Countdown:
42-32:
the worst presidents
32-22:
the let-downs
10-1:
the greatest presidents
Who
was on the panel?
It’s getting close as we count down towards the greatest US president in
history.
Today we rank numbers 21 to 11... the nearly men, the close-but-no-cigar
Commanders-in-Chief. They were good but, on balance, probably not great.
That, at least, is the view of our panel of political and foreign policy
experts, who we tasked with ranking all 42 men to have held the highest
office in the United States. Do you agree with their deliberations? Have
your say below...
21. James Monroe
1817-25 (Democratic-Republican)
Monroe led a non-partisan domestic agenda and a foreign policy with an
isolationist approach to Europe. His measured approach made him the
favourite president for one member of our panel but he failed to excite most
of them.
Monroe argued that unless the colonial powers entered conflicts in the
Americas he should not intervene in their affairs. He oversaw the expansion
of the United States to include Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine and
Missouri.
"My greatest president. . . he cannot boast a great cathartic moment,
a spectacular military victory, a triumph of will. But Monroe's
low-temperature presidency became known as the 'era of good feeling'. And
that sounds just fine to me." Daniel Finkelstein, chief leader
writer.
20. George H.W. Bush
1989-93 (Republican)
Reagan’s economic legacy left President Bush facing an enormous national debt
and, with the country in recession, he was pressurised by Democrats in
Congress to raise taxes. The tax hike contradicted his manifesto pledge for
no new taxes and cost him popularity among the electorate and the Republican
Party.
Success in Iraq, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the destruction of the
Berlin Wall were not enough to restore his popularity.
"He was a tone deaf politician, hiking up taxes after that infamous
'read my lips' pledge." Chris Ayres, Los Angeles correspondent.
19. Grover Cleveland
1885-89 and 1893-97 (Democratic)
Cleveland is the only man to have served two non-consecutive terms as
President of the United States. He was also the only Democrat to be elected
between the American Civil War and the 20th century. These feats allowed him
to score highly on our list.
He used his presidential veto far more often than any previous
Commander-in-Chief, most notably to stymie pension increases for veterans
and a scheme to recompense Texan farmers after a devastating draught. His
pragmatic approach was seen as honest but his reputation suffered during a
second term dominated
by economic hardship and strikes.
18. Ulysses S. Grant
1869-77 (Republican)
A controversial president. Grant was a successful general who had led the
Union to victory in the American Civil War. He was elected President to
oversee the radical Reconstruction of the southern states and succeeded in
restricting the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, granting Freedmen voting
rights and establishing a public school system.
His reputation was destroyed, however, by his administration’s failure to deal
with a lengthy
economic depression and a string
of scandals that affected his officials.
"Allowed the south to institutionailse racism after reconstruction,
setting the scene for 100 years of oppression of the supposedly free." Camilla
Cavendish, columnist.
17. William McKinley
1897-1901 (Republican)
McKinley’s period in office coincided with an upturn in the American economy,
leaving the President free to pursue his energetic foreign policy. After a
100-day war with Spain, he was able to annex the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii
and Puerto Rico as well as seizing temporary control of Cuba.
A year after being re-elected McKinley became the third President to be
assassinated when he was shot
dead by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist.
16. John Quincy Adams
1825-29 (Democratic-Republican)
Great intensions never fully realised meant he was destined to finish outside
of the top ten. Adams attempted an ambitious modernisation of the country
despite an extremely
slender victory in the race to be President. His plans included an
expanded network of roads and canals, a national university and an
astronomical observatory but many of the reforms were never realised because
of an uncooperative Congress.
15. James Madison
1809-17 (Democratic-Republican)
Madison wrote key sections of the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights,
particularly the sections which laid out his theory of checks and balances,
but as President he was a far more controversial figure.
He led the US into the divisive
and bloody War of 1812 against the British Empire. Despite very few
material gains it has been argued that the war was a pivotal moment in the
birth of a strong and independent America.
"Kudos for his pre-presidency Federalist Papers and a useful military
disaster, which many believe united the country." Chris Ayres, Los
Angeles correspondent.
14. Andrew Jackson
1829-37 (Democratic)
A hero of the War of 1812, Jackson was a polarising frontier President
responsible for the shaping of the modern Democratic Party. His populist attacks
on the national bank alienated rich supporters, but he was one of the
first Presidents to actively and successfully court the public vote,
strengthening the standing of popular democracy in the US.
"As one American friend of mine put it, 'he was a baddass', he also
practically invented populism." Chris Ayres.
13. John Adams
1797-1801 (Federalist)
After serving as Vice President throughout George Washington’s time in office,
he lasted only one
term as President. Adams succeeded in steering an outwardly peaceful
course through the international conflict between Britain and France but his
best-known domestic policies were the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts,
which restricted the rights of government critics.
12. Lyndon Johnson
1963-69 (Democratic)
Johnson proved remarkably adept at harnessing the surge of public emotion
following JFK’s assassination. He used it to convert his predecessor’s
rhetoric into law, including the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts, which
outlawed segregation, and the Medicare and Medicaid bills that allowed
millions access to healthcare for the first time.
