All the presidents of the 20th century ranked from furthest left to right

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

here's my rankings:

LEFT
FDR
Teddy Roosevelt
Truman
LBJ
Carter
Wilson
Kennedy
Eisenhower
Clinton
Ford
Nixon
Hoover
Bush I
Harding
Taft
McKinley
Coolidge
Reagan
RIGHT

[A18]

LEFT
FDR
LBJ
Wilson
Carter
Eisenhower
Clinton
Truman
Teddy Roosevelt
Hoover
Kennedy
McKinley
Bush I
Nixon
Ford
Taft
Harding
Coolidge
Reagan
RIGHT

[True Democrat]

LEFT
LBJ
FDR
Carter
Truman
Teddy Roosevelt
Clinton
Wilson
JFK
Nixon
Eisenhower
H. W. Bush
Hoover
McKinley
Taft Coolidge
Harding
Reagan
RIGHT

If W. Bush were on here, he'd probably be inbetween Harding and Reagan, but Reagan was still a better president than him

[iosip]

i think george h.w. (HogWash) bush was as bad as reagan.

[George W. Bush]

 LEFT
LBJ
FDR
Truman
Teddy
Carter
Wilson
JFK
Clinton
Nixon
H. W. Bush
Hoover
Eisenhower
McKinley
Taft
Harding
Reagan
Coolidge
RIGHT

[George W. Bush]

Where do you Think John kerry and George W. Fit in there?

Id say

Kerry: 2nd Place

Bush: Between taft and McKinley

[Aegir]

LEFT

FDR
LBJ
TR
Carter
Wilson
Eisenhower
Clinton
JFK
Truman
Nixon
H. W. Bush
Ford
Taft
McKinley
Coolidge
Harding
Hoover
Reagan

RIGHT

[green]

Left   
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
moderate
fdr                             new deal
nixon                    new deal 2 type legislation
teddy roosevelt         progressive era
taft                            progressive era
johnson                     civil rights
kennedy                    civil rights
carter
eisenhower
ford
coolidge         
harding                pulled out of league of nations
hoover                 refused to help during depression
truman                 truman doctrine
clinton                  continuation of most reagan bush policies
bush1                   gulf war & continuation of reagan policies
mckinley               spanish american war and invasion of philippines
reagan                 for obvious reasons
wilson                  father of fascism during wwi
right

Would place bush2 right before wilson. Bush hasn't taken away free speech yet.

[??????????]

Eisenhower did more for civil rights then Kennedy or Johnson.

[Schmitz in 1972]

FDR
LBJ
Wilson
JFK
TR
Carter
Eisenhower
Truman
Clinton
Nixon
McKinley
Bush
Ford
Hoover
Taft
Regan
Harding
Coolidge

I have Kennedy farther to the left than anyone else so far. Was he really not that liberal? Personally, whenever I think of him I always think of "Ask not what your country can do for you..."

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Eisenhower did more for civil rights then Kennedy or Johnson.

While I do agree, I suspect that had you been alive at the time you'd be whining about his sending of federal troops to Arkansas to block Orval Faubus was wrong and a violation of states' rights.

[??????????]

Eisenhower did more for civil rights then Kennedy or Johnson.

While I do agree, I suspect that had you been alive at the time you'd be whining about his sending of federal troops to Arkansas to block Orval Faubus was wrong and a violation of states' rights.

I probably would have you are correct.

[Bono]

Coolidge was the most right wing. Not Reagan. You just write Reagan because that is the only one you remember.

[USsince74]

I tend to forget how the center of the political debate has moved right in the last 24 years.
Read some of what men like Eisenhower and Nixon were saying in their time - it sounds left of center in a 2004 context.
Judged by legislation on their watch (not their intentions or perceived idealogy) I would rank the presidents as follows:

Left

FDR
TR
Taft
LB Johnson
Kennedy
Carter
Truman
Nixon
Eisenhower
Wilson
McKinley
Ford
Clinton
H.W. Bush
Hoover
Harding
Reagan
Coolidge

[??????????]

