Your top 10 Presidents.

[LincolnMan]

Which are your 10 personal favorites? You don’t necessarily need to rank order them. Here’s mine:

01. Lincoln
02. Washington
03. Jefferson
04. Madison
05. Jackson
06. Roosevelt (TR)
07. Kennedy
08. Reagan
09. Grant
10. Eisenhower

[Gene C]

1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. Samuel Tilden (I refuse to accept the illegitimate presidency of Rutherford Hayes)

I was afraid of this
I'm just to upset now, I just can't go on
I have to go to my safe space and listen to some calming music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbbKjDjMDok

[Steve]

(03-19-2019 08:03 PM)Gene C Wrote:  3. Samuel Tilden (I refuse to accept the illegitimate presidency of Rutherford Hayes)

I was afraid of this
I'm just to upset now, I just can't go on
I have to go to my safe space and listen to some calming music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbbKjDjMDok

Here's some more calming music for you...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k3FSzLsjA4

[RJNorton]

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Ronald Reagan
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. Franklin Roosevelt
6. Harry Truman
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. Dwight Eisenhower
9. James Madison
10. Andrew Jackson

[Gene C]

Thanks Steve,
It's nice to have friends on this forum who care.

[LincolnMan]

(03-19-2019 08:03 PM)Gene C Wrote:  1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. Samuel Tilden (I refuse to accept the illegitimate presidency of Rutherford Hayes)

I was afraid of this
I'm just to upset now, I just can't go on
I have to go to my safe space and listen to some calming music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbbKjDjMDok

Gene:
Once again you made me laugh-even my mending broken arm still hurts. For that I thank you!

[Rob Wick]

My list in made with the idea that it would be historically wrong to consider anyone who has been president from 1992 on, given that more time needs to elapse before a competent historical assessment can be made. That said, I believe eventually Obama will make the list.

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt
3. George Washington
4. Woodrow Wilson
5. Harry Truman
6. Theodore Roosevelt
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. John Adams
9. John Quincy Adams
10. Lyndon Johnson

The most difficult one for me to place on the list was Johnson. His record on Vietnam is abhorrent, but the results of the Great Society did far more to move America forward second only to FDR. Neither Reagan nor Kennedy made it as both lack any real accomplishments other than in the minds of their supporters. Some might point to the Cuban Missile Crisis, although I would argue that had Kruschev not believed Kennedy to be weak (especially after the Bay of Pigs), he never would have placed missiles in Cuba to begin with, so in reality it's a Kennedy failure. I placed FDR ahead of Washington because the sheer volume of that which would have been lost if Washington had failed would not have been as great as it would have been if Roosevelt had lost World War II.

My criteria for presidential greatness has always been how well they performed in crisis, or in the aftermath of one. While not all of those on my list faced as serious a crisis as others, most still showed something that other leaders lacked.

Best
Rob

[AussieMick]

Sorry, but I have to write this.
I realise that FDR is widely venerated in both the U.S. and indeed the world. I see from the various lists of Great Presidents of the USA on the internet that FDR is rated at the high end (even highest) category of International Relations.

But ... (I have to say this) ... and I know that FDR was very ill during WW2 especially at the end ... I believe that his influence on the way that Europe was liberated (from the Nazis) during WW2 was most unfortunate.
I write 'from the Nazis' because its clear that much of that continent later came under the crushing boots of Stalinism for decades.
FDR was, I think, bamboozled by Stalin and was probably too quick to think the best of that creature.

[Rob Wick]

Mike,

There is a great deal of truth to what you write, although I hasten to add that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is far older than Roosevelt. The intricacies and nuances of the relationship between FDR and Stalin is far too great for me to comment on intelligently in a brief forum post, but given the situation at the time I'm not really sure what else could have been done. There is no question that Stalin was as much a monster as Hitler, but Stalin was willing to fight against Hitler, who at the time was a far greater threat to western civilization, in my opinion. My selection of FDR came about more for his realization that Hitler would have to be confronted long before other Americans reached the same conclusion.

Best
Rob

[Steve]

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. James K. Polk
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. John Adams
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Ronald Reagan
8. Theodore Roosevelt
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. Ulysses S. Grant
11. Harry S. Truman

I haven't included any of the Presidencies following Clinton in consideration for my list. Two of the names in others' lists above, Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Jackson, I would've actually included in my list of 10 worst Presidents. So, I guess subjective opinion always seeps into these kind of lists.

[Rob Wick]

Quote:I guess subjective opinion always seeps into these kind of lists.

I agree completely with you, Steve. I chose Wilson because of his zeal for Progressive reform and in spite of his stubborness where the Treaty of Versailles was concerned. While I personally am repelled by his racial views (many Progressives weren't very progressive where race was concerned) I believe his overall presidency was very successful.

That said, Ronald Reagan could walk on water (and many of his supporters believe he did) and I would never rate him high.

Best
Rob

[LincolnMan]

Interesting choices all. I note that they all had successes as well as failures. Such is humanity! Sometimes a choice of a favorite is based on an issue of personal importance. For instance, I favor JFK because he ordered the start of community mental health-perhaps a fact not known to many. I am a psychologist- so that issue is very near and dear to my heart. I chose Jackson mainly due to his leadership in the War of 1812. He won the Battle of New Orleans. Three of my ancestors served with him in the militia. Again, the choice mostly is reflective of something personal to me. I chose TR because of his involvement with the Boy Scouts. I was one. Well, you all get the point.