Ranking U.S. Presidents 1-42....best to worst [Archive]

Jim Colyer

12-31-2005, 01:43 AM

..1 George Washington
..2 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
..3 George Bush 43
..4 Andrew Jackson
..5 James Madison
..6 James Monroe
..7 Thomas Jefferson
..8 James K. Polk
..9 Woodrow Wilson
10 Ronald Reagan
11 Theodore Roosevelt
12 Harry Truman
13 Dwight Eisenhower
14 John Adams
15 Grover Cleveland
16 Calvin Coolidge
17 William McKinley
18 Rutherford B. Hayes
19 John Kennedy
20 Bill Clinton
21 Andrew Johnson
22 George Bush 41
23 Chester Arthur
24 Benjamin Harrison
25 John Quincy Adams
26 Jimmy Carter
27 Gerald Ford
28 Martin Van Buren
29 Herbert Hoover
30 Warren G. Harding
31 William Howard Taft
32 Franklin Pierce
33 Zachary Taylor
34 John Tyler
35 James Buchanan
36 Millard Fillmore
37 James Garfield
38 William Henry Harrison
39 Richard Nixon
40 Ulysses S. Grant
41 Lyndon Johnson
42 Abraham Lincoln

U.S. PRESIDENTS http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=50

JIM COLYER http://www.jimcolyer.com

Contact: jim@jimcolyer.com (jim@jimcolyer.com)

madcrappie

12-31-2005, 06:43 AM

that is rather wrong........... abe lincoln below millard fillmore and james buchanan?? the worst presidents to ever be elected??? I dont think so........ and then george bush so high? no way.

madcrappie

12-31-2005, 06:54 AM

I would go like this.

teddy roosevelt
franklin delano roosevelt
andrew jackson
george washington
thomas jefferson
woodrow wilson
abraham lincoln
james polk
james madison
john adams
james monroe
harry truman
john f kennedy
bill clinton
ronald reagan
william mckinley
john quincy adams
grover cleveland
john tyler
zachary taylor
lyndon b johnson
dwight d eisenhower
william howard taft
calvin coolidge
rutherford b hayes
george bush sr
jimmy carter
benjamin harrison
chester arthur
ulysses s grant
herbert hoover
franklin pierce
gerald ford
george w bush
andrew johnson
william henry harrison
richard nixon
warren g harding
james buchanan
millard fillmore

did I miss any?

Jim Colyer

12-31-2005, 04:52 PM

George Bush is becoming one of our great presidents.

Jim Colyer

12-31-2005, 04:54 PM

elvis

SilverClover14

01-02-2006, 09:28 PM

I don't really have an opinion on many of them, so I can't rank.

I know my top 5 (no order) would be Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln.

My bottom 5 (no real order) would be Andrew Jackson (Trail of Tears... enough said), Eisenhower (his dealings with the CIA drop him very low on my list), LBJ (Vietnam), Reagan, and GWB.

Really, those are the only ones I have strong feelings about.

TheMadcapSyd

01-03-2006, 01:39 AM

Hmmm, if I made my own list,

10 best
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Theodore Roosevelt
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Thomas Jefferson
6. John F. Kennedy
7. James Madison
8. James Monroe
9. Woodrow Wilson
10. Calvin Coolidge

6 worst
1.James Buchanan
2. Franklin Pierce
3. William Harrison(mainly for the fact he was only president for one month)
4. Jimmy Carter
5. Richard Nixon
6. Franklin Roosevelt

WayfaringStranger

01-03-2006, 01:48 AM

i'd have to put FDR at the bottom too.

MikeE

01-03-2006, 02:14 AM

DrRobert

01-03-2006, 02:30 AM

10 best
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin Roosevelt
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Andrew Jackson
6. Ronald Reagan
7. John F. Kennedy
8. Woodrow Wilson
9. James Madison
10. Bill Clinton/ Bush II (only bc there legacies have yet to be established)

10 worst
1. LBJ (with the obvious exception of the Civil Rights Movement, which was Kennedy anyway)
2. Franklin Pierce
3. William Harrison
4. Chester Arthur
5. James Garfield
6. Bush I
7. Jimmy Carter
8. Richard Nixon
9. James Buchanon
10. Andrew Johnson

Soulless||Chaos

01-03-2006, 02:54 AM

i'd have to put FDR at the bottom too.
No shit, why does everyone put him so high? :confused:

TheMadcapSyd

01-03-2006, 05:13 PM

OK, why did you choose the president who lead us out of the Depression and through most of WW II to be the worst?

No matter what you think of Social Security, there is something to be said for a president who suceeds in doing a bad thing vs. a president who does nothing memorable.
Because of the unheard of powers he took the Federal government too, and jeez, when he couldn't get his total way because the surpreme court decalred some things unconstitutional, he wanted the power to enlarge the court to 12 justices to he could appoint 4 more. Too many secret dealings with Churchill to, call me paranoid but I think there was more evidence of the Japansese about to attack Pearl Harbor then the people at the base knew. Roosevelt was dying to get into WW2 the day it broke out. And yes, I do disagree with alot of the programs he started too, another reason I have him so low. Also the whole 4 term thing too, I mean it was still legal back then, but still, Washington set the 2 term precedent that everyone else had followed.

Soulless||Chaos

01-03-2006, 05:18 PM

Because of the unheard of powers he took the Federal government too, and jeez, when he couldn't get his total way because the surpreme court decalred some things unconstitutional, he wanted the power to enlarge the court to 12 justices to he could appoint 4 more. Too many secret dealings with Churchill to, call me paranoid but I think there was more evidence of the Japansese about to attack Pearl Harbor then the people at the base knew. Roosevelt was dying to get into WW2 the day it broke out. And yes, I do disagree with alot of the programs he started too, another reason I have him so low. Also the whole 4 term thing too, I mean it was still legal back then, but still, Washington set the 2 term precedent that everyone else had followed.
Word. :D

Zer0_II

01-09-2006, 09:06 PM

Andrew Jackson (Trail of Tears... enough said).
It amazes me that so many people still think that he is a great president after all he did. Jackson was a piece of shit, and definately ranks as one of the worst presidents of all time in my opinion.

