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Name the best US presidents, and the most over rated...

Calvin Coolidge is the Bomb, definately underated and I didn't know how progressive his policies were:

from wiki:

During Coolidge's presidency the United States experienced the period of rapid economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties". He left the administration's industrial policy in the hands of his activist Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, who energetically used government auspices to promote business efficiency and develop airlines and radio.[106] With the exception of favoring increased tariffs, Coolidge disdained regulation, and carried about this belief by appointing commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission who did little to restrict the activities of businesses under their jurisdiction.[107] The regulatory state under Coolidge was, as one biographer described it, "thin to the point of invisibility."[108]

Coolidge's economic policy has often been misquoted as "generally speaking, the business of the American people is business" (full quotation at right). Some have criticized Coolidge as an adherent of the laissez-faire ideology, which they claim led to the Great Depression.[109] On the other hand, historian Robert Sobel offers some context based on Coolidge's sense of federalism: "As Governor of Massachusetts, Coolidge supported wages and hours legislation, opposed child labor, imposed economic controls during World War I, favored safety measures in factories, and even worker representation on corporate boards. Did he support these measures while president? No, because in the 1920s, such matters were considered the responsibilities of state and local governments."[110]

[edit] Taxation

Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon worked with Coolidge to reduce taxes while retiring government debtCoolidge's taxation policy was that of his Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon: taxes should be lower and fewer people should have to pay them.[111] Congress agreed, and the taxes were reduced in Coolidge's term.[111] In addition to these tax cuts, Coolidge proposed reductions in federal expenditures and retiring some of the federal debt.[111] Coolidge's ideas were shared by the Republicans in Congress, and in 1924 Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for some two million people.[111] They reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928, all the while continuing to keep spending down so as to reduce the overall federal debt.[112] By 1927, only the richest 2% of taxpayers paid any income tax.[112] Although federal spending remained flat during Coolidge's administration, allowing one-fourth of the federal debt to be retired, state and local governments saw considerable growth, surpassing the federal budget in 1927
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He was often blamed for the great depression and I think that is unfair. There are people alive today during his tenure.

Civil rights

Coolidge is shown above on October 22, 1924, holding a ceremonial hat.Coolidge spoke out in favor of the civil rights of African Americans and Catholics.[125] He appointed no known members of the Ku Klux Klan to office; indeed the Klan lost most of its influence during his term.[126]

In 1924, Coolidge responded to a letter that claimed the United States was a "white man's country":

“ ....I was amazed to receive such a letter. During the war 500,000 colored men and boys were called up under the draft, not one of whom sought to evade it. [As president, I am] one who feels a responsibility for living up to the traditions and maintaining the principles of the Republican Party. Our Constitution guarantees equal rights to all our citizens, without discrimination on account of race or color. I have taken my oath to support that Constitution....[127] ”

On June 2, 1924, Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted full U.S. citizenship to all American Indians, while permitting them to retain tribal land and cultural rights. However, the act was unclear on whether the federal government or the tribal leaders retained tribal sovereignty.[128] Coolidge repeatedly called for anti-lynching laws to be enacted, but most Congressional attempts to pass this legislation were filibustered by Southern Democrats
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge

I think Carter was under rated. He inherited the presidency at a dark time for America and suffered a series of what was bad luck. Among his accolades he believed cannabis and cocaine should be legalized and he slashed the buget of the whitehouse. He felt that if Americans were making sacrafices, the president should too. Plus he brokered a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt (unfortunately sadat was assasinated).
 
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Over-rated: JFK, Regan, FDR

Under-rated: Teddy Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Eisenhower.
 
Over-rated: JFK, Regan, FDR

Under-rated: Teddy Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Eisenhower
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I agree with you but explain your position. If you don't have time I understand.
Only because All the underated I agree with you, with Lincoln I consider him over rated but notheless a good president, but the best according to historians, I don't know.

Why were JFK and Reagan overated: I know JFK was hated by alot until he was assisinated then he was treated like a saint.

I would like to hear the Canadian perspective but if you don't have time I understand. If you do have time, How in Your opinion was the most overated and undertated PM of Canada and why. If you have time for nothing else, just listing them would be something I appreciate
 
jspun said:
I agree with you but explain your position. If you don't have time I understand.
Only because All the underated I agree with you, with Lincoln I consider him over rated but notheless a good president, but the best according to historians, I don't know.

Why were JFK and Reagan overated: I know JFK was hated by alot until he was assisinated then he was treated like a saint.

I would like to hear the Canadian perspective but if you don't have time I understand. If you do have time, How in Your opinion was the most overated and undertated PM of Canada and why. If you have time for nothing else, just listing them would be something I appreciate
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I'm watching hockey right now, but I can explain my choices for over-rated and under-rated presidents after the game or during the intermissions. As for the overrated/underrated PMs of Canada, I'll have to think a little more deeply on that one (as, being Canadian my knowledge on PMs surpasses my knowledge on Presidents, uncovering a lot of good and bad things PMs did) but I'll be sure to post it either here or in another thread.
 
I only know the basics on a lot of presidents, but here's why I said JFK, Regan and FDR are over-rated:

For JFK, I think one of the reason he's rated so highly by people is because he got assassinated. There will always be the mystery of what he could have done had he not been assassinated, which always sheds people in a better/worse light than when looking at them with what they've actually accomplished, depending on whether they accomplished good or bad things, obviously.

