Worst American president in history?

[Nervium]

Anyone who is not Emperor Norton.

Agreeableness.

[Death Metal]

Reagan....bloody Reagan....or Hoover..

What's wrong with Reagan?

Besides being the closest thing to a dictator the US has had who took credit for the collapse of the USSR even though all he did was make it fall slower, and causing the fourth worst bust in US history (behind Coolidge, Bush Jr, and Jackson), you mean?

[Death Metal]

Speaking of civil wars, I'd have to say James Buchanan or Andrew Johnson was the worst US president. Both men frequently misjudged the circumstances of the time and were weak in effecting any real solutions (both went for halfway appeasement approaches which failed). However, I feel Buchanan especially failed to note the gravity of the unfolding secession and civil war, so: Buchanan (very narrowly) takes it over Johnson for me.

Eh, I'd rather have something tried with compromise over nothing done due to refusal to compromise.

Good points though.

[Sinovet]

Wow, lots of U.S. presidents are bad. I blame the Electoral system.

[Vulpae]

Reagan and other President lowering taxes as a mean of growth is a big reason why America has a high debt.

He actually helped the economy and put America into a 7-year prosperity. I liked this president

Nixon was bad, Carter was the worst before Reagan and after World War 2, Clinton was bad, but not as bad as either Bush or Obama, I know nothing about the other two mentioned abouve

Personally I find Reagan a decent overall president, with failures and triumphs, and played a great roll in the late stage of the cold war. But the Contra scandal will forever hang over his administration, and his economic policies have been copy pasted by the republican party in the 21st century. Trickle Down Economics worked twice, in the entire history of mankind, and both times were in the 80's, once in the US, and once in Great Britain.
He also broke the back of many american unions by starting a stonewalling trend that we now suffer for economically and socially.

So in all he wasn't the worst, but not the "Saint Regan" I've heard some people on the right refer to him as.
Thinking on his actual policies, the tea party would lambaste him as a "Hollywood Liberal" these days.

[Xsyne]

Reagan....bloody Reagan....or Hoover..

What's wrong with Reagan?

People tend to look poorly on treason.

[Gauthier]

What's wrong with Reagan?

People tend to look poorly on treason.

Only if it's committed by a left-winger.

[Neuhausen]

Probably Nixon.

Best is Reagan.

[Sun Wukong]

Probably Nixon.

Best is Reagan.

Those two are fairly similar actually.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Probably Nixon.

Best is Reagan.

Why and why?

[Lerodan Chinamerica]

What's wrong with Reagan?

Besides being the closest thing to a dictator the US has had

HAHAHAHAHAHA no. Reagan used his executive orders minimally, and many of his initiatives failed due to Congressional opposition. FDR was the closest thing to a dictator by far, making wide-ranging use of his executive powers to persecute political opponents, pass unconstitutional legislation, intern Japanese Americans and, perhaps most shamelessly of all, to effectively buy victory with federal relief in the 1936 election.

who took credit for the collapse of the USSR even though all he did was make it fall slower,

As I told Yumyum the other day, he had a lot more influence on the collapse of the USSR than many people think. Briefly:
-He was a key financial backer of the mujahideen, whose prolonged guerilla war put a huge drain on the Soviet economy and eventually forced their withdrawal.
-The same with Solidarity. They eventually brought democracy to Poland and seceded from the Soviet Empire, initiating a chain reaction that caused the collapse of the Communist Bloc.
-He released price controls on oil deliberately to devalue Soviet oil exports, a major part of their revenue. The same affect occurred when he convinced the Saudis to put 20% of their oil reserves on the market. It killed a whole part of Soviet industry.

To claim that Reagan not only had no effect, but slowed down the collapse of Communism is naive ideological point-scoring.

and causing the fourth worst bust in US history (behind Coolidge, Bush Jr, and Jackson), you mean?

More baseless point-scoring. Of all the 19th Century panics and depressions, the periodic recessions under Eisenhower and the horrible stagflation of the 1970s, you choose the early 90s recession to attack Reagan? It was mild, brief, and a recovery ensued pretty quickly afterwards. EDIT: I now realise you were referring to the early 80s recession. This recession was not a failure, but a great triumph. It was a healthy market correction that killed stagflation and spawned the huge economic expansion of the 80s and 90s.

[Lerodan Chinamerica]

Probably Nixon.

