The five greatest and five worst presidents

[tattedupboy]

Another thread on this forum, "Another Failed Presidency," inspired me to start this thread.
I'm going to list I believe are the five greatest and five worst presidents and why. I want everyone who posts on this thread to do the same. I don't want anyone else hijacking this thread by criticizing anyone else's choices for greatest and worst. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. So please, just say who you believe are the greatest and worst and why. Yes Bohemian, even you're welcome to post on this thread as long as you just tell who you think are the greatest and worst and don't criticize mine or anyone else's choices.

Tattedupboy's greatest presidents:

I have a much harder time finding five great presidents than I had finding five bad ones. The five greatest (in ascending order), in my opinion, are:
5. Ronald Reagan: The only reason Reagan isn't ranked higher on this list is because I don't like how he handled the Iran contra affair. Other than that, however I have nothing but praise for the man. Following a string of notoriously poor presidencies (Carter, Ford, Nixon, and LBJ), Reagan not only preached hope, he actually followed through on it. His crowning achievement was when the United States was able to declare victory in the Cold War. In addition, he was able to bring home the Americans who were being held hostage by the Iranians (who Carter was unable to do anything about).

4.Dwight Eisenhower: Many people forget that it was Eisenhower who sent federal troops to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce the Supreme Court's desegregation order from its Brown v. Board of Education decision. Eisenhower was, in many ways, the man who modern defense hawks emulate; it was Eisenhower who was not content with the nuclear arsenal as it was, helped build up and modernize America's nuclear arsenal during the Korean War.

3.Thomas Jefferson His crowning achievement was the Louisiana Purchase, which more than doubled the size of the United States. Furthermore, he invalidated the blatantly unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts passed during the administration of his predecessor, John Adams.

2. Abraham Lincoln: Next to George Washington, Lincoln is the only other president in history who I consider truly great. Despite winning the election with only 39% of the popular vote in what was then a bitterly divided electorate, Lincoln immediately went to work undoing the damage done by his predecessor's refusal to act when the states started seceding. At times, Lincoln proved to be extremely unpopular with the American public, particularly when he suspended the writ of habeas corpus and took other blatantly unconstitutional measures in his role as commander in chief. In the end, however, the Union won, and there is still a United States. Furthermore, even though it wasn't his primary objective, he also ended slavery.
1. George Washington: What else is there to say about the father of our country? Just like with Abraham Lincoln, it can be reasonably be argued that were it not for things this man did, both before and during his presidency, there would not be a United States today. His accomplishments are numerous, but I'll only focus on what he did during his presidency, such as signing the Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793, Signing the Jay Treaty in 1795, and informally establishing the two term limit for presidents. He could have been the president for life had he wanted to be and to this day remains the only president to receive 100% of the Electoral College vote.

The five worst presidents, in my opinion, are:
5.Andrew Johnson: ?Johnson's efforts to undo Reconstruction are rivaled perhaps only by Woodrow Wilson, who is ranked #2 on this list. Read here:ESR | September 1, 2003 | The second worst president

4.Bill Clinton: While it is indeed true that George W. Bush was at the helm when the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 took place, many people tend to either forget or ignore Bill Clinton's culpability in it all. Consider this: Bill Clinton was president during the first World Trade Center attack in 1993, which was traced to al Qaeda. His response? Sending the FBI to search for Ramsi Yousef, who was determined to be the mastermind behind the attack. In 1996, al Qaeda was shown to be behind the Khobar Towers attacks in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans. Clinton's response? None; in fact no subpoenas were even issued until 2001, when Clinton's successor, George W., was in office. Bill Clinton was in office when the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed in 1998, also by al Qaeda. Clinton's response? Lobbing a few cruise missiles to insignificant sites in the Middle East. In 2000, the USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer, was attacked, killing 17 Americans. Clinton's response? You guessed it; nothing! Who was behind the attacks? If you guessed al Qaeda, you're also correct! Finally, as if all of this isn't enough, the Sudanese government literally offered the U.S. bin Laden's head on a platter in 1996. When negotiations for him to be kept in custody in Saudi Arabia fell through, instead of working on bringing him elsewhere, Clinton gave up! Care to guess what happened as a result? The worst act of terrorism ever to occur on American soil on September 11, 2001.

3.Franklin Roosevelt:Historically, FDR had been this country's most overrated president. Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor gave him a legitimate reason to jump into World War II, it is well known that FDR was working feverishly behind the scenes to get the United States into the war some other way. This is because the group of public works programs known as the New Deal that he put together made the recession he inherited into a Depression, and the only way out of it was a war economy, which is what ultimately happened anyway. Let's not forget that he sold the freedom of well over one hundred million free humans away to Joseph Stalin, started the giant Ponzi scheme that we call Social Security, tried (and thankfully failed ) a court packing scheme that would have left a bunch of far left loons on the Supreme Court, and appointed former Ku Klux Klansmen to the Supreme Court and to the Department of Justice.

