Last election between two candidates who would've both been great presidents

[Kaine for Senate '18]

1956

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

1996, though "great" in their own ways.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

1896 & 1900: William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan
1912: Woodrow Wilson vs. William Howard Taft vs. Theodore Roosevelt
1940: FDR vs. Wendell Willkie
1948: Thomas E. Dewey vs. Harry S. Truman
1952 & 1956: Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai Stevenson
1968: Richard M. Nixon vs. Hubert H. Humphrey
1992: Bill Clinton vs. George H. W. Bush
1996: Bill Clinton vs. Bob Dole (would have been a good President, probably earlier)

[Sensei]

1996, though "great" in their own ways.

[wdecker1]

1789, 1792, 1796, 1800, 1832, 1844, 1912, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956

[Daniel Adams]

There have been all too few.

1816: Both James Monroe (D-R) and Rufus King (F) would've been good presidents. King was   great opponent of slavery and deliver a great speech in 1820 decrying it, one of the first times in world history a political leader has criticized slavery in such a radical manner. But he never stood a chance of winning the election.

1884: I think both Cleveland and Blaine would've made good presidents

1924: Calvin Coolidge was a very good president who cut taxes, reduced the national debt, was not as isolationist as most Republicans, granted citizenship to Native Americans, supported the elected Mexican government, and overall presided over a period of great economic prosperity. He was not a laissez-faire ideologue but simply though such economic matters should be left up to the states. Democrat John W. Davis was not a bad candidate either, denouncing the KKK and supporting blacks' right to vote. But I think Coolidge was definitely better.

1940: Both Roosevelt and Willkie would've been great presidents. Willkie defied isolationism within his party and supported the Allies in the war. Roosevelt gave the country hope during the Great Depression and won the war.

1944: Again Roosevelt and Dewey were good candidates.

And that's it. In 1948, both Truman and Dewey would've been good presidents, but the presence of Strom Thurmond disqualifies this election. Also in 1876 and 1880 both the Republican and Democratic candidates were "good" but would've made average presidents.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The 1940s and 1950s had outstanding candidates compared to the usual crappiness that 1 or both parties have. 1976 was the last election where neither candidate was extremely terrible.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

1796

^^^^^^

1924 had indisputably the worst two major party candidates of all time - luckily it had one of the greatest third party campaigns in history too.

In ranking (from 1 to 10):
2004: D 0 R -100000
2000: D 5 R -1000
1996: D 5 R 2
1992: D 6 R -100
1988: D 4 R -100
1984: D 0 R -10000*10^12^26
1980: D 1 R -100000
1976: D 4 R 2
1972: D 8 R -100000000000*10^64
1968: What Tweed Said. D -1000000 R -100000000000000000000 I -10*10^14
1964: D 3 R 0
1960: D 5 R Nixon points
1956: D 3 R 1
1952: D 5 R 5
1948: D 3 R 3
1944: D 6 R 4
1940: D 5 R 5
1936: D 6 R 0
1932: D 4 R 0
1928: D 0 R 4
1924: D -1000000000*25 R -100 P 8
1920: D 0 R 3
1916: D -1000000000*25 R 4
1912: D 5 R 5 P 5
1908: D 5 R 5
1904: D 6 R 5
1900: D 5 R -10000000*10^77
1896: D 6 R 4

Don't bothered to go beyond that to be honest.. though I assume by now it's quite clear where my bias is.

[SPC]

1876.

[Phony Moderate]

1956.