Best is Reagan.

Those two are fairly similar actually.

Why Nixon? he didn't do a bad job as president (quite the contrary) without a doubt he was a crook but you have to go give credit to him as the last sane republican president.

Nixon was a terrible President not just because of his lack of integrity but because of his horrible domestic and foreign policies. The end to the Vietnam War was his sole achievement (but took 20,000 American lives along the way, I might add). Otherwise, he reduced the power of the US military, cut back aid to international freedom fighters, signed two failed nuclear treaties that were inevitably exploited to the advantage of the Soviets and initiated the disastrous Détente policy leading to a decade of American weakness and Soviet expansion.

Domestically he was no better. He was a supporter of affirmative action and a ban on guns. He was a massive industry regulator and enacted general price and wage controls. He created a slew of new agencies - EPA, BATF, OSHA. He initiated the War on Drugs. He supported socialised medicine and pushed for it in Congress. And, perhaps worst of all, he took the US off the gold standard, weakening the dollar and ushering in a decade of stagflation and four decades of increasing income inequality that is still getting worse to this day.

He was not a conservative by a long-shot. He was a statist, a liar and an authoritarian. But he's ranked one of the worst Presidents for all the wrong reasons, and his destructive agenda should be recognised by the public as not a typical Republican one but a Keynesian one that set the United States on a path to decay for the 1970s.

[America Libertaria]

Besides being the closest thing to a dictator the US has had

Lowering the highest tax rates in 1981 from 70% to 50% and reduced the overall marginal tax by 23% and then in 1986 he lowered the highest tax rates again to 28% because all dictators like to let people keep their money.

who took credit for the collapse of the USSR even though all he did was make it fall slower,

His aggressives policies against communism and the USSR were a major part of the fall of the USSR. When Reagan increased military spending dramatically it basically bankrupted the Soviets in their attempts to compete with the US.

and causing the fourth worst bust in US history (behind Coolidge, Bush Jr, and Jackson), you mean?

The high interest rates did provoke the economic recessions in 1981 and 1982, but they succeeded in lowering inflation from 13.5% to 3.5%. And besides after the the 1982 recession the economy started to boom and grow drastically and saw significant increases in GDP. Not only that but in the 80's we saw a significant and consistent drop in unemployment starting at around 11% in 1980 to around 5% in 1988.

[Boston and Surrounding Provinces]

Worst Presidents:
1. Andrew Johnson: A racist a-hole who completely screwed everybody over by botching Reconstruction.
2. Warren G. Harding: An overall d-bag, with the prepensity to lose White House china.
3. George Bush: For going into Iraq, for which we had no justification.
4. Barack Obama: See above. Also attempted to nationalize healthcare, with is NEVER good with a country full of capitalists right-wingers. It's like stabbing them in the face and saying "F**K YOU!"

Best Presidents:
Thomas Jefferson: Laissez-Faire FTW!

[Farnhamia]

Worst Presidents:
1. Andrew Johnson: A racist a-hole who completely screwed everybody over by botching Reconstruction.
2. Warren G. Harding: An overall d-bag, with the prepensity to lose White House china.
3. George Bush: For going into Iraq, for which we had no justification.
4. Barack Obama: See above. Also attempted to nationalize healthcare, with is NEVER good with a country full of capitalists right-wingers. It's like stabbing them in the face and saying "F**K YOU!"

Best Presidents:
Thomas Jefferson: Laissez-Faire FTW!

Beg pardon, when did President Obama attempt to nationalize health care? I'm sure that would have been in the news. And I doubt that President Jefferson, whose administration began and ended before the United States became fully industrialized, can be called an advocate of "laissez-faire."

[Lerodan Chinamerica]

Besides being the closest thing to a dictator the US has had

Lowering the highest tax rates in 1981 from 70% to 50% and reduced the overall marginal tax by 23% and then in 1986 he lowered the highest tax rates again to 28% because all dictators like to let people keep their money.

Inb4 ERMAGURD TAX CUTS 4 THE RICH!!!!!!

[Lerodan Chinamerica]

Worst Presidents:
1. Andrew Johnson: A racist a-hole who completely screwed everybody over by botching Reconstruction.
2. Warren G. Harding: An overall d-bag, with the prepensity to lose White House china.
3. George Bush: For going into Iraq, for which we had no justification.
4. Barack Obama: See above. Also attempted to nationalize healthcare, with is NEVER good with a country full of capitalists right-wingers. It's like stabbing them in the face and saying "F**K YOU!"

