Best President of All time?

[Luther]

I like Andrew Jackson for ending the second central bank of the united states.

The doesn't quite make up for his ethnic cleansing and genocide.

 

[forsmant]

Alexander Haig

I do not believe that he actually held the office of Presidency.

 

[forsmant]

How about Grover Cleveland?

 

[Spirit of '76]

In spite of the modern hysterics and hyperbole surrounding the Indian Removal Act (who today sheds a tear for the thousands of settlers butchered by Indians?), Andrew Jackson was a great president.

My all-time favorite, though, is Calvin Coolidge. I see a lot of parallels between him and Ron Paul.

 

[forsmant]

In spite of the modern hysterics and hyperbole surrounding the Indian Removal Act (who today sheds a tear for the thousands of settlers butchered by Indians?), Andrew Jackson was a great president.

My all-time favorite, though, is Calvin Coolidge. I see a lot of parallels between him and Ron Paul.

Thank you for some validation!

 

[Independent Operator]

You are all very, very incorrect.

The obvious answer is: the 45th president of these United States, President Ron Paul

 

[chipvogel]

George Washington....for leaving office
because for the first time in history power was peacefully transfered from one leader to the next without bloodshed or revolution or birthright

 

[electronicmaji]

I might be a bit biased because I wrote a giant termp paper on him but I like Franklin Pierce...

 

[merrimac]

George Washington is the Best

Although I am a big fan of Jefferson and appreciate Jackson for "killing the bank", my vote has to go to George Washington.

He had arguably the most moral authority of any president. He picked people based on merit not loyalty, he followed the Constitution always, and he turned what were 13 countries into one nation.

Contrast that with the 21st century's "George W" who picks people based on loyalty not merit, calls the Constitution a "god damn piece of paper", and turned what was one nation into two bitterly divided camps.

 

[Dave Pedersen]

I do not believe that he actually held the office of Presidency.

Yeah I know.. kinda my point.

He was a "take charge" kind of guy.. in exactly the wrong way but at least he wasn't too ashamed of his lust for power to bother to hide it behind politicking.

Beside Washington and Jefferson most of them had some pretty serious faults. The ones we don't know much about were probably the best of the lot. Certainly not Lincoln or FDR or anybody more recent. Reagan started out great but it is suspected after the assassination attempt GHW Bush more or less took over (in spite of Haig's generous offer) and began his murderous corruption of the administration.

 

[Spirit of '76]

Seriously, guys. Go read up on Calvin Coolidge and tell me you don't see a lot of Ron Paul there.

 

[readyja]

Grover Cleveland

Best constitutionalist, and a great name.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Alexander Haig

LOL... "I'm in Charge NOW!"

 

[cindy25]

Grover Cleveland, especially the 1st term
Jerry Ford was also good; he restored the right to own gold, and ended draft registration.

Carter has two major blemishes-restoring the selective service, and the childish Olympic boycott of 1980.

 

[jblosser]

Glad to see Washington got some love finally. There's a reason the people made him do it first. And then he had the humility to walk away.

Ron is making me a fan of Grover Cleveland though. The best ones will always be underdiscussed.

 

[Noleader]

Washington. He had all the power to turn himself into a King and passed it up for the sake of Liberty. The most noble act any person can undertake is to give up power when it is before them.

 

[ChickenHawk]

George Washington for all the reasons mentioned. I think Ronald Reagan deserves honorable mention. Despite many failings I believe he was still one of the greatest political leaders in the history of modern civilization.

 

[ThePieSwindler]

I agree with Spirit of 76. Coolidge basically did what you want a president to do - butt out of the economy, lower taxes, tariffs, deregulate, and stay peaceful. the reason he is rated so low by most historians is because he "did nothing", but in his day the status quo was alot more lassez-faire, thus its a very good thing he did "nothing". He was free of scandal, and had no interest in returning to the presidency as he did not care much for power.

As it says on wikipedia, really the biggest "problem" people have with him is simply using him as a focal point for their general criticism on lassez faire government, which means coolidge was essentially a thorn in the side of leftists at the time, and is ignored by leftist historians today. Coolidge was a terrific president in terms of obeying the constitution, and keeping government limited and the economy strong.

He was not a libertarian, as he did believe in government controls at the local and state level, but was very lassez-faire at the federal level. From wiki (with a citation):

Although some commentators have criticized Coolidge as a doctrinaire laissez-faire ideologue, historian Robert Sobel offers some context based on Coolidge's sense of federalism: "As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards. Did he support these measures while president? No, because in the 1920s, such matters were considered the responsibilities of state and local governments."

For strict constitutionalist, Coolidge is probably #1. As far as true Classical Liberals go, it doesnt get better than Grover Cleveland.

 

[AggieforPaul]

Washington.

 

[LibertyEagle]

....calls the Constitution a "god damn piece of paper"

No, he did not! That was debunked months ago. Will you guys please stop putting that in videos and stop saying it. It makes us look stupid.