Who were the 5 best and 5 worst presidents in US history?

merrimac

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Messages
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my list:

best:
1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Grover Cleveland
4. Andrew Jackson
5. John F. Kennedy

worst:
1. Woodrow Wilson
2. Abraham Lincoln/Jefferson Davis (Lincoln for coaxing Davis to fire on Fort Sumter and Davis for firing on it)
3. George W. Bush
4. Franklin Roosevelt
5. Lyndon Johnson
 
I just realize that 4 of my best are before 1900 and 4 of my worst are after 1900. A sign that, in my mind, America has been slipping.
 
my list:

best:
1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Grover Cleveland
4. Andrew Jackson
5. John F. Kennedy

worst:
1. Woodrow Wilson
2. Abraham Lincoln/Jefferson Davis (Lincoln for coaxing Davis to fire on Fort Sumter and Davis for firing on it)
3. George W. Bush
4. Franklin Roosevelt
5. Lyndon Johnson

Jackson and JFK are more middle of the road. I like Coolidge and Madison to replace them.

How can you leave Obama out of the worst? He is worse than Bush even.
 
I don't have a "best" list, they were all bad just a matter of degree. The presidents who did the least in office I believe were the best. I think RP backs me up on this one.

Nixon should be among the bottom 5 I think for getting us completely off the gold standard.
 
I just realize that 4 of my best are before 1900 and 4 of my worst are after 1900. A sign that, in my mind, America has been slipping.

Perhaps your knowledge of those in the long past are based on mythology about them and those of modern presidents includes more details about their reality.

If Washington and Jefferson lived today and had to deal with conditions now their behaviors would be different too.

Presidents usually get both more credit for the good things which happen and more blame for bad things which happen than they really deserve. Congress, for example, has to write all of the laws which get passed. And they also have little control over the economy.
 
Last edited:
my list:

best:
1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Grover Cleveland
4. Andrew Jackson
5. John F. Kennedy

worst:
1. Woodrow Wilson
2. Abraham Lincoln/Jefferson Davis (Lincoln for coaxing Davis to fire on Fort Sumter and Davis for firing on it)
3. George W. Bush
4. Franklin Roosevelt
5. Lyndon Johnson

I'm glad you got Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln on your worst list. If you read the history books, they would tell you they are two of the greatest presidents of all time. I think this is bs.

Can anyone think of a president the history books said was a bad president? The books I read in school listed all the presidents as great presidents, regardless of the crap they pulled. In my book, anyone who allows a civil war or a great depression is not a great president. But according to the history books, they sell Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as the greatest presidents of all time and most people are dumb enough to believe it. I guarantee you George W. Bush will go down in the history books as a great president, and more importantly a great man.

Obama has to be on the top 5 or at least top 10 worst presidents. He has doubled the debt by stimulating the economy with bs expenditures all of which failed to stimulate the economy. If he actually improved our infrastructure like he promised, you could understand the debt increase, but he didn't improve anything. Where did the money go?

Who was the last great president we had and why? I was born in 1981 and every president we have had in my lifetime has been complete shit. I'm also not sold on the founding fathers as well. I don't believe a congress and senate second guessing the president is the way to run a government or any organization, and the founding fathers were responsible for creating this system. If this system worked, most corporations would be run this way, but none are and for good reason. All we get with a system like this is perpetual bs where everyone blames each other and nobody is held accountable. One person should be in charge and held accountable for his actions.
 
the best ones are the ones that you don't hear about today because they didn't leave any big steaming piles of government crap for us to step in 100+ years later
 
I've heard many people on this forum say that Thomas Jefferson was a horrible president. Something having to do with slavery?
 
Best President ever: William Henry Harrison, who gave a long inaugural speech in extremely cold weather and then dropped dead of pneumonia within a month.
 
Best:
Washington
Jefferson
Jackson
Cleveland
Coolidge

Worst (giving 6):
Lincoln
Wilson
TR
FDR
LBJ
Bush Jr
 
Best Presidents (Hmmm...this is gonna take some thought!):
5. Calvin Coolidge
4. Thomas Jefferson
3. Grover Cleveland
2. Martin van Buren
1. William Henry Harrison :D

Worst Presidents (you mean I only get five?):
5. Barack Obama
4. George W. Bush
3. Abraham Lincoln
2. Woodrow Wilson
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
 
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