Heres my list of top ten best presidents ever:
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Ronald Reagan
Thomas Jefferson
Teddy Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Andrew Jackson
Harry Truman
I like this list because it cuts across the political spectrum. Im a conservative, but there are Democrats on this list. And I think this is the way it should be.
I know this sounds counter-intuitive given how politicized our process is for choosing our national leader. We all have our partisan leanings, but I think Americans can and will look beyond the party and focus on the man (or woman someday). Just because Im a Republican doesnt mean I cant admire and be proud of having a leader like Harry Truman.
Then take someone like our current President: George Bush. Even though he is a member of my party, I think its becoming increasingly clear that he is one of the worst 10 presidents of all time. I wont actually say Bush is the worst ever. Weve had some stinkers over the last few hundred years and some of those have at least been as bad as George Bush.
I remember how much I used to hate Clinton. I was so happy when he finally had to leave office. At the time I thought we were unlucky as a nation for having to put up with 8 years of Clintonian rule. But having endured 5 years of Bushs unimaginable incompetence I have come to the realization that Clinton was merely mediocre. I think after Reagan that my standards were very high and I came to resent Clinton for not being as good as one of the best presidents of all time. But nowadays I would easily take Clintons wishy-washy mediocrity over Bushs destructive incompetence. No contest.
It will be interesting to see exactly where Bush ends up landing on the worst presidents ever list. I expect well have to wait a few years after he leaves office to get a good read on this. However, at the rate Bush is going I think he has the potential to end up as one of the top 4 worst presidents ever. Some would argue top 2, but I think that kind of speculation is still premature.
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Ronald Reagan
Thomas Jefferson
Teddy Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Andrew Jackson
Harry Truman
I like this list because it cuts across the political spectrum. Im a conservative, but there are Democrats on this list. And I think this is the way it should be.
I know this sounds counter-intuitive given how politicized our process is for choosing our national leader. We all have our partisan leanings, but I think Americans can and will look beyond the party and focus on the man (or woman someday). Just because Im a Republican doesnt mean I cant admire and be proud of having a leader like Harry Truman.
Then take someone like our current President: George Bush. Even though he is a member of my party, I think its becoming increasingly clear that he is one of the worst 10 presidents of all time. I wont actually say Bush is the worst ever. Weve had some stinkers over the last few hundred years and some of those have at least been as bad as George Bush.
I remember how much I used to hate Clinton. I was so happy when he finally had to leave office. At the time I thought we were unlucky as a nation for having to put up with 8 years of Clintonian rule. But having endured 5 years of Bushs unimaginable incompetence I have come to the realization that Clinton was merely mediocre. I think after Reagan that my standards were very high and I came to resent Clinton for not being as good as one of the best presidents of all time. But nowadays I would easily take Clintons wishy-washy mediocrity over Bushs destructive incompetence. No contest.
It will be interesting to see exactly where Bush ends up landing on the worst presidents ever list. I expect well have to wait a few years after he leaves office to get a good read on this. However, at the rate Bush is going I think he has the potential to end up as one of the top 4 worst presidents ever. Some would argue top 2, but I think that kind of speculation is still premature.
