Who was worst US president in the 20th and 21st centuries?

[Libertarian California]

Can you do a better job of explaining that? It's to general.

1. Iran-Contra scandal, guns for hostages, etc.
2. Privatization of industries
3. Incurred massive budget deficits for an unnecessary build-up of the American military complex to "defeat communism"

To simplify.

Privatization isn't really a bad thing, but the other things are indeed bad.

[Shnercropolis]

Woodrow Wilson
GeorgeW. Bush
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Franklin Roosevelt
George H.W. Bush
Barack Obama


^These guys all suck

FDR???
He was a pretty damn good president. Think what Bill Clinton would have done in that situation.

[Sro-Nation]

G W Bush.

[Bythyrona]

Reagan was good.

Eh...

Iran-Contra was bad. Invading Guatemala and Panama were bad. Giving aid the Afghans to fight the Soviets was bad (as this would haunt us later).

Reagan's foreign policy and the drug war were horrible.

On the economy, he was alright.

High real interest rates were a good thing? The Horse and Sparrow Theory is a good thing?

[The Royal Australian Republic]

Woodrow Wilson
GeorgeW. Bush
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Franklin Roosevelt
George H.W. Bush
Barack Obama


^These guys all suck

I agree with almost all of those, I don't think the bushes are as bad as they are made out to be but they definitely had some problems.

[Libertarian California]

Woodrow Wilson
GeorgeW. Bush
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Franklin Roosevelt
George H.W. Bush
Barack Obama


^These guys all suck

FDR???
He was a pretty damn good president. Think what Bill Clinton would have done in that situation.

He lengthened the Depression:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx

[New England and The Maritimes]

Reagan and George W. Carter was probably one of the best presidents in US History, to be honest.

Carter? He had no backbone.

The fuck are you smoking? He refused to ship arms to Pahlavi, he threatened Menachim Begin with cutting off all US Aid to Israel if they continued their illegal invasion of Lebanon, and he stood firm and did more for world peace than any US President since with his negotiations in the US, both as President and afterward.

[Libertarian California]

Woodrow Wilson
GeorgeW. Bush
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Franklin Roosevelt
George H.W. Bush
Barack Obama


^These guys all suck

I agree with almost all of those, I don't think the bushes are as bad as they are made out to be but they definitely had some problems.

George H.W. Bush:
Hikes taxes, invades Kuwait.

George W. Bush
Crony-capitalism
2 Wars
Patriot Act
Massive debt
Bailouts and corporate subsidies everywhere (see "crony-capitalism")

[Elwher]

Harry S Truman gets my vote. He was completely in the Union's pockets, he started the policy of sending US troops into combat without the formality of a declaration of war, he did nothing to curb the excesses of McCarthy and the HUAC, and headed one of the most corrupt administrations since Grant. All in all, a deserving candidate for this award.

For the worst president of all time: James Buchanan

A good candidate, but I think Grant was worse due to the rampant corruption.

[Libertarian California]

Eh...

Iran-Contra was bad. Invading Guatemala and Panama were bad. Giving aid the Afghans to fight the Soviets was bad (as this would haunt us later).

Reagan's foreign policy and the drug war were horrible.

On the economy, he was alright.

High real interest rates were a good thing? The Horse and Sparrow Theory is a good thing?

By alright, I mean "he was sort of good, but he had his flaws. Still, he was better than the three guys before him".

[Libertarian California]

For the worst president of all time: James Buchanan

A good candidate, but I think Grant was worse due to the rampant corruption.

Yeah, Reconstruction was horrible.

[Tunasai]

Why is FDR not an option? FDR was by far the worst President the US has ever had. His policies were disastrous in the short term and long term. He created some of the most expensive programs in history and his policies extended the Great Depression for about 7 years according to studies by UCLA professors and other researchers.

FDR was the worst, not Bush

[New England and The Maritimes]

High real interest rates were a good thing? The Horse and Sparrow Theory is a good thing?

By alright, I mean "he was sort of good, but he had his flaws. Still, he was better than the three guys before him".

Except that all Reagan did was stick with Carter's economic policy. He kept Volcker on staff and monetary policy did not change at all from 1978 or so to about 1984 at least.

[New England and The Maritimes]

FDR???
He was a pretty damn good president. Think what Bill Clinton would have done in that situation.

He lengthened the Depression:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx

Is one theory, which isn't exactly "prevailing."

[Libertarian California]

Why is FDR not an option? FDR was by far the worst President the US has ever had. His policies were disastrous in the short term and long term. He created some of the most expensive programs in history and his policies extended the Great Depression for about 7 years according to studies by UCLA professors and other researchers.

FDR was the worst, not Bush

Yes, his economic policies were just horrible, but WWII is justified, and Iraq and Afghanistan are not.

[Free Detroit]

1) Bush II - mostly for being a war criminal, obviously bratty trustfund baby, and general buffoon. This man was never remotely qualified for office, and - in the end - it showed. Unfortunate that his party seems to have forgotten any lessons gleaned from his administration.

