[BillyBoy]

>> Top five single-termers:
Polk no. 1 (engineered the contiguous continental USA, damn!)
Bush no. 2 (gotta give credit for management of the Soviet collapse; hard to stomach domestic policy)
Taft no. 3 (created the modern Republican party, saving it from becoming the progressives; also launched modern auto industry and saved the Rule of Law)
J Adams no. 4 (hard to excuse him but he did follow Washington and ceded power to Jefferson, so there)
Arthur no. 5 (he just managed things well!)

Bottom dwellers, from worst to less bad — list is a work in progress:
- Buchanan
- A. Johnson
- Jimbo
- Hoover

Jeez, this is hard to do! Easier is to name the six worst presidents in general:
Barack
FDR
Wilson
Carter
Buchanan
Clintoon

I agree strongly with nicollo's take (Polk-1st, Bush-2nd, Taft-3rd in best one-termers). I also wouldn't put Harding in the top-anything. Had he lived, I think the Teapot Dome scandal would have severely damaged Republicans in the 20s and might have ended up as the early 20th century version of Watergate (Harding could have possibly been re-elected ala Nixon '72, but THEN all hell would break loose). Thankfully, Coolidge was able to clean house and he was totally divorced from those events, so the GOP remained strong throughout the roaring 20s.

[nicollo]

Thanks for reply. I forgot about Harding.

Whatever the damage of the TeaPot Dome scandal, Harding’s tax reform saved the nation from Wilson’s socialism and progressive takeover of the economy.

Without Harding’s tax and regulatory reform Coolidge had nothing. I’d put Harding just below Taft, as Taft save the Republican party that elected Harding and Coolidge. (Too bad about Hoover...)