Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!decvax!bellcore!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!umcp-cs!cvl!umd5!dzoey From: dzoey@umd5.UUCP (Joe Herman) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.misc,net.rumor Subject: Re: The Presidents how I feel they rate in history Message-ID: <980@umd5.UUCP> Date: Wed, 21-May-86 23:06:02 EDT Article-I.D.: umd5.980 Posted: Wed May 21 23:06:02 1986 Date-Received: Fri, 23-May-86 02:46:37 EDT References: <133@petrus.UUCP> <513@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU> Reply-To: dzoey@umd5.UUCP (Joe Herman) Distribution: na Organization: U of Md, CSC, College Park, Md Lines: 160 Xref: mit-eddie net.politics:16837 net.misc:7426 net.rumor:2494 [ Red White and Blue ] Well, finals are over (almost) so I figure I'll post my opinions. I didn't include any president who's administration I couldn't remember anything about. As usual, all of this is my own opinion and doesn't represent the University, IBM, or anyone else. George Washington 8 Was able to hold this country together during very tough times. Thomas Jefferson 9 The man was incredible. He not only helped the country grow, but was also able to get along with congress. How many presidents can claim that? James Monroe 7 Was able to talk the U.S. into a respectable foreign policy. Would have been higher he was sort of bland on the home front. Andrew Jackson 5 Too much disregard for the constitution. The only good thing was he shook up the Federal establisment enough to start some reforms. Probably the worst president the Indians ever dealt with. Abraham Lincoln 9 I can't really give him a 10. His choice in generals to lead the civil war was abysmal. Caused the dang thing to last an extra year. U.S. Grant 1 Generals make lousy politicians. Was elected because of his war record, not beliefs. James A Garfield 6 I don't know nationally, but because of his support, Washington D.C. was transformed from a smelly southern town into a southern town with an underground sewer system and predecessors to "national parks." Grover Cleavland 8 Was a big help in building an industrial America. Theodore Roosevelt 8 Bully for him. Incredible politician. Woodrow Wilson 7 Would have been higher except that he was an idealist. Presidents can't afford to be idealists. Leave that to universities :-) Herbert Hoover 6 He knew trouble was coming but was not able enough to do anything about it. Unfortunately neither was the legislative branch at that time. F D Roosevelt 10 The man could do anything. Even with his handicap he was popular with the people. His policies were some of the wisest this country has ever known. And he accomplished all this with a hostile congress. Harry S Truman 9 It took guts to follow an act like Roosevelt's. Harry accomplished many things during his administration (such as integrating the army) and set foreign policy guidelines that are followed even today. (the containment policy). The country was lucky to have two very able presidents in a row. D D Eisenhower 5 Ike didn't do much. He gets a 5 because He kept the economy from dying completely in the 50's. J F Kennedy 9 I know I said presidents can't afford to be idealists, but JFK was able to implement his ideas and they actually worked. The peace corps was probably the best thing that the U.S. has every given the third world. I think he was the fastest learner of all the presidents. He really learned from his mistakes. L B Johnson 4 LBJ was a product of his generation. He was part of the Good-ole-boy network and really didn't understand what the 'crazed youth' was trying to tell him. He also picked incredibly bad advisors. Richard M Nixon 4 Nixon discraced the office he served. Because of him, the U.S. suffered what became known as a 'crisis of confidence'. He destroyed many peoples belief in the government. He had an o.k. foreign policy, but probably had the worst domestic policy of any president to date. Gerald Ford 5 Was uncontroversial and source of some of the best material done by Chevy Chase. James E Carter 7 Would have been a wonderful president if he hadn't succeeded in alienating the whole of the Washington power structure. He also was not a leader. Probably the hardest worker since Roosevelt, and the most honest politician ever, he found that he had no political pull when he needed to get things done. This caused him to seem ineffectual. In reality he's had some of the best economic ideas since the 50's. That and a lot of bad luck. Ronald Regan 6 The antithesis of Jimmy Carter, Reagan probably works the least of any president this century. He is weak intellectually and doesn't fully understand the office he occupies. However, he is probably the best politician since Roosevelt. He knows his limitations and listens to his advisors. He also has a good relationship with the senate and is good at seeing things through. So far he rates a 7. He loses one more point for his polarizing the U.S. into the 'HAVES' and 'HAVE NOTS' and his disregard for environmental issues. Personally, I don't see any future candidate with as much charisma as Reagan. Also, I'm pretty sure that his charm and thus the mass support of the republican party will disappear when he leaves office. '88 should be an interesting election. -- Joe DZOEY@UMD5.UMD.EDU seismo!umd5.umd.edu!dzoey HERMAN@UMDD.BITNET -- "Everything is wonderful until you know something about it."