Who has been the WORST President of YOUR lifetime? And Why?

[IdaBriggs]

DU Poll options are limited to 10, so if your pick served more than 50 years ago, you will have to fill in details yourself. (Wikipedia has a list of Presidents and their terms here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Presidents)

Vote, and share your thoughts as to why you picked who you did. Seriously, who is THE WORST, and how has that influenced who you are today?

96 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Barack Obama (Jan 2009 - Current) "D"
	0 (0%)
	George W. Bush (Jan 2001 - Jan 2009) "R"
	64 (67%)
	Bill Clinton (Jan 1993 - Jan 2001) "D"
	1 (1%)
	George H. W. Bush (Jan 1989 - Jan 1993) "R"
	1 (1%)
	Ronald Reagan (Jan 1981 - Jan 1989) "R"
	23 (24%)
	Jimmy Carter (Jan 1977 - Jan 1981) "D"
	0 (0%)
	Gerald Ford (Aug 1974 - Jan 1977) "R"
	0 (0%)
	Richard Nixon (Jan 1969 - Aug 1974) "R"
	7 (7%)
	Lyndon B. Johnson (Nov 1963 - Jan 1969) "D"
	0 (0%)
	Other - Poll Limites to 10.
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[immoderate]

1. W was really bad, but I give Reagan the most credit for reversing the New Deal.

Reagan systematically reversed the reforms that brought prosperity to this country.

--imm

[TheNutcracker]

32. Bush with the Patriot Act, changed our country forever! The wars broke our bank and way of life.

[immoderate]

39. But Reagan moved tax burdens from the rich to the middle class.

He did more than anybody to install the permanent ruling class.

--imm

[toddwv]

56. Reagan upped the "War on Drugs," the biggest abrogation of Constitutional rights

up until the Patriot Act...

Reagan's legacy lives on today in "Trickle Down" economics which has simply decimated the middle class and instilled the idea that government is the enemy at all levels.

[Reter]

70. The Patriot Act is awful, but Shrub isn't the only one to blame for that

Didn't it originally pass almost 100%?

[awoke_in_2003]

54. It all started with Reagan...

which is why he got my vote. My second would be Nixon, as opening trade relations with China eventually decimated our manufacturing industry.

[earthside]

2. Nixon probably the worst president ever.

Nixon promoted bad policies and he was a crook ... a much worse human being than G. W. Bush.
Cheney on the other hand has the Nixon type persona.

But, I'm in my late 50s and I also have to say that Bush-Cheney come in a close second to Nixon-Agnew.

Watergate and the reform movement that were a consequences of that scandal (plus the anti-war effort, of course) are what made me a dyed-in-the-wool progressive.

[starroute]

41. Nixon was the most despicable, but he did some good things

Environmental Protection Agency, Endangered Species Act, opening relations with China ...

Reagan didn't do one positive thing that I can remember and he did a lot more long-term damage.

[unblock]

78. nixon was no doubt the most dispicable human being to occupy that office, but

that doesn't make him the worst president.

shrub was too pathetically stupid and vacuous to rise to nixon's personal level of heinousness, but he gave the keys of the castle to cheney, who made nixon look positively saintly by comparison. shrub looted the treasury, turning record surplus into record deficits; he pissed away that wealth grotesquely disproportionately to the super-rich; he caused the worst economic collapse since the roaring 20s he tried to model his presidency after; the dow was lower EIGHT YEARS after he took office, something NO OTHER PRESIDENT HAS EVER MANAGED; he lied to the world to get us into a stupid, costly, and entirely pointless war, causing lasting problems in many areas.

reagan is the only president who could give shrub a run for his money in the worst president ever contest, largely beause it can be argued that without reagan there could be no shrub.

nixon? sorry, he's bush league compared to, er, shrub....

[nilesobek]

115. I'm old enough to remember

The "madman bomber," persona, or alter ego that Nixon displayed. Nixon called for increased diplomacy at the Paris talks while secretly planning his drunken orgy of the Christmas Day stone age bombing campaign.