I tend to forget how the center of the political debate has moved right in the last 24 years.
Read some of what men like Eisenhower and Nixon were saying in their time - it sounds left of center in a 2004 context.
Judged by legislation on their watch (not their intentions or perceived idealogy) I would rank the presidents as follows:

Left

FDR
TR
Taft
LB Johnson
Kennedy
Carter
Truman
Nixon
Eisenhower
Wilson
McKinley
Ford
Clinton
H.W. Bush
Hoover
Harding
Reagan
Coolidge

That's a fair analysis. I applaud you for it.

[Signet]

hoover                 refused to help during depression

This is a really common (mis)belief.  Hoover enacted lots of programs designed to help during the start of the Depression.  Most of these, in fact, were continued for the remainder of the depression under FDR, such as the RFC (though it received significantly higher funding under FDR).  Unfortunately, most of these programs had the exact opposite effect of what they were intended to do - they hurt our economy.  FDR accused Hoover of being the most reckless-spending, oversized gov't administration in the history of America, an accusation that was founded upon hard facts.  Hoover's interventionist policies caused prices to skyrocket, such as steel which saw a 140%+ increase after a few tarriffs and trade-blocking bills passed.  Roosevelt campaigned in 1932 under a platform of promising less government interference/intervention in the economy, if that gives you an idea of how much Hoover unfortunately *was* doing to "help" our economy. Ultimately, it was a campaign promise he did not deliver on.  Result: unemployment still above 10% eight years later, until the military draft provides plenty of "jobs"...

[Signet]

wilson                  father of fascism during wwi
right

Would place bush2 right before wilson. Bush hasn't taken away free speech yet.

What was going on under Wilson that was more restrictive of civil rights than Internment and such during WWII?  Or is it different because US soil was deliberately attacked in WWII but not in WWI, when the "provoking incident" was a naval attack that sunk a US ship?

(also I should note that I'm not criticizing FDR's WWII leadership, but given his bent towards national security over personal liberty during that war, I'm curious how much *more* of that was going on during WWI?)

[Signet]

I have Kennedy farther to the left than anyone else so far. Was he really not that liberal? Personally, whenever I think of him I always think of "Ask not what your country can do for you..."

Some would consider that a pretty conservative quote ;-)  If you consider large gov't programs "your country doing for you."

Economically, JFK was probably the most conservative Democrat we have had... that or Clinton.  JFK slashed income taxes while Clinton did a lot to promote free trade and still had low taxes compared to many Democrats.

JFK was a bit of a defense hawk too.  The Cuban Missile Crisis was perhaps his boldest stand against the Soviet Union, and was possibly the closest moment we ever came to a not-so-cold war with them.  Also there was the Bay of Pigs invasion and sending a few military advisors to Vietnam.

[Signet]

LEFT

FDR - probably the closest the US has come to socialism.  Nonetheless, a brilliant leader in his third term.  Policies concerning the War - even before the US entered, such as Lend-Lease - were far from leftist, but his social and economic policies during this time are left enough to still place him on this far end of my list.

Wilson - stayed out of WWI for quite a long time, League of Nations

hypothetical - John Kerry - originally, his website had many socialist-like plans for rural urbanization programs and hinted at the start of a NHS system.  Now he has dropped that (perhaps for electibility), though his voting record also places him high on the list of the authoritarian-left, socially.  Defense-wise, again it is hard to tell.  I don't like to use cliches, but he changes his platform very often... if he is not elected then it will really be impossible to know where he would have fallen on this list.

Carter - all-around liberal, though not a socialist like FDR nor the internationalist Wilson was

LBJ - Vietnam being a big exception

Truman - aside from being the only president to use nuclear force - which I used to frequently hear modern Democrats question the necessity of doing.  Continued many of FDR's policies, though scaled down.

