Best and Worst US Presidents

Started by Travis Retriever, December 12, 2010, 12:16:00 AM

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December 12, 2010, 12:16:00 AM Last Edit: December 12, 2010, 01:39:21 PM by surhotchaperchlorome
Who are the best and worst US Presidents?

EDIT:  The best of the best (or worst of the worse) in are boldface.

I was thinking:
Best:    George Washington, James K. Polk, Grover Cleveland, Warren G. Harding
Worst:  Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt


So what do you all think?
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

How can Nixon be one of the worst? His stint on futurama has to be worth something! =P:-P=P:-P=P:-P=P:-P=P:-P=P:-D=P:-P=P:-D:-P<3:P:D:]<3:-P:[:-/<3:-P:-):):-]:/:-/:-]:-);-);-):-P<3:-/:-/=/=]=D:-P:-S=]:-D:-D:-)<3:-/<3=P=]:-/:S:-P:-D=]

On an unrelated note, my windows phone's keyboard has a setting strictly for emoticons.

:/:]:D:[:D;-):-S:[:-D:-/:[:-D:-/<3:-D=[=]:P<3:-/:-):-P=/:S:D:D<3:|:P<3:|:-P:-P:'(<3:-D:-/:P:-]:|:[:-P:-S:[:-D=]<3:-/:-D:-S:-/;):-P:-/:S:(:-P:-]:|:-P<3:-]<:-/:-]:-D:]:-/=):-D:-P:-S:-P:-]:-S:-D:D<3:-S:-S:/:/:-]:-D<3:'(<3:-]:-D:-D<3:-/:[:P:-]:-S:-D:-D<3:S:-/<3:-D<3:'(:-S:P<3:-/:]:-D:-/:S:):]:/:-/:-P:):-S:/:[:D:-]:-S:-/:'(:-S:-D:):P:S:-(:/:-S:-]:-P:-P:'(:'(<3:P:]


I did'nt even know america had these many presidents.
But if you ask me I would choose Madison both as best and worst.
He had the gaul to both go to war with canada and loose it.
I bet it's because of video games. I heard he was an avid Fan of the Fallout series.

Quote from: surhotchaperchlorome on December 12, 2010, 12:16:00 AM
Who are the best and worst US Presidents?

I was thinking:
Best:    Grover Cleveland, Warren G. Harding
Worst:  Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon

So what do you all think?

I'd add James K. Polk and George Washington to the best list.

Nixon was bad, but I don't think he was as bad as those other three.

Quote from: Virgil0211 on December 12, 2010, 12:48:40 AM
On an unrelated note, my windows phone's keyboard has a setting strictly for emoticons.

Hopefully it's out of your system now.

December 12, 2010, 11:30:09 AM #5 Last Edit: December 12, 2010, 11:32:30 AM by surhotchaperchlorome
Quote from: MrBogosity on December 12, 2010, 07:04:36 AMI'd add James K. Polk and George Washington to the best list.
Cool.  So they really were small government folks?

Quote from: MrBogosity on December 12, 2010, 07:04:36 AMNixon was bad, but I don't think he was as bad as those other three.
I added Nixon because he completely took us off the gold standard (I'm aware that citizens couldn't even own gold, courtesy of FDR and that the only 'gold standard' was the Breton Woods System for foreign exchange, but still...).
So who would you recommend in Nixon's place?
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

Quote from: surhotchaperchlorome on December 12, 2010, 11:30:09 AM
Cool.  So they really were small government folks?

Polk, not so much by the standards of his day as he was an expansionist. However, he fought for state rights and got rid of the protectionist tariffs. He also made the Treasury completely independent of the banking system.

QuoteSo who would you recommend in Nixon's place?

Oh, I didn't realize we were filling slots. I guess I'd say, either Teddy Roosevelt or US Grant.

December 12, 2010, 12:48:31 PM #7 Last Edit: December 12, 2010, 12:50:41 PM by surhotchaperchlorome
Quote from: MrBogosity on December 12, 2010, 12:43:14 PMPolk, not so much by the standards of his day as he was an expansionist. However, he fought for state rights and got rid of the protectionist tariffs. He also made the Treasury completely independent of the banking system.
Cool. Though I imagine that by today's standard's he was absolutely small government.
I imagine the same could be said of George Washington as well?

