Ten "Best" and "Worst" Presidents

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[Eleutheria5]

(Feb. 14) - It's no surprise to see Abraham Lincoln, the man who held the nation together when it was on the brink of collapse, atop the list of greatest American presidents. But many other presidents are judged far differently by experts than by the general public. Bill Clinton left office with a high approval rating, but a panel of writers who focus on US politics and foreign affairs at the Times, a British publication, considered him mediocre. The president who passed progressive legislation but who saddled himself with the Monica Lewinsky scandal landed at number 23. As panelist Ben Macintyre put it, Clinton "promised so much, delivered so little and embarrassed everyone." The panel of 8 judges ranked some modern day presidents like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush at far ends of the spectrum. And others were close: John F. Kennedy missed the top 10 by one spot and Jimmy Carter barely managed to escape the bottom 10. Click through the galleries below to see how these experts ranked American leaders and the reasons why. Further down the page you can tell us if you agree and test your knowledge with our presidential quiz. The full list is here.

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[ponygirl]

4. William Henry Harrison

Wasn't Harrison only in office 30 days? And for those 30 days, wasn't he in bed with pneumonia because he gave a 2 hour inaugural speech in the freezing rain and then finally croaked? I mean... not particularly brilliant, but how can they even gauge that he is the 4th worst president? He didn't do anything! Jeez, going by those standards, O-Drama should also be in the Top 5 all time worst.

But give him time. I'm sure he'll move to the number 1 spot before 6 months are up.

[Mr_Moonlight]

That woiyks too :)

[Eleutheria5]

“Jeez, going by those standards, O-Drama should also be in the Top 5 all time worst.

But give him time. I’m sure he’ll move to the number 1 spot before 6 months are up.”

Those world-class diamond thieves who reform for love do tend to make poor presidents. What did they finally do to the Hope Diamond, anyway?

[Aroostook25]

Half of their Top Ten should be in the Bottom Ten.

[KarlInOhio]

US intervention might have even lengthened the war on the Western Front. France was on the verge of collapse with army units mutinying in 1917. If the US hadn't sent in troops France likely would have lost the war and had to pay reparations and give up some more territory to Germany in addition to Alsace and Lorraine which they had lost in the Franco-Prussian war.

[Righting]

Jimmy Carter barely managed to escape the bottom

He is my "favorite" WORST prez.

[Mr_Moonlight]

I know its been repeated time and time again ad-infinitum, but the only reason why Jimmah Carter ever even got near the White House is because of the Watergate scandal, a third rate political scandal which was discovered and exploited by a third rate media monopoly. Meanwhile, more second and first rate political scandals have flourished since then, but the third rate media monopoly turns a blind eye to them as they have become complicit and favorable to their party of favor - Democrats.

[cynwoody]

Those lists are BS.

Consider the Top 10. FDR is our most overrated president. He was flailing about trying to fix the Depression but managed only to extend it and make it worse. It took Hitler and Tojo to rescue his reputation.

Then there's Woody Wilson, the Professor, allegedly our highest IQ president. What did he do? He gave us the income tax and screwed up the aftermath of WW I, leading to Hitler. I agree, he belongs in the ten worst.

Now consider the Bottom 10. Both Johnsons are missing, not to mention the peanut farmin' nuclear physicist with big teeth! Be serious!

Milhous probably belongs on that list, but I predict GWB is going to end up ranking about where HST is.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

I’d say W.H. Harrison and Garfield do not deserve to be ranked among the worst, because neither of them served long enough to do any damage.

[americanophile]

These ‘expert’ lists. Silly. Any list that doesn’t put Washington in the No. 1 spot is unrealistic in my opinion, but it’s downhill from there FDR at #3? Woodrow Wilson in the top 10???????

[exhaustedmomma]

Worst Pres = Harrison (too stupid to come in out of the rain)Then...Sam Grant and Andrew Jackson (who I personally think BO is immulating) ... followed by Jimmy Carter & LBJ. FDR --- typical rat; last term spells out exactly who, what and why he was a bottom-feeding looser.

No way George Washington wasn't #1. There wouldn't have been anymore if he hadn't held it together.

[DuncanWaring]

What did they finally do to the Hope Diamond, anyway?

The last time I saw it it was in the Smithsonian.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I don’t buy that. Reagan has enough popularity to be a token
on the list.

[dalereed]

In my list, FDR was by far the worst President.

[americanophile]

It's absurd to judge George W. Bush this soon. He's been out of office for less than 30 days. Any historian worth his salt would know not to attempt to judge a contemporary.

[Xeroes80]

Agreed. It’s quite frustrating to read all the lib infected internet sites such as aol, yahoo, etc. Although I will say one thing- Carter is 1st worst as of now. I have the utmost confidence that the BIG O will claim the prize from Jimbo very soon. AOL news = MORON DRONES

[Eleutheria5]

It’s not about popularity. Reagan’s achievement was undeniable. So will Dubya’s be in Iraq, unless Obama manages to deliberately sabotage it; send Joe foot-in-mouth Biden over there, or something.

[Eleutheria5]

No doubt, a clever forgery. Don’t you watch South Park?

[exhaustedmomma]

[napscoordinator]

That is true. I think that Bush will raise in the rankings some. Clinton will continue to slide down the list...he won’t get as low as Carter (nor should he) but he will fall. I am surprised at how quick Clinton has become “out of flavor” with the American people.