Jim Colyer

01-10-2006, 12:49 AM

Jim Colyer

01-10-2006, 12:51 AM

The Hermitage
http://www.thehermitage.com

drumminmama

01-10-2006, 01:31 AM

nice bigotry there, colyer.
guess thats why i never bother to check out your music spam.
why shouldn't history undergo examination as science does? We learn new stuff, we teach it.

TheMadcapSyd

01-11-2006, 01:07 AM

I don't get why Jackson is always judged on the Trail of Tears considering that happend in 1838, when Jackson wasn't president anymore, Martin van Buren was.

Comrade_X

01-17-2006, 11:27 AM

Here's my top 5 and bottom 5 ranks for the U.S. Presidents.

5 Best

1) Theodore Roosevelt (a great reformer)
2) Abe Lincoln (held union together while suffering manic depression)
3) Dwight Eisenhower (warned America against the dangers of the military-industral complex)
4) Harry S. Truman (I consider him a more genuine liberal than FDR, also 1st president who tried to end discrimation)
5) John F. Kennedy (A true american visionary)

5 Worst

1) James Buchanan (Failed to stop the civil war)
2) Franklin Pierce (Failed to stop the civil war)
3) William Howard Taft (favored big business over the working class)
4) Millard Fillmore (weak president in general)
5) Calvin Coolidge (set the stage for the great depression though poor economic policies)

TheMadcapSyd

01-18-2006, 05:16 AM

3) William Howard Taft (favored big business over the working class)
5) Calvin Coolidge (set the stage for the great depression though poor economic policies)
Taft's administration broke up quite a deal more trusts and monopolies then the trust-buster Roosevelt did.....

As for Coolidge, I defend him, he lowered taxes and lowered the national debt, he was the last president to really try to keep government out of everything, inculding the market, and to his credit, at the time it did make for the roaring 20's. I don't think many people could begin to predict in 1925 what was going to happen in 1929. Gave indians full American citizenship too.

Libertine

01-18-2006, 08:39 PM

I was just thinking about this the other day. I'll have to put my list together tonight sometime. Hmmmm....

Zer0_II

01-19-2006, 01:50 AM

Kids today judge Andrew Jackson on the Trail of Tears. They are taught to hate Jackson by their "gay" school teachers because of "what he did to the Indians." Fact is, a lot of Indians in those days were pure savages who loved to collect white scalps. Jackson was a great hero in his time, fighting the British and driving them out of North America forever. You should visit the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home in Nashville, on your next vacation.
I wasn't taught to hate Jackson by any school teacher. I always do my own research and form my own opinions. If a group of people invaded my land, killed the men, raped the women, and tried to claim it for their own, I would be peeling heads as well.

Libertine

01-19-2006, 02:13 AM

Here would be my criteria:

CRISIS: How did this leader handle the various problems that arose? Wars? Conflicts?

ECONOMY: How did the leader deal with all aspects of the economy? Recessions?

FOREIGN RELATIONS: How did this leader effectively deal with our international allies?

SOCIAL JUSTICE: How did this leader pursue civil rights and civil liberties?

PERFORMANCE: Or (getting the job done!) How effective was this leader getting his agenda across? Did it work? Did he have even have one?

SCANDALS: Did this leader violate any criminal laws or the U.S. Constitution?

I don't care much for popularity contests, opinion polls or "approval ratings". I don't really care too much about how "moral" the President was.

Libertine

01-19-2006, 05:32 AM

Ok, here's the LIBERTINE TOP 20 PRESIDENTS... and 5 WORST!

Top 20

1- Theodore Roosevelt
2- Abraham Lincoln
3- George Washington
4- Thomas Jefferson
5- Harry Truman
6- Dwight Eisenhower
7- James Madison
8- Grover Cleveland
9- Woodrow Wilson
10- Franklin D. Roosevelt
11- Ronald Reagan
12- Lyndon B. Johnson
13- Bill Clinton
14- John F. Kennedy
15- George Bush (I)
16- James K. Polk
17- William McKinley
18- James Monroe
19- Martin Van Buren
20- John Quincy Adams

Five Worst: (1) being the worst

5- Richard Nixon
4- Andrew Jackson
3- George W. Bush
2- Herbert Hoover
1- James Buchanan

Comrade_X

01-19-2006, 12:12 PM

I have issues with Taft because of the 1912 election, the GOP establishment where in strong support of him but the GOP (democratically elected) primaries favored Roosevelt; and because I have tendency to favor primaries over caucus I tend to think of Roosevelt as the "People's Candidate" whilst I think of Taft as the "Establishment Candidate," so that's why I call him the an "enemy of the working class."

I personally disagree with Coolidge's tax cuts (I disagree with most tax cuts in general), I know few people could have predicted 1929 (a lot of factors went into the crash) some of which couldn't be prevented, however he should have prudent and done something to warn the American people about the possibility of a "rainy day."

Taft's administration broke up quite a deal more trusts and monopolies then the trust-buster Roosevelt did.....

As for Coolidge, I defend him, he lowered taxes and lowered the national debt, he was the last president to really try to keep government out of everything, inculding the market, and to his credit, at the time it did make for the roaring 20's. I don't think many people could begin to predict in 1925 what was going to happen in 1929. Gave indians full American citizenship too.

COS_IRE

01-20-2006, 07:02 PM

George Bush is becoming one of our great presidents.Are you drunk? George "Warmongering" Bush is one the worst presidents.

Libertine

01-20-2006, 10:20 PM

Ha Ha Ha Ha !!!!

Laxx87mb

01-25-2006, 09:38 PM

George Bush is becoming one of our great presidents.

Bull Shit

TheMadcapSyd

01-27-2006, 03:41 AM

International
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/TheMadcapSyd/Random%20pictures/George-Bush-1.jpg
Liberator.

Sorry but the best way to have free speech is to have healthy debate.

Pumpkin Eater

01-27-2006, 06:08 AM

I put presidents like Buchanan, Pierce, and Polk at the top. So what, they didn't stop the civil war. They also didn't overstep the boundaries laid out by the constitution like Lincoln, Roosevelt, Bush, and Clinton. (and all the Presidents of the 20th century.

