Bestest Presidents

[Imran Siddiqui]

Teddy Roosevelt
Thomas Jefferson
Ronald Reagan
George Washington
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

[Sava]

omg no reagan no bill cliinton... both suck!

[mrmitchell]

Sava

Bill Clinton

[MrFun]

It was not THAT long ago we already had this before, you guys.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Teddy Roosevelt
Thomas Jefferson
Ronald Reagan
George Washington
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Imran and I are agreeing on a lot more things lately.

Teddy Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
George Washington
Harry S Truman
Thomas Jefferson

[General Ludd]

Fidel Castro.


Viva el presidente!

[mrmitchell]

It was not THAT long ago we already had this before, you guys.

MrFun n'est pas amusant.

[Whoha]

everyone who isn't Nixon,Ford,Carter,Bush1,Clinton,Bush2.

[Barinthus]

William Jefferson Clinton
LBJ
Lincoln

[Harry Tuttle]

Washington through Jackson were pretty damn good, but Madison should have been more prepared for 1812.

Next-

Best Ones (in no special order):

Lincoln (civil war, nuff said)

Polk (manifest destiny)

Teddy Roosevelt (war hero, strong external policy, strong conservationist)

FDR (WW2 - stood like mountain, even in his wheelchair)

Truman (tough decision on the Bomb, fought spread of Commies)

Eisenhower (pretty much laid the foundation for winning the Cold War)

Reagan (great communicator, brought back the word "the presidency", thawed ties and led to end of Soviet Union)

Clinton (a right leaning democrat, worked with congress a lot)

GWB (... your living it)



Worst (in no order):

Jimmy Carter (weak, weak, but a nice man)

Nixon (f'd it all up at the end)

JFK (Bay of Pigs, disdain for women, mob ties, started all out war in Vietnam - only good things were the space program and his near miss with Cuba)

Wilson (wishy washy diplomat politico)

Coolidge (do-nothing, a real sour puss too)

Buchanan (uh hello, civil war looming! moron)

and all those other guys who died way to early or just sat on their asses (about 12 or so)

[David Floyd]

Look, guys, the oath of office of the President of the United States specifically states that the President is obligated to protect and defend the US Constitution.

FDR and "Honest Abe" were guilty of violating the Constitution far more than is average for US Presidents, so I don't see how you can say that our best Presidents were the ones who consistently violated their oaths of office.

[David Floyd]

I don't know about best Presidents, but other than the two I listed above (FDR and Lincoln), I'd submit Woodrow Wilson for worst President.

[Moral Hazard]

The Constitution was made for the people. The people were not made for the constitution

In a civil war it's expedient to violate the constitution, let the judges condemn you afterward. Some things have more value than the constitution. I've made a point to avoid most WW2 history so Im not sure about FDR.

[Boris Godunov]

Lincoln
FDR
Jefferson
Teddy Roosevelt
Clinton

Washington, Madison and Monroe follow those closely.

bottom:

GW Bush
Harding
Grant
LBJ
Wilson

[David Floyd]

In a civil war it's expedient to violate the constitution, let the judges condemn you afterward.

The judges condemned Lincoln DURING the war. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court issued a decision against Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, and Lincoln ignored him.

It's always expedient for the government to violate the Constitution - that's why the Constitution exists in the first place.

Some things have more value than the constitution.

Like what? If it's national unity, well, then you'll have a hard time defending the FIRST American war of secession, also known as the American Revolution.

I've made a point to avoid most WW2 history so Im not sure about FDR.

I'm more referring to the New Deal, although the internment of Japanese citizens certainly was unconstitutional - the Court simply refused to strike it down during war time (yes, Imran, I realize there were other "justifications", but that was the long and the short of it - the decision had little to do with the actual text of the Constitution, same as the WW1 draft case).