Who was the "truest" Liberal?

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

LBJ no fear of being reelected by putting the first and only liberal blk on CRT and his war on poverty and war on communism.

[Rockefeller GOP]

1) What do you mean by "liberal?"  Because classically liberal is not at ALL synonymous with modern "liberals" in American politics.  "Liberal" on a generic political chart or something tends to mean protecting individual freedoms and rights, which would of course mean supporting civil rights, but that in no way translates into the idea that Presidents who made positive strides in the civil rights battles this nation have faced have some link to modern American liberalism.  There were liberals and conservatives throughout history who helped the civil rights cause, and supporting it is in no way a "liberal" view/position as far as modern American politics is concerned.  Period.

2) When I use liberal, I tend to use it describing a mindset.  It seems to me that the Democratic Party (yes, it has always been a liberal party ... the myth that parties switched drives me insane) has always taken the view that government should protect the needy and help them have a better chance at success, regulating big businesses, assisting the poor and leveling the playing field.  In that sense, I'd say Wilson - whom many people tab as the father of true Progressives due to some of Teddy's more mainstream views - has a good case.  Yes, he was a racist, but being a bigot doesn't prevent someone from being a progressive ... Heck, I know a lot of college professors/intellectuals who - even if not openly - are some of the most racist and prejudice people that I know.  When it is all said and done, however, I think you have to go with FDR.  He created so many programs that are the modern backbone of fiscal liberalism/populism.  Modern progressives definitely seem to have more in common with FDR than any other past President.

3) If I had to rank the Presidents you named on how liberal they were, I think I'd go with this:

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. Woodrow Wilson
3. Lyndon B. Johnson
4. Barack Obama
5. William H. Taft
6. Teddy Roosevelt
7. Jimmy Carter
8. Harry S. Truman
9. Richard M. Nixon
10. Dwight D. Eisenhower
11. John F. Kennedy
12. Gerald Ford