Laxx87mb

01-30-2006, 06:49 PM

http://www.hipgallery.com/photopost2/data/500/37279667_l.jpg

Flight From Ashiya

01-30-2006, 11:56 PM

The best President in recent times was:Ronald Regan. He took on the intransigent Communist empire & won & he did it by sheer will & the force of his genuine-held belief that it was a corrupt,bankrupt:Evil Empire.
He brought to an end: 'The Cold War'.
I'm sorry,I am too cynical to list the Prez in order from good to bad.

Richard Nixon was crooked but did set up a dialogue with Chairman Mao.Had he not done so,Red China would have sunk into further isolation & narcisstic absurdity.

L.B.J. was too much like John Wayne. (incidentially-in 1964 John Wayne urged everyone to vote:Barry Goldwater).

John F.Kennedy was courageous & decent but only from the waste up - which appears to have been Bill Clinton's weakness/achilles heel too.

MeMilesAway

01-31-2006, 04:41 PM

First: Jimmy Carter. Habitat for Humanity is a stellar outreach.

Last: Ronald Dickhead. He was an actor.

TheMadcapSyd

01-31-2006, 05:01 PM

First: Jimmy Carter. Habitat for Humanity is a stellar outreach.

Last: Ronald Dickhead. He was an actor.
Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer, what's your point. Carter is a great humanitarian, he's done wonderful work for people, but he really was not a good president.

Peace_love_equality

01-31-2006, 10:47 PM

TheMadcapSyd

02-01-2006, 01:53 AM

I actually did a project on waren G. harding and he sucked. there is some evidance that he was in the KKK. also a shit lode of scandles. has anyone red america the book by jon stuart..."warren g. harding was a worthless peice of shit. fuck him." i love that book.
Woodrow Wilson who so many people put in their top 10 on here(including myself) was highly rascist.

And for Harding's scandals, I think what he was most guilty of was appointing friends to high posistions, friends that were highly corrupt.

madcrappie

02-01-2006, 04:19 AM

how do you know he was racist??

MeMilesAway

02-01-2006, 01:42 PM

Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer, what's your point. Carter is a great humanitarian, he's done wonderful work for people, but he really was not a good president.
nah but he was a real person. i'm sick of this thread.....i'm outta here!

~AmyLeeLoo~

02-01-2006, 05:10 PM

i think the worst president is Bush lol

yossarian

02-05-2006, 06:54 AM

Yeah, Wilson was racist.

Reagan did well on helping to stop communism, but did it with disregard to human rights (Nicaragua, supporting Guatemala and El Salvador), and I don't agree with some of his economic policies, etc, etc, but I'm a bleeding heart, knee jerk liberal, so there you go.

Jackson- well, he did do some good things. He killed the national bank and wasn't afraid to get "all up in peoples' grills", so to speak. My history teacher called him "saint andy." But still, his policies with the native americans were not so great- though, he acted probably just like any other white man of the time period. And I think the Trail of Tears is attributed to him because he signed the act forcing the march.

I'm an FDR fan too. I don't buy into the pearl harbor conspiracy, and I don't really care if he was prez for 4 terms, he wasn't breaking any rules at the time and everything turned out fine, right?

habbiten

02-06-2006, 11:52 AM

as far as I've heard, sorry guys, but all of your presidents have been one of the greatest bastards of their time. maybe it's their job, but still. you're not a good guy if you go to war.

and did you know that 75 % of the population in europe thinks George W. Bush is the biggest threat to their peace.

only the thing that you like some of your presidents show's how much propaganda you have to stick up to.

I hope you don't take offence, norwegian and other european leaders are just as big bastards as the american leaders.

DQ Veg

02-06-2006, 04:37 PM

To reply to Habbiten-75% of Europeans believe that Bush is the biggest threat to their (and everyone else's) peace-they're right. Unfortunately, not nearly enough Americans feel the same way. I don't know off-hand who I would rank at the top of the President's list, but George W. Bush would be absolutely at rock bottom.

BlueFlower

02-07-2006, 01:44 PM

I think that the best U.S. President was Jimmy Carter.

BlueFlower

02-07-2006, 01:53 PM

Jimmy Carter, the late 1970's.

DQ Veg

02-07-2006, 03:31 PM

You know, even Carter's worst detractors admit that he was very honest, which hardly any politicians ever get accused of. I remember Carter. He was a misunderstood person because he really didn't like putting on airs-what you saw was what you got. He also had a lot of humility, which is unusual for politicians. Unfortunately, a lot of Americans would rather have a president that has this macho, cowboy, we're-better-than-anybody-else-and-we're-gonna-kick-your-ass kind of mentality, than to have someone that is honest and admits that we're not right about everything. All I can say is that I've lived long enough to have learned my political lessons the hard way.

Namaste

08-16-2007, 01:30 AM

In no particular order...

Best:
1. Washington
2. FDR
3. T. Roosevelt
4. Lincoln
5. Jefferson

Honorable Mention: JFK and Clinton

Worst:
1. Filmore
2. George W. Bush
3. Carter (Amazing humanitarian and ambassador, awful president)
4. Nixon
5. Hoover

Dishonorable Mention: Reagan

dirtydog

08-21-2007, 01:51 AM

This type of emphasis on leadership is misplaced. More important than the actions of heads of state are the actions of the workers. Perhaps it is the reactionary mentality of American workers that has led to the election of so many reactionary, imperialist American presidents.

Having said that, I could give passing marks to
Jimmy Carter
Franklin Roosevelt
John Kennedy
Bill Clinton
(no order intended) in the twentieth century, and thumbs down on the rest. I'm not knowledgeable enough about the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to comment.

Worst Presidents:
Abraham Lincoln - if the southerners want out, let them out. That's freedom.
Lyndon Johnson - Escalated American participation in the Vietnam conflict.
George W. Bush - Got involved militarily in Iraq and Afghanistan for no good reason.
Harry Truman - Responsible for mass murder of Japanese civilians.
Dwight Eisenhower - While a commanding general in WWII, signed the execution order for Private Edward Slovik for refusing combat.
Ronald Reagan - meddled in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Panama.

