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Rating Presidents

Posted on Friday, April 1, 2022
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AMAC Exclusive – By Barry Casselman

Hall of presidents

It has become an American journalistic and literary tradition to rate past U.S. presidents in long essays and books. These evaluations and lists have varied themes, i.e., the “best,” the “worst,” the “most” this or the “least” that — the categories seem endless, while no two lists in any theme over the years are identical.

We even witness today an attempt, employing the weak excuse of so-called “political correctness,” to denigrate various founding executive figures of the republic, as well as major later figures, by trying to apply modern subjective values or now generally accepted standards to their dissimilar eras.

In short, every presidential rater or list maker has a political axe to grind. (Caveat lector! Let the reader be wary.)

Some local and national Democrats have embarked on a quest of political self-immolation by discarding Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, the two early presidents who did the most to create the original Democratic Party. Citing aspects of their private and public conduct, their names have been excised from the Party’s annual dinners.

Recently, a notable number of historians have written to restore or reverse the reputations of presidents long held in low regard, including John Tyler, Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, and Calvin Coolidge. At the same time, other historians have published accounts reevaluating the previous high regard for Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. The esteemed view of those Democratic figures has been attributed to a frequent liberal bias among contemporary historians.

A pronounced example of this has been the historical treatment of the Kennedy presidency. Kennedy was a rare example in the 20th century of a president who had good relations with the press. The reporters covering him were often fawning and uncritical, as were many historians who wrote about his political career. Perhaps most notable of these was Theodore White whose Making of the President, 1960 was for years treated as a classic—until this year, when Irwin Gellman’s Campaign of the Century exposed White’s book as deeply flawed by personal bias for Kennedy and against his November opponent Richard Nixon. Kennedy and his entourage hid from the sympathetic media his fatal Addison’s Disease and his compulsive liaisons while presenting himself as a model husband and father. As with Franklin Roosevelt’s paralysis three decades earlier, a willing media covered it up.

(To this might be added the irony that Kennedy, still the hero of many liberal Democrats, was by today’s standards a hardline military hawk and economic conservative.)

George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison each became early U.S. presidents, but their contributions as architects of the Revolutionary period 1776-89 often outshone their terms in office. Their reputations face periodic reevaluation.

Brion McLanahan’s recent book 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America takes on Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt for their actions outside their proper constitutional powers while praising John Tyler, Grover Cleveland, and Calvin Coolidge for heeding those powers.

Essays and books rating presidents on foreign policy, economics, civil rights, management skills, relations with Congress, campaign performance, military achievements, and more, fill publications and bookshelves all the time.

Lincoln, arguably the greatest president, is a favorite target of those writers who want to shatter conventional historical wisdom. Lincoln, like everyone, had flaws and made mistakes, but his overall presidential performance and timeless American eloquence easily resist naysayers. Only his feckless predecessor, James Buchanan, and William Henry Harrison (who served a mere 30 days as president) don’t seem ripe for a historical reappraisal.

As for the current president and his predecessor (who could be president again), ranking them with other presidents is complicated by how close in time we are to their presidencies – and the absence of perspective that such proximity imposes. Only a year in office, Mr. Biden now trails Mr. Trump in almost every popular vote poll!

Chief executives Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan entered office in low regard, and were dismissed as lightweights by many during their presidential terms. But today, years later, the two have high standing and are now regarded by many to be among the better presidents.

A presidency is a vessel in motion on history’s stormy sea.

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tom
tom
2 years ago

Woodrow Wilson was known as the Evil Mr. Wilson.

ops
ops
2 years ago

High regard for President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump. God, Family and Patriotism the core foundation of their Presidency. No longer the case with the empty suit now present in the WH>

Clifford
Clifford
2 years ago

Chino
Its simple to rate, what good did they do for the Country.

Ralph S
Ralph S
2 years ago

Thank goodness for Bejing Biden… now Pennsylvania’s only President is rated higher than Delaware’s only President.

Kevin K Harding
Kevin K Harding
2 years ago

Thanks AMAC for being a strong voice for conservatism!

Barb304
Barb304
2 years ago

We must face it folks, rating presidents these days is almost impossible. We hear extraordinarily little, if any at all, truth from the news ‘media’! And they’re not the only liars. Our ‘representatives’ in our government tell us what they think we want to hear. Hell, even our own president lies! Life is tough enough without the problem of wondering who you can believe! Tell the truth, it can’t come back and bite you in the a$$.

miz forever
miz forever
2 years ago

The private lives of Presidents might be scintillating to those readers who can’t be bothered to study history–and are forced to repeat it. Personally, I don’t want a glad-handing, wishy-washy do nothing politician representing me. I prefer an attack dog, who will fight for my peace and freedom. Then rate the President on his/her accomplishments as President.

