Poll: Who has been the WORST President in United States History?

[Danzig]

To be fair..you should have listed all of the US presidents in your poll. Two of the worst, Lincoln and FDR, are not even in your poll.

FDR = Socialism in America
Lincoln, through force of arms, took away the rights of free people in free states to secede from a VOLUNTARY union. The states are no longer free and the union is no longer voluntary and Lincoln was a tyrant.

 

[RangerHAAF]

Don't know enough history about the ones listed but George Bush would be one in the top 5 as far as economics go. If the country wasn't in such a mess because of his foreign policies, Barack Obama would be just another senator from Illinois and we would be electing a governor instead a senator; this hasn't happened since the time of Kennedy.

 

[FEG]

Getting a little off-topic, but I thought it might help to point this out.

Regardless of your view of the majority of the states forming the CSA and their right to do so, you cannot avoid the fact that Lincoln violated the sovereignty of Texas. Texas was an independent, sovereign nation when it joined the United States. No matter how you characterize the other seceding states, Texas definitively had a right to secede under international law. Therefore, waging war on Texas was not only unconstitutional, it was also a violation of customary international law and treaties.

That's a pretty big deal in my mind. I can forgive Lincoln because he had a realistic fear that the European powers would end up "Balkanizing" or partitioning the divided and weak American nations. Just for example, France was actively involved in various conspiracies to this effect.

FDR almost frightens me. It is probably a good thing for the country that he died in office and spared us the indignity of having to forcefully remove him.

 

[M1911]

I think Carter is a inspirational man, a motivational teacher, an amazing diplomat, compassionate, rational, and intelligent

Who in recent years:

- has been received lots of money from Saudi Arabia,
- has extolled the virtues of Fidel Castro,
- and has been cozying up to Hezbollah and Hamas

Carter was an awful president. At one time I viewed him as a moral man. No longer.

 

[Rangefinder]

All right, who voted for Reagan?

I did. Don't suppose you remember Trickle Down Economics, huh? "Lets strengthen the economy by making Big-Business filthy rich, and they'll filter that wealth down to the working class." (yah, right. They took the money and ran like hell.) And how was this accomplished? By promoting foreign policies that allowed our major industries to shut down domestic operations, pack up, and move overseas where they could get labor at 1/10th the cost, or less. Not only did Reganomics promote this, but it even PAID very big subsidies to major industries to move elsewhere, leaving a HUGE percentage of skilled tradesmen unemployed virtually overnight. Not only did Reganomics put the final nail in the coffin of the middle-class, but then set the stage for Bush senior to move in and continue the cause.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I'm not sure if he is the worse, but I think Bush is fairly low on the list if for no other reason (and there are plenty of other reasons) than his disregard for the US Constitution.

Not only did Reganomics put the final nail in the coffin of the middle-class, but then set the stage for Bush senior to move in and continue the cause.

I remember the "Reaganomics Sucks" bumperstickers very well. I think history has been very kind to Reagan.

 

[RedneckFur]

I know quite a few folks who lost their jobs due to Regan's policies. I know a select few for whom the word "Regan" is a curse. Me, I'm neutral on him. I guess his good work getting rid of the communists balances out the things that happened on our own soil.

 

[gretske]

This kind of choice can only be made years, decades, after the term ends, to see what the impact was. By this standard, Clinton could be among the worst, since he failed to respond to the growing threat of Islamic activism. If Iraq is successful and ends up a Western leaning democracy, GWB could be hailed as one of the greatest. Sorry, Mr. Soros and MoveOn, but this is a fact.

The worst of the 20th century so far has to be FDR, not only because he set the country on the path to socialism, but because he failed to take the threat of Nazi Germany seriously, despite Churchill's urgings. Had FDR listened, and done what Winston suggested and headed the Nazi's off at the Polish pass, WWII might have been avoided, or minimized. Over 50 million died in that war.

The most feckless I can remember is Carter. He engineered the downfall of the Shah, enabling the Islamic revolution, which resulted in the hostage crisis, and today's race to an A bomb to be dropped on Israel.