Ray Krebbs

03-13-2008, 09:58 PM

Top 10

1. George Washington = GREATNESS (should be put on all list all by himself)

2. John Adams
3. Harry Truman
4. Andrew Jackson
5. James Madison
6. Teddy Roosevelt
7. John F. Kennedy
8. Richard Nixon
9. Ronald Reagan
10. Gerald Ford
__________________________________________________ _______________

Bottom Three

Lincoln
- Although, I consider it unfair because he wasn't able to see Recunstruction through. And because I actually admire him as a man. But a good president would've found a solution other than The Civil War.

Jimmy Carter
- Had no business being President. Groomed puppet of the Tri-Laterals.

Lyndon B. Johnson
- One of the worst people in all of history in my opinion! Should actually be on a list all of his own!

neodude1212

03-14-2008, 12:49 PM

Bottom Three

Lincoln
- Although, I consider it unfair because he wasn't able to see Recunstruction through. And because I actually admire him as a man. But a good president would've found a solution other than The Civil War.

read up on your history. The civil war was pretty much the LAST thing lincoln wanted.

neodude1212

03-14-2008, 12:53 PM

Jackson- well, he did do some good things. He killed the national bank and wasn't afraid to get "all up in peoples' grills", so to speak.

LMAO!

good old washington is probably at the top of my list.

GWB jr. definatly at the bottom. He has taken more days off than any other pres. in history.
And if you look at America 8 years ago, compared to now, virtually everyone was better off before he came into the white house. I can't find one single reason for him to run as president, other than to finish his daddy's agenda, and to kill sadam b/c he tried to get pops assassinated.

They probably watch the video of his hanging at every family gathering.

Thanks for the war, bush!

themnax

03-15-2008, 09:13 AM

there are no best. only least worst. jackson; indiginous genocide. g. washington too. earned the name of village burner. the adamses had maybe some good ideas. but none of the fraimers of the best concepts politicians have tried to take credit for ever got elected to federal level office.

not payne, or even franklin. and were they even the saints politically motivated 'historians' make them out to be? not bloody likely.

carter was decent because he didn't stay bought. of course he didn't last very long because of it either. kennidy was able to buy himself. not a likely road to sainthood, but it gave him the elbow room to TRY and be decent and do the right things.

a lot of people who were around then, and a few of the more honest historians now, like harry truman. fdr did good things along with bad too.

like i say there haven't been any of them saints. they haven't all been idiots or screw ups or monsters entirely. but non of them saints. or even anyone i would pick for my first choice for anyone to be in that position. assuming i would even choose for anyone TO be in that position, which is quite a stretch of it all by itself.

no, america is too big for its own good or anybody else's. just as a lot of other places from time to time have been also. and even before it was, most of the time popular culture and dominant 'leaders' alike, have BOTH mostly had their heads screwed on at least slightly bassackwards.

not that popular culture has to stay that way. sometimes, when things get the most messed up, have been allowed to, then a lot of people start to recognize we don't really have to keep keeping them that way.

i really do believe an era will come when all of that will chainge. but i wouldn't expect anyone we've ever had for president to have been able to pull it off.

not that gaining that office is all that much of a magic wand for anyone. that's another one of those myths. give a good enough hearted person enough personal authority and power and they'll fix everything up.

sorry, it don't quite work that way. we do need 'leaders' who won't get in the way of fixing what needs to be. not dependence on expecting them to.

=^^=
.../\...

evil i 13

03-15-2008, 10:02 AM

1. Jefferson

2. Jackson
3. Carter
4. The Kennedy i was raised to believe in.
5. Washington
6. Truman
These guys seem okay, but who knows? History is a pathological liar.

SpreadneckGA

03-19-2008, 03:01 PM

Thomas Jefferson

somenerdyfreak

03-20-2008, 05:18 AM

1. Teddy Roosevelt
2.Harry Truman
3. Reagen master-general
4. JFK
5. Polk
6. Thomas Jefferson
7. Fightin' Millard Filmore
8. Andrew Jackson
9. George Washingotn
10. Wilson
11. Dwight Eisenhower
12. James Madison
13. McKinley
14. HW Bush
15. LBJ
16. Abe Lincoln
17. Henry Harrison
18. Hoover
19. FDR
20. Gerald Ford
21. Monroe
22. John Adams
23. Buchanan (representing PA)
24. Grover Cleveland (2nd term)
25. Chester A Arthur
26. Hayes
27. Cleveland (1st term)
28. John Tyler
29. Zachary Taylor
30-40 the others
41. Today's Bush
42. Clinton
43. Lousy Richard M. Nixon.......not cus of watergate, but his initiation of the Controlled Substance Act

Bonkai

03-22-2008, 10:30 PM

George Bush is becoming one of our great presidents.Notice that this was written in 2005 but I still have to laugh, cause i knew better then and now.

def zeppelin

03-22-2008, 10:35 PM

One huge list of failure.

KaiBailey

03-24-2008, 03:32 AM

I think that from what I know of history, Thomas Jefferson is my favorite of the presidents. Great man! I wish we still had him leading this country.

My least favorite presidents are Ronald Reagan, and Andrew Jackson.

Ronald, ofcourse is very popular among americans, because of his wonderful charisma. But that was all a way to make people like him, I feel. I never thought his actions as president were all that glorious.

In terms of Andrew Jackson, he did a lot of great things, but in terms of Indians, he hated them. That never sat well with me at all. I suppose all presidents will have their bad sides, but he took it horribly far.

But that's all just my boring old opinion!

