Rank the presidents since Teddy Roosevelt.

[boxman15]

I'm including presidents of both parties. Just curious to see what we come up with, and figured it might be fun. You can choose to include or exclude Obama, whatever you want. (Inspired by a previous thread)

Here they are in order:

Teddy Roosevelt (R)
William Howard Taft (R)
Woodrow Wilson (D)
Warren G. Harding (R)
Calvin Coolidge (R)
Herbert Hoover (R)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
Harry S. Truman (D)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
John F. Kennedy (D)
Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
Richard M. Nixon (R)
Gerald R. Ford (R)
Jimmy Carter (D)
Ronald Reagan (R)
George H.W. Bush (R)
Bill Clinton (D)
George W. Bush (R)
Barack Obama (D)

[XemaSab]

1. I'll play:

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
Teddy Roosevelt (R)
Woodrow Wilson (D)
Richard M. Nixon (R) (A+ for environment and F for everything else still puts him near the top of the class.)
Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
Harry S. Truman (D)
John F. Kennedy (D)
Jimmy Carter (D)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
Bill Clinton (D)
Barack Obama (D)
Gerald R. Ford (R)
George H.W. Bush (R)
Herbert Hoover (R)
Warren G. Harding (R)
Ronald Reagan (R)
George W. Bush (R)


(I left a couple out because I'm not as familiar with them. This is also totally off the top of my head. Ask me tomorrow and I might give you a different ranking. :P )

[awoke_in_2003]

9. Close to mine...

but I would flip flop Johnson and Wilson. Yeah, Johnson had the albatross of Viet Nam around his neck, but his leadership and bully pulpit brought the Voting Rights and Civil Rights acts. Yes, presidents don't write legislation, but good ones can make it happen.

[bornskeptic]

10. OK, here it is.

FDR
LBJ
Obama
Wilson
JFK
TR
Eisenhower
Carter
Clinton
Truman
Bush 41
Ford
Taft
Hoover
Nixon
Reagan
Harding
Bush 43
Coolidge

[DallasNE]

22. Very, Very Close

I would completely reverse Carter, Clinton, Truman as well as Hoover, Nixon, Reagan.

[AlinPA]

25. Agree! The bottom is right on, esp. with Coolidge (a zero-1) and Bush 43 (0) there.

[mtnsnake]

2. I won't get into ranking them all, but Teddy Roosevelt is my #1 favorite president of all time

George W Bush is the worst of course.

[lumpy]

5. Why is Teddy Roosevelt your favorite president ?

Just asking

[mtnsnake]

12. As far as presidents go, he's the godfather of the environmental movement in America

He's the king of conservation. When it came to protecting and preserving our natural resources, he took no shit from anyone, and he got it done despite incredible protests along the way. I just love the guy.

[iamthebandfanman]

15. probably because he was a hunter eh ?

i mean, you cant kill things if they arent there anymore.

[mtnsnake]

16. If you think TR wanted to preserve animals just for hunting, then you don't know much about him

Roosevelt did more for the environment and conservation in America than anyone else this country has ever known. My hat will be off to him forever because of it.

If you ever get the chance, watch the long documentary about him, the National Parks, and how he spearheaded the environmental movement and conservation in this country. He valued our natural resources and wildlife more than just about anything, and he backed up his passion by fighting for it successfully. I hate to imagine what our landscape would look like today, had he not come along at that time.

[iamthebandfanman]

17. i didnt say that,

nor did i claim to know much about him.


ill be sure to check out documentary, as i dont know that much..

i just know hunters who consider themselves 'conservationists'(ie they want to preserve areas so populations dont deplete) but hate 'tree hugging environmentalists'...

[IrishEyes]

26. It is hard to do.

The first time I was old enough to vote was Clinton vs Dole.

FDR
JFK
Teddy Roosevelt
Bill Clinton
Barack Obama
Harry Truman
Jimmy Carter
Woodrow Wilson
William Howard Taft
Dwight Eisenhower
Lyndon Johnson
Herbert Hoover
Calvin Coolidge
George Bush SR
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
Warren Harding
Ronald Reagan
George Bush JR

[NYC_SKP]

18. Teddy is not the favorite, the list is chronological.

Which is why Obama is at the bottom.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. Here is mine...on just a gut feeling

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
Harry S. Truman (D)
Teddy Roosevelt (R)
John F. Kennedy (D)
Woodrow Wilson (D)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
Jimmy Carter (D)
Bill Clinton (D)
Warren G. Harding (R)
Calvin Coolidge (R)
William Howard Taft (R)
Gerald R. Ford (R)
Ronald Reagan (R)
George H.W. Bush (R)
Richard M. Nixon (R)
Herbert Hoover (R)
George W. Bush (R)

I did not include Brack Obama (D), since he has yet to finish one term. If forced, I would put him between Bill Clinton and Warren G. Harding. Depending on the course of future history, he could move up or down in that ranking. Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower were the only Republicans in the top half.