[exboyfil]

3. GWB - You can't beat a twofer

Disaster with both domestic and international policy. Add to that largest loss of life in the U.S. since the Civil War. Biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression. Largest percentage increase in deficit since World War II. Starts a war with less provocation than the Spanish American War and promptly loses it nearly to the level of Vietnam.

I was a Reagan Republican in my youth. A big part of why I am not now is GWB.

[Scuba]

9. Nice summary.

[CrispyQ]

18. And questionably 'elected' two times.

The damage in those eight years, I don't know if we'll recover.

[Bjorn Against]

4. Al Gore

The guy had some good ideas, but he was the first President of my lifetime that was not able to get anything accomplished.

[randys1]

6. Good one, wasnt allowed the chance, was he.

[CrispyQ]

20. A very sad DUzy.

[JustAnotherGen]

22. You - funny!

[IronLionZion]

48. Democratically Elected President who doesn't even bother to show up to work

worst president ever!

[randys1]

5. It is absolutely a tie between Raygun and W

Ineptness, corruption, stealing, lying, torturing, etc.

[wryter2000]

25. I'm with you

I voted for W, but I probably would have given Raygun a vote if possible. Aside from all the gawd-awful things he did, he also made the sort of "conservatism" we have now possible by putting a happy face on it. He started the wholehearted disregard for facts, the bald-faced lying, and the utter lack of concern for the well-being of our fellow human beings.

Without Raygun, Bush and his ilk would have been impossible.

[get the red out]

7. War war war George W Bush

He lied to the American people to get us into a war with Iraq. He got us into a never-ending war with Afghanistan. He is responsible for the countless dead and horribly wounded in all nations involved.

[LibGranny]

11. +1

[Faux pas]

8. raygun

clueless lout. Trickle down, iran-contra and more. When he was gov of Cali, he closed down mental hospitals and added more to the homeless population. He f-ed with unions and state colleges. The generation before mine made him Pres, they weren't paying attention.

[riqster]

10. I picked Tricky, because Bush the Dumber was not a legit President.

In fact, I have never once called him by that title.

[JustAnotherGen]

14. That's a really good point

He wasn't really the President - was he?

[riqster]

19. Nope. Gore was, then Kerry.

[cascadiance]

69. Nope... Al Gore was supposed to be it, and Cheney in fact was the REAL president then...

... in terms of running the mess behind the scenes that Bush was a face for. Bush was the avenue for the Cheney hawks to get their damaging agenda to happen.

[Jamaal510]

12. I would've chosen Reagan in this poll,

except I wasn't born yet when he was Pres. He arguably did the most out of any of our most recent presidents to undo the New Deal by popularizing trickle-down, he drastically lowered top taxes from Carter while raising taxes on the poor, he escalated the Cold War, and he exploited white conservatives' resentment of blacks (Welfare Queens) in order to further his agenda.
However, I have to admit--Bush ll is easily a close second. I'll never forget how frightened I was on the morning of 9/11, as my Dad was driving me to school and we heard about the WTC attacks on the radio. I genuinely wanted him to succeed, but he did a horrible job as president keeping the country safe, and as we all know--his policies cost us jobs.
Bush ll and the GOP in general ironically are the main reason why I became interested in politics in the first place, and why I'll stay involved until the day I die.

[Gothmog]

98. I live through both Reagan's terms and he was bad

I had no trouble picking reagan

[JustAnotherGen]

13. Reagan

Because my dad would scream at the t.v. a lot more when Reagan was on. And well - he'd say things like - Stop acting like a Republican (stupid) when I was a kid. And he would threaten to drop me off at the White House (Reagan Era) when I was being a brat.


Yeah - I kind of grew up like that!

[n2doc]

15. W.

Reagan set things in motion, but W really did a number on the US, morally, financially, in every way possible. We are still suffering through the aftereffects, and I do wonder if we will ever fully recover.