Eisenhower - Korean War, socially a tad left iirc, and economically a very big spender

JFK - even more than his policies he should be remembered for his optimism and vision

Clinton - social liberal (exception: DOMA), economic mix, maintained internationally active military

Teddy R - a true progressive, carried a big stick too!

Nixon - got us completely off the gold standard!  pull out from Vietnam.  this guy comes to mind when people say "crooked as a politician"

Ford - restored confidence in the office after Nixon

Hoover - a really bad mix of economic passiveness and interventionism almost getting things backwards there!, poorly oversaw "moderinzation" of US military including passing on the T-34's prototype

Bush Sr - all-around conservative, though he did raise many trade barriers towards non-warring countries which is not a conservative thing to do imo

Taft - trust busting, but did a lot to anger progressives as well by dropping TR's conservation policies.  made efforts (unsuccessful) to expand trade

Harding - despite the boom of the early 20s, this wasn't a great time for American labor...

McKinley - last expansionist president, very aggressive military policy

Reagan - massive military buildup, Reaganomics and the end of high inflation, oversaw Fed transition to monetarist policy, moralist social policy.  I still think he was overall a great president.

Bush, Jr - not a true conservative, though very aggressive militarily (imo justified... imo) and has a moralist social agenda.  economically, he cut taxes yet spends an excessive amount on a wide range of programs.  He'd be hard to place if it weren't for the Patriot Act.

Coolidge - not that this is specifically a "righty" trait, but he was also really corrupt and imo incompetent.  Also, wrt the then-upcoming depression, this would be your example of a president who didn't care as he ignored many little problems during his term that became huge problems in 1928-29.

RIGHT

[DanielX]

LEFT
*Hypothetical: Ralph Nader*
FDR
Wilson
LBJ
*Hypothetical: John Kerry*
Truman
TR
Carter
JFK
Taft
Hoover
Nixon
Eisenhower
CENTER
Bush I
Ford
Bush II (W)
McKinley
Harding
Coolidge
Reagan
RIGHT

[Vagabond Manifesto]

Anyone who puts Taft even remotely near the left has no grasp of American history whatsoever.

TR regretted anointing Taft as his successor from day one, and said he would "destroy" the legacy that TR had left behind. Taft returned the presidency to Gilded Age stagnation.

Trying to expand trade does not make someone liberal.

Come on people! Wilson saw to it that the Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed--they make the Patriot Act look good. He also endorsed the ultra-racist movie "Birth of a Nation" and called it historically accurate.

Those of you putting George W. on the right should talk to Pat Buchanan and many other conservatives. Bush is not a fiscal conservative.

[??????????]

Come on people! Wilson saw to it that the Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed--they make the Patriot Act look good. He also endorsed the ultra-racist movie "Birth of a Nation" and called it historically accurate.

The Espionage and Sedition acts were good ideas. I liked them. Also, "Birth of a Nation" was a landmark movie and set in course the development for ALL modern movies. Certainly one of the greatest movies in all of cinematic history.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Come on people! Wilson saw to it that the Espionage and Sedition Acts were passed--they make the Patriot Act look good. He also endorsed the ultra-racist movie "Birth of a Nation" and called it historically accurate.

The Espionage and Sedition acts were good ideas. I liked them. Also, "Birth of a Nation" was a landmark movie and set in course the development for ALL modern movies. Certainly one of the greatest movies in all of cinematic history.

why were they good ideas? I suspect you wouldn't be too fond of them if Lincoln implemented them.

[dca5347]

The positions of the right & of the left are fluid,and the presidents would shift over the spectrum based on the politics of the moment.

[bushforever]

i think george h.w. (HogWash) bush was as bad as reagan.

Reagan united the country under sound traditional American principles, and I am proud to say share my home state with him and Abraham Lincoln.  He also got us out of the sh**t hole times of the late 70s/early 80s.  Bush continued the success, but the times changed economically during his term, and that's why we had the recession, and people wrongfully blamed him, and that's why he lost.  Bush also successfully united the world to stop Saddam from taking over Kuwait.