Ranking the Presidents in your lifetime

To really rate them over all is a complex undertaking I am not willing to do. So to make a somewhat educated guess about particulars, I would just try it for a few qualities or accomplishments.

International relations... Nixon and Reagan.

Judicial appointments... George W. Bush.

Integrity... 1.Ford and 2.Carter.

Compromiser [wishywashiness?]... Clinton.

Alliance creator... George H.W. Bush.

Farsightedness... Eisenhower (was in office in my lifetime, but have no first-hand memories).

Political landscape changer... Johnson.

Biggest fraud... Kennedy.

Devious user of obscene gestures... Obama.

 

My quick and dirty take on the subject:

Best to worst ranking with Pros & Cons

1. Kennedy
Pro: Stared down Kruschev until he blinked, set goal of moon landing during the 1960s
Con: Bay of Pigs, escalated war in Vietnam

2. Truman
Pro: Decision on the bomb ended WWII
Con: Decision on the bomb killed many innocents

3. Obama
Pro: Social programs, healthcare bill (with all its faults)
Con: To willing to abandon core issues to appease the right wing

4. Ford
Pro: Tried to heal America from the wounds of Watergate, good caretaker president
Con: Lame WIN buttons, pardoned Richard Nixon

5. Eisenhower
Pro: Interstate Highway System, Pushed for desegregation
Con: Began US engagement in Vietnam

6. Nixon
Pro: Foreign policy, got US out of Vietnam
Con: Watergate, Economic policy, opened door to economic engagement with China leading to current outsourced manufacturing and loss of American jobs

7. Clinton
Pro: Economic prosperity, balanced budget
Con: Failure to get comprehensive health care reform through

8: Carter
Pro: Handling the energy crisis & Arab Oil Embargo
Con: Airline deregulation

9. G.H.W.Bush
Pro: Detente with Soviet Union, START Treaty, Ended First Gulf War without invading Baghdad
Con: "Read my lips..."

10. Johnson
Pro: The Great Society, War on Poverty
Con: Escalation of Vietnam war

11. Reagan
Pro: Great communicator, engagement with USSR
Con: Iran Contra, Reaganomics (which still haunts us), PATCO

12. G."Dubya" Bush
Pro: Might be an okay guy to have a beer with.
Con: So many...Pulling out of Kyoto Treaty, invading the wrong country after 9/11, limiting stem cell research, Dept. of Homeland Security, "Mission Accomplished", accomplice in finally destroying the US Economy for years to come.

 

1. Ronald Reagan. Restored America's standing in the world and pride in America. His tax cuts kick-started an amazing sustained economic recovery from a debilitating recession. Rebuilt the U.S. military. Also built the coffin for the Soviet Union with the SDI program.

2. John F. Kennedy. He stared down Khrushchev in Cuba, was a supply side economist who favored tax cuts, campaigned for civil rights, and initiated the Apollo moon landing program which led to millions of jobs, economic security for middle class Americans, and an overall technical prowess for the U.S.

3. George H.W. Bush. Probably the most qualified person for the Presidency ever as he was a former Vice President, former head of the CIA, former U.N. ambassador, former U.S. House representative, a business owner, and former WWII fighter pilot. He put the nails in the Soviet Union's coffin and saved the world's economy by kicking Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Also signed laws mandating equal public access for handicapped people.

4. Bill Clinton. Gets points for staying out of the way of the U.S. economy during the computer/internet/technical explosion of the 90's. Grudgingly signed into law the welfare reform bill and the child tax credit. Ran a budget surplus the final two years of office.

5. Richard Nixon. Opened up diplomatic relations with China which led to the Soviet Union softening their stance against the U.S., which led to arms control treaties with the U.S.S.R. Supported Israel in the Yom Kippur war. Ended the Vietnam war. Domestically, had a lackluster performance as he couldn’t tame inflation (brought on largely by the Arab oil embargo.) He tried price controls, a bad idea which didn’t work. He was a despicable person but he had many foreign policy breakthroughs which elevates his ratings.

6. Gerald Ford. A caretaker President put in a tough situation. Didn't screw anything up except his knees while stumbling down airplane stairways.

7. George W. Bush. Dramatically increased spending while simultaneously cutting taxes. Started a new entitlement with the Medicare drug benefit. We had our first $2 Trillion and first $3 trillion budget under George W. Bush. Not many spending bills got vetoed under Bush. Got us involved in two wars--the Afghan war was necessary, the Iraq war wasn’t. Tried to win these wars on the cheap, ignoring the Powell doctrine of overwhelming force. As a result we are still in these two countries and have spent over $1.2 Trillion on them. Left office with the economy in shambles.

8. Lyndon Johnson. Mr. Regulation and Mr. Entitlement. Not since FDR has the U.S. seen such major spending and regulation legislation. It was called the Great Society, which meant that for the first time an American that was not elderly or disabled could receive a living from the United States. In addition, he escalated the Vietnam war and lied about it. He also passed gun control legislation.

9. Jimmy Carter. A sincere humanitarian that was ill-suited for the job of President. Suffered through the Iran hostage situation and had the military bungle a long overdue rescue mission. Downsized the military. The prestige of the United States suffered worldwide. Presided over the worst economy of my lifetime--yes worse than the recent Great Recession--and didn‘t have a clue as to how to solve it. Props for getting a peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel.

10. Barack Obama. The most under qualified candidate to ever win the Presidency. The man has not done anything remarkable except getting voted to the Senate after the favored Republican incumbent decided not to run. You thought spending increases under LBJ and George W. were bad? Meet the new boss. His $780 Billion TARP spending legislation was not supported by a single Republican. Its positive effects on the economy were negligible. His sweeping health care bill garnered one Republican vote. His latest budget comes in at $3.8 Trillion. His solution to everything seems to be a government program. He has alienated his base by not living up to his promises, most notably not repealing the Bush tax cuts, not withdrawing from Iraq, and scuttling clean air legislation. He has no foreign policy accomplishments. He has not been able to get the economy going again despite carte blanche endorsements of his ideas by a democratically controlled Congress. Of late he is riddled with scandals like the Solyndra and Fast and Furious. For someone so smart, he is clueless.

 

LBJ might be the most evil man to run for public office in the USA.

 

I have got to agree on LBJ. When I told LBJ stories to my high school seniors they were shocked...

 

Pretty much on target IMHO.

The Con ... depends on how you look at this one. I transcribed a Naval Admiral's oral memoirs years ago. He was on Nimitz staff that was planning the invasion of Japan. They were estimating that 5 million people would die before the war could be ended if the Japanese homelands were invaded. Weapons were being given to old men, women of all ages and children to repel the attackers.

Truman made a lot of right decisions. He had been kept in the dark by Roosevelt about what was really going on ... or so I have read.

Agree. When the Republicans decided to oppose anything and everything he proposed he should have started playing hardball. That seems not to be in his nature. We probably all have suffered and will suffer because of this and because the Republicans are continuing to oppose anything that Obama supports. This is a risky gambit on their part IMHO.

Agree, though I have mixed emotions on the Nixon pardon.

Agree.

Nixon was paranoid, but that did not mean they were not out to get him.

Agree

Agree

Agree

Agree. He did make some tough and right decisions on domestic issues.

Conservatives love to point to him as a model and selectively forget that he raised taxes several times.

Add to that the Patriot act that took away many civil rights. Bad advisers resulted in his failure as a president IMHO. Add to the Cons the cutting of taxes while raising spending. The trickle-down theory has never worked as advertised.