:)

avhp

05-13-2008, 06:40 AM

here's my list of presidents, best to worst:

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (pulled this country through so much, and showed great leadership throughout)
2. Lincoln
3. Washington
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. John F. Kennedy
6. Bill Clinton (don't know why some people hate him. he may have had an affair, but I don't care. He still did, or at least tried to do, a lot of good for this country. Unfortunately a conservative congress tried their best to stop him and smear his image)
7. Woodrow Wilson
8. Thomas Jefferson
9. Richard Nixon (if you take out watergate, he did a lot of good. started déténte era in the Cold War. improved relationship with Soviet Union and China)
10. James Madison
11. James Monroe
12. Harry Truman
13. Dwight D. Eisenhower
14. William Mckinley
15. Carter
16. Ford
17. Cleveland
18. Lyndon B. Johnson (I have very mixed feelings about this man. He did do a lot of good, or tried to, with his Great Society and Civil Rights programs. But then again, there's Vietnam. If it weren't for Vietnam he'd be in my top 5)
19. Coolidge
20. Hayes
21. John Adams
22. John Q. Adams
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Chester Arthur
25. Harding
26. Taft
27. Andrew Jackson (did some good, and some bad. again, mixed feelings)
28. John Tyler
29. Garfield
30. William Henry Harrison
31. George H. Bush (41st)
32. Zachary Taylor
33. Millard Filmore
34. James Buchanan
35. Ulysses S. Grant (I don't hate Grant, but his administration. he was taken advantage of as president. wasn't a bad guy, but probably not fit to be president)
36. Franlin Pierce
37. Van Buren
38. Hoover
39. Polk
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George W Bush (43rd)
42. Andrew Johnson

weedwhacker

05-16-2008, 04:18 AM

avhp

05-16-2008, 05:57 AM

forrealz

05-19-2008, 11:34 PM

I would like to say the current scumbag in office George Bush is the worst,but I NEVER refer to him as President.

The Scribe

06-10-2008, 06:33 PM

My favorite presidents are Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt, in that order: two Democrats and two Republicans. Each made the United States a more egalitarian country.

George W. Bush is obviously a failure as a president. Nevertheless, I think Ronald Reagan did more harm to the country. Reagan promoted the ideas that tax cuts are always the best economic policy regardless of economic circumstances, and that deficits do not matter.

The Republican Party has come to like budget deficits. They make it difficult for Democrat politicians to fund programs to help critical constituencies. The GOP benefits when white male blue collar workers think, "The Democrats never did me any good. At least the Republicans won't take my guns."

RiffRaff

12-21-2008, 04:34 AM

#1: Bill Clinton
#42: George W. Bush

TheMadcapSyd

12-21-2008, 05:37 AM

^
C'mon, Clinton as the best?

c'mon

RiffRaff

12-21-2008, 11:57 PM

Yeah, I thought that after I posted it. The best in my lifetime though (beginning with Truman to now). But, I stand by George Bush who, IMO, is the worse president out country has ever had. Even worse that Grant.

TributetoME

12-23-2008, 10:05 PM

I don't understand why George Washington would be in the top 10 of the best presidents list. It's sort of a waste of a space imo. He didn't really do much as president.

TheMadcapSyd

12-25-2008, 09:04 PM

I don't understand why George Washington would be in the top 10 of the best presidents list. It's sort of a waste of a space imo. He didn't really do much as president.

He did do alot though, most importantly he set the standard of only 2 terms in office when he voluntarily gave up the office. But Washington was the one who had to start up a government from scratch, the constitution laid the framework for how the government would operate, but aside from that it was all just theory. It's the precedents of power sharing between the branches of government and all the other ones that make Washington what he was.

Simple Compass

12-26-2008, 03:18 AM

Best:
1. James Madison
2. George Washington
3. John F. Kennedy
4. Grover Cleveland
5. Ronald Reagan

Worst:
1. Herbert Hoover
2. Andrew Jackson
3. Bill Clinton
4. George W. Bush
5. Ronald Reagan

Reagan is on both best and worst list, because my feeling on him is so ambivalent and split-up. He has one of the best personality and inspires many (listen to his farewell speech, in which he called for "informed patriotism"), and his small government rhetoric is uplifting. Even more so, his message of freedom against oppression in the world and his decisive move against the U.S.S.R. are laudable. At the same time, some of his economic and social polices are among the worst of the worst. Small government sounds good, but cutting tax for the rich first does not lead to small and efficient government. War on Drugs and all other unnecessariy spendings actually increased deficit (which he regreted in his farewell speech). Reagan was a complicated man. Many people love him and many hate him. To me it is both.

TributetoME

12-26-2008, 07:42 AM

He did do alot though, most importantly he set the standard of only 2 terms in office when he voluntarily gave up the office. But Washington was the one who had to start up a government from scratch, the constitution laid the framework for how the government would operate, but aside from that it was all just theory. It's the precedents of power sharing between the branches of government and all the other ones that make Washington what he was.

Good point. But I thought the two term standard of office wasn't set until after FDR. I would consider Washington to be an extremely influential president, rather than a best one because of the guidelines he started to set. He may have helped to get the U.S. off the ground but I don't really think he did much for the nation itself.

Then again, as you said, he helped to create a government from scratch so I guess that is very important considering without his beginnings the U.S. wouldn't be the same.

I guess you're right haha. I didn't really think of it that way. I was thinking of presidents doing more direct things. I think Washington's help to the U.S. was more indirect in that he was the precursor to things to come.

I definitely understand why he could be considered one of the best now though. It makes much more sense to me than before.

TheMadcapSyd

12-26-2008, 06:03 PM

^
The 2 term limit was put into law into the constitution after Roosevelt and his 4 terms, but before that it had never been broken

But also, Washington grew hemp and distilled whiskey, Washington before Obama was officially the most black president we ever had.

Ariel7

12-26-2008, 06:17 PM

How is Fdr one of our worse presidents he is much greater then Bush!

Simple Compass

12-27-2008, 12:15 AM

FDR greately expanded presidential power --- set precedent for George W. Bush, among other things. So I can see a point if someone here puts FDR as one of the worst. Simply if without FDR, GWB would have gotten more difficulty with his agenda.

The Earth

12-27-2008, 12:50 AM

Van Buren #1

TributetoME

12-27-2008, 07:14 AM

Washington before Obama was officially the most black president we ever had.

Lmao :D

TributetoME

12-27-2008, 07:14 AM

Libertine

12-28-2008, 04:35 PM

Right now it is Obama.

Considering he hasn't been sworn in yet.

