Political Crossfire Forums

[Tony Clifton]

worst:
Warren G. Harding
Andrew Johnson
Jimmy Carter
James Buchanan
Ulysses S Grant

overrated:
JFK
FDR
Bill Clinton
John Adams
Ronald Reagan

best:
Theodore Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Harry S. Truman
Woodrow Wilson
George Washington

[Buxford]

Best: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Reagan.

Worst: Buchanan, Grant, L. Johnson, Carter, Clinton.

Most Overated: F. Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton.

Most Underated: Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Bush Sr.

[Bobicito]

I want to know waht Teddy Roosevelt did that makes him a good president? I also want to know waht FDR did do that makes him an overated andd sometimes one of the worst presidents.

[big_country]

Bobicito wrote: I want to know waht Teddy Roosevelt did that makes him a good president? I also want to know waht FDR did do that makes him an overated andd sometimes one of the worst presidents.

FDR:
elected to four terms: ever heard of a dictator? (hitler and Hussien were elected too.)

he:
defied the constitution
established the welfare state
gave concessions to stalin (including half of europe)
the social security BS
knew about pearl harbor before it happend
helped form the UN
sent Japanese AMERICANS to internment camps
cut veterans benefits
removed 500,000 veterans and widows from pensions
cut education

theodore roosevelt:
was the "Trust-buster"

regulated industry: hepburn act, giving power to the interstate commerce commission, meat inspection act, pure food and drug act

was a consevationist:
set aside more land for natioanl parks and nature preserves than all previous presidents combined

moved forward in foreign policy:
in Cuba, Pueto Rico, Central America and the Philipines set up infrastructure and helped defeat yellow fever; added the roosevelt corrolary to the monroe doctrine allow the US to intervene for the betterment of the caribbean; built the panama canal; helped negotiate the end of the Russo-Japanes war.

1st president to:
dine with a black person at the white house
win a nobel peace prize
travel outside the country while in office
vice president to win reelection as a president, after asuming the role after the death of his predessor
appointed the 1st Jew to his cabinet
1st president to wear a tie in his offical portrait (something all presidents have since done).
is on mount rushmore with the other great persidents

also noted (though before the presidency:
left political office to helpy personally, in wartime efforts in cuba. he formed and fought with the "rough riders".

[Quicksurf]

Best:Reagan, Harry Truman, FDR

Worst: Jimmy Carter (I've been to the town this guy grew up in, and I think I have some understanding about why he is so crazy)

Overated:JFK, Clinton, and even Reagan at some times.

[BigOMG]

Best: Reagan

Worst: Carter/Hayes

Overrated:CLINTON, JFK and FDR

Underrated: Nixon

[Jehan]

Carter is far from the worst. Jackson and Buchanan take the cake, the former pissing on the constitution to do whatever he damn well pleased, the latter proving to be a weak president who greatly hastened the outbreak of the Civil War.

Best include Washington, the first and father of our country, Abraham Lincoln, the man who saved the Union, Theodore Roosevelt, for his work in conservation and trustbusting.

Overrated include Reagan, who was just lucky, JFK, whose only notable work was his role in preventing the Cuban Missile Crisis (which he played a large role in causing), and Clinton, who has no real substantial legacy other than the economy, which was Greenspan's work.

[LostSoul3412]

(Speaking from experience)

Best: Nixon (Despite the Watergate incident)
Worst: Bush the Second
Most Overrated: Reagan

I'd have to say that Nixon was the greatest president the United States has had. He ending the war in Vietnam, he made an unprecedented diplomatic visit to China, his economic policies helped eliminate a chunk of the national debt, and he cemented the civil right's movement that LBJ started. Despite the Watergate scandal, Nixon was definitely a great president.

However, the current president has done things that give him the title of "Worst President". Not only did he fail to receive the majority of the popular vote, and with that he failed to gain the legitimacy of the people, but he also launched us into an unnecessary war with Iraq, he mobilized the National Guard for deployment overseas (something that had never been done before, ever), but he has also employed Big Brother to tap our communications without our knowledge or consent though the NSA. Basically, the police action (because we have not been at war since 1941) in Iraq, and the wiretaps of the citizens give him the worst president title.

Now, for most overrated. I choose Reagan because he is often credited for things that he really did not do. The Iran hostage crisis, he actually did nothing to have them released, but he is credited for it none the less. He is also credited for ending the Cold War, but the state of the Soviet economy was already in ruin, and the "war" was nearing an end anyway. Possibly the only thing Reagan actually did was what I would call the greatest bluff of all time: The Star Wars Project. However, he is also responsible for putting the American economy five trillion dollars in the hole.

[Silifi]

Best: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Worst: George W. Bush, Andrew Johnson, Herbert Hoover
Most Overrated: John F. Kennedy

In response to the previous post, I have one problem with that: Nixon didn't willingly cement the civil rights movement. Nixon definately was not a progressive in the sense of racism:

“I have the greatest affection for them [blacks], but I know they're not going to make it for 500 years. They aren't. You know it, too. The Mexicans are a different cup of tea. They have a heritage. At the present time they steal, they're dishonest, but they do have some concept of family life. They don't live like a bunch of dogs, which the Negroes do live like.”

