Worst U.S. President

[Juggernaut]

It depends on the definition of worst, but in terms of leadership, Warren G. Harding was the worst.

[Cruella]

No Dubya?

[Juggernaut]

Quote by: Cruella No Dubya?

Hopefully you aren't insinuating that Dubya was worse than the above presidents listed on the poll.

[Cruella]

I'm insinuating nothing, merely wondering. This is an international board though, so it may be that not everyone will know much about some of the presidents you mention.

[Nono]

I, however, am insinuating something. If Boy George isn't on the short-short list of worst US presidents, then words have no meaning. The bonehead did great damage to the US at home and abroad. The man is a walking embarrassment to the human race.

While we're at it, let's take a moment to remember William Henry Harrison. Wikipedia says this about his inauguration:

When Harrison came to Washington, he wanted to show that he was still the steadfast hero of Tippecanoe. He took the oath of office on March 4, 1841, a cold and wet day. Nevertheless, he faced the weather with neither his overcoat nor hat, and delivered the longest inaugural address in American history. At 8,444 words, it took nearly two hours to read, even after his friend and fellow Whig Daniel Webster had edited it for length. He then rode through the streets in the inaugural parade.

Harrison died of a bad cold after only one month in office.

That's sad -- and yes, possibly laughable -- but nowhere near in the same league as the murderous Dubbya, who combined monstrous stupidity with wickedness. Hell, you list "Evil Dick" Nixon, who was pretty bad. But at least he tried to actually govern the country, whereas Bush pretty well did his best to give away the national silver to his cronies.

[thebuescherman]

It's always tough to pick an absolute worst. Personally, I wouldn't put Nixon on that list. Unless scandal is all you look it, which people seem to do nowadays. Buchanon is my choice. The Utah War is one of the most ignored major events in our country's history.

[Chaossaber314]

Dubya hardly ranks with the likes of genocidal figures like Andrew Jackson.

Dubya was a puppet of neocon extremist agendas of characters like Rove and Cheney. Still this agenda is far removed from the likes of Jackson and the Indian Removal Act, FDR and the Japanese Interment, or Truman and the only use of nuclear weapons as an act of war against a civilian population in the history of the planet.

[Juggernaut]

Quote by: Nono I, however, am insinuating something. If Boy George isn't on the short-short list of worst US presidents, then words have no meaning. The bonehead did great damage to the US at home and abroad. The man is a walking embarrassment to the human race. While we're at it, let's take a moment to remember William Henry Harrison. Wikipedia says this about his inauguration Harrison died of a bad cold after only one month in office. That's sad -- and yes, possibly laughable -- but nowhere near in the same league as the murderous Dubbya, who combined monstrous stupidity with wickedness. Hell, you list "Evil Dick" Nixon, who was pretty bad. But at least he tried to actually govern the country, whereas Bush pretty well did his best to give away the national silver to his cronies.

Harrison deserves to keep a clean slate. Since he has only served for 30 days, we cannot accurately judge his leadership skills since he has never been truly tested. Bush is a very bad president, no doubt. But I don't think shallow contemporary opinion should have any influence in a HISTORICAL list.

Quote by: thebuescherman It's always tough to pick an absolute worst. Personally, I wouldn't put Nixon on that list. Unless scandal is all you look it, which people seem to do nowadays.

Although Nixon's diplomacy skills in China, his Machiavellian realism style of politics, and his initiative to make the environment an issue were commendable, he made many errors. I am not only referring to Watergate. I am referring to his attempt to try and win Vietnam even after many people realized that it was unwinnable, making the death toll double and the costs worsening the inflation problem. Also his economic policies were no good. They were just a short term anesthetic to inflation, hoping to keep the economy in one piece with scotch tape and elmer's glue just until he could get re-elected. Both sides like to exaggerate about Nixon's presidency though.

Quote by: Chaossaber314 Dubya hardly ranks with the likes of genocidal figures like Andrew Jackson. Dubya was a puppet of neocon extremist agendas of characters like Rove and Cheney. Still this agenda is far removed from the likes of Jackson and the Indian Removal Act, FDR and the Japanese Interment, or Truman and the only use of nuclear weapons as an act of war against a civilian population in the history of the planet.