[COLGATE4]

7. You've got my vote! +1

[harun]

19. Looks good to me.

[boxman15]

4. Here's mine:

1. FDR
2. Teddy Roosevelt
3. LBJ
4. Truman
5. JFK
6. Wilson
7. Eisenhower
8. Obama (Could go up or down, obviously)
9. Clinton
10. Carter
11. Nixon
12. Bush 41
13. Taft
14. Ford
15. Coolidge
16. Reagan
17. Harding
18. Hoover
19. Bush 43

[the other one]

6. Harry S

Harry S
fdr
jfk
teddy
ike
lbj
carter
Clinton
Wilson
taft
coolidge
Bush i
reagan
Nixon
hoover
shrub

[Hart2008]

24. If Obama can't deal with Repukes in the lower house, how could he deal with them in both houses?

Harry S. desegregated the U.S. armed forces, back when he had the draft.

Obama should read Truman's biography instead of drinking beer and playing golf with the Repukes while just splitting the difference with them all the time.

Harry S. showed how to handle the Repukes "Do Nothing Congress"!

[democrat2thecore]

8. something like this

1. FDR
2. Teddy Roosevelt
3. Truman
4. LBJ
5. Kennedy
6. Wilson
7. Eisenhower
8. Clinton
9. Ford
10. Nixon
13. Taft
14. Carter
15. Reagan
16. GHW Bush
17. Coolidge
18. Harding
19. GW Bush
19. Hoover

[hayrow]

11. As of Now

1. FDR
2. Teddy Roosevelt
3. Bill Clinton
4. LBJ
5. Truman
6. Taft
7. Carter
8. Obama
9. Bush I
10. Kennedy
11. Ford
12. Ike
13. Hoover
14. Wilson
15. Reagan
16. Coolidge
17. Bush II
18. Nixswine
19. Harding

[WilliamJenningsBryan]

13. Wilson should be near the bottom

Finally someone ranking Wilson near the bottom where he deserves to be. Despite some progressive ideas and the League of Nations which would have been good, his entering the US into WWI, attacks on civil liberties, and racism, make him the worst president until George W. Bush. Harding and Nixon on the other hand weren't as bad as many people think.

[XemaSab]

14. Hey, welcome to DU!

:toast:

[StevieM]

20. Here is my list

Franklin D Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt
Lyndon B Johnson
John F Kennedy
Woodrow Wilson
Harry Truman
Bill Clinton
Barack Obama
Dwight D Eisenhower
William Howard Taft
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Warren Harding
George HW Bush
Richard Nixon
Calvin Cooledge
Herbert Hoover
Ronald Reagan
George W Bush

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

21. mine

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
Harry S. Truman (D)
John F. Kennedy (D)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
Teddy Roosevelt (R)
Jimmy Carter (D)
Barack Obama (D)
Bill Clinton (D)
Woodrow Wilson (D)
Gerald R. Ford (R)
William Howard Taft (R)
Richard M. Nixon (R)
George H.W. Bush (R)
Warren G. Harding (R)
Herbert Hoover (R)
Calvin Coolidge (R)
George W. Bush (R)
Ronald Reagan (R)

Mine - FDR gets top, no question - best president ever, who ushered in decades of prosperity. Reagan, while considered "successful" by some historians' metrics for getting his agenda through, easily did the most overall, longterm damage to the nation. Most of the problems we face today can be traced back to his deregulation and corporatism, so he gets worst. I rank Carter higher than most would, mainly for intentions. Also, he didn't help the right push their agenda through, unlike two Democrats who came after him, whether through triangulation or capitulation. Ike and Teddy are the only GOPs that are admirable in some ways, and wouldn't fit into today's Republican Party. LBJ, Wilson and Teddy were tough to place - they signed a lot of progressive stuff into law, but had heir horrid warmonger sides. If I gave this more thought, I'd probably move them around in the list a few times.

[Axrendale]

23. Mine will no doubt prove to be somewhat controversial, but here goes:

1: Franklin D. Roosevelt
2: Theodore Roosevelt
3: Woodrow Wilson
4: John F. Kennedy
5: Lyndon B. Johnson
6: Richard Nixon
7: Harry S. Truman
* Barack Obama
8: Dwight D. Eisenhower
9: Bill Clinton
10: George H.W. Bush
11: Jimmy Carter
12: Ronald Reagan
13: Gerald Ford
14: William H. Taft
15: Calvin Coolidge
16: Warren G. Harding
17: Herbert Hoover
18: George W. Bush

I don't include Obama in the numerical ranking as his presidency is ongoing, and his ultimate legacy as Chief Executive cannot yet be accurately assessed. I have positioned him in the list however, in the place where I would rank him if hypothetical circumstances were to end his presidency at the time of typing.