Who was the best president ever in the United States? The worst?

Answer 1

Simple. Ronald Reagan was the best and Jimmy Carter was the worst. Bad Governor of Georgia also was Carter.

Answer 2

I agree with Mrcricket this question is too influenced by prejudical bias to be worth much and only history will tell.

It is interesting that none of the responders mentioned Lincoln. 40 years ago he would have been at the top of the list. Back then we were just too close to the end of the Depression/WWII/Korea to view FDR/Truman/Ike with any thoughtfulness.

Your question is who was the "best" not who was the "greatest". In my opinion Ronald Reagan is the only President in my life time who has a chance of being in the Greatest Catergory. Former Presidents who reached Greatest Status were Washington, Lincoln, and FDR with Teddy Roosevelt being a big maybe.

It is also interesting that none of the responders mentioned Nixon as being among the worst. I have always said that had Nixon not been caught in scandal he would have approached Greatest Status because his moves were even bolder than Reagan's.

Best is fleeting and ambiguous. Greatest can only be judged by time and succeeding generations

Answer 3

Not sure where James Polk's name fit in there as Polk is actually considered by scholars to be one of the better presidents (usually he's ranked between 10 and 12). Under Polk, there occurred the largest expansion (in land area) of the nation's boundaries through the Oregon Territory and the purchase of 1.2 million square miles through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War. He signed the Walker Tariff that brought an era of near free trade until 1861. he also oversaw the issuance of the first postage stamps, the opening of the Naval Academy, the Smithsonian, and the Washington Monument.

Historically, scholars & historians pretty much agree that Washington, Lincoln & FDR were the 3 greatest presidents, followed closely by Thomas Jefferson & Teddy Roosevelt, and after that, Woodrow Wilson, Andrew Jackson, Truman, Eisenhower, and Polk. Madison, Monroe & Reagan have climbed higher in more recent analysis.

On the loosing end - it's generally agreed that Pierce, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson & Warren Harding were the worst.

There simply isn't enough history to fairly rank the recent presidents like Clinton & Bush (both Bushes, actually) -- we're still too closely involved with their presidencies - there's too much emotion to be remotely objective about it. Check back on them in about 50-60 years.

My feeling is that Clinton & Bush (the first one) will end up somewhere in the middle, and Bush (the current one) will end up very, very far down on the list.

Answer 4

You have so many intelligent people answering this...they can't tell the difference between "who IS" and who "WAS" the best and worst President. My pick...The Best - Abraham Lincoln. The worst, because he was the most dishonest - Bill Clinton.

Answer 5

The best is John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and worst is George Walker Bush.

Answer 6

The best Bill Clinton, the worst George W. Bush.

Answer 7

Washington, he did not take advantage of his positions, and he did not mess anything up. Plus he had to deal with a country in complete kayos from the recent war.

The worst president was Truman. He set up the country for Vietnam

Answer 8

The Worst: James Polk and maybe Bush Jr. little bit under him.


The Best: George Washington and Bill Clinton

Answer 9

Best: FDR. He lifted the country out of Depression and led it through War, and established a baseline social net that made sense until Johnson and Reagan warped it into its current perversion.

Worst: W; hands down.

Answer 10

That's an easy one.
BEST- Teddy and/or Franklin D. Roosevelt
WORST- Bush Jr.