I agree that Jackson was overrated simply for the reason that history is never re-evaluated. We have an unshakable bias towards the founding fathers no matter what wrongs they had done.

But you are wrong about Truman. Truman's use of nuclear weapons on Japan, despite being directly immoral, they indirectly saved many lives, and were 100% necessary. Many more lives would have been lost on both sides, more destruction to Japan, and higher costs if the U.S. had continued invading Japan instead of just pressuring them to surrender.

[Chaossaber314]

Quote by: Juggernaut Harrison deserves to keep a clean slate. Since he has only served for 30 days, we cannot accurately judge his leadership skills since he has never been truly tested. Bush is a very bad president, no doubt. But I don't think shallow contemporary opinion should have any influence in a HISTORICAL list. Although Nixon's diplomacy skills in China, his Machiavellian realism style of politics, and his initiative to make the environment an issue were commendable, he made many errors. I am not only referring to Watergate. I am referring to his attempt to try and win Vietnam even after many people realized that it was unwinnable, making the death toll double and the costs worsening the inflation problem. Also his economic policies were no good. They were just a short term anesthetic to inflation, hoping to keep the economy in one piece with scotch tape and elmer's glue just until he could get re-elected. Both sides like to exaggerate about Nixon's presidency though. I agree that Jackson was overrated simply for the reason that history is never re-evaluated. We have an unshakable bias towards the founding fathers no matter what wrongs they had done. But you are wrong about Truman. Truman's use of nuclear weapons on Japan, despite being directly immoral, they indirectly saved many lives, and were 100% necessary. Many more lives would have been lost on both sides, more destruction to Japan, and higher costs if the U.S. had continued invading Japan instead of just pressuring them to surrender.

I wasn't arguing the necessity of those bombs, just drawing on the continual death toll associated with Bush like he's Nero laughing and playing a fiddle watching Rome burn.

[soothsayer]

Contrary to popular belief, Obama was not the first president to openly countermand the Constitution and denounce its tenets.
Ideologically, it was Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was the first consciously unrestrained megalomaniacal imperialist president.
George W. Bush borrowed the Wilsonian idea of U.S. involvement in WWI as being "a crusade to make the world safe for democracy" with his "Bush Doctrine".
As inarticulate as GWB may have frequently appeared on television, he governed like a true "intellectual elitist" of the highest order, copying the abuses of the "academic, scholarly and abstractly idealistic" Wilson in numerous ways: by ignoring the most fundamental rights to individual freedom guaranteed by the constitution by passing the "Patriot Act" and establishing "Homeland Security"(as well as mimicking the Wilsonian "newspeak" way of naming them) as did Wilson with his abusive and unconstitutional "American Protective League".
Wilson's "Fourteen Points" and his slipshod "League of Nations" and his favoritism of the British and insistence on the conditions of the lopsided "Treaty of Versailles" singlehandedly led to more tens of millions of deaths than any other single diplomatic enterprise, establishing more destructive politically fascist dynamics than all prior and subsequent administrations' installments of foreign puppet dictators combined.

just drawing on the continual death toll associated with Bush like he's Nero laughing and playing a fiddle watching Rome burn.

Chicago's 1968 Democratic National Convention where the chant rang out,
"Hey, Hey LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?"

I guess you weren't born yet when the over half million American draftees were in VietNam under LBJ whose deaths totaled nearly 60,000 with over210,000 casualties.

Arguably, had Wilson never engaged in his single-minded misguided and popularly and congressionally-opposed global meddlings, the current conditions in the Middle East would not have developed and the Bolshevik revolution would never have come to fruition.

[Century 25]

Ha.. for sure W Bush should be there along with the puppet R Reagan. The monster missing from the list is 'Vilson' aka Woodrow (Woody) Wilson. He preceded W Bush's gibberish.. Wilson said: We are entering the war.. to make the world "safe for democracy."