Elijah

03-05-2009, 08:01 PM

obama's upcoming plan will greatly dwarf roosevelt's new deal. there's all sorts of pork barrel spending attached to it too. i think our greatest presidents were the founding fathers. even they as politicians believed that it is the citizens obligation to stand up against tyrannical government.

Elijah

03-05-2009, 08:02 PM

his economic policies aggravated the effects of the great depression. not only this, but it's been revealed he had prior knowledge of japan's plans to attack hawaii. he commited treason, he should have been tried and executed for his silence.

How is Fdr one of our worse presidents he is much greater then Bush!

Elijah

03-05-2009, 08:05 PM

your number one pick screwed america many times over thanks to nafta. he's also good friends with the dad of the last guy we had. we started miraculously going into debt right before he left office. so how does that qualify him as the greatest president ever?

#1: Bill Clinton
#42: George W. Bush

Elijah

03-05-2009, 08:08 PM

america as country was way more economicly stable during the eisenhower years than during the roosevelt years. roosevelt used a war as an excuse to drag his presidency out to four terms. only a despot would behave in such a manner. roosevelt like wilson also surrended control of our money over to a self serving centralised banking system who has done nothing other than devalue our currency. the thing that bothers me about ike is that he had one and a half million germans, including women and children starved to detah in 1948

I don't really have an opinion on many of them, so I can't rank.

I know my top 5 (no order) would be Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Abraham Lincoln.

My bottom 5 (no real order) would be Andrew Jackson (Trail of Tears... enough said), Eisenhower (his dealings with the CIA drop him very low on my list), LBJ (Vietnam), Reagan, and GWB.

Really, those are the only ones I have strong feelings about.

raz5

03-05-2009, 08:10 PM

you lose

Elijah

03-05-2009, 08:13 PM

he was sympathetic to joe stalin too.

FDR greately expanded presidential power --- set precedent for George W. Bush, among other things. So I can see a point if someone here puts FDR as one of the worst. Simply if without FDR, GWB would have gotten more difficulty with his agenda.

Elijah

03-05-2009, 08:18 PM

he and his friends risked their lives so that america would no longer have foreign rulers. that's pretty signifigant to me, even though this is reversing right before our eyes.

I don't understand why George Washington would be in the top 10 of the best presidents list. It's sort of a waste of a space imo. He didn't really do much as president.

Exiled1234

04-12-2009, 06:00 AM

George Bush is becoming one of our great presidents.

LOL! nuff said.

TheMadcapSyd

05-06-2009, 05:34 AM

new list:

1. George Washington(still above all for setting the 2 term precedent)
2. Teddy Roosevelt
3. Lincoln
4. Calvin Coolidge
5. FDR

White_Horse_Mescalito

05-06-2009, 06:19 AM

Bush ... worse president ever... we are going to feel it for decades

jamesrock

05-06-2009, 06:21 AM

Best

Washington
Roosevelt
Jackson
FDR
Lincoln
Jefferson

Worst

Carter
Harding
Buchanan
Fillmore

caliente

05-06-2009, 10:42 PM

Best

Washington
Roosevelt
Jackson
FDR
Lincoln
Jefferson

Andrew Jackson was a racist who instituted forced relocation of Native tribes. Put him in the bottom five, not the top.

jamesrock

05-06-2009, 11:00 PM

Andrew Jackson was a racist who instituted forced relocation of Native tribes. Put him in the bottom five, not the top.

You are more than welcome to put him in whatever five you would like and I will keep him in my top five.

Wounded Revolutionary war vet
former POW
Hero in 1812
A true patriot

He was also the only president to ever pay off the national debt. That alone gets him into my top 5.

TheMadcapSyd

05-07-2009, 03:52 AM

Wounded Revolutionary war vet
former POW
Hero in 1812
A true patriot

All of those things make for a great soldier, not a great president.

Elijah

05-09-2009, 01:40 AM

caliente

05-09-2009, 06:01 AM

there was also a great depression thanks to his friends in the banking cabals.

The Depression started three years before FDR ever took office.

Elijah

05-12-2009, 11:07 PM

cal, i never said it did begin during roosevelt's presidency as you imply i did. but it couldn't be anymore obvious that he was a bedfellow with movers and shakers of the financial and banking world. though it's obvious to everyone that your average citizen didn't cause it.

AT98BooBoo

06-13-2009, 04:38 AM

George Bush is becoming one of our great presidents.

Yeah right. History has proven you wrong....

AT98BooBoo

06-13-2009, 04:42 AM

i'd have to put FDR at the bottom too.

Then that shows your ignorance of history.

AT98BooBoo

06-13-2009, 04:47 AM

No shit, why does everyone put him so high? :confused:

Because they know what the are talking about and don't believe revisionist lies. If FDR hadn't gotten us involved in WWII when he did we would now be speaking German....

TheMadcapSyd

06-13-2009, 05:11 AM

Because they know what the are talking about and don't believe revisionist lies. If FDR hadn't gotten us involved in WWII when he did we would now be speaking German....

Not really, Germany never had the resources to make operation Sea Lion against the UK ever really, work, let alone some kind of German invasion of the US

caliente

06-13-2009, 06:24 AM

FDR used a war as an excuse to extand his presidency and got us unnecessarily involved in foreign conflict. there was also a great depression thanks to his friends in the banking cabals.

I think you've got this wrong. A president can't "extend" his presidency unless he gets re-elected. So if anyone "extended" it, it was the electorate.

And if you're implying that the banks caused the Great Depression, then you'll get a lot of argument there, too. And you're misreading his relationship with them, anyway. Yes, he was from the rich and privileged class, but he was at odds with the bankers and Wall Street mucky-mucks from the beginning. He even fought his Secretary of the Treasury over this.

Duck

06-13-2009, 11:53 AM

Best:
the Roosevelts tie - they are just fucking awesome
Jefferson
Lincoln
Jackson
Ford (honorable mention)

Worst:
Taylor
Kennedy
Nixon
everyone after Ford

AT98BooBoo

06-13-2009, 09:50 PM

Ford? He was an idiot. During a debate he stated that there was no Soviet presence in Eastern Europe and he pardoned Tricky Dick(head) Nixon.