2) Hoover - champion of public-private partnerships who helped bring us such wonders as the American suburb, the shanty town (because, well, if you can't afford a single family home...), failed approaches to economic crises, and pretending capitalism could be "kind" or "gentle". Of course, being one of those republicans who had a basic sense of human decency, he also lent significant government resources to humanitarian projects and tripled the tax rate on the wealthy.

3) Reagan - good at boosting his own self-image. Brought in the current American political age wherein money and style is completely paramount, and substance is essentially without value. Pretended to "win" the cold war (which, for us on the left, wasn't really all that important anyway) - fortunately, we're now seeing that we just lost more slowly, so maybe this myth will go away in time. Providing us with the Contra scandals, crack cocaine, and AIDS.

[The Royal Australian Republic]

Reagan was good.

Eh...

Iran-Contra was bad. Invading Guatemala and Panama were bad. Giving aid the Afghans to fight the Soviets was bad (as this would haunt us later).

Reagan's foreign policy and the drug war were horrible.


On the economy, he was alright.

Correction: panama was bush not reagan; didn't invade gautamala, we had operations there by the CIA which tried to reduce human rights violations.
Foreign policy? What about peace through strength
Declaring war in drugs is a bad thing?

[Libertarian California]

He lengthened the Depression:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx

Is one theory, which isn't exactly "prevailing."

After a Google search, the only thing Wikipedia says on the recovery was just World War II starting. Which is kinda vague.

[New England and The Maritimes]

Is one theory, which isn't exactly "prevailing."

After a Google search, the only thing Wikipedia says on the recovery was just World War II starting. Which is kinda vague.

When FDR took office, unemployment was skyrocketing out of control, and all sectors of the economy were beginning to vanish. He immediately reversed that trend and brought unemployment down by around ten points. Most importantly, of course, he prevented a complete revolution by an increasingly desperate and disaffected public.

By 1936, the majority of statistical measures were back to their 1929 levels.

[The Black Forrest]

Why is FDR not an option? FDR was by far the worst President the US has ever had. His policies were disastrous in the short term and long term. He created some of the most expensive programs in history and his policies extended the Great Depression for about 7 years according to studies by UCLA professors and other researchers.

FDR was the worst, not Bush

Let me guess? Libertarian?

[The Royal Australian Republic]

Can you do a better job of explaining that? It's to general.

1. Iran-Contra scandal, guns for hostages, etc.
2. Privatization of industries
3. Incurred massive budget deficits for an unnecessary build-up of the American military complex to "defeat communism"

To simplify.

I'll admit Iran- Contra was bad but why is transferring things to the private sector so bad?
Peace through strength is all I have to say on 3

[Elwher]

A good candidate, but I think Grant was worse due to the rampant corruption.

Yeah, Reconstruction was horrible.

Panic of 1873, attempted annexation of the Dominican Republic, Whiskey Ring scandal, William Belknap's impeachment.....

[Free Detroit]

... gautamala, we has operations there by the CIA which tried to reduce human rights violations.

Actually, the Contras were the cause of human rights violations, not the solution.

The Sandinista government brought rapid development to the country, improved health care and literacy in amazing time. The problem: they had to kill the rich to do it. It's called a "democratic revolution". So, yes, they executed some rich assholes, and in the US the rich are the only ones with "rights" but it's hardly fair to say Guatemala was in the name of human rights (or, at least, human rights in anything BUT name)... It was for "elite rights" and "natural resource extraction rights" and "the right to quash democratic governments who oppose American imperialism rights".. but "human rights"... no.

And ho did the CIA pay for all of this? Oh yeah! Selling 1) crack cocaine to inner city blacks in the US, and 2) selling weapons to both sides in the Iran-Iraq war. Lovely.

[Tunasai]

Why is FDR not an option? FDR was by far the worst President the US has ever had. His policies were disastrous in the short term and long term. He created some of the most expensive programs in history and his policies extended the Great Depression for about 7 years according to studies by UCLA professors and other researchers.

FDR was the worst, not Bush

Yes, his economic policies were just horrible, but WWII is justified, and Iraq and Afghanistan are not.

Iraq had a Dictator who literally Mustard Gassed his own people to maintain power. Ever seen Mustard Gassed? Not even Hitler did that. When he was killed the Iraqi's cheered, for the US and his death.

Afghanistan? Yea lets not pursue a man and an organization that murdered 3000 of our own people. Not to mention Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban, who gave haven to Al-Qaeda and helped attack us.

I'm not saying Bush was a Saint, but FDR did way more damage than him

[Tunasai]

Why is FDR not an option? FDR was by far the worst President the US has ever had. His policies were disastrous in the short term and long term. He created some of the most expensive programs in history and his policies extended the Great Depression for about 7 years according to studies by UCLA professors and other researchers.

FDR was the worst, not Bush

Let me guess? Libertarian?

hehehehe American Conservative