far behind. Washington is important for the precedents he set and the steady hand he governed with at a critical point early in the nation’s history, but as far as concrete accomplishments go he can’t compare to the other two. There’s a reason one of these three is always ranked number one in historical assessments though. Hard to imagine anyone else in the top spot, though some have ranked Teddy Roosevelt up there and I sometimes rank Truman as high as number 2.
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« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2021, 01:15:50 PM »

Lincoln>FDR>Washington>the rest. Lincoln edges out FDR because the scope of FDR's negative legacy (internment, redlining, trusting Stalin) is more significant relative to that of his positive legacy (really the only aspect of Lincoln's legacy that isn't at least defensible as a war necessity is his Western/Indian policy, which was unfortunately far from unique to him). They both edge out Washington for the reason Alben Barkley just laid out: Washington laid out incredibly important precedents for the US's viability as a democratic republic, but did not lead a particularly vigorous administration otherwise, at least not when compared to most of his successors.
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Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers
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« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2021, 01:48:42 PM »

Lincoln
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SWE
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« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2021, 03:30:06 PM »

Lincoln is one of the greatest men to lead any country in human history. He's head and shoulder above the rest of them
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KaiserDave
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« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2021, 03:46:54 PM »

Lincoln>FDR>Washington for the reasons Nathan laid out

All three were great leaders and have many reasons to be at the top, I admire all of them. However Lincoln is really the greatest here, and what SWE said is quite true. Lincoln is simply one of the greatest, most intelligent, most politically talented statesmen in global history, and who did great things for this country and was martyred for it. Now of course he had flaws, both for the standard of his time (Western policy), and by our modern standards (racism), but he was in my view the greatest American President.
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progressive85
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« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2021, 04:42:28 PM »

With about half of them there are good qualities or things that they did better than most of the others, even if you disagree with their ideology.

Jimmy Carter: His honesty, humility, and the kind, down-to-earth quality about him.

Ronald Reagan:  The patriotic optimism that he gave the country, his great communication style, and his great sense of humor.
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RINO Tom
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« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2021, 05:47:42 PM »

Easily Lincoln.  Washington is my #2, and FDR takes the 3 spot partly out of respect for his leadership and partly a deference to tradition and trying not to be too partisan.
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Crumpets
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« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2021, 07:06:01 PM »

In a purely utilitarian sense, JFK for not f***ing up the Cuban Missile Crisis, potentially saving hundreds of millions of lives - something you cannot convince me that "just any" president could have managed without hindsight.
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« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2021, 09:55:13 PM »

Roosevelt.  Not this one, the real progressive one: Teddy.
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KaiserDave
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« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2021, 11:05:28 PM »

Roosevelt.  Not this one, the real progressive one: Teddy.

FDR was to the left of his cousin
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Chips
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« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2021, 11:34:34 PM »

In a purely utilitarian sense, JFK for not f***ing up the Cuban Missile Crisis, potentially saving hundreds of millions of lives - something you cannot convince me that "just any" president could have managed without hindsight.
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Statilius the Epicurean
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« Reply #20 on: January 25, 2021, 12:43:05 AM »
« Edited: January 25, 2021, 01:03:12 AM by Statilius the Epicurean »

Lincoln, to me, is the greatest statesman in world history. The only alternatives I know of are Pericles, when after his death Athens lost the war and is difficult to judge anyway because of the nature of premodern sources, and Gandhi, who was not an administrator and had some rather repellent religious hangups. But if the requirement for excellence in statecraft is the leadership of a great democratic people, with the purpose being for the preservation of a nation and the liberty of thousands or millions, and getting in the trenches of the dirty compromising business of politics and governing, in the most trying and difficult of circumstances, and achieving one's great aim, and still with moral power of character and rhetoric to boot, then Lincoln I think stands head and shoulders above every statesman in world history, let alone other US Presidents. But that's just my opinion.

Washington was admirable in many ways, but is tainted by slavery. FDR a great politician but rather prosaic (and despite all of his advantages, far more than Lincoln had, was the author of a couple of relatively minor but rather embarrassing blunders).

The miraculous thing about Lincoln IMO is that his political sense was so good as to always be one step ahead of moderate white Northern opinion on the rights of black Americans, but never too many steps ahead so as to endanger the realisation of those rights. To be that politic, and to be that successful, in such a moral cause, is unmatched I think.
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Crane
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« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2021, 01:40:34 AM »

Lincoln, FDR, SGC.
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Vosem
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« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2021, 02:31:54 AM »

Lincoln, then Washington.

I have many, many problems with FDR, and while I respect his guiding the nation through the Second World War (and I respect that in the intellectual climate of the 1930s a far worse leader could have emerged very easily), I think many aspects of his domestic policy were abhorrent. Purely among 20th-century liberals, I would rank Truman (especially) and Teddy ahead of FDR. (Even beyond that, a whole bunch of the Founding Fathers. And Grant. And Reagan.)
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Former President tack50
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« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2021, 10:11:14 AM »

Washington, then FDR, then Lincoln

Washington set all of the right precedents at a time when those were far from a given thing. Yes he had little in terms of concrete policy, but it was the late 18th century, the presidency was a very different kind of office

FDR and Lincoln both won wars. The Civil War was arguably more important than WW2, though on the flip side FDR also took the US out of the Great Depression. I am giving #2 to FDR but I can see arguments for Lincoln
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Sir Mohamed
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« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2021, 10:24:23 AM »

FDR was the best prez ever for the reasons multiple posters already explained. He solved 2 major crisis during his tenure of office, both at home and abroad.

Japanese internment was a negative for sure, but it also needs to be mentioned Lincoln would have accepted keeping slavery in the beginning. It took almost 2 years before he set its abolishion as the main goal of the war. That said, he ranks #2 before Washington.
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