[LuvNewcastle]

16. Reagan

There was virtually no one in office for 8 years. The wealthy have been control of America for a long time, but there's usually been that moderating influence in the Oval Office. It was a crucial time in our history and we had no one. One or two more terms like that, and I don't think the country could handle it. I really don't.

[2pooped2pop]

17. really? U need a poll for this?

[Lochloosa]

21. It was a toss up between RR and the shrub. I had to go with RR....

All this shit started with him, the shrub just brought back the same players in the background to finish it.

[GoneFishin]

37. Same here. But I tossed a coin, and it landed on Dim-Sun.

[Arkana]

23. I was born during Reagan, so since I don't remember his Presidency,

I can't count it, as horrible as he was.

Dubya puts him to shame anyway.

[Faryn Balyncd]

24. Hard to say. Reagan made W. possible.

[Auggie]

26. Reagan set the wheels in motion that helped destroy the middle class

[JoePhilly]

27. W's war, economy, and his Supreme Court picks will give his

idiocy a long lasting impact that will rival Reagan's.

[liberal N proud]

28. Nearly every problem we have today can be traced back to Reagan era decision

Even Dubya thanks to the Reagan's SCOTUS appointments.

[PeteSelman]

29. Reagan by a mile.

The father of new American Fascism, the destroyer of the middle class, corrupt as the day is long and dumber than a rock.

[Hepburn]

83. I totally have to go with dumber than a rock.

I met Raygun in person when he was running for governor...man, what a total idiot. I cannot recall what organization was hosting an campaign function for him, but I got in the door and made myself at home...just like I was a fan...gag.

I was in HS...and he could not answer even one of my questions. I looked like a little conservative sweetheart...they shudda NEVAH let me near a mic! LMAO!!!! I looked Repuke...but under that pageboy and shirtwaist dress beat the heart of a rebel!

[Chan790]

61. This.

It's almost word-for-word the description I use to explain why I hate the Clintons.

[Reter]

74. Yet a jury voted to hide it

He wasn't being disrespectful at all. The OP asked a question, and he answered it in detail, in the least possible offensive way. Although I disagree with a lot of what he said, it's disgusting that he was censored for his honest opinion.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

108. I disagree, but I agree

I don't think Clinton was nearly as bad as Bush (but I understand the poster's logic), but I REALLY don't understand why this post is hidden.

Not cool. Not cool at all.

[joshcryer]

86. It's not really true, though:

[dtotire]

31. G. W. Bush

Launching an unnecessary war. He will be rated one of the ten worst of all time.

[catbyte]

33. Reagan. I see everything awful that's happened economically & politically started with that

happy horror. Income inequality, union-busting, sucking up to the Christofascists. It all started there.

[Endgames]

34. W.

Two criminal wars, lots of war crimes, fucked-up economy, 9/11, Patriot Act, need I say more?

[benld74]

35. Reagan, since he started the slide downhill

[jwirr]

36. The wars started with no just cause.

[sheshe2]

38. I gotta go with GWB...

For the wars, for the lies, for nearly bring this country to her knees economically.

He also affected me personally. A week before Christmas the small company I worked for announced that it was closing. That was in 2007. I had been with them for 11 years and making good money. I was scared to death to look for a job at 54. I was one of the lucky ones, I was only unemployed for 5 months.

However the only job I could find paid half of what I was making before. I had to sell my house as a result. It's hard making it on your own.

I know so many others had it worse than I do. So to all

[Beer Snob-50]

40. gwb is the worse...

1. took clinton's surplus and made it into the biggest deifict in history

2. started two wars based on lies.

[TBF]

42. I remember as far back as

Jimmy Carter and the gas lines. Reagan really ended the middle class experiment when he cut the capital gains tax, but I picked GWB because he was able to get the Patriot Act passed and it has issued in fascism for all practical purposes.

[Louisiana1976]

43. I remember GWB as being the worst.

He let New Orleans drown in the Federal Flood, not to mention the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[MillennialDem]

44. I can really only say Bush 43 because I was only old enough to even have

rudimentary understanding of politics during Obama, Bush 43, and Clinton. And maybe towards the end of Bush 41's term.