AT98BooBoo

06-13-2009, 09:58 PM

Not really, Germany never had the resources to make operation Sea Lion against the UK ever really, work, let alone some kind of German invasion of the US

People that know anything about WWII history know that Hitler didn't invade England because of his intense fear of water. England would have been starved into submission had we not become involved in WWII. Even in a best case scenario, most of the world would have been under the control of the Nazi's and the Japanese and we would have faced thenm alone. Sorry Madcap but history has shown that FDR was right to get involved in WWII. Try getting your history from sources not tainted by Federalist Society Revisionism.

Duck

06-14-2009, 01:47 AM

Ford? He was an idiot. During a debate he stated that there was no Soviet presence in Eastern Europe and he pardoned Tricky Dick(head) Nixon.
I didn't hear that debate thing.
Pardoning Nixon is why he gets an honorable mention. He possibly sacrificed his political career to keep the country together, though he seemed genuinely angry at Nixon (and would not take prior deal to pardon in return for the presidency), did major civil rights acts without major public pressure to do so (such as education for handicapped children), and from everything I've read about him he seems like a generally great guy.
He gets only an honorable mention because of his short career as president, and my unclear view of if his economic efforts were successful (cause Carter sent that shit right into a nosedive)

Deranged

06-14-2009, 01:57 AM

jackson was a bigot (check out some of his anti-indian propaganda posters). grant and the two presidents before taft were corrupt.

i dunno...i really don't know enough about the presidents to say more.

AT98BooBoo

06-14-2009, 03:25 AM

Duck

06-14-2009, 04:41 AM

Look up some old SNL episodes from the 70'.s Chevy Chase used to do Ford on that good ol show and ended up making him into a laughing stock. Ford's tie as on crooked plus he made the gaffe about the Soviet Union so Chevy Chase had a field day with it.

Nixon should have been thrown in jail, not pardoned.
Just like Bush should be (or better yet, executed) - but it's easy to see how that would tear the country apart right now - and now, just like then, isn't the time. There are much bigger problems such as a war to manage, and horrible economic problems.

TheMadcapSyd

06-14-2009, 06:13 AM

People that know anything about WWII history know that Hitler didn't invade England because of his intense fear of water. England would have been starved into submission had we not become involved in WWII. Even in a best case scenario, most of the world would have been under the control of the Nazi's and the Japanese and we would have faced thenm alone. Sorry Madcap but history has shown that FDR was right to get involved in WWII. Try getting your history from sources not tainted by Federalist Society Revisionism.

lolz really?

FDR didn't get us into WW2

The Japanese got us into WW2

And Britain would not have been starved into submission, the Lend-Lease program was in place before the US entered into the war and even after the US joined the war most escort duty was still done by the British and Canadians as most of the US navy was in the pacific. The worst point in the battle of the Atlantic was the "happy time" as it was refered to by U-boat men between June 1940- to early 1941 after the fall of France while the convoy system was lacking and U-boats hunted easy targets in wolfpacks. Britain got out of that itself

Not to mention the fact while material aid from the United States did help them greatly, the Soviet Union played the biggest part of ending WW2, over 80% of the German army along with the Italian 8th army was on the Eastern front.

I think you need to crack a book

AT98BooBoo

06-14-2009, 10:52 PM

Britian and her Allies would have been unable to free the Continent from the bootheel of Nazism had the US not gotten involved. Ya know what boys I thought I knew it all when I was your age. Try talking to people that lived during the aforementioned eras. Sorry boys but I've been on this Earth for over a decade longer than then either of you so I can pretty much guarantee I know just bit more about history than either of you two kids.

waukegan

06-15-2009, 05:47 PM

this is really a cool question.great reading these rankings.i've read and seen short bios about the president but i don't know history well enough to judge.but i wanted to contribute this.the old question do people make the history or does history make the people.i might rank the presidents by the entertainment value.in this sense the presidency of jimmy carter and his family would be high....gerald ford and his mishaps would rank up there..............nixon,agnew and watergate in the news every day that was pretty good....the 1988 vice president debate betwwe senators lloyd bentsen and dan quayle.the senator you're no jack kennedy retort by bentsen was classic political entertainment.harry truman was president when i was born."give em hell,harry"....and for sure the clinton years,...on my list george w. would be close to the top of the list.

AT98BooBoo

06-16-2009, 01:21 AM

Good ol G duhbya was good for more than few laughs.... Ya ever heard the song The First Part of W is Duh.? I heard Vince Herman and Great American Taxi play on 4/20 at Springjam '08.

Elijah

06-16-2009, 08:00 PM

you're blatantly ignoring the fact that hitler was a nationalist. in other words he had more concern for what was going on with germany's affaiors than with what was happening with other people. you act as if england wasn't the one who declared the world war. it was england who declared it against germany both times. Hitler's biggest concern politically was communism.

would have faced them alone? we didn't get involved until after it had been going on for some time. even if there had been no pearl harbor, it's been shown that roosevelt had premediated plans to get us involved in another foreign war. a war which was unpopular in many americans eyes. this phony moral highground nonsense should have been abandoned long ago. just like back then, moral highground is an excuse to justify militarism. considering that we had the soviets on our side, i'm not even so sure we ever had any sort of moral highground on which to even stand on.

history has shown that FDR was one of the single worst presidents we've had. he was a power hungry fool who used a foreign war as an excuse to extend his presidency to four terms. he was also known to be sympathetic to communism. it's known his economic policies only made the great depression worse. FDR didn't get us involved to defend freedom, he got us involved to keep the military industrial complex and the international bankers pockets fat.

if you want more insite into the history of world war 1 and 2. read up on benjamin feiedman and sir anthony sutton writings.
btw-the history you know is whatever the establishment feeds you. like most people, you only know what you're told. also keep in mind that even run of the mill historians subject history to revisionism.

People that know anything about WWII history know that Hitler didn't invade England because of his intense fear of water. England would have been starved into submission had we not become involved in WWII. Even in a best case scenario, most of the world would have been under the control of the Nazi's and the Japanese and we would have faced thenm alone. Sorry Madcap but history has shown that FDR was right to get involved in WWII. Try getting your history from sources not tainted by Federalist Society Revisionism.

