Top Ten Presidents

[Alexander Hamilton]

Who are your top ten ?


Mine

1) George W. Bush
2) Ronald Reagan
3) George Washington
4) Gerald Ford
5) George HW Bush
6) Calvin Coolidge
7) John F. Kennedy
8 ) Dwight Eisenhower
9) Abe Lincoln
10) Woodrow Wilson

Awful list... Just terrible.

[Alexander Hamilton]

1.   George Washington (Federalist, 1789-1797)
2.   Abraham Lincoln (Republican, 1861-1865)
3.   Franklin Roosevelt (Democrat, 1933-1945)
4.   Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican, 1801-1809)
5.   Theodore Roosevelt (Republican, 1901-1909)
6.   Woodrow Wilson (Democrat, 1913-1921)
7.   Harry S. Truman (Democrat, 1945-1953)
8.   Andrew Jackson (Democrat, 1829-1837)
9.   James K. Polk (Democrat, 1845-1849)
10. Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican, 1953-1961)

Fake historian list, yuck.

Top Ten

1. Theodore Roosevelt
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Calvin Coolidge
4. Dwight Eisenhower
5. John Adams
6. Grover Cleveland
7. Richard Nixon
8. William McKinley
9. James Polk
10. George Washington

[Alexander Hamilton]

Who are your top ten ?


Mine

1) George W. Bush
2) Ronald Reagan
3) George Washington
4) Gerald Ford
5) George HW Bush
6) Calvin Coolidge
7) John F. Kennedy
8 ) Dwight Eisenhower
9) Abe Lincoln
10) Woodrow Wilson

Are You ****ing Serious?!?

Mine:

1. Gerald Ford (R- MI)
2. Dwight Eisenhower (R- TX?)
3. Calvin Coolidge (R- MA)
4. John Adams (R- MA)
5. Grover Cleveland (D- NY)
6. Ronald Reagan (R- CA)
7. Richard Nixon (R- CA)
8. Thomas Jefferson (D- VA)
9. James K. Pole (D- TN)
10. Bill Clinton (D- AR)

Eisenhower was originally from Texas, but lived in New York by the time of the 1952 election, and Pennsylvania by 1956.

Eisenhower is counted as a New Yorker.

[Alexander Hamilton]

1. Grover Cleveland
2. Martin Van Buren
3. John Tyler
4. Warren Harding
5. Franklin Pierce
6. William Henry Harrison
7. Calvin Coolidge
8. Chester Arthur
9. Thomas Jefferson
10. Rutherford Hayes

A unique list. You pretty much got the obscure and underrated president list covered right here haha. Cleveland is awesome. So is Coolidge.

[Alexander Hamilton]

How could anyone put LBJ? He was a monster.

[Alexander Hamilton]

How could anyone put LBJ? He was a monster.

Oh yes, passing Civil Rights. What a shame

Congress passed Civil Rights. Kennedy could've and would've. And as if that outclasses any of his atrocities.

Wilson "passed" women's suffrage. Is he a great president?

I hate arguing with immature and ignorant libs who blindly support anyone with a D behind their name.

[Alexander Hamilton]

How could anyone put LBJ? He was a monster.

Oh yes, passing Civil Rights. What a shame

Congress passed Civil Rights. Kennedy could've and would've. And as if that outclasses any of his atrocities.

Wilson "passed" women's suffrage. Is he a great president?

I hate arguing with immature and ignorant libs who blindly support anyone with a D behind their name.

Well, there's a point I think both sides miss.

First, Johnson certainly did preside over one of the most unjust, unecessary and horrific American wars.  It is fair to point out that our involvement in SE Asia began under Eisenhower.  But Johnson, once sworn in, did a 180 from the direction Kennedy was moving -- getting us out of Vietnam.  (Read JFK And Vietnam for a thorough assessment of this.

Johnson's blind anti-Communism deluded him.  So you will find, in this liberal, a sharp critic of the Johnson foreign policy.  I don't think it can be condemned strongly enough, at least with regard to Southeast Asia.

But Lief's point about Civil Rights is quite apt.  Johnson did not just sign the Civil Rights Act into law.  He fought for it.  He cajoled, browbeat, prodded and begged key lawmakers in both parties to get behind it.  This was a man convinced to his very bones of the need for added protections for people of color.  Kennedy did not embrace Civil Rights with anything resembling the enthusiasm or passion of LBJ.  This is probably because he believed we weren't ready.  Or perhaps, as some Kennedy critics have suggested, because he was just too much the blue blood.  I don't know.

But while Wilson may have grudgingly signed Suffrage, Johnson made Civil Rights a cornerstone of his administration.  And then went on to reflect his concern for Civil Rights with his economic policy.

So take the man for what he was...on both counts. 

Anyone who can go from 1964 to unable to win their own parties nomination obviously did some very bad things throughout their term.

[Alexander Hamilton]

How could anyone put LBJ? He was a monster.

Oh yes, passing Civil Rights. What a shame

Congress passed Civil Rights. Kennedy could've and would've. And as if that outclasses any of his atrocities.

Wilson "passed" women's suffrage. Is he a great president?

I hate arguing with immature and ignorant libs who blindly support anyone with a D behind their name.

And I hate arguing with fellows who instead of arguing goes personal

I doubt Kennedy could have pass civil rights. He did not wield such influence there, particulary in the Senate, as LBJ did.

