Politics Top & Bottom 10 US Presidents: Expert Rankings Revealed

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Who was the greatest President in US History?

Who was the worst President in US History?

A panel of "experts" created a ranking of the US Presidents, as reported by AOL News yesterday. I don't know who these "experts" are, and that bothers me a little and it also, IMHO, taints the list because of that. They also don't give us the entire list - only the top 10 and bottom 10. I'd like to see the rest of the ratings.

I do not agree with their choices for top 10, I do most certainly the top 2 anyway, and I do not agree with their bottom 10 at all. Frankly, it makes me wonder what their critera were. How did Jimmy Carter not make the bottom 10 or John F. Kennedy not make the top 10? To me, those exclusions alone make the entire list suspect.

I also do not think it is proper to list President George W. Bush on this list at all, because we are not far enough away from his presidency to judge it objectively - emotions are still running too high to accurately judge everything that transpired in the last several years. It's like asking someone, "What do you think of your spouse?" as they're either leaving the wedding chapel or walking into divorce court - neither answer is objective nor accurate.

Still, it's an interesting list. See it here, Lincoln Judged Greatest US President.

 

[candiejayne]

It will not let me load the galleries to view the lists. I wish it would though, I would like to see the lists.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You have to turn off your pop-up blocker, or at least allow pop-ups temporarily. There's 24 more on that list that we can't see at all - and that bothers me, too.ETA: I also put the "Politics" tag on the thread title because we don't have one that says, "History." Since presidents are elected, and subject to partisan debate even decades after they've served and/or assumed room temperature, the "Politics" tag seemed appropriate - although I fear people who would be interested in this topic won't open the thread because of the tag. Oh, well, their loss, I suppose.

 

[chefsteph07]

How is Garfield one of the worst? Because he was assasinated? That makes NO sense. And Harrison, who died after being in office for 32 days due to being sick...I don't know if he is one of the WORST, maybe one of the dumbest, for not wearing a coat...I agree also that Bush should NOT be included. YET.
I"m amazed that Lincoln was #1...for a Republican...wow, impressive.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm not sure how FDR made the top 10 either, except in terms of populist backing, I suppose. The more I read about his presidency and his goofy policies, the less I like him. I think I like Eleanor better than Franklin, and I don't really care for her very much, either.To rank a president in the bottom ten because of a short term, like Garfield or Harrison, is just irresponsible. Harding? Yes. His administration makes Rob Blagojavich look like a choir boy. I also don't like Hoover being saddled with the market crash and depression. He was just the unfortunate slob who happened to be crossing the tracks when the midnight express hit him. The seeds of the crash and the depression were planted a full decade before he took office.

 

[AnnieBee]

Interesting.

BTW, there is a link to the full list, just above the picture of Lincoln.

 

[chefann]

This list reminds me of the "Mediocre Presidents" song from The Simpsons.
All:
We are the mediocre presidents.
You won't find our faces on dollars or on cents!
There's Taylor, there's Tyler,
There's Fillmore and there's Hayes.
There's William Henry Harrison,

Harrison:
I died in thirty days!

All:
We... are... the...
Adequate, forgettable,
Occasionally regrettable
Caretaker presidents of the U-S-A!

 

[raebates]

Interesting. Very interesting. I agree that not knowing who made up the list makes it suspect. Still, it would be a good conversation starter.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Well, it's got six people talking so far.

 

[candiejayne]

Thanks Annie, I was able to view it by clicking there. I think the list was pretty good. I think the ones who died in term that were listed on the bottom was because they didn't do anything worth making the top in their short terms. I also would like to know who ranks in the middle though.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Isn't it a little early to be placing the 43rd president on any list - top 10 or bottom 10? Only time will tell how history views him.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

I clicked on a couple of different links & found this list of their experts.Chris Ayres, Los Angeles correspondentGerard Baker, US EditorTom Baldwin, Washington Bureau chiefRichard Beeston, foreign editorCamilla Cavendish, columnistDaniel Finkelstein, chief leader writerBen Macintyre, writer at largeBronwen Maddox, chief foreign commentator

 

[legacypc46]

Journalists as historians?! Scary....on all kinds of levels.

(Another reason I'm rereading my battered copy of Atlas Shrugged)

 

[raebates]

You said it!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Journalists as historians?! Scary....on all kinds of levels.

(Another reason I'm rereading my battered copy of Atlas Shrugged)

Whenever a politician begins to talk in superlatives, especially the president, you know you're in trouble. This is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Hardly. In fact, not even close to it. The discussion is enough to drive Hank Rearden and John Galt into hiding.

If a list of presidential rankings was done by historians, I fear most of the historians in academia would create a list that would not be much different except there would be fewer Republicans near the top.

How about a list created by a committee of political pundits, half left and half right? We'd never see a finished list but I bet the discussions would be lively. The arguments over FDR alone would take days.

 

[chefsteph07]

I'm surprised Obama isn't in the Top Ten of Greats, just by expectation alone! LOL

 

[legacypc46]

The discussion is enough to drive Hank Rearden and John Galt into hiding.

This what I am afraid of...as in makes-my-blood-chill-and heart-pause kind of frightened.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I'm surprised Obama isn't in the Top Ten of Greats, just by expectation alone! LOL

One bonehead in congress is already talking about repealing the 22nd Amendment.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

This what I am afraid of...as in makes-my-blood-chill-and heart-pause kind of frightened.

I'm more concerned about doctors and drug researchers retiring, which is very likely with the signing of the Porkulus Bill.

 

[legacypc46]

One bonehead in congress is already talking about repealing the 22nd Amendment.

They can replace it with the Chavez Ammendment.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist wingnut, there are a lot of parallels between what Chavez did to take control of Venezuela and what Congress and The Anointed One are doing in Washington right now. They've now got their fingers in private industry ("We'll give you bail-out help but you'll do things our way") and in health care (your doctor will now be required to report to the government what your treatment and scripts are.) The next move will be to shut off the opposition media, in the form of the Fairness Doctrine, to eliminate any voice of opposition.Did you hear that there is already another $1 billion stimulus bill in the works?

 

[chefsteph07]

Yeah, now the banks are realizing what that "bailout" actually entailed!
Dontcha love it?