<p>Bush really isn't that bad. Iraq was a mistake from the begining, but it's now all his fault that most of Congress beleived that we needed to invade Iraq too. The thing about Congress is that they can go against Iraq, but if Bush does, as commander and chief, it will truly be a disaster. Before authoizing war, Congress should have asked for timetables, worst case scinareo analysis, and other things so they could weigh the potential risk vs gain. Congress should have played devil's advocate, but they just acted like a rubber stamp. War is not like tax cuts, and should not be voted upon to win reelection or to stay with party lines. Congress failed just as much as Bush when it comes to Iraq. Now that Bush ****ed things up, he has to fix it, or atleast make it stable so Iraqis can live.</p>
<p>Worst--Bush (W.) and Harding.
Best--FDR</p>
<p>I totally agree that we have f*ed up Iraq and now shoulder the responsibility of fixing it. But I don't know how we can do it, and the latest "surge" (escalation) idea indicates that the Bushies don't know how either. When in a hole, stop digging.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry. what was the question? ;)</p>
<p>FDR - best 20th-century president, I agree.</p>
<p>Best: Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln</p>
<p>Worst: Grant and FDR</p>
<p>Best: Ike & FDR
Worst: Wilson & Johnson</p>
<p>Wilson? How so?</p>
<p>It was under Wilson's watch that the gargantuan mistake known as the Federal Reserve was made.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It was under Wilson's watch that the gargantuan mistake known as the Federal Reserve was made.
[/quote]
Every nation in the world has a central bank to enact monetary policy. Without the Fed the United States government would be severely handicapped. Sure, they may have helped cause the Great Depression, but saying that the Federal Reserve is a mistake for contributing to the Depression is like saying the office of the President should be abolished because of the war in Iraq.</p>
<p>Best: "Silent Cal" Coolidge (because he was silent)
Worst: Dumbleyou, uh, I mean, W.</p>
<p>Do I really need any reasons? Okay, let's start with Vietnam. Pardon me, it's in Iraq this time. Same diff. Did you know that this war was never approved by Congress? (Of course you did. You're smart, otherwise you wouldn't be part of CC.) Moving on, how about the illegally enacted Patriot Act, which gives the government (read: W) the power to come into your home without your permission or knowledge and remove any of your belongings. Without a warrant. I'm sorry, (actually, I'm not) but that's the definition of a dictatorship. And if you want to argue that Cheney's helping, too, we'll call it an autocracy. Kleptocracy is more like it.</p>
<p>Mardsen, you've hit the nail on the head. Kudos to you!</p>
<p>Worst: Hoover (The Great Depression was worse than Watergate)
Best: FDR</p>
<p>Just a quick question - why FDR as best? That assertion has got me quite puzzled.</p>
<p>Because FDR's policies helped pull the country out of a horrific depression. True, some of his social agenda has since been abused, but at the time, his introduction of a "safety net" for the needy was a wonderful thing that truly symbolized the best of America. ... FDR was a deeply flawed person--aren't we all--but he did some very good things at a time when the country really needed them done. In my humble opinion, anyway.</p>
<p>Regan and Clinton? are you kidding? </p>
<p>Best: Clinton: brought national debt down to $0.0000000 and got us into a surplus (even after @#$%@#^@^ republicans were in office)</p>
<p>Worst: Regan: typical republican, and then some; need I say more?</p>
<p>Many people believe that FDR bailed the US out of the Great Depression. World War II, on the contrary, stimulated the American economy out of the depression more so than the socialistic, Keynesian policies implemented during the Roosevelt Administration.</p>
<pre><code> FDR also allowed Nazi Germany to basically do as they please when invading countries in Europe and Africa such as Ethiopia and Poland. In fact, I believe that Roosevelt would have continued to remain neutral had Japan not bomb Pearl Harbor in 1941, allowing the German war machine to dominate all of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Another fatal blunder of the Roosevelt Administration was the recognition of the Soviet Union as a veritable nation. Had Roosevelt refused to do this, the major flame of Communism and the long and arduous Cold War may have been averted.
Also, seeing George W. Bush listed as the worst President of all times is becoming a tad old. The only reason why Bush is listed as the worst so many times is because he is the only President that many here can remember. There were so many other Presidents in the history of the US who were far worse than W. Take Grant, for instance. Simply put, his presidency was riddled with political scandals and an inefficient administration. What about Nixon, Carter, etc?