Elijah

06-17-2009, 01:23 AM

http://tmh.floonet.net/articles/ph25_8.html
thanks to the freedom of information act, it's been reveled that roosevelt had prior knowledge that japan was about to attack pearl harbor. he looked the other way and it was rather conviently used as justification for our war effort. the history channel even has mentioned this. western aggresion had far more to do with world war 1 and 2's origins than any german aggresion ever did. hitler even pleaded to churchill more than once not to go to war against germany. as far as i'm concerned the only winners of world war 2 was communism, the arms industry and international banking.

lolz really?

FDR didn't get us into WW2

The Japanese got us into WW2

And Britain would not have been starved into submission, the Lend-Lease program was in place before the US entered into the war and even after the US joined the war most escort duty was still done by the British and Canadians as most of the US navy was in the pacific. The worst point in the battle of the Atlantic was the "happy time" as it was refered to by U-boat men between June 1940- to early 1941 after the fall of France while the convoy system was lacking and U-boats hunted easy targets in wolfpacks. Britain got out of that itself

Not to mention the fact while material aid from the United States did help them greatly, the Soviet Union played the biggest part of ending WW2, over 80% of the German army along with the Italian 8th army was on the Eastern front.

I think you need to crack a book

AT98BooBoo

06-24-2009, 06:01 AM

Hitler only cared about Hitler and didn't give a rats *ss about the German people. Your ignorance of history is absolutely dumbfounding.

Nationalism means devotion to the interests of ones own nation.(Webster's Dictionary)Nationalism means you put your country's interests above your own. Nationalism means you don't destroy your country to achieve your own interests. Hitler continued to destroy Germany and sacrifice her people for his own selfish interests long after it was evident that the war was lost. If you had the slightest grasp of history you would know that Hitler was a Nationalist in name only.

Churchill and FDR had both read Mein Kapmf and knew that Hitler had plans to conquer Europe and murder all the Jews.

Real historians recognize the fact that FDR was one of the greatest Presidents.

Hitler's main Concerns:

1.Hitler
2. Murdering all the Jews
3. Conquering Europe

So FDR should have just stood by and let Europe suffer under the bootheel of Nazism and let Asia be enslaved by the Japanese?

You really need to get your history from sources not tainted by Federalist Society Revisionism.

You almost sound like you think Hitler was in the right and we were in the wrong.

Duck

06-24-2009, 07:26 AM

Whoa, I saw a document talking about how there appears to be no real threat of attack from the Japanese.
Had no clue if it was real or not - how crazy.

Hitler only cared about Hitler and didn't give a rats *ss about the German people. Your ignorance of history is absolutely dumbfounding.

Nationalism means devotion to the interests of ones own nation.(Webster's Dictionary)Nationalism means you put your country's interests above your own. Nationalism means you don't destroy your country to achieve your own interests. Hitler continued to destroy Germany and sacrifice her people for his own selfish interests long after it was evident that the war was lost. If you had the slightest grasp of history you would know that Hitler was a Nationalist in name only.

Churchill and FDR had both read Mein Kapmf and knew that Hitler had plans to conquer Europe and murder all the Jews.

Real historians recognize the fact that FDR was one of the greatest Presidents.

Hitler's main Concerns:

1.Hitler
2. Murdering all the Jews
3. Conquering Europe

So FDR should have just stood by and let Europe suffer under the bootheel of Nazism and let Asia be enslaved by the Japanese?

You really need to get your history from sources not tainted by Federalist Society Revisionism.

You almost sound like you think Hitler was in the right and we were in the wrong.
I disagree with you saying Hitler wasn't a nationalist. The Jewish bankers had run Germany into the ground under the Weimar Republic. The average German suffered much, while the average (German) Jews prospered.
This is the most likely source of his hatred for them, and his reasoning to destroy them.
Therefore, in his crazy mind, he was doing what was best for Germany.

But I agree totally with you on FDR.

TheMadcapSyd

06-24-2009, 08:37 AM

Hey buddy, if FDR and Churchill knew Hitler was going to kill all these jews, they sure did an awesome job dealing with connections to the camps when written/photographic evidence of the camps was known to exist and the allied high command had reports from escapees of what the camps really were yet one of the main things the allies took flak for after the war was the fact they did nothing to stop it.

And Mein Kampf, do you know many people in the 1930's read Mein Kampf? FDR, Churchill, and about 30 million other people.

Also, FDR didn't take us into a war with Germany, declaring war on Germany could've been a risky move when it had been only the Japanese who attacked us, and Germany and Japan were not in an all out alliance(hence why Japan was not at war with the Soviet Union) and only had to defend each other if one of them was attacked. Hitler, on December 11th, declared war on the US, so really Roosevelt did nothing to bring us into a war against Hitler except let a lot of people die at Pearl Harbor

AT98BooBoo

06-25-2009, 03:29 AM

Jewish Bankers ran Germany into the ground? Have you been reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion again? The German economy was ruined because Kaiser(roll) Wilhelm borrowed heavily to finance his war and because the Allies exacted heavy War Reparations in the Treaty of Versailles.

Hitler only helped the German people because doing so was only a means to an end.

Many historians say that FDR and Churchill didn't do anything to stop or slow down the Holocaust because they believed that doing so would divert resources needed to destroy Germany's ability to make war. hmmm... Then again I think that a few bombing raids on the rail lines and the ovens at just one or two Camps (ie Aushwitz,Dachau) would have made a big difference.

Ponder this. Russia and Japan didn't hold up their end of their respective Treaties because neither of them declared war on the other when Germany and Enlgand went to war. However Russia didn't declare war on Japan until '45 but did so only for their own selfish, self serving reasons.

TheMadcapSyd

06-25-2009, 07:45 PM

The camps in the west were sometimes bombed because they were work camps where arms were being produced.

Japan had nothing to hold up in it's treaty, it didn't sign the treaty until after the war in Europe began. Germany attacked Russia, Germany was not attacked by Russia, if that was the case Japan in theory would have had to declare war. Just like Germany was not required to declare war on the US since Japan attacked the US, but Hitler still did.