Which President did best in economic policies and why?

[Politico]

The Fed is a nonpartisan entity, so trying to turn Volcker's successful slaying of inflation into a Democratic success is hogwash. Volcker, unlike the vast majority of Democrats, decided high inflation needed to be eliminated no matter what, even if it meant creating high unemployment in the short-run. He was not popular in the Democratic Party from 1979-1982. You have to give Carter credit for appointing Volcker, but you cannot convince me that Volcker would have survived had Carter won re-election in 1980. Reagan deserves credit for sticking with Volcker and rightfully staying out of monetary policy.

By the way, the fact Volcker is a registered Democrat who supported Obama four years ago means little in the grand scheme of things. The same holds true of me, for example.

Most of the inflation of the 1970s can be blamed on Arthur Burns, but having the currency pegged to gold during Vietnam did not help matters nor can we ignore Nixon's 1971 pressure on Burns to keep monetary policy too loose. I recall reading rumors that Nixon had some dirt on Burns, and threatened leaking damaging information that would sink Burns if he did not ensure the Fed played it real loose in time for Nixon's re-election.

Carter gets credit for deregulating the airlines and trucking industry. The laundry list of blemishes does not need to be rehashed here.

Reagan gets credit for restoring confidence in America after the malaise of the 1970s, for showing there is a correlation between cutting taxes and economic growth, for proving that the American taxpayer can spend most of their own money better than the federal government can, and for a military/arms buildup that the USSR was unable to keep up with while mired in Afghanistan. His obvious blemishes are Iran-Contra, and not calming fears about AIDS sooner. I think some people go too far with the rhetoric about these two blemishes, though. There is no evidence Reagan knew of the Iran-Contra dealings, and Reagan was not a doctor working for the CDC or something.

Clinton gets credit for NAFTA, taking a hard-line on the deficit, and being a very pragmatic leader that made Americans feel good. His obvious blemishes are repealing Glass-Steagall and strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act, but obviously neither policy seemed like a blemish at the time.

[Politico]

I think you forgot that LBJ with his guns and butter policies let the inflation genie out of the bottle, and it was a long, hard road to shove it back in to the bottle, about 16 years 1966 to 1982, when the Gipper finally managed to exorcise it. Remember now anvi? 

The "Gipper" never ran the Federal Reserve.  I believe you are thinking of Jimmy Carter's appointee Paul Volcker...

The Fed is a nonpartisan entity, so trying to turn Volcker's successful slaying of inflation into a Democratic success is hogwash. Volcker, unlike the vast majority of Democrats, decided high inflation needed to be eliminated no matter what, even if it meant creating high unemployment in the short-run. He was not popular in the Democratic Party from 1979-1982. You have to give Carter credit for appointing Volcker, but you cannot convince me that Volcker would have survived had Carter won re-election in 1980. Reagan deserves credit for sticking with Volcker and rightfully staying out of monetary policy.

By the way, the fact Volcker is a registered Democrat who supported Obama four years ago means little in the grand scheme of things. The same holds true of me, for example.

You do a magnificent job mischaracterizing people's posts and throwing up stawmen.  Are you capable of having a straight forward debate on any topic without your gimmicks?

Hey, you are the one who tried to make the argument that the Fed's ability to clobber high inflation was some sort of Democratic success. It was no such thing. When the Fed accomplishes something, it has nothing to do with politics regardless of the political affiliation of the Chairman of the Board of Governors. Truth be told, Volcker was incredibly unpopular among Democrats in the late 70s and early 80s for his inflation-combating medicine.

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It means giving a Republican president credit for a Democrat's actions is complete hackery.[/quote]

Here is the point your partisan mind is missing: Volcker's actions as Chairman of the Fed were the actions of a brilliant economist, not a politician/political operative. Yes, he is a registered Democrat and has his personal reasons for being registered in the Democratic Party as do I. However, politics never entered into his decisions as Chairman of the Fed and you are tarnishing the independence of the Fed and Volcker the economist by implying such a thing.

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The beauty of it is we don't have to convince you.  Whatever mental patients think is of little consequence to those of us who objectively follow politics.  If you want to pretend you are in an alternate universe where Carter wins a second term and fires Volcker go ahead.  Do whatever makes your masturbatory fantasies more erotic.
[/quote]

Obviously my point was simply to emphasize how unpopular Volcker was with Democrats in the late 70s/early 80s.

[Politico]

So you personally emphasized the fact Volcker is a Democrat by underlining "Paul Volcker, a Democrat" for no particular reason? Suuuuuuuure.

You responded to blatant partisan hackery with more subtle partisan hackery, and then you get all pissy when I call you on it.

By the way, yes, Reagan does deserve some praise for sticking with Volcker just like Carter gets credit for appointing him. His political affiliation had nothing to do with his conduct, of course. A lot of people wanted him gone after 1980, especially in Democratic quarters. The temptation was strong to not get inflation truly under control, but Reagan wisely stayed out of monetary policy. America greatly benefited from Volcker's actions and Reagan's decision to allow economists at the Fed to independently conduct monetary policy.

[Politico]

So you personally emphasized the fact Volcker is a Democrat by underlining "Paul Volcker, a Democrat" for no particular reason? Suuuuuuuure.

I didn't do it for no reason.  I did it in response to the ridiculous assertion that "the Gipper" was somehow magically responsible for brining inflation under control.  I did it to illustrate that it was not only not the Gipper that did it but a Democratic Jimmy Carter appointee.  The OP was the one that got political.  Frankly I was just illustrating the irony of the truth.  It doesn't mean any fed Chairman is working partisan machinations over at the Fed that I know of.  You took what was a light hearted jab between me and another poster and turned it into some bizarre Jihad.  Give it a rest!

The political affiliation of the Chairman of the Fed is meaningless. The Board acts independently of any and all political considerations, and even the most remote suggestion to the contrary is dangerous to America's economy.

[Politico]

ITT politico calling people hacks.

Obviously I am a shameless hack in the 2012 US Presidential Election forum, but I am relatively objective (i.e., not politically partisan) in the Economics forum.