Can You Name the Greatest President of the Past 100 Years? (Cato Inst. says it's Calvin Coolidge)

cato Institute ^ | 10/19/2010 | Daniel Mitchell

[Lurker]

Hands down it’s Silent Cal. Even Reagan thought so.

[wtc911]

Opening China was courageous and right. China ran the risk of becoming North Korea on steroids if they had stayed isolated from western capital and markets.

Nixon inherited a lost war against which the American people had already turned. The Paris Peace Accords got us out with at least the semblance of dignity. It was two years after our last troops left that RVN fell, and it was because of a chicken-shit US Congress, not Nixon.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

...which is a whole lot more than you ever say for Carter or Wilson.

[Pontiac]

I ranked Nixon so low because he led to Carter and because he resigned in disgrace (damned quitter), in addition to screwing up things in his own right.

While I agree that you can blame Nixon for the election of Carter in that Nixon’s scandal and Ford’s pardon of Nixon so spoiled the people’s taste for Washington insiders that only an outsider could win I do not think in rating a president you can place the blame of Carter’s actions on Nixon. Carter’s presidency is entirely to his own credit for good or ill.

So I personally would place Nixon somewhere above Carter.

[WebFocus]

RE: Hands down it’s Silent Cal. Even Reagan thought so.

---

Anecdote from this site :

http://biggovernment.com/tag/calvin-coolidge/

Ronald Reagan admired Coolidge a lot. In fact, when Reagan was looking over his new house—the White House—shortly after his inaugural in 1981, he entered into the Cabinet Room.

On the wall were portraits of Truman, Jefferson, and Lincoln. The White House curator commented at the time, “If you don’t like Mr. Truman, you can move Mr. Truman out.” Even though Reagan, a former Democrat, had voted for Truman back in 1948, he made his decision: Truman’s portrait was removed and one of Calvin Coolidge was dusted off and put in its place.

[November 2010]

If you think about the 60’s and 70’s . . . Ford was a brief breath of fresh air. Horrible era. Assassinations, impeachments, hijackings, terrorism, Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia expanding, Carter.

That's one reason why we all love Reagan so much. He survived the assassination, joked with the doctors, cut taxes, won the cold war, and made us feel like Americans again in a stable and prosperous country. If he had been assassinated it would have just been a continuation of the nightmare.

Then post Reagan we got . . . Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Obama. : (

[WebFocus]

RE: Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Obama. : (

---

Actually Bush Sr., Clinton, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama. : (

[Fiji Hill]

How would Freepers rate Eisenhower?

From a conservative point of view, Eisenhower is hard to rate.

On the one hand, he oversaw the modernization of our defense establishment, giving us superiority over the Soviets or anyone else who might threaten us. In pursuing foreign policy, Eisenhower reserved the right to respond to threats at our own choosing, while eschewing meddling in foreign conflicts. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles articulated this theme in his "Massive Retaliation" speech of January 12, 1954. As a result, we had eight years of peace. Eisenhower also pursued a sound immigration policy, and illegal immigration was not much of an issue.

On the other hand, Eisenhower embraced and expanded the New Deal. By 1957, Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) was openly criticizing the administration. Eisenhower was also cool to the Republicans' conservative faction. His chief of staff Sherman Adams tried to see to it that no conservatives found their way into his administration.

The Eisenhower years were the salad days of the "Modern Republicans," which are today known as "Rinos." However, the Republican Party as a whole did not do too well with Eisenhower at the helm. It steadily lost seats in Congress during the 1950's and was blown out in the 1958 elections.

So for conservatives, the Eisenhower legacy was decidedly mixed.

[Fiji Hill]

I can’t think of anything that Nixon did right...

He nailed Alger Hiss and sent Helen Gahagan Douglas into retirement.

[SunkenCiv]

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[November 2010]

Yah, you get my point! 22 years of RINOs and Democrats. Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush, Obama. There’s a lot of ruin in a nation. We are testing the limits after that lineup.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Since Teddy R.’s term ended more than 100 years ago, you’re saying FDR was a good president. Are you KIDDING me?!? Must’ve forgotten the /s/"

I dislike FDR's social policies as much as anyone, but one has to give him credit for winning WWII, which is why I specifically said he won over "belligerent socialism". I suspect you would like living under Hitler's successor even less than living under Obama. I know "I" would.

[jwalsh07]

Ronald Reagan who broke the Soviet Union without a bomb being dropped. That should be evident to anybody who grew up ducking under their desk in grade school once a week.

Fiscally both were pretty good though Reagan had to deal with a back stabbing lefty Congress.

Reagan also gets the nod for using the bully pulpit to teach American exceptional ism.

[jwalsh07]

Both dealt equally well with public safety unions striking.