Worst President from World War 2 to 2012? And why?

[Oakvale]

How on earth is the answer anything but Nixon?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

How on earth is the answer anything but Nixon?

Certainly not part of the cult of liberals who inexplicably love Nixon, but there is:

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

How on earth is the answer anything but Nixon?

Because despite his personal foibles, Nixon was as far as policy went not too bad, and he showed a willingness to learn from his mistakes, something W never appeared to be able to do.

[Paul Kemp]

How on earth is the answer anything but Nixon?

Because despite his personal foibles, Nixon was as far as policy went not too bad, and he showed a willingness to learn from his mistakes, something W never appeared to be able to do.

Yep. Nixon may have been a vile crook but at least he was competent and his policy was good comparatively.

[Maxwell]

The only thing I like about Nixon was that he embraced some good foreign policy at points. Opening up to China was great. Most other parts of his Presidency though...

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

I voted Nixon because Bush is too easy to pick.

[Cory]

I've always asserted that anyone who thinks the current President (not just Obama, but any current POTUS) is the best or worst President ever is a partisan hack.

[Antonio the Sixth]

How on earth is the answer anything but Nixon Bush?

Nixon might have been a paranoid creep and a thug, but at least he was a competent ruler, all things considered.

Dubya wrecked America to an extent hardly conceivable.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

1. FDR
2. Obama
3.Carter
4. LBJ
5. Nixon
6. Bush 43
7. Bush 41
8. Clinton
9. Ford
10. Truman
11. JFK
12. Ike
13. Reagan

[traininthedistance]

It's close between Dubya and Reagan.  Dubya is worse because Reagan was at least able to contemplate raising taxes when necessary, and for all that his policy of "massive military spending to spook the Soviets" has put us in a bad situation budget-wise (and entailed a lot of morally dubious actions at the time), it did sort of have its intended effect.  As for Nixon, anyone who signed the EPA into law automatically escapes the basement pretty much no matter what.  The EPA is that important.

Fun fact: I actually do accept that much of the anti-regulatory zeal of the Reagan presidency was actually warranted.  But most of the rollbacks that actually made sense were actually the accomplishments of one Mr. James Carter, noted free-market reformer.  For instance, freight railroads and beer were both saved by his deregulatory pen:

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/76819/how-jimmy-carter-saved-beer#

[Earthling]

Bush, followed by Nixon, Reagan and Carter/Ford.

[Frodo]

How on earth is the answer anything but Nixon?

Because most of the participants here don't remember his presidency first hand, whereas with George W. Bush, his presidency is still (frighteningly) recent.

As for myself, I wasn't alive during Nixon's time in the White House either, but I am trying to keep perspective here.  

[Sopranos Republican]

Carter

[Enderman]

If it was before WW2 then Hoover, but may I chime in with Johnson and Carter? I don't want to jump out and say (high pitched annoying little child voice) "Obama is horrible!" Dubya did bad, really bad. But other than Dubya and Obama, Johnson and Carter (and Hoover) are all tied in my mind.

[sdu754]

Nixon -unlike George W. Bush (whom I know many are going to pick anyway) he threatened the very institutions of our democracy through his actions that led up to Watergate. 

I chose Johnson, He did the same types of illegal activities as Nixon, plus he gets credit for the Vietnam debacle, failed "great Society" programs, with thier budgetary time bombs, and his "guns & Butter" policies created the stagflation of the 70s

[sdu754]

Bush: Afghanistan, failure to prevent 9/11, PATRIOT Act (and entailing spying, restrictions on freedoms, seizures, indefinite detention, associated expenditures), torture, invading Iraq, occupying Iraq, making Homeland Security, Adam Walsh Act, Katrina, Iran Freedom Support Act, attempt to overthrown Chavez, supporting Ethiopian action in Somalia, funding attacks against the Islamic Courts Union, supporting Gaza civil war (Fatah vs Hamas), led to decreased stability in Pakistan, vetoed less than any other President, backing opposition to reforms in Bolivia, Andean Counterdrug Initiative, Operation Pipe Dreams, Project Safe Neighborhoods (specifically the "renewed enforcement of federal firearms law"), invented "free speech zones", TSA, Need I continue?

You don't need to continue YOUR A DEMOCRAT we get it! Much of your list was either none of Bushes fault, or "vetoed less than any other President" has nothing to do with either being good or bad. It might not even be historically accurate, as most early presidents didn't use the veto alot.

[sdu754]

Johnson is easily in the top 10 presidents; if not for Vietnam, he'd be just below Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt.

For What? Failed social programs? Budgetary time bombs? Screwing up the economy? The only thing he got right was civil rights, which he only did to buy black votes. Historians don't look kindly on Grant, and he was for civil rights when it was unpopular. Even without Vietnam, he'd be a very poor president.

[sdu754]

That is saddening that both the Gipper and Dubya are considered worse Presidents than Jimmy "lusting in the heart" Carter.

Says more about the voters than the presidents

[Clarence Boddicker]

Reagan, for moving the Republicans far to the right and starting the cycle of financial deregulation that led to the current economic crisis.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Reagan, for moving the Republicans far to the right and starting the cycle of financial deregulation that led to the current economic crisis.

Deregulation did not begin under Reagan.  The credit/blame for that goes to Carter.

[Vlad the Imperial]

Reagan left us worse economically in the long run with what he implemented, Nixon's War on Drugs were pretty bad too, and W... is something special isn't he?

[H. Ross Peron]

Dubya without a doubt. His good policies were relatively minor: some free trade pacts, and aid for AIDS victims in Africa while his bad policies were large and incredibly harmful such as his tax cuts, and the Iraq War.