Bush 43 was terrible though. I was alive during Reagan and from everything I read he was terrible too, but I was in elementary school at the time.

[kairos12]

45. Ray-Gun because he shifted the entire political discourse to the right

and Dems have been playing catch up ever since.

[Kath1]

46. George W. Bush

Lying the country into war and ruining the economy.

[jeff47]

47. Reagan

On the economic front, he put supply-side bullshit into the mainstream, and massive deficit spending that is used as the cugel to cut spending we desperately need to be doing.

On the political front, he yanked the country's "steering wheel" to the right. Everything after was just continuing down that road. And massively popularized the "government can't do anything" bullshit.

On the foreign policy front, his massive military spending followed by "tough guys spend money on the military" resulted in such a large military complex that its use is irresistible.

In other words, W was awful, but he just carried out what Reagan started.

[Blue Idaho]

49. RayGun's puppet presidency was a disaster for the US

Add to that bloody Margaret Thatcher in the UK and you've got the beginning of the 1% and the end of the middle class.

Damn them both.

[LeftishBrit]

117. +1000!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

50. George W. Bush hands down

I do not feel the need to further justify my choice

[madamesilverspurs]

51. Reagan.

In addition to his horridness, he made possible both Bush presidents. Some things just cannot be forgiven.

[RKP5637]

52. I voted for Bush, but for me it was really a toss up between Bush and Reagan. Bush

brought in these ridiculous wars and the collapse of the economy, and Reagan sowed the seeds for disaster capitalism. They were both really bad, like really really bad for the country and its future.

[Warpy]

53. Reagan did the worst damage to the economy and to the labor that creates it.

However, Stupid was the perfect storm of economic, diplomatic and fiscal incompetence. He did massive damage to the country as a whole by continuing Reagan's policies at home and wrecking our reputation internationally.

I'd have to give the shit trophy to Stupid.

[NastyRiffraff]

55. Hard to choose

Among W, Reagan and Nixon, but I picked W. He trashed the economy and was responsible for the deaths of thousands. He humiliated us on the world stage and was an embarrassment. I used to shudder every time he talked to a world leader.

[Skittles]

57. hands down, George W. Bush

Reagan was a piece of shit but at least he did not embarrass America every time he spoke, and he WAS legitimately elected (because of his ability to fool SO many people)

[geek tragedy]

58. Reagan, Reagan, Reagan. nt

[demosincebirth]

59. GWB, by far...responsible for 4200 American death in Iraq and thousand of innocent Iraqi lives.

[tabbycat31]

60. Either Reagan or Bush Jr

Granted during the Reagan administration, I had no idea what was going on (baby-8)

[blkmusclmachine]

62. Nothing can match the royal clusterf/ck that was GWB. And GWB is proud of that, I'm 100% sure.

9/11
Hurricane Katrina
The Financial Crisis
The 2000 Election
Pandering to the U.S. Talibangelicals
Willfully Attacking the U.S. Constitution (known in the Republican Party as "That Goddamn Piece of Paper&quot

[DFW]

63. Dick Cheney

dba/ George W. Bush

[66 dmhlt]

64. NIXON - Hands down the WORST (No one else comes close)

[fifthoffive]

65. Ronald Reagan

Destroyer of the middle-class.

[greatlaurel]

66. Ronald Reagan, by far.

His senility was happily hidden by the newly compliant news media. That administration really started the down hill slide for the USA. They started with PATCO, but the farmers of the Midwest were next in line. The number of small farms driven out of business was shocking and it was all done because of Reagan's farm policies. Driving through the middle of the US at the time was stomach turning, if you were paying attention.

[ancianita]

67. Reagan began the labor/institutional dismantling and corporate takeover that continues today.

I hated him and was glad when he got shot. Then the country went back to sleep.

[Bluenorthwest]

68. W is some stiff competition, but Reagan made him possible and I say Reagan for all the reason cited

by others and also for his inhuman silence in the face of the greatest health care crisis of our times, for the many who died all over the world because of the years lost to Reagan's apathy and heartlessness.