Best Presidents:
Thomas Jefferson: Laissez-Faire FTW!

Beg pardon, when did President Obama attempt to nationalize health care? I'm sure that would have been in the news. And I doubt that President Jefferson, whose administration began and ended before the United States became fully industrialized, can be called an advocate of "laissez-faire."

He wasn't. His tariff policy was disastrous.

[Lerodan Chinamerica]

Worst Presidents:
1. Andrew Johnson: A racist a-hole who completely screwed everybody over by botching Reconstruction.
2. Warren G. Harding: An overall d-bag, with the prepensity to lose White House china.
3. George Bush: For going into Iraq, for which we had no justification.
4. Barack Obama: See above. Also attempted to nationalize healthcare, with is NEVER good with a country full of capitalists right-wingers. It's like stabbing them in the face and saying "F**K YOU!"

Best Presidents:
Thomas Jefferson: Laissez-Faire FTW!

If you like laissez-faire, then why do you dislike Harding? Mellon Tax Cuts FTW.

[WRIF Army]

According to the leftwing Huffington Post, inequality increased far more under Obama, Pelosi and Reid. Also,banks made more money in two years under Obama, Pelosi and Reid than the previous eight years under Bush. This is not surprisingly since centralized government or command economies is another name for privileged oligarchy.

I wasn't aware that America had suddenly become a planned economy. Source?

Total government spending is over $6.5 trillion in an economy of $16 trillion, that is significant. In addition, no small amount of private sector spending is heavily influenced by government rules and regulations. Fortunately, the US economy is not burdened by as confiscatory tax and regulatory policy as European socialist nations, but you would be hard pressed to find a single expenditure in your daily life that was not taxed or regulated by government.

[WRIF Army]

1. I liked Reagan, but your right on this one. Although, the security was put in place by the colonel in command who placed the Marines in a depression along the coast near the airport, very bad. Also, he restricted the Marines rules of engagement (I think). However, the buck stops with Reagan.

2. If you want to blame Reagan for the economic situation he inherited from Carter, then please don't absolve Obama from Bush's recession. Also, Reagan outperformed Obama as recoveries go:



3. Nixon was dangerous and dysfunctional.

4. Okay.

5. Agreed, but it was a near impossibility to sooth the ill will between the South and North.

The Bush recession started under Bush. Carter had to deal with inflation (and bears much of the blame for that), but the recession started with the first Reagan budget. Also, Reagan didn't deal with a recalcitrant Congress, and didn't have to drag the economy up from such a deep depth.

Many of the policies responsible for the recession were in place before Bush became president: Fed induced artificially low interest rates, mortgage interest deduction, GSE insured home loans and the most important factor, moral hazard created by the revolving door between Wall St and Capitol Hill. I think all presidents deal with 'a recalcitrant Congress', including Clinton and Reagan who both got things done while being investigated or impeached. Reagan inherited an economy with negative GDP and 17%, no walk in the park. One thing is certain, he didn't spend a lot of time blaming Carter, he worked with Congress and the Fed to raise interest rates, cut discretionary spending and won the Cold War that allowed Clinton the freedom to cut defense spending and reduce the deficit.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

The Bush recession started under Bush. Carter had to deal with inflation (and bears much of the blame for that), but the recession started with the first Reagan budget. Also, Reagan didn't deal with a recalcitrant Congress, and didn't have to drag the economy up from such a deep depth.

Many of the policies responsible for the recession were in place before Bush became president: Fed induced artificially low interest rates, mortgage interest deduction, GSE insured home loans and the most important factor, moral hazard created by the revolving door between Wall St and Capitol Hill. I think all presidents deal with 'a recalcitrant Congress', including Clinton and Reagan who both got things done while being investigated or impeached. Reagan inherited an economy with negative GDP and 17%, no walk in the park. One thing is certain, he didn't spend a lot of time blaming Carter, he worked with Congress and the Fed to raise interest rates, cut discretionary spending and won the Cold War that allowed Clinton the freedom to cut defense spending and reduce the deficit.

All of those economic policies worked well during the boom time of the Clinton years. I agree with the lobbyist issue, though. And neither of the Presidents you mentioned had to deal with the sort of obstructionism that Obama has faced. Seriously. History quiz: Which Congress used the filibuster more than any other in all of history?