</code></pre>
<p>"Take Grant, for instance. Simply put, his presidency was riddled with political scandals and an inefficient administration."</p>
<p>Which makes him worse than Bush in what way? </p>
<p>Bush sounds the same, except what his administration does accomplish (both domestic and international) puts the US in a worse position that it would be with anyone else, efficient or otherwise.</p>
<p>You know I don't think it's a case of best or worst, but upper or lower rungs. Time and hindsight change perspective of what a past president has done because it is constantly reviewed under current standards. I think you have to ask was the country better off from when xyz started and left office and not because they left office..:) </p>
<p>There's a few president's that come to mind for different reasons over this time period. Things that have stuck in my head without benefit of review of a history book.</p>
<p>Teddy R.. National parks. Teddy was one of the first to think centuries ahead for Americans.</p>
<p>FDR the beginings of a social safety net and a change in what a federal government's responsibility to it's people was. ( some here may list that as the worst because of the fed's involvement)</p>
<p>Johnson.. civil rights</p>
<p>Nixon ... the end to vietnam. Rather than saving political face, saving lives. </p>
<p>Bush Sr... stopping a agressive dictator in his tracks with the biggest cooperative military action since Korea and for realization of what creating a vaccum of power in Iraq would do. </p>
<p>I think there are several who slide down when compared to some of the moumental acheivements others have done. In 50 years maybe the regan,clinton, bush lite and a few other will be viewed differently. I haven't been too impressed with any during my voting years. For some of the things, they just happened to be at the front of the parade at the time. </p>
<p>As for junior, the country would have been better off by making him the commissioner of baseball. He's a peter principal guy, that's all.</p>
<p>I think Hoover gets more crap from the depression than he deserves, the bad ones were Harding and Coolidge... as explained in an earlier post.</p>
<p>I do agree that Grant is worse than W, although W is pretty bad.
Nixon was eck... and Reagan's conservatism makes me wanna puke.</p>
<p>And TJ wasn't that great of a President either, he takes all of Adam's credit while being total inconsistent in his thoughts!</p>
<p>Lots of Presidents are/were flawed, like FDR, but he pulled our country out of the Depression, and Truman had to make an immense decision... and almost every one of them made some sort of contribution (well maybe minus Grant and Harding).</p>
<p>Wooo.... America.</p>
<p>Opie from Mayberry got a lot right.</p>
<p>FDR = greatest president of the century. This doesn't mean you necessarily have to agree with everything he did. But to a large extent, the times make the president. FDR got us through the Depression and WWII to a point where "Happy Days Are Here Again." Reagan himself recognized this, and claimed to be of FDR legacy.</p>
<p>Hoover = worst, 'cause he balked at leading as we slipped into the Great Depression and supported a system that led us back into WW.</p>
<p>During Second Half of Century:</p>
<p>Best 3: Truman, Kennedy, Reagan</p>
<p>Good: Clinton, Bush Sr.</p>
<p>Worst 3: Johnson, Nixon, W (I could mix Carter into this easily, but he would not take the place of W, but probably Nixon who did some great things)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, for all the partisan Republicans on this site, Bush's brother Jeb is the one who is smart and able and who should've been president from the Bush family, if anyone should've been after George Senior. W would never be in the position he's in strictly 'cause of his own merits, without his family name. And his performance as president -- as a speaker, as a leader, as a manager -- have corroborated that he's simply in over his head. This isn't a liberal position, per se. Honest conservative commentators have pointed out the same thing.</p>
<p>Robert E. Lee--You make some good points, but we'll have to agree to disagree on others. WWII did, indeed, stimulate the American economy and had much to do with the thriving 1950s. FDR was largely responsible for bolstering the beaten-down American psyche of that time, giving hope and a helping hand to the neediest among us during a horrible period in our history. I think it's a bit cold to view as "Kenyesian" or "socialistic" the programs FDR instituted, programs that put poverty-stricken people back to work, gave them a support system in a terrifying time of need, and a plan for the future (Social Security). (My father being one of them.) As I said before, his policies weren't perfect and some of them have not aged well over time, but the original principals were good and just, as one would expect of America. ... My biggest problem with Roosevelt was his government's tardiness in helping the Jews get out of Hitler's Germany. Many people died because of that.</p>