Top 15 Best Presidents of All Time

[OSR stands with Israel]

Rule: Dont rank them on the criteria on how much you agree with that President's policies and instead use the criteria on this list: https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?personid=34702 . You can weigh each criteria how much ever you would like though. Here is my list

Tier 1:
1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln

Tier 2:

3. FDR
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Teddy Roosevelt

Tier 3:

6. Harry Truman
7. Ronald Reagan
8. Dwight Eisenhower

Tier 4:

9. James Monroe
10. William McKinley
11. George HW Bush
12. Bill Clinton

Tier 5:

13. James Madison
14. James Polk
15. Woodrow Wilson

[brucejoel99]

1. Washington
2. Lincoln
3. F.D. Roosevelt
4. T. Roosevelt
5. Jefferson
6. Eisenhower
7. Truman
8. Madison
9. Reagan
10. Wilson
11. Obama
12. Monroe
13. Kennedy
14. L.B. Johnson
15. Clinton

[Orser67]

I'm just gonna rank 'em all. As with the other thread, I'm trying to rank them primarily based on how effective they were at achieving their own goals and handling major crises, with some adjustment for degree of difficulty.

Tier 1: GOATs
Washington
FDR
Lincoln

Tier 2: Very good
Theodore Roosevelt

Tier 3: Good
Truman
Eisenhower
Jefferson
Polk
Jackson
Reagan
Monroe
Obama
McKinley
LBJ

Tier 4: Ok
Wilson
George H. W. Bush
John Adams
Clinton
JFK
Benjamin Harrison
Arthur
Madison

Tier 5: Mediocre
Ford
Coolidge
Fillmore
John Quincy Adams
Taft
Hayes
Cleveland (his first term was ok-tier, his second term was bad-tier)
Grant
Tyler
Taylor

Tier 6: Bad
Van Buren
Carter
Hoover
George W. Bush
Harding
Nixon

Tier 7: WOATs
Trump
Pierce
Andrew Johnson
Buchanan

Not ranked:
William Henry Harrison, Garfield

[President Johnson]

My personal favorite is LBJ, but to be fair, I'd say this:

Tier 1

1.) Franklin D. Roosevelt
2.) Abraham Lincoln
3.) George Washington


Tier 2

4.) Lyndon B. Johnson
5.) Harry S. Truman
6.) Theodore Roosevelt
7.) Barack Obama
8.) Thomas Jefferson


Tier 3

9.) James Monroe
10.) Dwight Eisenhower
11.) Woodrow Wilson
12.) Bill Clinton
13.) John F. Kennedy
14.) Andrew Jackson
15.) Ulysses S. Grant


I put FDR on top because he saved the country from depression (may even have saved democracy) and was an excellent leader during World War II.

If Watergate didn't happen, Nixon would be in Tier 2.

[OSR stands with Israel]

My personal favorite is LBJ, but to be fair, I'd say this:

Tier 1

1.) Franklin D. Roosevelt
2.) Abraham Lincoln
3.) George Washington


Tier 2

4.) Lyndon B. Johnson
5.) Harry S. Truman
6.) Theodore Roosevelt
7.) Barack Obama
8.) Thomas Jefferson


Tier 3

9.) James Monroe
10.) Dwight Eisenhower
11.) Woodrow Wilson
12.) Bill Clinton
13.) John F. Kennedy
14.) Andrew Jackson
15.) Ulysses S. Grant


I put FDR on top because he saved the country from depression (may even have saved democracy) and was an excellent leader during World War II.

If Watergate didn't happen, Nixon would be in Tier 2.

Why is JFK ranked so high, he didnt have that many accomplishments in his admin. Most of his agenda was passed under the LBJ administration not his

[President Johnson]

My personal favorite is LBJ, but to be fair, I'd say this:

Tier 1

1.) Franklin D. Roosevelt
2.) Abraham Lincoln
3.) George Washington


Tier 2

4.) Lyndon B. Johnson
5.) Harry S. Truman
6.) Theodore Roosevelt
7.) Barack Obama
8.) Thomas Jefferson


Tier 3

9.) James Monroe
10.) Dwight Eisenhower
11.) Woodrow Wilson
12.) Bill Clinton
13.) John F. Kennedy
14.) Andrew Jackson
15.) Ulysses S. Grant


I put FDR on top because he saved the country from depression (may even have saved democracy) and was an excellent leader during World War II.