[goblue]

Best: George W Bush (Strong economy, got rid of Hussein regardless of how Iraq turns out, the future father of how to fight terrorism for the next fifty years.)

Worst: Jimmy Carter (Terrible economy, a complete failure on how he handled Iranian hostage crisis, weakened country, very pessimistic.)

Most overrated: Bill Clinton (Great economy, great speaker, but never took on tough issues. Did nothing about Hussein after he kicked out inspectors. Did nothing after 1993 WTC bombing or about terrorism which I believe led up to 9-11.)

[psholtz]

goblue wrote: Most overrated: Bill Clinton (Great economy, great speaker, but never took on tough issues. Did nothing about Hussein after he kicked out inspectors. Did nothing after 1993 WTC bombing or about terrorism which I believe led up to 9-11.)
The Patriot Act is largely a re-enactment of Clinton's 1996 Anti-Terrorism Bill, that he passed in response to the OKC bombing and that was repeatedly ruled un-Constitutional by the Supreme Court.

[Silifi]

goblue wrote: Best: George W Bush (Strong economy, got rid of Hussein regardless of how Iraq turns out, the future father of how to fight terrorism for the next fifty years.)


Strong economy? If you measure solely based on what the top income earners are doing, maybe. The middle class is continually disappearing. I don't consider that to be a strong economy.

And even if you just counted GDP, it's nothing better than average.

Even if you don't think he's the worst, to call Bush the best president is just foolish. There were so many people that were better than him and did so much more to help the country than he has.

[FCTE]

Best: TR, Jefferson, Washington

Most Underrated/Underappreciated: William McKinley

Most Overrated: FDR, JFK

Undecided: Lincoln

Worst: Wilson

[goblue]

Silifi wrote: goblue wrote: Best: George W Bush (Strong economy, got rid of Hussein regardless of how Iraq turns out, the future father of how to fight terrorism for the next fifty years.)


Strong economy? If you measure solely based on what the top income earners are doing, maybe. The middle class is continually disappearing. I don't consider that to be a strong economy.

And even if you just counted GDP, it's nothing better than average.

Even if you don't think he's the worst, to call Bush the best president is just foolish. There were so many people that were better than him and did so much more to help the country than he has. Unemployment rate is 4.7%. That's better than even Clinton. There's more home owners than ever. Other than gas most things are cheap. Just go into Walmart or Target and see how you can get half way decent things at a cheap price. People are spending. Why? Because they now feel safe at home thanks to George W. Bush. People are finally adjusting to this global economy which is why things are so cheap. I use to think Reagan was the best president. He probably was the most popular. Clinton was popular too. Why? Because they were both excellent speech givers and knew how to win people over. But I sat and thought. If I take the media out of the equation and look at each president at what they did rather than what they say, I'd have to put W. Bush at number one. Even Reagan never went after the terrorists like Bush did. Reagan was a one strike type of guy. Grenada, Libya. And that's after we pulled out of Beirut in 1986 after our marines got killed. Bush is taking far too much heat and not enough credit. So that's how I came to my conclusion. I took the media out and looked at the facts. Most of the country is working and there are many job openings in most of the country. The cost of living is lower unless you live in California. Tax cuts are always on the agenda. Our troops want to fight cause they know we must to survive. That's due to Bush's leadership. I think it's appropriate that we lose 1000 troops a year in Iraq in today's times. But look at how many Muslims are getting killed. Bin Laden and his fellow terrorists realize that if they attack us it will be the Muslims who suffer the most. Again, I take the media out of the equation. Then I ask myself if I could have any president I want who would it be? I would take Bush with Truman a close second. :-|

[SaintLucifer]

Renevant wrote: Pretty self-explanatory, simply post what you believe are the best/worst/most overrated president.

My picks:

Best: To be determined...
Worst: Andrew Jackson
Most Overrated: Franklin D. Roosevelt

No, no. Your worst President would have to be James Madison. He allowed my people to bitchslap the U.S.A. around at will and burn your White House to the ground whilst we sacked Washington. The 'great' President Madison ran out of Washington with his tail safely tucked between his legs.*ROTFLMAO*

[Bobicito]

Eh, not funny. Besides this isn't a correct answer forum Lucifer, it is an opinion. Yours obviously is different from Renevant.

[melchizedek22]

Best LIncoln
worst George W Bush
dumbest George W Bush
President to drag America's Rep thru the mud in the eyes of the world George W Bush
President who wants Condi Rice to sit on his face when he's drunk George W Bush

[Bobicito]

Leave Bush out of this. This topic was not made so people could pick on our president. Besides those things you said weren't even close to the truth. They were just things you hope were the facts but you just find ways to pick on the president because its easy and you have nothing better to do.

[theykilledkenny83]

Best: Reagan
Worst: Clinton, Carter, Lyndon Johnson
Underrated: GW Bush, Truman, Teddy Roosevelt
Overrated: FDR, JFK, and (sometimes) Lincoln

[ManAlive]

Best: LBJ, FDR and Wilson

Worst: Nixon