The 'Best' U.S. President

[Valrifell]

JFK, obviously.

JFK - blown away, what else do I have to say?

Actually, no, really, other than being charismatic and getting us to the moon, what did Kennedy really do?

[Crockerland]

JFK, obviously.

JFK - blown away, what else do I have to say?

Actually, no, really, other than being charismatic and getting us to the moon, what did Kennedy really do?

He signed into law equal pay based on gender through the 1963 Equal Pay Act, and passed several executive orders that supported desegregation, like executive order 11063 (which banned segregation in federally funded housing, among other things) and executive order 10925 (which forced companies to use "affirmative action" (ironic) to assure that they did not discriminate on on the grounds of race in hiring).

[Coutuza]

FDR, for once we had someone who wished to develop industry, use modern technology to help the nation, create welfare programs for the poor, and see the U.S. through the greatest conflict the world had ever seen.

[Major-Tom]

JFK - blown away, what else do I have to say?

Actually, no, really, other than being charismatic and getting us to the moon, what did Kennedy really do?

He signed into law equal pay based on gender through the 1963 Equal Pay Act, and passed several executive orders that supported desegregation, like executive order 11063 (which banned segregation in federally funded housing, among other things) and executive order 10925 (which forced companies to use "affirmative action" (ironic) to assure that they did not discriminate on on the grounds of race in hiring).

JFK did some alright things, but he is a vastly overrated public figure and politician, as are all the Kennedys.

[Cedoria]

Roosevelt. Roosevelt. Roosevelt. The Big T, not that Franklin cripple constitution violating reject.

He was a Progressive at the right historical moment.

I think he also displayed some bigotry, but that was not novel in America then.

He was a raging racist and anti-semite.

Seriously, if you think he wasn't a bigot, go listen to his tapes. If you can bear too.

That such a monster was elected to high office speaks volumes about the self-esteem of Americans (although to be fair, Nixon was more of a closet arsehat, you had to be pretty perceptive to see through him for quite a while).

[Cedoria]

He also signed Affirmative Action into law...

which was a mistake, as blacks are just as capable, and don't need to be treated as if they are actually inferior.

But some white racists don't agree, Sadly, quite a lot of people in power at the time agreed with them, hence why the law was asked for in the first place.

[Cedoria]

1) Court packing was and is not unconstitutional. The Constitution says nothing about how many justices must serve on the Supreme Court.
2) "Crazy laws"
3) E.O. 6102 was a massive gold "buy-back" program that allowed people to keep several thousand dollars worth of gold money, and any collections that they may have assembled. It wasn't "stealing all private gold".
4) Yeah, we've established that. That was very bad.

So pretty much every president.

Also, packing the courts would have given Roosevelt and any president insane power, basically able to make whatever laws they wanted to because of executive order. If he had packed the courts successfully, congress' power and the supreme courts un-bias approach to the constitution would be forever ruined.

Well now both things are already gone anyway.

How's that working for you?

[Veridys]

FDR, JFK or Reagan would be my three choices

[Herador]

Nixon would be in my top 3 if it weren't for, you know, the crimes.

Excluding him and in no particular order:

FDR, Lincoln, and Eisenhower. If you really need a number one I'm going to be boring and say FDR.

[Engleberg]

Woodrow Wilson.

While this situation should never have happened, led the US in WWI and also had the 14 Points - and was more "friendly" to Germany.

While Germany should have been the victor, I'd say that Wilson was pretty good.

[United Islamic Commonwealth]

Woodrow Wilson.

While this situation should never have happened, led the US in WWI and also had the 14 Points - and was more "friendly" to Germany.

While Germany should have been the victor, I'd say that Wilson was pretty good.

Also, a racist dickhead.

[The Federal District of Vice Santos]

19th Century:

Polk – fulfilled his campaign promises all in one term.

Lincoln – ending slavery was a good thing (60 years after the British did), which meant that the Confederacy could not expand the slave trade elsewhere via conquest of Latin America and the Caribbean and making them colonies, which was the plan had the CSA won the Civil War. Granted, Lincoln did not care about black people though.

20th Century:

FDR – his New Deal prevented social unrest. He was very colourblind though.

JFK – Ambitious space program to go to the moon; was originally supposed to be a joint venture with the USSR. Cuban Missile Crisis handled well. Started the Civil Rights Act.

LBJ – for getting stuff done on civil rights by bucking the South/Southern Democrats. Implementing the Great Society. His legacy is only hampered because he got too deep into the Vietnam War.

Clinton – life seemed better when he was president.

21st Century:

Obama – numerous domestic reforms.

[Internationalist Bastard]

I'd say FDR

[Oil exporting People]

Lincoln – ending slavery was a good thing (60 years after the British did), which meant that the Confederacy could not expand the slave trade elsewhere via conquest of Latin America and the Caribbean and making them colonies, which was the plan had the CSA won the Civil War. Granted, Lincoln did not care about black people though.