If Watergate didn't happen, Nixon would be in Tier 2.

Why is JFK ranked so high, he didnt have that many accomplishments in his admin. Most of his agenda was passed under the LBJ administration not his

Well, I don't think the presidents not listed above him already were much better. But I absolutely agree that Kennedy is generally a very overrated president, mainly due to the fact he was tragically assassinated.

[dw93]

Tier 1:

1. Lincoln
2. FDR
3. Washington

Tier 2:

4. Truman
5. T. Roosevelt

Tier 3:

6. Eisenhower
7. Monroe
8. Madison
9. Polk
10. L. Johnson

Tier 4:

11. Wilson
12. Jackson
13. Kennedy (my opinion of him has gotten a little more favorable. Still very overrated though)
14. Obama
15. Clinton

Both are roughly a tie

[Antonio the Sixth]

1. Lincoln
2. FDR
3. Washington
4. LBJ
5. Truman
6. TR
7. JFK
8. Obama
9. Wilson
10. Carter
11. Grant
12. Jefferson
13. Arthur
14. Monroe
15. Garfield

[McNukes™ #NYCMMWasAHero]

Tier 1:
1. George Washington
2. John Adams

Tier 2:

3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe

Tier 3:

6. Donald Trump
7. Ronald Reagan
8. Dwight Eisenhower

Tier 4:

9. James Polk
10. William McKinley
11. Andrew Jackson
12. Andrew Johnson

Tier 5:

13. Calvin Coolidge
14. Warren Harding
15. Franklin Pierce

[LAKISYLVANIA]

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Theodore Roosevelt
5. Lyndon B. Johnson
6. Barack Obama
7. John Adams
8. Thomas Jefferson
9. James Madison
10. James Monroe

And i'll stop here.

[Frenchrepublican]

Tier 1.

1. Jefferson
2. Lincoln
3. Washington
4. Coolidge
5. Reagan
6. Eisenhower

Tier 2.

7. Teddy Roosevelt
8. GHW Bush
9. Madison
10. LBJ

Tier 3.

11. Kennedy
12. Monroe
13. Andrew Jackson

Tier 4.

14. Adams
15. Grant

[Frenchrepublican]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

[Earthling]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

[Frenchrepublican]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

[brucejoel99]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

I mean, Poppy Bush arguably had neither, either, yet he's somehow #8 in your list.

Meanwhile, Obama was stellar at economic management & public persuasion, pursued universal healthcare, commanded moral authority, etc.

[Frenchrepublican]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

I mean, Poppy Bush arguably had neither, either, yet he's somehow #8 in your list.

Meanwhile, Obama was stellar at economic management & public persuasion, pursued universal healthcare, commanded moral authority, etc.

You seem to love alternative facts ? Right ?

GHW Bush basically managed the transition from the Cold War era to the Contemporary era (and without a lot of troubles). Add to that his masterful oversight of the Gulf war where he was able to gather the support of the international community.

Obama on the other hand was really bad on foreign policy and on domestic policies most of his achievements were done by executive order and have been undone by the dude with yellow hairs.
And LOL at the fact that Obama was great at public persuasion (remember 2010 midterms ?)

[brucejoel99]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

I mean, Poppy Bush arguably had neither, either, yet he's somehow #8 in your list.

Meanwhile, Obama was stellar at economic management & public persuasion, pursued universal healthcare, commanded moral authority, etc.

You seem to love alternative facts ? Right ?

GHW Bush basically managed the transition from the Cold War era to the Contemporary era (and without a lot of troubles). Add to that his masterful oversight of the Gulf war where he was able to gather the support of the international community.

Obama on the other hand was really bad on foreign policy and on domestic policies most of his achievements were done by executive order and have been undone by the dude with yellow hairs.
And LOL at the fact that Obama was great at public persuasion (remember 2010 midterms ?)

LOL "alternative facts"? Project &/or cherry-pick much? It's a cool story, bro, but here's where you're wrong.

Poppy Bush didn't bring the Cold War era to an end so much as the Soviet Union's inability to sustain itself did. And it's the very fact that the Cold War ended which destabilized Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to take over & al-Qaeda to set up terrorist camps there that led to the Middle East's current s**tfest of fun. But yeah, "[not] a lot of troubles," amirite? And yes, while his oversight of the Gulf War was indeed "masterful," the domestic economy was pretty poor at the time, & being seen as only caring about fighting foreign wars rather than worrying about domestic issues isn't good.