[november3rd]

71. Ray Gun

He handed the country to the Royalists after fifty years of popular self-government. W is just a footnote.

[SmittynMo]

72. GW gets my vote

Last edited Mon May 12, 2014, 08:59 AM - Edit history (1)

Thumbs down all the way. Didn't walk the walk, nor talk the talk. Tanked the economy. Went to war with inaccurate data. Major act of terrorism on his watch, which could have been prevented. The information was there!! Approved water boarding. The list goes on and on. He and his coworkers should be in prison, Cheney included.

[Joe Bacon]

73. Dumbya Bush gets my vote.

Worst. President. Ever.

Makes Buchanan look like Superman.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

75. George Bush was awful

[trublu992]

76. Bush! He took the remnants of Reagan and enacted them

Sending us to hell. We'll be suffering under this Supreme court for I know not.

[dionysus]

77. W. hands down. he took my vague disdain of repukes i had as a child and cemented it into my brain...

[Shrike47]

79. It's so hard to choose between Reagan and W.

Reagan set the country on such a negative path, W screwed us over. How do we choose?

Given total damage, I've got to go for Reagan.

[struggle4progress]

80. In the Vietnam war era, I thought it was Nixon. Then Reagan came along, and I thought

"Holy frookin moly! This dude is even worse than Nixon!" Then the Bush Lite era began: he was the worst of them all

[Hepburn]

81. Race between BoyBush and Ronnie RayGun for the worst

Ugh...........

One liberal lifetime and those two total assholes right in my face!

[davleuv]

82. For me

Dubya was the worst of my lifetime. Being born in '93, I've only lived through him, Clinton, and Obama and while Obama and Clinton had a number of faults of their own, they weren't nearly as bad as Dubya, heck I knew at the age of seven (that's how old I was during the 2000 election) that Dubya and Cheney were gonna be trouble. There was just something about them. Unfortunately, none of us knew just how bad they would be. God how I wish Gore won.

[RandySF]

84. I'm on my eighth president in this life...

and W did more damage in the shortest time ever.

[Avalux]

85. Complete and total incompetence.

I don't want to go on a tirade - but I react viscerally when I hear his name or see his face. Not only did I suffer through Shrub as prez, but as governor of Texas too. It was like watching a train that I knew was going to crash and take a lot of people out with it but could do nothing to stop it.

He fucked up this country bad.

[joshcryer]

87. Regan set the country back temporarily.

Bush set it back permanently. We will never recover from it as a culture.

[Dawson Leery]

104. Most of Reagans policies could be reversed. There is no way

to undo the damage Bush did. The prestige that America once held in the world cannot be recovered.

[SeattleVet]

88. Reagan and GWB were both miserable wastes of flesh, but I voted for RR.

I served in the Air Force under Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan. I was stationed in Germany when he was elected the first time and I damn near threw a combat boot through the TV when the returns started coming in. I saw which way the wind was blowing and left the service in 1984 after serving for 12 years. The doddering SOB had already invaded Grenada, and I knew that he would manage to find some other way for us to get shot at again for no good reason. I don't think I've ever uttered his last name without prefacing it 'that bastard'.

For all the griping by the wing nuts, I liked and trusted Carter the most out of the bunch. I think he was an honorable man that got slimed by the Reagan machine and forced out of office. The Iran/Contra 'Arms for Hostages' deal (and the backdoor deals leading up it) to release our people as soon as he was sworn in was one of the slimiest political moves I've ever seen, and I know a lot of other ex-military that have never forgiven him for that.

[shenmue]

89. Bush Jr

Although Reagan sucked too.

[davidpdx]

90. Monkey ass W Bush

Second would be a close one between Nixon and Reagan.