Also, he's the creep that opened the door for the Fed too. And.. he became the chief negotiator with Germany.. and shoved the 'Treaty of Versailles' down their throats. It was very harsh.. it set the stage for Hitler. 'Safe for democracy' ? Too bad we didn't and never did have a 'democracy'.

[Nono]

Quote by: Chaos Dubya hardly ranks with the likes of genocidal figures like Andrew Jackson.

Oh really? Which of them do you suppose has more blood on his hands?

[G. Adams]

I'm going with Wilson for creating the Fed, which has allowed much of the mess the happened since.

He did however have the decency to regret creating it, so kudos for showing more honesty than politicians these days. They'll apologise for actions taken 300 years ago but if they balls it themselves they don't have the guts to just say sorry.

[RickSp]

The true believers will ignore that Dubya got us into a needless war and drove the economy over a cliff. Those who ignore even immediate history are always the ones most eager to repeat it.

[Chris the Chees]

Quote by: soothsayer Wilson's "Fourteen Points" and his slipshod "League of Nations" and his favoritism of the British and insistence on the conditions of the lopsided "Treaty of Versailles" singlehandedly led to more tens of millions of deaths than any other single diplomatic enterprise, establishing more destructive politically fascist dynamics than all prior and subsequent administrations' installments of foreign puppet dictators combined.

Sadling WIlson with the failure of Versailles is, historically speaking, totally unfair. It is fair to say that, had Wilson's position actually been adopted, as opposed to a doomed compromise between the positions of the French, British and Americans, that Hitler would never have come to power.

[G. Adams]

Quote by: Chris the Chees Sadling WIlson with the failure of Versailles is, historically speaking, totally unfair. It is fair to say that, had Wilson's position actually been adopted, as opposed to a doomed compromise between the positions of the French, British and Americans, that Hitler would never have come to power.

True. It was the French wanting to take a hard line on Germany that took the Treaty in such a destructive direction.

Doesn't mean the man was a good president, but it's wrong to pin him with unfair accusations.

[G. Adams]

Quote by: RickSp The true believers will ignore that Dubya got us into a needless war and drove the economy over a cliff. Those who ignore even immediate history are always the ones most eager to repeat it.

It should be noted that there is a blindspot amongst some on both sides of the spectrum. Some on the right defensively ignore his waste of 8 years and mishandling of 2 wars let alone whether they were necessary. But on the left I have seen too many claim him to be pro-free market despite his years of gross overspend, protectionist policies and intervention on behalf of favoured companies.

He was just crap all round.

[RickSp]

Quote by: G. Adams It should be noted that there is a blindspot amongst some on both sides of the spectrum. Some on the right defensively ignore his waste of 8 years and mishandling of 2 wars let alone whether they were necessary. But on the left I have seen too many claim him to be pro-free market despite his years of gross overspend, protectionist policies and intervention on behalf of favoured companies. He was just crap all round.

Anyone who suggests that Duya was pro-free market either hasn't been paying attention or knows nothing whatsoever of economics. Rather like the idiots who call Obama a Marxist.

[soothsayer]

Rather like the idiots who call Obama a Marxist.

Obama's own words betray him as a Marxist. 51% of the voters loved it.

[soothsayer]

The true believers will ignore that Dubya got us into a needless war and drove the economy over a cliff. Those who ignore even immediate history are always the ones most eager to repeat it.

You mean ignoring history like this?

YouTube - Explosive Video, Fannie Mae CEO calling Obama and the Dems the "Family" and "Conscience" of Fannie Mae

Understanding the Great Global Contagion and Recession

Enclave: Brooksley Born's warnings ignored by Clinton, Bush, & Obama at America's peril

FRONTLINE: the warning: interviews: brooksley born | PBS

The Community Reinvestment Act’s Harmful Legacy---
How It Hampers Access to Credit:
http://cei.org/cei_files/fm/active/0...0FINAL_WEB.pdf

Or a "needless war" that your messiah deems to be in "our vital national interest" to escalate ?

AFP: Afghan surge in 'vital national interest': Obama