On the other hand, Obama's foreign policy was a mixed bag, not "really bad." Under his presidency, America's soft power & reputation abroad significantly improved, & his foreign policy arguably consisted of more good things than bad: the bin-Laden raid; Cuba; the Iran Deal, the Paris Agreement. Trump wanting to Ctrl+Z Obama's foreign policy doesn't negate it. As for his domestic achievements, yes, all of them (the economic recovery, the ACA, Wall Street reform, the repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell, etc.) were obviously executive orders. And my friend, you're blind if you never saw that Obama was exceptionally charismatic.

[Gass3268]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

Did you forget FDR? If not, that's odd given he helped save your country.

[Earthling]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

Did you forget FDR? If not, that's odd given he helped save your country.

I assume he is just trolling. Coolidge at 4, Bush sr at 8, Reagan at 5? But leaving FDR out.

[Orser67]

I like Madison and think he had a hugely important career, but I don't think he was a particularly good president. He was a fairly weak president in relation to Congress; e.g. he backed down to Senate opposition rather than trying to appoint Albert Gallatin as Secretary of State. Madison's weak Cabinet and overall leadership had a lot do with the poor U.S. performance in the War of 1812, which was probably unnecessary. I do, however, give him points for his role in passing major legislation in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and for generally respecting civil liberties during the war (moreso than e.g. Adams and Lincoln).

I also think Grant is a little overrated. He was a huge improvement over Johnson, but his domestic policies were largely unsuccessful (most importantly, Reconstruction essentially ended when he left office), he had one of the most corruption-ridden administrations in history, his administration presided over the onset of a fairly bad recession, and he didn't have a particularly successful foreign policy.

[Orser67]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Start with the fact that he was a two-term president who left office with a 60 percent approval rating; that alone puts him in the top half of presidents to start the analysis. He also passed the first major healthcare bill since the 1960s, passed another major legislative priority (Dodd-Frank), appointed two Supreme Court justices (who seem to have largely ruled in a way that he approves of), avoided major scandals, handled foreign policy crises reasonably well, and left office with a booming economy after inheriting the Great Recession from Bush. And Obama did all that despite holding office in a polarized environment in which the Republican Senate leader explicitly admitted that his chief goal was to make Obama a one-term president. Obama is clearly not in the top tier of presidents, but it's hard for me to see his presidency as anything other than a success, and most historians agree.

[Frenchrepublican]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

I mean, Poppy Bush arguably had neither, either, yet he's somehow #8 in your list.

Meanwhile, Obama was stellar at economic management & public persuasion, pursued universal healthcare, commanded moral authority, etc.

You seem to love alternative facts ? Right ?

GHW Bush basically managed the transition from the Cold War era to the Contemporary era (and without a lot of troubles). Add to that his masterful oversight of the Gulf war where he was able to gather the support of the international community.

Obama on the other hand was really bad on foreign policy and on domestic policies most of his achievements were done by executive order and have been undone by the dude with yellow hairs.
And LOL at the fact that Obama was great at public persuasion (remember 2010 midterms ?)

LOL "alternative facts"? Project &/or cherry-pick much? It's a cool story, bro, but here's where you're wrong.

Poppy Bush didn't bring the Cold War era to an end so much as the Soviet Union's inability to sustain itself did. And it's the very fact that the Cold War ended which destabilized Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to take over & al-Qaeda to set up terrorist camps there that led to the Middle East's current s**tfest of fun. But yeah, "[not] a lot of troubles," amirite? And yes, while his oversight of the Gulf War was indeed "masterful," the domestic economy was pretty poor at the time, & being seen as only caring about fighting foreign wars rather than worrying about domestic issues isn't good.

On the other hand, Obama's foreign policy was a mixed bag, not "really bad." Under his presidency, America's soft power & reputation abroad significantly improved, & his foreign policy arguably consisted of more good things than bad: the bin-Laden raid; Cuba; the Iran Deal, the Paris Agreement. Trump wanting to Ctrl+Z Obama's foreign policy doesn't negate it. As for his domestic achievements, yes, all of them (the economic recovery, the ACA, Wall Street reform, the repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell, etc.) were obviously executive orders. And my friend, you're blind if you never saw that Obama was exceptionally charismatic.