[knownow]

91. Reagan because of college loans

I saw my chances for a higher education slip away in 1981 and then I saw them vanish. A loan for college was not something I could afford, I couldn't afford to work and go to school. I had two jobs from time to time so I could pay rent and eat. Paying a loan didn't make any sense and I would not take one. Finally, I was forced to take a loan which ended in disaster, with homelessness and no help. There is no dignity in homelessness. Illness pushed me out of the job market completely in 2003. I really feel I could have had a more productive education if Reagan hadn't deregulated the banking industry.

[Jefferson23]

92. I don't see how you can separate Reagan and GW Bush...the decline of America began with

the Regan Revolution, and the Shrub practically finished us off.

50 Reasons You Despised George W. Bush's Presidency: A Reminder on the Day of His Presidential Library Dedication
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/50-reasons-you-despised-george-w-bushs-presidency-reminder-day-his-presidential

The GOP's 'trickle down' economy has destroyed the American middle class
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-gop-s-trickle-down-economy-has-destroyed-the-american-middle-class




Criminal/Knucklehead 1 ?itok=zka7qtGX

Criminal/Knucklehead 2

[TeamPooka]

93. Nixon was a crook but Reagan and his cronies gutted this country.

[Brigid]

94. I wavered between Raygun and Chimpo.

I finally chose Chimpo because while I didn't like Raygun, Chimpo always made me want to throw things at my TV.

[Sancho]

95. Nixon was the worst...

G.W. Bush was stupid, and Reagan was a joke...but Nixon was a professional crook.

[Art_from_Ark]

109. Reagan loaded his administration with professional crooks,

who went on to win the dubious distinction of receiving the most indictments and convictions of any administration, before or since.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_administration_scandals

[Aristus]

96. Ronald Reagan.

Because if Reagan had never attained the White House, George W. Bush today would be a drunken, possibly divorced, one-time failed congressional candidate and ne'er-do-well son of the CIA chief and nothing else, spending his empty days in dive bars drinking Coors Lights by the dozen, and muttering to himself.

Reagan set the stage for the exercise in stupidity, provincialism, reflexive militarism and mean-spirited blockheadedness that serves as the ideal of Republican presidential governance.

Reagan was the Ur-Dubyah. He grinningly proclaimed that government was the problem, and then spent the rest of his fuzzbrained, astrology-guided life proving it.

When Reagan finally rid the Earth of his Depends-wearing presence, no doubt to get away from that hatchet-faced, empty headed hag he inexplicably gave up Jane Wyman for, and slid down the greased-chute to the Hell he so richly deserved, he no doubt had Satan tsk-tsk-ing over the sudden precipitous drop in the quality of his new recruits.

Reagan was not simply the worst President in American history; he was, quite possibly, the worst human being ever, and is currently battling it out with Caligula, Gilles De Rais, and Joseph Stalin over who gets the trophy.

[Gothmog]

97. Bush 43 was bad but Reagan was worse

Reagan was a truly stupid person and did a great deal of damage to our country

[apnu]

99. St. Ronnie of Ray Gun

Because he's the shit bag that started all this Conservative bullshit we put up with today.

W was bad, really bad, but he never would have been (se)elected were it not for Reagan cronies and Bush family connections.

[MBS]

100. I agree with almost everyone's comments

As a friend once wrote, "Reagan and W are bookends of an era". Reagan (and the voters who voted for him, TWICE) started it all, but W (and the voters who voted for him TWICE, leaving aside for the moment the fact that both elections were stolen) was the horrible, damaging (not to mention globally embarrassing) consequence of decades of Reaganism's stupidity, shortsightedness, proud ignorance and greed.
Nixon (who was my dad's Enemy #1) is equally horrible, the only difference being that there were more people opposing him when he was president, and a Democratic congress to fight back, when he was president. Nixon did a lot of damage, but not everyone had drunk the Kool Aid at that point. It's a mark of the horrors of the Reagan and W presidencies (and, again, the voters and the Supreme Court, that made their presidencies possible) that we have had to endure presidents even worse than Nixon.

