As this is our blog, we feel no need to tread delicately.
With election season upon us (perennially, it seems), we might as well devote a small aside to our past / present / future elected officials - which in this case they very much deserve, for the question is which of the lucky 43 presidents was more burden than blessing?
That is to say, if you were the historian, who would you remember - not so fondly? This naturally means that you would be considering presidents of the recent past and the judgments of historians previous to you. 
And as much as I should include many candidates of true merit from past centuries, that would be less relevant (and FUN!). At the same time, we live in a heightened climate of partisanship - which most historians ignore (see note below about Truman).
As it turns out, a recent US News and World Report article surveyed several top historian's lists and came out with a "blended" Top Bottom 10 presidents. Interestingly, six of those were in office between 1841 and 1861 - all "Real Men of Genius" for their contributions leading up to the Civil War. So, perhaps as a way of showing whom historians really consider lacking in presidential muster, I'll include the US News list:
1. James Buchanan (1857-1861) Failed to stand up against slavery.
2. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) Lazy, ineffectual stooge with cronies aplenty.
3. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Impeached, opposed Reconstruction and 14th amendment.
4. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) Pre-war compromiser. Northerner with Southern principles.
5. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) Another compromiser, allowed slavery to spread further.
6. John Tyler (1841-1845) Stalwart defender of slavery.
7. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) Noted for extensive graft and corruption.
8. William Harrison (1841) This one is perhaps unfair. He served 30 days and died of pneumonia. He is ill-remembered for having the longest inaugural address ever. Ouch.
9. *Tie* Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Exacerbated Great Depression with bad economic policy.
9 *Tie* Richard Nixon (1969-1974) Watergate and resignation.
10. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) Ignorant to the point of innocence. Except that he was a slaveholder.
Armchair and professional historians alike occasionally manage to find themselves on the wrong side of history. Keep in mind that EVERYBODY thought Harry S. Truman was the worst president, considering his then 22% approval rating (Bush 43's approval rating is 23%). But now, Truman has a favorable opinion.The crux for passing judgment is the long term effect of the president's decisions, not just popularity.
My own motivation for this post is today's release of former Bush press secretary Scott McClellan's scathing memoirs. And he's a loyalist.
1 comment:
Looks like Clinton won't get a vote for being one of the worst? pfff!
Anything good that came from the "Clinton admin times" was due to conservative dominance in the house and congress.
Carter, hands down, thee worst we've had of recent past.
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