LOL. And me who thought that Trump cultists were crazy; but it seems that Obama cultists are even worse.

his presidency, America's soft power & reputation abroad significantly improved : Yeah, you should talk to European leaders who had their phone tapped at the request of Obama

the bin-Laden raid : more symbolic than anything else

Cuba : Yeah, it was a big jackpot for the Castro family, but otherwise not really

the Iran Deal, the Paris Agreement. : Yeah, these agreements were so great that he didn't even seek the Senate approval, knowing they would be heavily rejected

the economic recovery : that's cyclical. Read Schumpeter

the ACA : are you talking about the thing which led House democrats to lose 63 seats ?

Wall Street reform : very effective, the 5 largest banks have now a larger share of Financial assets that in 2010

repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell, : very important stuff

[Frenchrepublican]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

Did you forget FDR? If not, that's odd given he helped save your country.

Are you talking about the dude who :
-tried to pack the SCOTUS because it ruled against some of his measures ?
-refused the concept of separation of powers when it didn't fit his views ?
-put American citizens just because they were of Japanese backrounds in camps without any trial ?
-created many wasteful social programs/ineffective administration in order to buy votes ?

[TrendsareUsuallyReal]

Anyone who doesn’t have FDR in their top 10 let alone top 5 is a hack

[brucejoel99]

Tose who are putting Obama in their list should really explain their rationale

Why? Your list does not make any sense and nobody is asking you about it....

How does my list does not any sense ?

The presidents I have listed have either significant policy accomplishments or had a great influence over the course of American history. It’s the not the case of Obama.

I mean, Poppy Bush arguably had neither, either, yet he's somehow #8 in your list.

Meanwhile, Obama was stellar at economic management & public persuasion, pursued universal healthcare, commanded moral authority, etc.

You seem to love alternative facts ? Right ?

GHW Bush basically managed the transition from the Cold War era to the Contemporary era (and without a lot of troubles). Add to that his masterful oversight of the Gulf war where he was able to gather the support of the international community.

Obama on the other hand was really bad on foreign policy and on domestic policies most of his achievements were done by executive order and have been undone by the dude with yellow hairs.
And LOL at the fact that Obama was great at public persuasion (remember 2010 midterms ?)

LOL "alternative facts"? Project &/or cherry-pick much? It's a cool story, bro, but here's where you're wrong.

Poppy Bush didn't bring the Cold War era to an end so much as the Soviet Union's inability to sustain itself did. And it's the very fact that the Cold War ended which destabilized Afghanistan, allowing the Taliban to take over & al-Qaeda to set up terrorist camps there that led to the Middle East's current s**tfest of fun. But yeah, "[not] a lot of troubles," amirite? And yes, while his oversight of the Gulf War was indeed "masterful," the domestic economy was pretty poor at the time, & being seen as only caring about fighting foreign wars rather than worrying about domestic issues isn't good.

On the other hand, Obama's foreign policy was a mixed bag, not "really bad." Under his presidency, America's soft power & reputation abroad significantly improved, & his foreign policy arguably consisted of more good things than bad: the bin-Laden raid; Cuba; the Iran Deal, the Paris Agreement. Trump wanting to Ctrl+Z Obama's foreign policy doesn't negate it. As for his domestic achievements, yes, all of them (the economic recovery, the ACA, Wall Street reform, the repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell, etc.) were obviously executive orders. And my friend, you're blind if you never saw that Obama was exceptionally charismatic.

LOL. And me who thought that Trump cultists were crazy; but it seems that Obama cultists are even worse.

his presidency, America's soft power & reputation abroad significantly improved : Yeah, you should talk to European leaders who had their phone tapped at the request of Obama

the bin-Laden raid : more symbolic than anything else

Cuba : Yeah, it was a big jackpot for the Castro family, but otherwise not really

the Iran Deal, the Paris Agreement. : Yeah, these agreements were so great that he didn't even seek the Senate approval, knowing they would be heavily rejected

the economic recovery : that's cyclical. Read Schumpeter

the ACA : are you talking about the thing which led House democrats to lose 63 seats ?

Wall Street reform : very effective, the 5 largest banks have now a larger share of Financial assets that in 2010

repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell, : very important stuff

God, you're dense.