Ten Worst Presidents Ever

[ButterflyBlood]

I thought about it, and here's my list:

1-*
2-Reagan
3-Hoover
4-Jackson
5-Buchanan
6-Harding
7-Grant
8-Tyler
9-Coolidge
10-Nixon

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. I'd bump Nixon higher

but only because he's been president in my lifetime. His shenanigans were instrumental in my continual distrust of politicians and government.

[American Renaissance]

5. Same List, but not order,

I would put Harding after Reagan and Nixon right behing Harding.

[fudge stripe cookays]

15. Yup. me too.

The scandals of Harding's administration were really serious before Watergate came along.

And combining his carnal pursuits as well (out of wedlock kids, etc), I'd say Harding ranks right up there.

[david_vincent]

2. I agree on the first two, in that order

but I'd put Harding third, and Wilson and Lincoln would be on the list too.

[TN al]

3. I don't agree with Jackson and Tyler on the list...

...perhaps you were angry with Tyler because of what he did after he was president. Tyler did allow for a smooth succession to the presidency from being vice-president. He was the first one who did it and set the precedent. Without his strength in that regard the US may have had a forced impotency of the power of the presidency whenever a vp finished a term.I would replace the two of them with poppy and maybe john adams. remember the alien and seditions act?

[ButterflyBlood]

4. Tyler was an incompetant, corrupt jerk overall

as for Jackson, he defied a Supreme Court order to carry out a racist and genocidal act of ethnic cleansing. He was the Milosevic, Saddam or Sharon of the era.

[SaveElmer]

14. A little unfair to Jackson

He followed what he viewed as a clasic states rights position. And, there is evidence he truly believed that Indian Removal to the west would benefit the Indians. Had they been left to state authority, their lot would have been worse, as evidenced by what happened to those members of the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes who elected to stay behind. I'm not saying what Jackson did was noble, or right. But it is not as cut and dried as you make it sound.

In other ways Jackson did make significant contributions, especially with regards to the power of the presidency. Under Jackson the veto became a significant Presidential tool to affect what happened in Congress. His opposition to nullification and secession laid the groundwork for northern opposition to the south in the Civil War, and his adoption of more modern political campaigning techniques involved more average citizens in the political process.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

6. Comparisons

Regarding the list, if you merged the attributes of presidents 2-10 in to a single person, he still wouldn't be worse than president 1*.

[President Jesus]

27. Disagree. Fuse Nixon with GHW Bush, and you got something worse than *

[No2W2004]

7. In My opinion

Shrub
Harding
Reagan
Grant
Hayes
Buchanan
Coolidge
Eisenhower
Nixon
John Adams

[Euphen]

17. Why Eisenhower? n/t

[No2W2004]

18. What did he really accomplish

during his terms beside improve his golf game and have heart attacks?

There wasn't much corruption, but he started us into Vietnam, and allowed the military-industrial complex that he railed against to flurish.

He was the original mold for the Reagan-type presidency.

[ButterflyBlood]

19. He signed America's first civil rights act and ended the Korean conflict

and remember how he dealt with Orval Faubus in Arkansas. Deserves major credit for that.

Far from perfect, but he was miles ahead of most Repukes, and probably the last half-decent Republican president we will ever have.

[Darranar]

23. He kept back the arms races, got the US out of Korea, and...

preserved the New Deal, though he didn't add to it like his more liberal successors.

He did start small-scale intervention in Veitnam, which quickly got larger...

[President Jesus]

26. Ike is somehow WORSE than Nixon???

I think that's off base.
a) the guy was a national hero
b) the country did prosper significantly during his tenure
c) he sent the National guard down south to protect integration
d) he did not perpetuate the Korean War
e) he left the country in better shape than when he took office

I'm not syaing he was a great leader, but this country could have done a lot worse than have Ike at the helm.

[SaveElmer]

8. I'd Remove Grant

And add John Quincy Adams...while not a great President, Grant is severely underrated...especially with regards to his efforts on behalf of African-Americans...and his swift action in averting a severe depression. The corruption of his administration was due to his excessive loyalty and not to any personal misdeeds.

John Quincy Adams was a great man...before and after his presidency. His time in the White House was an unmitigated disaster however.

[gauguin57]

9. let's see ...

1) Dubya
2) Dubya
3) Dubya
4) Dubya
5) Dubya
6) Dubya
7) Dubya
8) Dubya
9) Dubya
10) Buchanan

[hatrack]

11. OTOH, I must admire the power and simplicity of your rankings . . .

It's punchy and eloquent!

