Question:
out of the 43 American Presidents.. which ones were the best, which the worst and which were average?
Vera Gabriele
2008-10-15 06:32:40 UTC
President George Bush Jr. is the 43rd president of America. I know that in South Dakota in a memorial park are the heads of 4 presidents carved in stone.. so I assume from that that those presidents rank amongst some of the most memorable and best presidents.. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.. which other American Presidents do you consider to rank amongst the top 10 best presidents.. and which in your opinion rank amongst the worst presidents ... and which did stand out neither as bad nor as great presidents.. (meaning which did their job well enough but neither outstandingly well nor were they known as ''bad Presidents either?
Seven answers:
Leopardic
2008-10-15 07:05:10 UTC
I would rate Bill Clinton among the best: during his presidency America prospered. But not only the economy was doing well, he also balanced the federal budget and Clinton did a lot to reach out to black people, asian and native americans. He really worked hard to make the country a more "United" States of America. I don´t understand why so many voters seem to actually hate him and his wife. I lived in the U.S during the Clinton years and it just "felt right".



For very personal reasons I also appreciate a lot of George Bush senior´s foreign policy: I am German and other than many of our closest european allies he and his government were among the first who said they would unconditionally support German reunification after the fall of communism in post-1989. I will never forget that.



Other candidates for my "top nine" would be: Jefferson, Lincoln, McKinley, Wilson, FDR andTruman. I would include Kennedy - mainly because he was very supportive of Germany during the "hot phase" of the Cold War.



The worst is young Bush - we all know why, don´t we? Nixon was also a shame. He may have ended the Vietnam war but he was just a crook.



Pretty "average"? Maybe Carter or Ford.
Gotta have more explosions!
2008-10-15 06:46:22 UTC
Franklin D Roosevelt definitely ranks pretty high - he got America out of the Depression, was popularly elected three times and led America through WW2 (except right at the end, when he passed away and Truman got to sit in his chair).



I don't know why Kennedy is still popular - some people are clearly ignorant to how dirty his hands were. Despite all his good deeds, he and his administration backed numerous military coups, Latin Guerrillas, paramilitaries and murderers.
JVHawai'i
2008-10-15 07:04:20 UTC
HM mm - - -your question is complicated by the March of Time and peoples perceptions... In America a vast number of people call themselves a Republican and therefore any President who was not a Republican is denounced as a Socialist Traitor whose corpse ought to be disinterred and hung from a scaffold on the White House lawn while their deeds are rewritten as being misdeeds.

Therefore on the surface the Four Faces of Mount Rushmore are 'safe' choices; Washington had no Political Leanings in fact distrusted Political Parties and believed that it was Noble to Serve the CItizens of the US of A - - - and since sanctimonious Republicans think that their every deed is sacred & decreed by God they 'naturally' assume Washington was one of them.

Jefferson presents even more complicated problems. Since 'he' wrote the Declaration of Independence he had been sanctified. Any perceived misdeeds swept aside, in fact less then ten Americans can actually cite Jefferson's faults aside from 'UnGodly Liberals' who insist Jefferson fathered a child or two out of wedlock with a 'colored' slave. Since Jefferson styled him self a Democratic-Republican, modern day Republicans claim Jefferson as one of their own without knowing the irony behind their choice (Jefferson was a master politican capable of cruel conniving and not above getting Congress to cancel his debts in France through the purchase of the Lousianna Territory etc)..

Then there are the two Republicans whose image gets trotted out at election time. Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Neither was a typical Republicans, in fact if Lincoln had not been assinated by bullet his fellow Republicans would have assasinated him with words & scurrilous talk. T Roosevelt was a Progressive, he became a Republican because that was the Party that he felt could carry him to prominence and through sheer force the Republians adapted a few of his policies and claimed them for themselves.

I will definitely cite Washington, begrudingly Jefferson, most loudly & proudly Lincoln and T Roosevelt as 4 among the 10 and will round out the list with several names that will anger the majority of Americans since several are Democrats; Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F Kennedy, and since you want ten and I refuse to jump on the Reagan bandwagon, will toss in John Adams and Chester Allan Arthur.



The Worst; Geo W Bush tops the list followed by Richard M Nixon (who was, oddly enough, one of America's greatest Vice Presidents!) and then James Buchanan, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce, George Senior Bush, Martin Van Buren, Millard Filmore, James Madison, and since you request 10 begrudingly James Monroe..



The sad truth is that mostly America has had mediocre yet serviceable Presidents and most likely will continue to do so.



Peace////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
7.62x39
2008-10-15 06:41:49 UTC
So many bad ones to settle on just one who was worst. Bush, Clinton, Daddy Bush, Carter, Ford, Nixon, LBj, Truman, FDR, Wilson, Lincoln...



The next one will take the cake, whether mccain or obama.



The best one was George Washington.
?
2016-10-06 17:03:19 UTC
Franklin D Roosevelt certainly ranks exceedingly extreme - he have been given u.s. out of the melancholy, became into popularly elected thrice and led u.s. with the aid of WW2 (different than good on the top, whilst he handed directly to the excellent beyond and Truman have been given to take a seat down in his chair). i do no longer comprehend why Kennedy remains typical - some all and sundry is clearly ignorant to how grimy his palms have been. in spite of all his stable deeds, he and his administration subsidized distinctive militia coups, Latin Guerrillas, paramilitaries and murderers.
Sentenashi
2008-10-15 06:37:33 UTC
I'm pretty sure Bush Jr is by FAR the worst, and the best would probably be either



Washington

Lincoln

Kennedy

Clinton



But that's just me, and I'm british.
Jack J
2008-10-15 09:21:13 UTC
Best



Regan

Carter

Washington

Roosevelt





Worst

Bush (both)

Nixon

Kennedy

Clinton


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