JEFFREY CARL JONES
JEFFREY CARL JONES
2 years ago

ARREST THE WHOLE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR TREASON!

George Boren
George Boren
2 years ago

…great article…

Mike Tracy
Mike Tracy
2 years ago

Best 6 were Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Cooledge, Ike, and Reagan.
Worst 6 were Andrew Johnson, Wilson, FDR, LBJ, Carter and Obama soon to be outdone by Biden.
Notice a pattern here?

Dan W.
Dan W.
2 years ago

I would add President James Polk to the “best” list.

Polk pledged to serve one term and kept his pledge as well as his other campaign promises. During his presidency, the United States greatly expanded its territory, fought a successful war with Mexico, re-established an independent treasury system, lowered tariffs, and established the Department of the Interior.

As for the “worst”, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan who could not get us off the path to Civil War; Andrew Johnson and Rutherford B. Hayes who bungled Reconstruction; and Herbert Hoover whose policies didn’t cause the Great Depression but whose policies made the Great Depression much worse than it should have been.

Mike
Mike
2 years ago

Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Grant, Ike, Bush Senior, and Reagan were our best.
Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Andrew Johnson, FDR, LBJ, Obama, and Biden so far have
been our worst.
Notice a pattern here?

tom
tom
2 years ago

Woodrow Wilson was known as the Evil Mr. Wilson.

ops
ops
2 years ago

High regard for President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump. God, Family and Patriotism the core foundation of their Presidency. No longer the case with the empty suit now present in the WH>

Clifford
Clifford
2 years ago

Chino
Its simple to rate, what good did they do for the Country.

Ralph S
Ralph S
2 years ago

Thank goodness for Bejing Biden… now Pennsylvania’s only President is rated higher than Delaware’s only President.

Kevin K Harding
Kevin K Harding
2 years ago

Thanks AMAC for being a strong voice for conservatism!

Barb304
Barb304
2 years ago

We must face it folks, rating presidents these days is almost impossible. We hear extraordinarily little, if any at all, truth from the news ‘media’! And they’re not the only liars. Our ‘representatives’ in our government tell us what they think we want to hear. Hell, even our own president lies! Life is tough enough without the problem of wondering who you can believe! Tell the truth, it can’t come back and bite you in the a$$.

miz forever
miz forever
2 years ago

The private lives of Presidents might be scintillating to those readers who can’t be bothered to study history–and are forced to repeat it. Personally, I don’t want a glad-handing, wishy-washy do nothing politician representing me. I prefer an attack dog, who will fight for my peace and freedom. Then rate the President on his/her accomplishments as President.

JEFFREY CARL JONES
JEFFREY CARL JONES
2 years ago

ARREST THE WHOLE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR TREASON!

George Boren
George Boren
2 years ago

…great article…

Mike Tracy
Mike Tracy
2 years ago

Best 6 were Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Cooledge, Ike, and Reagan.
Worst 6 were Andrew Johnson, Wilson, FDR, LBJ, Carter and Obama soon to be outdone by Biden.
Notice a pattern here?

Dan W.
Dan W.
2 years ago

I would add President James Polk to the “best” list.

Polk pledged to serve one term and kept his pledge as well as his other campaign promises. During his presidency, the United States greatly expanded its territory, fought a successful war with Mexico, re-established an independent treasury system, lowered tariffs, and established the Department of the Interior.

As for the “worst”, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan who could not get us off the path to Civil War; Andrew Johnson and Rutherford B. Hayes who bungled Reconstruction; and Herbert Hoover whose policies didn’t cause the Great Depression but whose policies made the Great Depression much worse than it should have been.

Mike
Mike
2 years ago

Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Grant, Ike, Bush Senior, and Reagan were our best.
Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Andrew Johnson, FDR, LBJ, Obama, and Biden so far have
been our worst.
Notice a pattern here?

Governor Tim Walz giving a speech at a Podium in September 2024
Fema.gov Disasters USA Government home page under magnifying glass.
Medicaid text sign on calculator with pills and money. Medicaid text calculatoron American paper money with pills and orange prescription bottle

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