[hatrack]

10. OK, here's a stab at it

1. Bush*
2. Hoover
3. Buchanan
4. Reagan
5. Nixon
6. Harding
7. Wilson
8. Pierce
9. Tyler
10. Grant

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. Better check that list again...

Jackson's #4.

[Eloriel]

13. Nah. Bush is the first 9-1/2 all by himself. Then Reagan. n/t

[SaveElmer]

20. My List would include

1. G.W. Bush
2. Nixon
3. Buchanan
4. Coolidge
5. Hoover
6. Hayes
7. Tyler
8. J.Q. Adams
9. Reagan
10. Taft

[unblock]

21. my top 10

10 george walker bush
9 george w. bush
8 gwb
7 george the lesser
6 43
5 the toxic texan
4 dick cheney's puppet
3 rove's front man
2 dumbya
1 shrub

[Anarcho-Socialist]

22. Cool top 10, unblock

the toxic texan lol

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

24. my top 8

1-bushwacked (league of his own)

2-Buchanan
3-Hoover
4-Grant
5-Reagan
6-Tyler
7-Coolidge
8-Jackson

[President Jesus]

25. remove Jackson, definitely add GHW Bush in the two spot

i can't believe I'm the first to mention papa Bush here. He was absolutely horrible and and embarrassment.

Am I missing something here?

[UTUSN]

28. Actually, Shrub Takes Spots 1-10 n/t

[EndElectoral]

29. My Worst 10

GW Bush
Richard Nixon
Herbert Hoover
Warren Harding
Ronald Reagan
Gerald Ford
GHW Bush
Calvin Coolidge
James Buchanan
Grover Cleveland

[Yupster]

30. I think people are unfair to Hoover

I don't rank him anywhere near the bottom.

[RoyGBiv]

33. Coolidge and Hoover

I think it's unfair to rank Hoover worse than Coolidge since a lot of what Hoover had to deal with had festered under Coolidge and just happened to explode on Hoover's watch.

But, I'd argue that despite this, Hoover didn't deal with it effectively. I'll give him ample credit for trying very hard, but he just didn't get it done.

I put him on my list, but to be honest, I go back and forth with how bad I think he is. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for the man because he had done a lot of good in Europe after WWI. But anyway...

Have you ever read Richard Hofstadter's essay on Hoover? He reevaluates him in a way I think you'd appreciate.

[Yupster]

34. Haven't read Hofstadter's, and don't get me wrong

It's not that I think Hoover was America's best president, or belongs above FDR. I just think too many people rank him like a cartoon character burying his head in the sand while the Depression spun on.

I think that's an unfair, and lazy portrayal, and honestly, I'd rank Hoover as slightly above average.

[AP]

35. Hoover refused to shift tax burden off workers and on to rich.

Had he done that, he might have stopped the depression.

Being a whore for business has its downside, eh?

[yardwork]

31. It's the Neocons!

I agree with the above poster that Poppy Bush is getting an unfair pass. He definitely deserves a spot in the top ten.

I would argue that the Neocons have emerged as a continuum that endangers the U.S. more than any one president. The Neocon take-over seems to have gotten its start under Nixon and grew quietly from there, incubated by every Republican administration since Nixon. It flourished under Reagan but reached its full flower under the Chimp, with the support of a Republican controlled Congress and Supreme Court.

My list:

5. Nixon
4. Ford*
3. Reagan
2. Poppy Bush
1. George "Baby Doc" Bush

*(I've always been sort of fond of Jerry but he obviously was a tool of the neocons, and he made Poppy head of the CIA.)

[RoyGBiv]

32. My Ten ...

1) GW Bush
2) James Buchanan
3) Warren Harding
4) Calvin Coolidge
5) Franklin Pierce
6) Andrew Johnson
7) Herbert Hoover
8) Millard Fillmore
9) Richard Nixon
10) Woodrow Wilson

[The Zanti Regent]

36. My 10 for the WORST list

10) Tyler
9) Hoover
8) Coolidge
7) Pierce
6) Harding
5) Grant
4) Hayes
3) Nixon
2) Buchanan
1) The current illegal occupant of Al Gore's House

[bobthedrummer]

37. #1 George W. Bush

#2 Richard Nixon
#3 Ronald Reagan
#4 George H. W. Bush
#5 Warren Harding
#6 Herbert Hoover
#7 Ulysses Grant
#8 Calvin Coolidge
#9 William McKinley
#10 Buchanan