Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!ihlpf!zonker From: zonker@ihlpf.UUCP (Tom Harris) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.misc,net.rumor Subject: Re: The Presidents how I feel they rate in history Message-ID: <480@ihlpf.UUCP> Date: Wed, 21-May-86 13:06:07 EDT Article-I.D.: ihlpf.480 Posted: Wed May 21 13:06:07 1986 Date-Received: Sat, 24-May-86 21:06:30 EDT References: <133@petrus.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 71 Xref: watmath net.politics:16286 net.misc:9679 net.rumor:2472 The main problem I see with this article is that the poster didn't comment on his criteria for rating the presidents. My personal criteria for rating is based upon a mixture of how well did they fufilled the ideals upon which this country was based combined with a rating of their ability in the office. I have omitted presidents where I have no opinion. idealism performance George Washington 5 10 John Adams 3 9 Thomas Jefferson 10 9 James Monroe 10 8 Andrew Jackson 0 2 Abraham Lincoln 4 10 Jefferson Davis 10 4 Andrew Johnson 8 4 U.S. Grant 4 1 Theodore Roosevelt 8 10 Woodrow Wilson 7 4 F D Roosevelt 7 10+ Harry S Truman 6 8 D D Eisenhower 4 4 J F Kennedy 10 7 L B Johnson 5 8 Richard M Nixon 0 8 Gerald Ford 8 4 James E Carter 8 6 Ronald Regan 2 8 Some notes: Washington - was a politician and got where he did mainly via ambition and the ruthless use of others. Remember he controlled the writting of a constitution which would allow this country to be run as a facist state. He gets a 10 for performance for defining the duties of the office. Jefferson - as far as I am concerned defined the political ideals on which this country was based. The on going duel between him and Adams fore-shadows the underlying problems with our governement structure which eventually causes the ACW. Jackson - he had no ideals and performed on the premise that to the victor goes the spoils. Lincoln - performed well under the most harrowing circumstances, learned from his mistakes. Loses on idealism for changing why the ACW was fought from states rights to slavery and his opinions on what should be done with the freed slaves. Davis - Couldn't resist adding him. Fought the war based on his ideology of freedom. Loses on performance for allowing Lee to take command of the ANV instead of remaining Chief of Staff and for firing the first shot. T. Roosevelt - Do what you can with what you have where you are. The world will never love us, but we can make them respect us. Probably one of the most underrated presidents historically. He defines the ideal 20th century American in my opinion. (Note: many people have catagorized him as an imperialist, but no territory was annexed by the U.S. during his term. The Panama CZ, etc. are rented!) F. Roosevelt - Outperformed every other president. Extra points for maintaining a strong presence, but staying out of WWII until we were attacked. Kennedy - performace would be higher, but his death forstalled enactment during his term of most of the legislation he had been working for. Johnson - performance would be lower, but he benfited from Kennedy's programs. Regan - I strongly suspect that I have overrated Regan's Idealism because his ideals are a perversion of those which our country was based (he is trying to push us back to an earlier moral position, feeling that we were a strong nation because of our morals then, not in spite of them). Had he been the first president I am sure he would have found a way to squash the Bill of Rights. His idealism would be higher had he been president 100 years ago, but then most of the issues he is he is trying to push were de facto then. Never the less, he has performed strongly in the office and had a major effect on national pride.