Rank the US Presidents

#27
#27
Rickyvol77 said:
A post in the thread below got me thinking about how our political views are SO different amongst each other, I would like to see you rank the Presidents into categories based on your opinions..

Some Factors to consider:
Foreign stances/Wars/Treaties/Impact
Domestic Programs
Abiding by US Constitutional/Law
Inspirational Leadership
Morals/Intellect/Qualities of a GOOD Person/Personal Life
Love of American values
Ability to work with others to get things done
Overall Impact on American History

These do NOT have to be numerically ranked, just put into categories. You can make statements as to why if you choose.
Here are mine just at first glance

Great
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Theodore Roosevelt
Ronald Reagan

Good/Above Average
James Monroe
James Polk
Abraham Lincoln
Dwight Eisenhower
JFK
John Q Adams
Andrew Jackson
William McKinley
William Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Calvin Coolidge
FDR
Harry Truman
Richard Nixon

Average
Martin Van Buren
John Tyler
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
Rutherford B. Hayes
James Garfield
Chester Arthur
Grover Cleveland
George HW Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Lyndon Johnson

Below Average/Other
William Henry Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Zachary Taylor
James Buchanan
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses Grant
Herbert Hoover
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Joe Biden (TBD)
Click to expand...


No Warren G. Harding?


Seriously, the only POTUS I consider great was George Washington. Everyone else pales in comparison.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rickyvol77 and AM64
#28
#28
K-town Vol Fan said:
Should we just go ahead and classify all 1-term presidents to below average and all 2-term to at least average?
Click to expand...
It's not easy for a sitting president to lose re-election. That makes it hard to sell a one term president as a success... although George H.W. Bush wasn't bad; definitely better than his son. The same can be said for John Adams.
 
#29
#29
agVOL90 said:
Top tier
Jackson, Washington, Reagan, Jefferson

Terrible
FDR, Hoover, Carter, Wilson, Obama

FDR was a steaming pile of excrement. He set into motion the mechanisms and attitudes that.will ultimately be the downfall of this nation.
Click to expand...
That is ridiculous.
 
#31
#31
Lincoln had a tendency to ignore the Constitution. I don't think he was a horrible POTUS, but in his attempt to "preserve the Union", he crapped all over the Constitution.

Jackson purposely annihilated the Native Americans. Can't support that.

FDR created the nanny state. Grew the federal government far too much.
 
#33
#33
Tastylicks said:
I have. Hoover is the worst of the group, no doubt. But none of them sucked nearly as badly as Trump, not even close
Click to expand...
Entering WW1 for the absolute hell of it killing and maiming 120k US troops, accomplishing nothing . Which then paved the way for Hitler and the Nazis is far worse than anything Trump ever did or could dream of doing. Oh and I forgot to include signing the Federal Reserve into being, that will prove to be the end of us when we fully become a Venezuela
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tbwhhs
#35
#35
Tastylicks said:
-Lincoln the best. Although @volfanhill makes a good point about Harrison.
-The reality TV star was the worst no doubt. Nixon was previously the worst but got a nice bump up a notch after 2016-2020.

Average? I'd put the benchmark at both Bushes, Obama, Fillmore/Polk/Eisenhower. All average and could be slotted in any order near one another
Click to expand...

LOL the man that’s responsible for almost a million American dead is the best president.
 
  • Like
Reactions: midnight orange and AM64
#37
#37
Weezer said:
Lincoln had a tendency to ignore the Constitution. I don't think he was a horrible POTUS, but in his attempt to "preserve the Union", he crapped all over the Constitution.

Jackson purposely annihilated the Native Americans. Can't support that.

FDR created the nanny state. Grew the federal government far too much.
Click to expand...
In Lincoln's attempt to save the country... he saved the country.

Jackson has a very complicated legacy. I do consider him a great president... but there is a lot to talk about, as is the case with many of these men. "Manifest destiny" was achieved in large credit to his vision of what the United States of America should look like as a superpower nation.

Capitalism, in its purest form, was no longer working in the United States when FDR took office.. and capitalism in its purest form was not going to pull the country out of the Great Depression either. No transition into a blend of socialism and capitalism for the republic was ever going to be perfect, but it had to be done... and the New Deal sought to insure that the economic, social, and political benefits of capitalism were distributed more equally among America's large and diverse populace. No one who is ever critical of FDR and the New Deal ever bothers to explain with any detail what else should have been done at the time. Over time it has become hip to blame FDR for the country's over-reliance on socialistic policies... that is misguided.
 
  • Like
Reactions: evillawyer
#42
#42
hog88 said:
His body count and history of usurping the constitution says I’m 100% correct. The ends do not justify the means.
Click to expand...
It is absurd to speak of "usurping" the Constitution of a nation either on the brink of, or engaged in, a Civil War. That Constitution only still exists today, because that nation was salvaged.
 
#43
#43
BowlBrother85 said:
It is absurd to speak of "usurping" the Constitution of a nation either on the brink of, or engaged in, a Civil War. That Constitution only still exists today, because that nation was salvaged.
Click to expand...
Not really true. There would still be a United States, even if he had let the southern states secede. And honestly, there's a good chance reunification would have eventually happened, peacefully, because we're stronger as a whole.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rickyvol77, hog88, tbwhhs and 2 others
#45
#45
agVOL90 said:
Top tier
Jackson, Washington, Reagan, Jefferson

Terrible
FDR, Hoover, Carter, Wilson, Obama

FDR was a steaming pile of excrement. He set into motion the mechanisms and attitudes that.will ultimately be the downfall of this nation.
Click to expand...
Maybe toss Bush Junior in there at the bottom otherwise I completely agree
 
#46
#46
Weezer said:
Not really true. There would still be a united States, even if he had let the southern states secede. And honestly, there's a good chance reunification would have eventually happened, peacefully, because we're stronger as a whole.
Click to expand...
We are left to our own conjecture on the matter. You can't say for certain what is or isn't true. I believe that Lincoln handled a crisis before him as well as it could have been done... and with policies that neither Pierce or Buchanan were strong enough to adopt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BreatheUT
#48
#48
I think James Polk deserves some recognition. We truly become the preeminent power on the continent after him
 
#49
#49
BowlBrother85 said:
We are left to our own conjecture on the matter. You can't say for certain what is or isn't true. I believe that Lincoln handled a crisis before him as well as it could have been done... and with policies that neither Pierce or Buchanan were strong enough to adopt.
Click to expand...
None of that changes him crapping all over the Constitution.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AM64
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top