KC Podcast - Episode 117: Passing the Baton

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Best and Worst Presidents

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Springing from a discussion in one of my classes, this week is a double Top 5. So here are:

The Top 5 Best U.S. Presidents

1. James Monroe
2. George Washington
3. James Madison
4. Theodore Roosevelt *
5. Calvin Coolidge

*Some people may say that I’m being terribly inconsistent by including Teddy Roosevelt on this list. For the record, I'm not.

The Top 5 Worst U.S. Presidents

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin Roosevelt
3. Woodrow Wilson
4. Lyndon Johnson
5. Herbert Hoover


What do you think? Does my list line up with yours? Feel free to comment.

Comments

Erica said…
I tend to agree. However, living in the Land O' Lincoln one has to be careful what one says. XD
07 March, 2012 11:03
Colby Reynolds said…
I totally agree with you best president list says, but I'm not to sure about Abraham Lincoln. Ill have to look him up a little more in detail...
07 March, 2012 11:06
Rick Davis said…
Since I'm not in Illinois like my sister, I can give my reasons for including Lincoln on the worst presidents list. ;)

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, and held at least 13,000 citizens as political prisoners for disagreeing with his policies during the Civil War. When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional, Lincoln had a warrant written for his arrest. He was the first president to institute a progressive income tax (one of the planks of Marx’s Communist Manifesto, incidentally, and also unconstitutional). He created the state of West Virginia contrary to Article 4, Section 3 of the Constitution. Finally, he imposed a mandatory military draft in the North (also unconstitutional).

To be fair to Lincoln though, he was a much more moderate Republican than many in his party, and had he lived and not been assassinated the horror of Reconstruction would not have happened.
07 March, 2012 12:06
Rose said…
Teddy Roosevelt is actually my favorite president ever. I think it might be the mustache. So yay that he's on the list.
07 March, 2012 21:37
Rick Davis said…
Teddy is on the list because he was also one of our most thoroughly Christian presidents. Even if he did some things that make libertarians cringe, I would much rather have a TR in office than an Ayn Randian.

One of my favorite stories about Teddy concerns a particular tense time in 1902 when he found himself in the position of having to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. He wasn't sure whether his plans were the right thing to do. So he called all his head military advisers to the Oval Office. When they arrived, they found him with a Bible and a huge concordance in front of them. An uncomfortable silence followed. Finally, one of the men said, "You asked for us, sir?"

After acknowledging their presence, Roosevelt pointed to a stack of Bibles on his desk. "Get to work men," he said. "I can't act without a warrant."
09 March, 2012 11:51
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