2. Woodrow Wilson: Woodrow Wilson's complete list of failures and shortcomings is too long to list here, I will mention that he set back the efforts of reconstruction to undo racial segregation, and was an utter failure as a statesman. Bruce Walker makes a good argument for his utter uselessness here:
ESR | August 11, 2003 | The very worst president

1. James Buchanan: Buchanan is the absolute worst president in American History. His failure to act when South Carolina took the unprecedented act of seceding from the Union in 1860 resulted in what remains to this day the most serious crisis this country has ever faced, the dissolution of the Union. He was somewhat let off the hook by his successor, Abraham Lincoln, but not before more than 620,000 Americans died in the bloodiest war in American history; were it not for Lincoln succeeding him, there would not be a United States today.

(Dis)Honorable Mention: George W. Bush, Barack H. Obama, Jimmy Carter

[HK4U]

Best:

1. Andrew Jackson
2. George Washington
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. Teddy Roosevelt, maybe.

Worst:

1. Obama
2. Wilson
3. FDR
4. LBJ
5. Clinton

If I could choose one more it would be Carter.

[NDS]

1. William Henry Harrison (all Presidents should follow his example)
2. James Garfield (see above, just took him longer and assassination is always a nasty business)
3. George Washington (didn't seek a 3rd term)
4. Thomas Jefferson (while he ignored the Constitution, he still limited federal power)
5. John Tyler (inept and powerless due to power struggles kept Americans relatively safe from government)
Worst:

1. Abraham Lincoln (responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any other President)
2. FDR (tried to surpass Lincoln but failed)
3. LBJ ( should have never been President--his policies set the stage for our current problems)
4. Carter (probably make a nice neighbor but had no business making ANY important decisions When you look up the definition of 'inept' his picture should be there)
5. Wilson (Also killed a great number of Americans; an earlier example of great ineptness)

Wannabe: BHO--he's not been in office long enough to make either list, but he seems to want to top the Worst list...

[FN1910]

I haven't studied the history of all the Presidents to make an informed decision of all of them but of the ones I am familiar with especially in my lifetime.

Best
1. Regan Restored pride to the US
2. Washington - Settled the nation into the UNITED States
3. Lincoln - Although much reviled by many the South would have been much better off if he had lived.
4. Eisenhower - Actually took the positives and worked with them Very forward thinking president.
5. Nixon - Although most will think I am crazy for this but his foreign policies were genuis. Inherited a mess that was beyond anyones control.

Worst:

1. Jimmy Carter - He taught me about voting for a Democrat. I learned that lesson.
2. FDR - Wanted to be King and almost got it and we are still paying for it.
3. Andrew Jackson - Power hungry selfish SOB that wanted to be King and let no one stand in his way.
4. LBJ - Let his wife run the country, let the hippies take control of Viet Nam and just generally a blowhard.
5. Andrew Johnson - Ineptitude as a president only exceeded by Carter.

Too early to judge Obama but he is moving up the worst list fast.

[Bohemian]

Best:
1. Thomas Jefferson.
2. James Madison.
3. George Washington.
4. John Adams
5. Grover Cleveland.

Worst:
1. The Usurper Obama.
2. Jimmy Carter.
3. Woodrow Wilson.
4. Theodore Roosevelt.
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

[astute]

Originally Posted by Bohemian

Best:
1. Thomas Jefferson.
2. James Madison.
3. George Washington.
4. John Adams
5. Grover Cleveland.

Worst:
1. The Usurper Obama.
2. Jimmy Carter.
3. Woodrow Wilson.
4. Theodore Roosevelt.
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Have to agree with this list, but I would also add LBJ to the worst column and add any President whose administration was uneventful to the best. I think we would be better off and it would be cheaper if we paid Congress to take a 4 year paid vacation.

[Cooter]

I'm suprised JFK isn't mentioned in anyone's list. Ever heard of Executive Order 11110? How about beginning the process of pulling troops out of Vietnam?
It was obvious that he was groomed to be a puppet, but it seems he and RFK didn't follow in Joseph's footsteps. They choose to be true leaders, and servants of the people. And for that, they got assassinated. I would say that deserves some recognition.

[HK4U]

Originally Posted by Cooter

I'm suprised JFK isn't mentioned in anyone's list. Ever heard of Executive Order 11110? How about beginning the process of pulling troops out of Vietnam?
It was obvious that he was groomed to be a puppet, but it seems he and RFK didn't follow in Joseph's footsteps. They choose to be true leaders, and servants of the people. And for that, they got assassinated. I would say that deserves some recognition.

I agree. That is why he did not make my list of worst. The puppet resisted the puppet masters. If there had been more space on best five he might have made it. By the way Andrew Jackson resisted the puppet masters (international bankers) that is one of the reasons I chose him in the top five. He had guts enough not to be controlled.

[Glockster20]

In my lifetime,

Jimmy Carter, and now the Kenyan usurper!!

[PascalFleischman]

For all of you that have listed Lincoln as in your Top 5, a book worth reading might be The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War .

In that book, you read about the status of the country in 1860, Lincoln's vision of it, and how he carried it out. Suspension of habeus corpus is just a small part of it.

"Keeping the union intact" is an inaccurate argument. He took a loose collection of "independant" states and through his usurping policies, created a unified Federal union that shackles us today.