Who is the best president of all time?

[dcoles11]

We had a who is the worst president of all time post. Who is the best?

[zaxx19]

Lincoln, and it isnt even that close.

No other president faced such a crisis while in office.

No other responded with such fortitude,clarity, and competence to the circumstances he found himself in.

Honorable mention:

FDR-Washington-Jefferson-Reagan-Teddy Roosevelt

These guys are like an 8.0 or 8.5 to Lincolns 10.

[Daliman]

Yeah, but he was gay, so he shouldn't have been allowed to marry, and never would have been president were it widey known.

Oh, wait, I forgot, he married a woman. It's ok to marry someone if yer gya, as long as they ain't the same sex.

Silly me.

[MtSmalls]

I think the historical evaluation of Lincoln and FDR would be pretty close.

Lincoln's accomplishments, the grace and fortitude with which they were accomplished are clearly at the top of the scale. It would have been fascinating to see how he might have handled the Reconstruction better, but I guess we'll never know.

FDR's handling of the Depression, WW II, his own physical disability, and of course, being the only President elected four times, are a tremendous legacy of their own

[Zeno]

George Washington.

Also, to wax into hyperbole and the hackneyed to keep up with trends: End of Thread.


-Zeno

[zaxx19]

Yeah, but he was gay, so he shouldn't have been allowed to marry, and never would have been president were it widey known.

Oh, wait, I forgot, he married a woman. It's ok to marry someone if yer gya, as long as they ain't the same sex.

Silly me.

OK.....THAT MAKES JUST A TON OF SENSE.

BTW:
ACCORDING TO THE GAYSTABLISHMENT(im gonna patent that) EVERY PROMINENT FIGURE FROM ABOUT 370 B.C. TILL PRESENT DAY WAS OR IS A HOMOSEXUAL. Oh and like 25% of men and 40% of all women are gay or bi....just a bunch of hooey.

[Dr. Strangelove]

No need to get defensive 'cuz you like the cack.

[CORed]

I can't argue with Lincoln, but I would move Jefferson from honorable mention to second place Why? Two words. Louisiana Purchase.

[Broken Glass Can]

Too much credit is being given to Presidents who just happened to be President when a certain crisis occurred. The measure should be, did they handle it better than another person would have, given the same circumstances?

Washington shines for this reason. The way he established precedents was masterful. Imagine that Washington had died in 1788, and we had to pick either Adams or Jefferson to be the first President. Neither could have done nearly as well, although for different reasons.

I do give Lincoln credit for his humility in running the Civil War. If he had pushed the Emancipation Proclamation too soon, he would have had riots in the North. He kept his eye on the ball, sticking with Grant was clearly good for the war effort.

FDR was fine for his PR abilities, but his policies did little to cure the depression. Giving him credit for handling the depression makes no more sense than giving King credit (the PM in Canada), but they often get credit just because they happened to be in office at the time. Unfortunately, Hitler probably deserves some credit for ending the worldwide depression by creating a war. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

TR gets a lot of credit for the policies of McKinley, who was the brains behind the anti-trust reform policy. But if you die, the credit goes to your successor. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Like Lincoln, I think W deserves credit for keeping his eyes on the ball, despite the slings from political opportunists. The big picture matters, and that is his focus - good for him (and for all of us).

[Felix_Nietsche]

1. Washington (he is the father of our country. A mediocre general but a brilliant president who set the standard for all future presidents).
2. Lincoln
3. Jefferson (Lousiana purchase)
4. Reagan (won the cold war, cut taxes and govt revenue DOUBLED. Unfortunately the Democratic controlled congress spent the increased revenue and then some. Restored American pride after the fool Jimmy Carter tried his best to destroy the country both economically and thru an inept foreign policy.)
5. Teddy Roosevelt (Panama Canal)

Over-rated:
FDR:
FDR was a genius at PR but all his work programs failed to end the depression. Lucky for him WW2 came and bailed out the economy and FDR came out smelling like a rose. FDR's negotiations for post WW2 Europe set the US behind the 8-ball. Stalin played the ailing FDR like a fiddle. The state department under FDR was infested with soviet spys and FDR failed to take any actions to correct this problem. My grand mother worshipped FDR....Yuck. Also FDR did everything he could to provoke a fight with Nazi Germany. US destroyers were dropping depth charges on German U-Boats well before Dec 7, 1941.

JFK:
Con: Botched the Bay-of-Pigs invasion resulting in thousands of pro-USA Cubans to die. If your going to invade a country show some balls and go all the way or not at all.
Pro: He showed some balls in the Cuban missle crisis.
Pro: Tax Cuter