Who was the best president ever?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

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.