And Kennedy would not try to pass in his 1st term, because he did not wanted to piss Southern Democrats.

LBJ, with his Senate influence, was right person on right place.

You're right. Without LBJ, there would have been at least 24 more "No" votes. Come on, do you actually believe that LBJ was the reason 24 US Senators supported a bill?

[Alexander Hamilton]

1. Abraham Lincoln (R)
2. George Washington (F, would be an R if living today)
3. John Adams (F, but by today's standards would be an R)
4. Ronald Reagan (R)
5. Harry Truman (D)
6. John Kennedy (D) - for the moon push at least and first tax cuts in awhile
7. Calvin Coolidge (R)
8. Thomas Jefferson (D) - I hate some of the stuff he did though
9. George W. Bush (R) - can we count the first 5 years
10. Bill Clinton (D)

Intresting list. Be prepared for a Democratic barrage of insults.

I dont know why he would be insulted since he picked as many Ds as he did Rs  and in my opinion his first three and his 10th pick were very good and 5 and 6 are ok. So mostly a decent list.    9 is a bizarre choice and it doesnt make sense to me that he would pick 8 and then say he hates what he did.   

8. Some of the things he did and his lifestyle infuriates me.  There were huge things that he did for this country and he deserves recognition for those things.
9. Isn't so bizarre if you believe that Bush did great things (the tax cuts, 9/11 response, additionally Roberts and Alito (though those two didn't happen until the later years).  The reason why I cite the first five is because amnesty, medicare reform and Harriet Miers came after that.

I think you're right that Bush presidency is dragged down a lot by the post-Katrina period. IDK if that's enough to make top 9 however, but then again, Jefferson was awful as well.

[Alexander Hamilton]

1. Abraham Lincoln (R)
2. George Washington (F, would be an R if living today)
3. John Adams (F, but by today's standards would be an R)
4. Ronald Reagan (R)
5. Harry Truman (D)
6. John Kennedy (D) - for the moon push at least and first tax cuts in awhile
7. Calvin Coolidge (R)
8. Thomas Jefferson (D) - I hate some of the stuff he did though
9. George W. Bush (R) - can we count the first 5 years
10. Bill Clinton (D)

Intresting list. Be prepared for a Democratic barrage of insults.

I dont know why he would be insulted since he picked as many Ds as he did Rs  and in my opinion his first three and his 10th pick were very good and 5 and 6 are ok. So mostly a decent list.    9 is a bizarre choice and it doesnt make sense to me that he would pick 8 and then say he hates what he did.   

8. Some of the things he did and his lifestyle infuriates me.  There were huge things that he did for this country and he deserves recognition for those things.
9. Isn't so bizarre if you believe that Bush did great things (the tax cuts, 9/11 response, additionally Roberts and Alito (though those two didn't happen until the later years).  The reason why I cite the first five is because amnesty, medicare reform and Harriet Miers came after that.

I think you're right that Bush presidency is dragged down a lot by the post-Katrina period. IDK if that's enough to make top 9 however, but then again, Jefferson was awful as well.

Yeah, I was thinking about the historical significance in our security shift - where we went from proactive and reactive.  The strength of the Bush doctrine has endured as well because Obama clearly has not dismantled several aspects of it (as of now...)

Obama seems to have embraced it.

[Alexander Hamilton]

Yes, because part of my measurement is looking at enduring policy positions

This is a change from your previously stated positions which was to only look at the first 5 years of Bush's presidency, and ignore the last 3.

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Sad but true.

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I dont agree there.
[/quote]

How could you disagree on a fact? Wth

[Alexander Hamilton]

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I dont agree there.

How could you disagree on a fact? Wth

I dont disagree on a fact.
I disagree on an opinion.
[/quote]

No, Obama has adopted most of Bush's foreign policy strategies, including even his Sec. of Defense. This is indisputable.

[Alexander Hamilton]

1   Ronald Reagan
2   Thomas Jefferson
3   Calvin Coolidge
4   Andrew Jackson
5   George Washington
6   Grover Cleveland
7   James Madison
8   Martin Van Buren
9   Dwight Eisenhower
10 James K. Polk

And my top 5 worst, just for fun...

1  Woodrow Wilson
2  Lyndon Johnson
3  Abrahan Lincoln
4  Jimmy Carter
5  George W. Bush

Why Jefferson and Madison?

[Alexander Hamilton]

1   Ronald Reagan
2   Thomas Jefferson
3   Calvin Coolidge
4   Andrew Jackson
5   George Washington
6   Grover Cleveland
7   James Madison
8   Martin Van Buren
9   Dwight Eisenhower
10 James K. Polk

And my top 5 worst, just for fun...

1  Woodrow Wilson
2  Lyndon Johnson
3  Abrahan Lincoln
4  Jimmy Carter
5  George W. Bush

Why Jefferson and Madison?

Thomas Jefferson:

-advocate of "American Exceptionalism" and personal liberty, father of republicanism
-cut taxes
-opposed the national bank
-made slave importation illegal
-Louisiana purchase
-maintained American neutrality during Napoleonic Wars

James Madison conversely expanded the government more what with supporting the Hamilton national bank, but he also was excellent on civil liberties and is often credited with creating the bill of rights.

But the Bill of Rights wasn't part of his presidency. I mean, this guy let the White House get burned down. He wasn't a very good president. And I think Hamilton's bank was a good idea. I'm sure you much prefer it to the Federal Reserve, right?