For people who have been alive for a while or historians, can anyone tell me about past presidents?

Question

I'm wondering about how presidents were perceived by the public during their administration--were any of them hated as much as George W. Bush? Can you think of worse presidents than George Bush? I'm doing an essay and trying to prove that George Bush isn't the worst president and/or the public usually blows president's mistakes out of proportion.

Answer 1

Everyone seems to love JFK. But here in Dallas, there was a full page ad in the paper the day he was shot warning him not to come (because he was hated for his views).

LBJ won his election by one of the largest margins ever. He was later hated by the anti-war movement and by the pro-segragationists.

Lincoln was hated by a very large percentage of the country. Here you have a president who violated the constitution, yet he is seen as the preserver of liberty.

Wilson enacted some draconian laws that make our current patriot act look like a PTA proposal. Yet he is remembered today as the founder of the League of Nations.

FDR was called a communist when he was president. Then came WWII and everyone was with him.

Ronald Reagan was hated by nearly 1/2 the people when he was in power. But the right has turned him into a saint.

Clinton was impeached, but I'm sure the left will turn him into a saint.

Basically, the US is often closely divided. Presidents become beloved with the passage of time only. Your first proposition (GWB is not the worst president) can probably be proven by looking at other presidents. Look at Coolidge, Harding, and Taft. I seem to recall that they are frequently rated as very poor (for very different reasons). Your second proposition (that mistakes are blown out of proportion) will be more difficult. It is not based on facts, but based on your opinion of the president. Be careful and formulate your arguements fully.

Answer 2

Every president in war time had bad approvals. Lincoln was hated (and in fact killed for his beliefs) Truman was hated and actually ended his term with the lowest approval rating then even Bush. Of course Nixon was hated. JFK during Vietnam was looked down on and some believe that may have had "some" to do with his death. Really the only war time president that can come close to claim he was liked was FDR because he served four terms however in his fourth his popularity waned. The fact is every wartime president wasn't like during their terms but it is ALWAYS after the fact people realize what they had done for the country. This doesn't say for sure Bush will be looked at either way but for anyone that says they know for sure that Bush will be viewed as the worst is just playing the game.

the fact is war is never popular and most of the reasons and actions cant be justified to the everyday person because that jeopardizes the overall missions and hinders world politics. This is one of the major reasons the founding fathers wanted a democratic republic and not an actual democracy. World politics should not be the responsibility of the people.

Answer 3

Jimmy Carter comes to mind as easily a much worse president than George Bush. Under the Bush Administration the economy has boomed. The inflation rate is down, unemployment is down, interest rates are down. Under Carter the exact opposite was true. Unemployment was very high, interest rates were in the double digits, inflation was *very* high and the economy tanked. While there are those who disagree with how bush is handling the war, the fight against the Islamic Jihadist is something that needed to be done. And, in fact, it should have been done *much* sooner. Which brings us back to Carter who's policies enabled the Islamist in the first place.

Answer 4

Good question where do I start?

Clinton - Rush Limbaugh convinced republicans that Clinton deserved to be hated even though the general public was doing very well financially and socially (lower crime) during his tenor.

Carter - Was a very bad president but a very good hearted person so he has been redeemed as a person in the eyes of the public but not as a president.

Reagan - After giving amnesty to over 3,000,000 illegals in Cali, the right made him president due to Carter's poor leadership. Reagan made the rich richer and the poor poorer through "trickle down economics" that never trickled

Nixon - Was definitely the most corrupt president ever caught yet pardoned for his crime. He will always carry the title of the most blatant crook of a president.

Bush Sr - Very bright and savy person. Had a good eye for world affairs although I didn't like his Reagan years. Bush Sr earned the position and no one seems to have many bad things to say about him.

Bush Jr - Undoubtedly the most horrific person to hold the office in modern history. He's not just a bad president, he is also a bad person. He is against the seniors getting lower cost drugs. He chose to fight a war as though it was some sort of game to be played. He refuse to heed the advice of those who knew better than him and still does to this day.

Bush's crime is losing a war that he did not have to fight in the first place. He lost a war of his choosing. He also got a lot of people killed behind his super-ego.

Answer 5

I was 18 when Richard Nixon got elected. He was pretty unpopular by a large segment of the population. During that time there were lots of protests. Nixon had/earned the nickname "Tricky Dicky" because of his shady dealings. During the 50's when he was vice president he was supported the fear mongering about the communists. As was proven by his resignation from the Presidency in 1974, he was part of underhanded dealings. Also, biographers often cite him as being suspicious and conniving.

Answer 6

I think every president had their critics, as we all don't think
alike. Someone even didn't like Lincoln so they went to the
theater and shot him in the dark, and killed him. Someone
shot John Kennedy and six Democrats filed to impeach
Ronald Reagan. Clinton was disliked because of his un-
faithfulness to his wife (which went on even when he was
Governor of Arkansas) and then lying to the Grand Jury.
No one liked Nixon according to the media. Jimmy Carter
and Gerald Ford were both just ho-hum, do-nothing
presidents. And now Democrats and Liberals hate George
Bush (oh, and they didn't like his father either). Pretty sorry
story for US, isn't it?

Answer 7

Presidents were treated with the Honor and respect the office deserved
Until 2000 when the democrats lost the election they started disrespecting and dishonouring the President and the USA
Poor losers and their hate and disrespect grew even more with the 2004 losses
The democrats are undermining America just because they are spoiled babies crying over lost elections

Answer 8

You don't have to go back too far and you'll see that Clinton was thought to be a Cheating cad who needed an opinion poll before he did ANYTHING, he gave secrets to the Chinese, and lied under oath. while his wife used her influence to avoid prosecution. (and she's the front runner for '08)

Carter was thought to be a dunce.

Ford was thought to be a clumsy oaf.

Answer 9

There is none worse.
BUT if you have to have advise. Look up Warren G Harding.
Historically he is the worst pre 1970.

Answer 10

Richard Nixon was pretty bad, but both Bush's have him beat.