1832 to 1862 is only 30 years, utterly no idea how you're getting 60. As well, many of the areas the South desired to conquer still had Slavery, or systems close to it, currently ongoing within them.

FDR – his New Deal prevented social unrest. He was very colourblind though.

He prolonged the Great Depression, had a tyrannical streak that was definitely Unconstitutional, and utterly fucked up WWII. That Zangara didn't nail him in '33 is a tragedy.

JFK – Ambitious space program to go to the moon; was originally supposed to be a joint venture with the USSR. Cuban Missile Crisis handled well. Started the Civil Rights Act.

Cuban Missile Crisis only occurred because of him and his incompetence in foreign policy.

LBJ – for getting stuff done on civil rights by bucking the South/Southern Democrats. Implementing the Great Society. His legacy is only hampered because he got too deep into the Vietnam War.

Completely fucked up Vietnam, and the Great Society was a dramatic failure that has mirrored the U.S. with large debts and no real change. Also implemented the 1965 Immigration reform, which has screwed over the Middle Class.

Clinton – life seemed better when he was president.

By what objective measures and by what of his own merits, however?

Obama – numerous domestic reforms.

Obamacare in of itself, which is slowly collapsing.

[Mushet]

I only like dead presidents, and Ulysses S Grant is on the $50.

[36 Camera Perspective]

FDR.

[Collatis]

FDR of course.

There's also Lincoln, Wilson, and (Lyndon) Johnson.

[The Empire of Pretantia]

You gonna actually provide any examples of these "crazy laws"?

Here is one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_ ... ll_of_1937

So he tried to pack the court so he could pass a law that lets him pack the court?

[The Federal District of Vice Santos]

1832 to 1862 is only 30 years, utterly no idea how you're getting 60. As well, many of the areas the South desired to conquer still had Slavery, or systems close to it, currently ongoing within them.

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1807. The US Civil War ended in 1865. So that almost 60 years.

He prolonged the Great Depression, had a tyrannical streak that was definitely Unconstitutional, and utterly fucked up WWII. That Zangara didn't nail him in '33 is a tragedy.

How did FDR utterly fuck up WWII?

Completely fucked up Vietnam, and the Great Society was a dramatic failure that has mirrored the U.S. with large debts and no real change. Also implemented the 1965 Immigration reform, which has screwed over the Middle Class.

Some would argue that the Great Society was a failure because all the funding that should have been used for it was instead going to the war in Vietnam.

By what objective measures and by what of his own merits, however?

Great economy, budget surplus, no Patriot Act or excessive domestic surveillance by the NSA. No mass shootings happening frequently either. Yes, the events at Columbine happened during Clinton’s presidency, but such events seemed to happen less frequently than they do today. World seemed more social too, before social media came along.

Obamacare in of itself, which is slowly collapsing.

Obamacare is an important step to true universal healthcare and was probably always meant to be improved upon to begin with. It didn’t even have a public option that so many wanted.

[United Islamic Commonwealth]

1832 to 1862 is only 30 years, utterly no idea how you're getting 60. As well, many of the areas the South desired to conquer still had Slavery, or systems close to it, currently ongoing within them.

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1807. The US Civil War ended in 1865. So that almost 60 years.

To be fair, he's right. Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807. Didn't abolish slavery itself until 1833.

[Wallenburg]

Obamacare in of itself, which is slowly collapsing.

In the same sense that a restaurant whose competitors have set on fire is struggling to attract patrons...

[Eisen Wolf Reich]

He was a Progressive at the right historical moment.

I think he also displayed some bigotry, but that was not novel in America then.

He was a raging racist and anti-semite.

Seriously, if you think he wasn't a bigot, go listen to his tapes. If you can bear too.

That such a monster was elected to high office speaks volumes about the self-esteem of Americans (although to be fair, Nixon was more of a closet arsehat, you had to be pretty perceptive to see through him for quite a while).

Pssstttt....everyone in Europe and america during imperialist times was basically a racist or anti-semite.

[Eisen Wolf Reich]

He was a raging racist and anti-semite.

Seriously, if you think he wasn't a bigot, go listen to his tapes. If you can bear too.

That such a monster was elected to high office speaks volumes about the self-esteem of Americans (although to be fair, Nixon was more of a closet arsehat, you had to be pretty perceptive to see through him for quite a while).

Pssstttt....everyone in Europe and america during imperialist times was basically a racist or anti-semite.

Every heard of the the White man's burden?

[Sanctissima]

Obamacare in of itself, which is slowly collapsing.

In the same sense that a restaurant whose competitors have set on fire is struggling to attract patrons...

Yeah... I'm going to hazard a guess that the failings of Obamacare have far more to do with the system itself than the Republicans' attempts to ditch it.

Rising insurance premiums and quintessentially forcing insurance companies to accept applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions doesn't make for a very stable healthcare system.

[Free Missouri]

Jefferson, Coolidge, Eisenhower, and Truman for a 4 way tie.