Quote from: MrBogosity on December 12, 2010, 12:43:14 PMOh, I didn't realize we were filling slots. I guess I'd say, either Teddy Roosevelt or US Grant.
I was kinda trying to keep it with an equal number of bad republicans as democrats and an equal number of good ones of each (if possible). :P
The reason for this was to keep people from saying, "See?  Libertarians are actually [Liberals/Conservatives]" Or some other crap like that.
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

Quote from: MrBogosity on December 12, 2010, 12:43:14 PM
Polk, not so much by the standards of his day as he was an expansionist. However, he fought for state rights and got rid of the protectionist tariffs. He also made the Treasury completely independent of the banking system.

Been listening to They Might Be Giants again?

Quote from: surhotchaperchlorome on December 12, 2010, 12:48:31 PMI imagine the same could be said of George Washington as well?

George Washington was nothing short of one of the greatest minds who ever lived. Yes, he stood up for smaller government and the rights of the people, but (unlike Jefferson) he did it without honking off the Federalists. He stood up to them and didn't let them get their crap through, while still making them realize that they were all on the same side.

Adams didn't fare so well. Even though he was against the Alien and Sedition Acts as much as anyone, he caved to the Federalists to try and avoid political backlash. And Jefferson didn't avoid any backlash at all--he had it pretty much all through his presidency.

Adams and Jefferson had brilliant minds, too, but as great as they were as men they were mediocre presidents at best.

Neat.
So, for now, the list is complete.

A few things worth pointing out.
1) I recall you saying in a YouTube comment that generally, the more famous a president, the worse a president he was.  I guess Washington was an exception to that rule.
2) Notice how, on average, the good presidents tend to be before the bad presidents.  I guess as government grows and gets more power, it tends to attract people who are even more attracted to that kind of thing (e.g. Sociopaths of sorts).
3) So how many people would crap themselves at seeing Abe Lincoln (and FDR) not only on the bad list, but boldfaced as one of the worst of the worst?
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

I once made a thread on the JREF forum called "Grade the Presidents." I went through and gave each President a grade, A-F. Two of them (Polk and Washington) got As, two (Lincoln and FDR) got Fs. I wrote a paragraph about each explaining why. I also invited others to do the same, with their own grades, and explain why.

I was immediately flamed by the worshippers of the Holy Saint Lincoln. People who are (or at least claim to be) skeptics just could not tolerate anyone criticizing their prophet. None of them (nor anyone else) took me up on their invite.

After a couple of weeks of this, the thread mysteriously vanished. Neither the moderators nor the system administrator claimed to know anything about what happened to it.

One of the many reasons why I no longer post there.

December 12, 2010, 02:11:20 PM #12 Last Edit: December 12, 2010, 02:15:32 PM by surhotchaperchlorome
Quote from: MrBogosity on December 12, 2010, 02:00:54 PM
I once made a thread on the JREF forum called "Grade the Presidents." I went through and gave each President a grade, A-F. Two of them (Polk and Washington) got As, two (Lincoln and FDR) got Fs. I wrote a paragraph about each explaining why. I also invited others to do the same, with their own grades, and explain why.

I was immediately flamed by the worshippers of the Holy Saint Lincoln. People who are (or at least claim to be) skeptics just could not tolerate anyone criticizing their prophet. None of them (nor anyone else) took me up on their invite.

After a couple of weeks of this, the thread mysteriously vanished. Neither the moderators nor the system administrator claimed to know anything about what happened to it.

One of the many reasons why I no longer post there.
Good god...

I just found this thread:  http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=35316 Where the fun seems to be beginning.
I didn't know you were a peanuts fan.
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

December 12, 2010, 02:20:50 PM #13 Last Edit: December 12, 2010, 02:41:00 PM by surhotchaperchlorome
I'm reading through this thread and damn...it's kinda reminds me of the League of Reason all over again.
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world—'No. You move.'"
-Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man 537

Funny how they started to call you crazy after a while.
You did'nt even start to foam from the mouth in that one...much.
It does remind me of a woman I knew who started to treat you like shit the second she realized that you did'nt swoon about her like a bunch of moths around a candle.