 

[Rangefinder]

I guess his good work getting rid of the communists balances out the things that happened on our own soil.

Except that Communist Russia (USSR) collapsed from the inside-out, and wasn't disbanded until the very end of 1991. Reagan's part in that can be summed up in little more than just out-spending the USSR in military stand-off during the Cold War.

 

[LanceOregon]

To be fair..you should have listed all of the US presidents in your poll. Two of the worst, Lincoln and FDR, are not even in your poll.

Well, I grew up back in the '50's and '60's, and school history books generally had nothing but great things to say about both of these Presidents. After all, they both led our nation through its two most difficult wars and difficult times in our history. And both achieved victory in war. Heck, the face of Lincoln is even on Mount Rushmore, alongside Washington, Jefferson, and T.R. And those 3 are generally considered to be our very greatest Presidents.

Anyway, comments here have made me see both of these Presidents in a new light that I have not considered before.

Heck, as a young boy my parents even took me to Washington D.C. and I visited the Lincoln Memorial. It was quite awe inspiring to see. To me, even Washington's memorial looked second class in comparison to Lincoln's.

These comments have made me think of a line from the character Mark Anthony in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar":

"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."

.

 

[hogdogs]

Out spent russia to the point that the russian people realized how bad their gubmint had done them in.
Reagan did what with foreign policy exactly that "ALLOWED" business to move? I didn't know we had legal requirements against it... The unions that had been ripping off employers and doing crap work did the most damage to themselves! Orange juice bottles in new car doors just to make a rattle noise... JEEZ! Robots never sabotaged their employer's products...
Plus Reagan removed a gob of farm subsidies that FDR put in place to save the farmers of the depression from bankruptcy and fed the starving americans with the food. He just didn't put an expiration date on them and many farmers took advantage of that until reagan got them removed. Which did cause alot of farms to go under as they had lived off loans and handouts for decades.
Brent

 

[LanceOregon]

Had FDR listened, and done what Winston suggested and headed the Nazi's off at the Polish pass, WWII might have been avoided, or minimized. Over 50 million died in that war.

FDR could have rallied the American people back in 1939 to be willing to go to war over Poland? I think that you have to be realistic here from a political standpoint.

It is hard for me to envision how the Congress could have voted to declare war over Poland.

.

 

[gretske]

Reagan's part in that can be summed up in little more than just out-spending the USSR in military stand-off during the Cold War.

Rangefinder, that's what I thought, until I read Regan's diary. He and Margaret Thatcher developed this as a strategy. They knew that the Soviet Union was on the brink, and decided to up the ante. The commies bit, and spent themselves out of existence.

Was there a cost to us for this strategy? Yes, of course, but it was far less than the cost of global thermonuclear war, and no one died in the process. Read the diary, it gives you a totally different perspective on Reagan, one that is not colored by the liberal media and educators.

 

[Creature]

Jimmy Carter may have been a bumbling political idiot, but at least he never GAVE away the keys to the store to the Chinese/Russians like Clinton did. That legacy is much more important to me than the fact that he was impeached by the House of Representatives. You thought the middle east problem was bad enough as exacerbated by GWB? Wait until the crouching tiger decides it is time to overtly impose it's will on the world.

 

[paratrooper]

Let me begin with the statement that people do their best when faced with really big problems . I normally would not come in your backyard , bust the door from your storage shed and take all your shovels . BUT if we are having a flood and you are on vacation and we are in dire need of shovels to fill sandbags then your shed door is toast . The same with Presidents . They all did their best to respond to things that happened . Many times 20/20 hindsight proves itself . Shoulda , woulda , coulda . As we look back after things unfold completely we can see that mistakes were made . Things like "I did not have sex with that woman , Miss Lewinsky " were in fact outright lies with no defense other than blind party loyalty . People that blame bush for high oil prices would be correct only if he owned the oil company that refines it and/or even produces it . Thank the speculators on Wall Street . They have a rule that if a stock loses 50 points in a day trading is suspended . It seems that oil speculation is "business as usual" and then we need to find out who can stop it . I don't know . LBJ dug us deeper into JFK's Viet Nam but history is strangely silent on that .
What we consider "mistakes" need to be catagorized as either "misguided" or "deliberate and overt acts of chicanery." Many times we are still looking for the second shooter on the grassy knoll . We can find fault with many but what would have happened if they did the opposite ? One persons Heaven is another's hell . Bottom line :Many Presidents could have done better . All the problems listed here would be a good test for all of us . Pick a President , define his biggest mistakes and state what YOU would have done and how would that impact how we are today . Include a gun referenceso as to save this topic from being closed .

