The Presidents As People Part I

[Mr. Smith]

Try picking out 5 of the 14 Presidents here who seemed to you to be the best as people. Try to throw ideology and policies aside unless completely relevant and look at them by integrity, personality, genuineness vs opportunism, that kind of thing. For example FDR is probably my favorite president by policy and ideology, but Jimmy Carter is probably my favorite as a person. I could get on board with a lot more of Rutherford B. Hayes' policies than Grover Cleveland's,but Cleveland seemed more honest and earnest.

So with that out of the way, which 5 do you personally like the most?

NOTE: I left out W.H. Harrison on purpose, as he died a month in, it's kind of difficult to really try to get an idea of who he was as a person in the office. Also sorry about the typo regarding Zachary Taylor

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

This is fairly hard, once you eliminate the easy "hell no's" (the pre-Civil War trio, Tyler and Jackson). Everyone is bound up with obvious flaws, and the elephant in the room (slavery) hangs around lots of them. After some deliberation, I came up with:

John Quincy Adams
Martin van Buren (both for anti-slavery activism after their tenures)

Zachary Taylor (refused to endorse spread of slavery, would have probably used force against the practise had it not been for his cherry-binge)

George Washington (as a symbol, but also a genuinely dignified public servant. loses points for the obvious reason)

John Adams. - This was a genuinely hard choice, because I do not like the Federalist party or elitists, but more on account of his lack of slaves, and sacrificing his popularity on the noble and correct choice of refusing war on France against the wishes of his own party.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

George Washington (as a symbol, but also a genuinely dignified public servant. loses points for the obvious reason)

Oh you mean beating your commie asses in the Revolutionary War? #FREEDOM #MURICA #OBESITY #EBOLA

[H. Ross Peron]

Washington, the two Adamses, Jefferson, and Van Buren (voted Taylor for the last one though).

[Mr. Smith]

I dearly hope you mean Taylor,and not John Tyler who is without a doubt the worst man to ever become President where personality is concerned.

I personally put in Washington, the Adamses, Jefferson, and Taylor.

Washington's personality won out when he declined a third term and wanted to be referred to only as "Mr. President". And he did say honesty is the best policy.

The Adamses both seemed to be all about the bluntness and telling it as it was,no fanciness or beating around the bush, if the latter had been more effective and the former hadn't passed those Sedition Acts,they'd both be among the greatest Presidents.

Jefferson was definitely the smartest guy, he had a lot of foresight regarding the Constitution, he wasn't a blind guy where the Bible was concerned, and I've seen how he ran things at Monticello. There's no getting around him being hypocritical with slave-holding,but sans Washington and the Adamses he was probably the best about it all the way until Van Buren, Taylor or Lincoln.

And Taylor (not Tyler,sorry about that) seemed to be well natured, and the most active against slavery until Lincoln. Hypocritical once again, but better. He seemed to be like the only adult in the room during the partisan divide.


I wanted Van Buren, but he did a lot of very snakish things under Jackson.

[SWE]

Washington, Jefferson, JQA, Van Buren, and Taylor seem to be the least awful

[Marnetmar]

Washington, Madison, Quincy Adams, Van Buren, Taylor.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Washington, the Adamses, Van Buren, and Taylor.

Jefferson personally was a monster. Intelligence can't make up for everything.

[BaconBacon96]

Washington, Adamses, Jefferson, Van Buren. Honourary mention to Taylor.