[rurallib]

101. A great summary - I voted for W but agree with your synopsis

I made T-sirt in 2004 that said "George W. Bush - Worst President Ever"
Only two people challenged me - one was an asshole Republican and the other asked if I thought him worse than Buchanan?

In history I would rank W the worst, then Reagan, Buchanan, Hoover, Polk.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

102. Tricky Dick

You never forget your first Republican.
So many things: no-knock (ability for police to barrel in with no warning; this was how Fred Hampton was murdered by the Chicago police), the carpet bombing of Cambodia, the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos in the first place, the appointment of Rehnquist, which set the template for all of the awful judges that have come after (especially Scalia, who redefines evil in America, to me), the overthrow of Allende, I could go on for days and days.
For an idea of what it was like to live under Nixon, read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. No other book captures the essence of Nixon's corruption and even pure evil so perfectly.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

107. While I agree with you...

Nixon had some redeeming qualities that Reagan lacked and that were entirely absent in GWB.

Nixon created the EPA and signed the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Nixon also make very significant expansions to the social safety net. Now granted, some of that was to try to earn "brownie points" so he could continue raping and pillaging SE Asia. But hey, a stopped clock and all that.

Reagan did a decent thing or two. He expanded and strengthened the Earned Income Credit Tax that helps poor people. Reagan (like Nixon) knew how to deal effectively with China and Russia; despite a lot of ass hattery during his term, I'll give Ronnie some props for serious arms reductions.

Bush Sr? Pretty much a chair-warmer, if you ask me.

Junior? Shit, where to begin. He gets my vote every time.

[MBS]

111. Very good point. : )

Can't really disagree. Thanks for the reminder about "Fear and Loathing". .Time to re-read that. I wonder what Hunter Thompson would have to say about the current batch of congressional Republicans. . a lot, I'm sure! I miss his stinging insights.

[Dawson Leery]

103. Dubya.

He made permanent the right wing policy shifts which began under Nixon and snowballed under St. Ronnie.
Add in the war crimes of Iraq and Torture plus the economic collapse, on performance Bush Jr. was the worst.

[FSogol]

105. Reagan. He laid the ground work for the problems that came to fruition during W's reign.

[Yavin4]

106. Reagan, almost single-handedly, destroyed the power of labor in this country

and with it, the middle class. He so thoroughly decimated labor that the Democratic party abandoned labor with Bill Clinton in 1992.

Reagan did this by using coded, yet highly charged, racial rhetoric that split White working class people from other races. White working class people believed that Reagan was on their side simply because they shared the same skin color. To this day, the White working class still supports Republicans out of some kind of mis-guided racial solidarity instead of seeing them as the destroyer of the middle class. Because of this mindset, we cannot get a decent minimum wage, a real national healthcare plan, movement on climate change, lower education costs, etc.

Europe has just as many racists, homophobic, sexists , etc. people like we do, but they still vote for their class interests first. Margaret Thatcher couldn't dismantle the UK's public health system.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

110. Dubya, followed by Reagan.

I was too young to vote when Reagan was President. But I sure wasn't too young when Dubya was.

[craigmatic]

112. Clinton was pretty bad although bush 43 was much worse.

[Gram Parsons]

113. Hardly even seems debatable....

W started an unjustified war that killed over 100 thousand and will end up costing as much as 30 trillion.

[McCamy Taylor]

114. Reagan for the genocide against people with HIV. Shameful does not even describe it.

[LeftishBrit]

116. I chose Reagan, because, although Bush did some even worse things, Reagan set the agenda in the

first place. Bush would not have been able to do half the harm he did, if Reagan hadn't paved the way.

Admittedly, I also hate Reagan because he was best pal and close collaborator with the worst British PM of my lifetime, and perhaps of the last century, Maggie Thatcher!

[hamsterjill]

118. George W. Bush (really Dick Cheney because HE was the one in charge)

The second Bush years were the absolute worst in my lifetime.

First the SOB ruined my beloved Texas, and then he went on to screw up America. And ALL because he was a Bush.

[clarice]

119. Interesting results.........I never would have guessed it. lol nt