 

[Rangefinder]

He and Margaret Thatcher developed this as a strategy. They knew that the Soviet Union was on the brink, and decided to up the ante. The commies bit, and spent themselves out of existence.

I didn't say it wasn't an effective strategy. It was a big bluff in the game of Mutually Assured Destruction, and they either had to call it or back out of the game. The only problem is that, unlike winning a bluff in a poker game, we didn't have much in the way of chips to pull back into our pile. In 1981 the gross national debt, compared to the nation's annual income, reached its lowest point since 1931. Despite his claim to hate the debt, Reagan instituted unprecedented peacetime deficit spending. Between Reagan and Bush senior, our GND went from roughly 32% in 1980 to over 70% in 1992. Couple that with an unemployment level in the early/mid 80's previously unheard of since the Depression (during which the middle-class all but went extinct), and I'd have to say Reaganomics is still showing its lasting negative effects 20 years after he was out of office.

 

[T- Bone]

I voted Carter because Lincoln wasn't on the list. Most of the reasons have already been hashed on this thread.
T- Bone

 

[LanceOregon]

Things like "I did not have sex with that woman , Miss Lewinsky " were in fact outright lies with no defense other than blind party loyalty

This was a political issue?

How many married men would lie about getting a blow job from a young woman less than half his age??

This was an extremely personally embarrassing issue for Clinton. For someone with such a huge ego like he has, it must have been an extremely humiliating experience.

It would be human nature to lie about something like that.

.

 

[Playboypenguin]

RangeFinder

I do not agree that Reagan was the worst president, but I do agree with most of your points. Reagan and Thatcher did not agree to push the USSR over the brink. Read any number of other books instead of Reagans to find the truth behind that. Even Thatcher accused Reagan of taking advantage of the USSR's situation to strengthen the American industrial machine. Adding lots of pork to defense spending bills and lots of cleverly worded clauses that solidified corporate rights as an individual...all the while making the rich and powerful even more so with no just cause or reasoning.

Reagan set the stage for people like GW, Rumsfeld, Cheney and others. He also helped widen the divide between the powerful and the powerless.

Then let's not forget all the inquiries for illegal activities and misuse of power. I think the phrase "I don' recall" was used more in one term than in all of history before it. I always thought it odd that people were willing to accept that as an answer.

Then let's not forget all the claims of him being a puppet leader. I think a popular comedian summed it up though when he said "Blaming Ronald Reagan for the ills of this country is like blaming Ronald McDonald when you get a bad cheeseburger. He ain't really the one in charge." I guess that could be reason to at least consider him for "worst ever."

 

[Rangefinder]

PBP

I do not agree that Reagan was the worst president

I can't honestly say either that Reagan was the absolute worst. But, I would agree completely with you that he did set the stage for those, as you pointed out, who furthered the problems begun during his time in office. Our current mess as a nation can trace the roots of much of our major problems right back to the Reagan administration. I voted Reagan as the worst with whom I am most acquainted with and affected by. With all the choices in the poll, it really comes down to the entire administration, rather than the individual. But, the individual is not only supposed to be the top of the command ladder, but also the one who makes the final decisions for the rest of the administration and leads the charge of any given cause it supports. So, the higher up the ladder they climb, the harder and farther the risk of fall. The after-effects of Reaganomics is still visible and present.

"I don' recall"

Yup, I remember those... I'd say that was under advisement from his second--GB senior. It smelled very familiar of CIA-style "Plausible Deniability".