First off, I thought the Bay of Pigs invasion was a silly thing for the USA to partake in - obviously the USA had to do something, as their citizens hated "communism" (the US-propaganda style Communism) and a lot of American companies were pissed their factories all got taken over and were now owned by the Cuban state. Maybe they could have introduced some economic sanctions like they happened to do later, but, to actually attempt to invade Cuba, using Cuban exiles who the populace of Cuba helped run out (remember, the vast majority of citizens in Cuba supported Castro in over-throwing Batista) seems like a stretch.

I disagree with the somewhat over-Nationalism JFK incorporated into American society and how it has still somewhat stuck with America today (sadly, this can be said about essentially every WW2 power except for Germany).

I think JFK often got ahead of himself and jumped at making a decision, rather than the right decision. Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis, IMO, show this.

I think FDR is over-rated because I disagree with a lot of his foreign and economical policies. The New Deal is in part to blame for today's economical problems, and though I do believe it helped the US' economy, I don't believe that it helped it to the extent that many Americans believed it did. I disagree with the sale of arms for profit during WW2. I believe cutting veterans' benefits by 40% - though helpful for the economy - wasn't something that was actually good for the people.

Regan I think is over-rated because he started the War on Drugs, was too over-eager for military action (Grenada, Libya), traded guns for hostages (Iran-Contra) and just seemed to be an over-all shady, lying politician. I think one of the main reasons he is so loved is that he has that sort of larger-than-life, actor turned politician aura about himself. Besides that, I also disagree with trickle-down economics.

As for under-rated, I'm running out of time, but, I like Washington because of the precedent he set for the ways an American president should act, Lincoln for holding office and "winning" during the American civil war (which seems like an impossible task itself). I think Jefferson was one of the only presidents to truly feel for the people, with his political actions showing this. I like Eisenhower because he fought isolationism - which though I agree with some aspects of - is hardly the stance America should have been taking post-WW2. I like how he helped run-out Senator McCarthy, and how he increase Social Security for Americans. As for Teddy Roosevelt, the thing I like most about him is the fact that it is hard to find anything I dislike about him; IMO he was a model-President, and he always was looking out for the best interest of the American people.
 
A lot of people associate a "great president" with someone who got us through a crisis or won a war while overlooking presidents with uneventful terms.

But ya know, there's something to be said for a presidency where nothing bad happened. Sometimes keeping us out of a war is more impressive than winning one. Not getting into a crisis is better than fixing one.

Which is why I put Calvin Coolidge #1. He didn't defeat the nazis He had good ideas and presided over a time of enormous prosperity.
Bill Clinton had a relatively uneventful presidency. He didn't do much but at the time not doing much was the best thing to do.
 
Best-James K. Polk
It is a pretty solid consensus among historians that he had one of the most successful terms of any president given that he accopmlished all of his campaign promises and was basically honest and transparent throughout his whole presidency. Then he chose to step down and not even run for a second term. What a dude!

Most overrated- Ronald Reagan
The person who popularized policies that have been some of the most damaging to our economy since the great depression.
He also gets WAY too much credit for ending the Cold War.

Worst- Does it even need to be said? The guy who basically lied, cheated, and stole his way to the presidency, and then, once he got there, made some of the worst blunders and legislative mistakes in history.
The only guy who historians can justify putting at the very bottom of the list.
I still think his entire presidency was just one big senior prank for those rich assholes at Yale.
 
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Best: Washington, Jefferson, Teddy, Reagan

Overrated: Clinton, Carter, FDR, Lincoln

That being said, I do feel that Lincoln was among the most important and positively effective presidents in our history - just not the 'best', as is often suggested.
 
CoffeeDrinker said:
Worst- Does it even need to be said? The guy who basically lied, cheated, and stole his way to the presidency, and then, once he got there, made some of the worst blunders and legislative mistakes in history.
The only guy who historians can justify putting at the very bottom of the list.
I still think his entire presidency was just one big senior prank for those rich assholes at Yale.
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Oh yeah, I somehow forgot about him...

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For all those saying Reagan was the best, I'd sure like some justification.
From what I can tell his legacy has done nothing but cause very real problems in exchange for some charismatic speaches and moments.
The fact that he took up the cause popularized by the completly batshit Barry Goldwater is bad enough, then you look at his actual policies and legacy.
Our recent economic meltdown can be blamed largely on him, our ridiculous trade deficit, our over-exertion of our military might, our incredibly harmful war on drugs, increase in the disparity between the rich and poor, Iran Contra, his emphasis on DECREASING the quality of our education, our increased and expanded addiction to foreign oil, and more.

Other than the fact that some people just blindly accept what is put out there by the media I really see no reason to think that he's anywhere near the top of the list of American presidents.
 
EA-1475 said:
Bill Clinton had a relatively uneventful presidency. He didn't do much but at the time not doing much was the best thing to do.
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Waco, Ruby Ridge, Elian Gonzalas(sp?), not pushing the button on bin Laden. his administration did a lot of dispicable things.
 
worst: reagan. if you don't like the insane budget deficit and spending, well, it started with him.
 
people on a drug site claiming Reagan was the best president, reminds me of those Log Cabin Republicans
 
best: Washington, Eisenhower, JFK

underrated: Carter- he was rated low, but I think he was not as bad as the media machine made him out to be. definately not one of the best IMO, but still definately underrated

overrated: Lincoln, FDR

worst: Obama, Bush Jr & Sr, Reagan, LBJ, Nixon, Hoover, Wilson, Taft, Coolidge
 
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