[WRIF Army]

1.Austrian economists predicted the housing bubble and the financial collapse starting in the early and mid 2000's. Hint: when Fed artificially lowers interest rates, it spurs unsustainable investment in projects, like housing

2. DOMA was a civil rights indiscretion by the federal government that pales in comparison to the IRS, NSA, ATF..... abuses committed by the current administration. However, you are correct, DOMA was an inexcusable federal power play undermining the rights of a law abiding minority.

3. Afghanistan = Taliban = sanctuary for the group that murdered over 3000 innocents. Bush inherited the Iraq mess from Clinton who had 8 years to correct it, instead Clinton's failed sanctions policy killed tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis AND led to the fatwa by bin Laden against the USA. You don't know this because Bush did spend 24/7 blaming Clinton (and his Dad) for a cauldron in the Middle East or the dotcom bubble.

Also, if you think that progressive democrats weren't complicit in the Iraq war, you haven't read this:

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
--Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
--Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by:
-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by:
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
-- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"
-- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

1. It's interesting the same neoliberal policies that were put in place during Clinton's tenure and supported by the Austrian School (some argue he was an adherent to the Third Way, but his policies such as repealing Glass-Steagall were clearly for deregulation. The housing bubble was caused due to the combined factors of the economic policies of Alan Greenspan, deregulation, and neoliberal economics.

2. Patriot Act. That right there. That is far worse than any of scandals that have recently broke, if you consider the complete overreach and disregard for civil liberties by the US government. This set the foundation for intelligence overreach (NSA and CIA acting against international law, set the stage for losing the most privacy in any administration in history, and gave the Presidency the most power since the 1950's-70's. https://www.aclu.org/reform-patriot-act


3. Invading Afghanistan was justified IMO, however we should have continued to conduct negotiations and sent intelligence operatives into the nation and ask for the aid of Pakistan. If talks broke down, then authorize bombing and invade. As for the fatwa Bin Laden issued, here's a link to it: http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm
Only in part does it mention policies based around Iraq. I still, after ten years, cannot believe that such hogwash convinced so many people in Congress to vote for yet another war and many more deaths and instability.

1. Glass-Steagal repeal really did have much to do with the housing bubble or the financial collapse. The firms that failed were not commercial banks dabbling in the financial markets with their reserves. Rather the firms that failed or who were at the greatest risk were strictly investment banks like Bear Sterns and Lehman Bros. Also, AIG was an insurance company. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were GSE's. The commericial/investment banks that were the subject of Glass Steagal weathered the storm better than most. In addition, despite Glass-Steagal, the S &L crisis a years earlier led to hundreds of bank closures.

2. Good point.

3. I disagree, without Iraq sanctions, 9/11 attacks don't happen. bin Laden cited two primary reasons to declare war on USA, Israel/Palestine question which had been ongoing for decades and Iraq sanctions. After 8 years, Clinton had done nothing to reduce tensions in Iraq other than sanctions that led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqis. Inexplicably, at the same time, Clinton put up an intel wall between the FBI and CIA that made it impossible for these agencies to exchange intel. If anything, Afghanistan was the wrong war since it was a backwater Central Asian nation whose only 'claim to fame' was that it harbored bin Laden at the time of the attack. Actually, most of the training and operations for the attack occurred in the USA.

[Federated Terran States]

Woodrow Wilson.
In addition to being racist and pro-segregation He promoted & signed;
*The Federal reserve act; thus re-instituting the central banking & fractional reserve systems eradicated by Jefferson..
*The ratification of the sixteenth amendment; Thus allowing the federal government to impose a general tax on Income during peace time.(an admittedly rare state these days...).

[Darwinish Brentsylvania]

Woodrow Wilson.
In addition to being racist and pro-segregation He promoted & signed;
*The Federal reserve act; thus re-instituting the central banking & fractional reserve systems eradicated by Jefferson..
*The ratification of the sixteenth amendment; Thus allowing the federal government to impose a general tax on Income during peace time.(an admittedly rare state these days...).

Nah, he wasn't the worst ever, but he did lie about his second term, "he kept us out of war"...not.

[Federated Terran States]

Ya i was going to add (among other things); The ending of Americas Original Isolationist policies during WWI.