By the end of his presidency he was extremely unpopular, however, as he became bogged
down in the Vietnam War, race riots convulsed urban centres and voters
grew tired of his expensive “great society” programme.
"Deserves more credit for civil rights than Kennedy." Tom
Baldwin, Washington bureau chief.
11. John F. Kennedy
1961-63 (Democratic)
Although Lyndon Johnson was the man to turn his words into law, JFK pipped him
by a single place in our list.
Kennedy had a troubling and not
entirely successful foreign policy record that included the Cuban
Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the escalation of the Vietnam
War.
His radical domestic reputation was built on intervention in Alabama to uphold
desegregation, his civil rights speeches and rhetorical support for the
space programme. He had actually passed very little in the way of funding or
legislation when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, leaving him just shy
of our top ten.
"Restored the romance." Ben Macintyre, writer-at-large.
42-32:
the worst presidents
32-22:
the let-downs
Who
was on the panel?
Tomorrow: the Top 10
Grover Cleveland was probably our best President, though certainly not our "greatest" President.
Wes, Sarasota, FL, USA
How could Grant be worse than Bush? How could he be even this close to the top, his administration was bogged down with corruption, and he himself was too naive to see it happening.
Joe, Boston, USA
G W Bush should've ranked as 43th!
Joel , San Francisco,
I don't think George W.Bush should be ranked that low.Time will tell that it was'nt entirely his responsability for the economy drop.And i dont believe we should judge a president when it has'nt even been even one month since he left the office.
agnes, chicago, usa
Kennedy was in office for less than 3 years, accomplished next to nothing, was connected to organized crime, his lack of morality was rivaled only by Bill Clinton, his inept foreign policy nearly ended the world and he would have been a one term president. Yet your experts rank him 11. What a joke!
Vince, Point Pleasant, USA
Wow, how the hell did John Kennedy get into this "all most great" list, His death literally saved his presidency. He was going to start the war in Vietnam and had plans to escalate it. Not to mention he didn't pass squat through the house and senate.
John, Virginia, USA
I cannot believe anyone can put Jackson that high. he completely ignored a Supreme Court decision and killed thousands of Native Americans. He alienated his own cabinet. He shut down the National Banka and indirectly caused the first great depression in the country
Ryan Conrad, Charlotte,
As far as the debt that Reagan supposedly ran up, you can thank the democratic congress who weren't willing to cut their spending.
John, Virginia, USA
George H. W. Bush better than Clinton?? That is such a joke!
Mary, villanova,
I don't honestly see how Bill Clinton is ranked lower then George H W Bush when clearly Clinton got the US out of recession and was at peace his whole 8 years in charge. Like him or not, he did a great job a President.
Geoff, Philadelphia, USA
I get this panel preferred handing out life-time achievement awards rather than assessing what men actually accomplished in their presidencies. Eisenhower, Grant, Madison, Jefferson, J.FK., J.Q. Adams appear to be living off of reputation rather than executive achievement.
Keith, Fairfax, VA,
Seems there are a huge number of Clinton supporters. I too agree that he should have been ranked much higher. Probably No1. The only problem with the Lewinsky affair is that he got caught. Are we under the misconception that other Presidents haven't "dropped their guard" ?.
Geoff Barnett, Shanghai, China
We are in no position to accurately judge our most recent presidencies. The positive and negative impact of policies and events will not be fully understood for years. I think history will show the ineffectiveness and corruption of both Clinton and Bush, and the long-term impact of their policies.
John, Atlanta, USA
Johnson was a Texan who saw that the democratic party had to change. He changed the U.S. by creating legal and democratic equality for blacks and starting the end of defacto apartheid in the U.S. As for Vietnam, it is easier to judge that war now than it was in 1965.
An impartial centrist, Calgary, Canada
Remember that when Ulysses Grant wanted a third term in office his party refused to renominate him, because the scandals of his Presidency were so large.
Andrew Jackson should be also judged by the incredible suffering that his policies against native Americans caused.
Bob, San Francisco, USA
Lyndon Johnson deserves to be placed higher than JFK, and into the top 10! There was more to him than Vietnam - which he knew from the first could destroy his Presidency. He was a great Senator and a real hero of the civil rights movement. A fascinating and dominating 20th century figure.
Clive Brewer, Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom
interesting to see the two Bush's, Clinton, and Carter ranked so highly. Complete and total mediocrity. Johnson should be ranked ahead of Kennedy because he actually got the legislation passed.
michael, austin, usa
Hmm Curious ranking of LBJ and JFK. LBJ actually acheived great things domestically - Obama would not be running if not for LBJ. Both made a mess of Vietnam Kennedy had a number of lucky escapes and had he lived would have ended in a scandal as big as Nixon given his out of control private life.
Bruce, Canberra, Australia
"A not entirely successful foreign policy": Led world to brink of nuclear war and withdrawl of missiles defending Europe; began Vietnam War; left Cuban patriots to die on the beach, solidifying Castro. Yet, "he had actually passed very little in the way of funding or legislation." Gosh, why not #1??
Duncan Renaldo, Seattle, USA
I cannot belive how high Grant got rated. He had more scandles than Harding and had zero carisma. And JFK is also way overated. Had he not been killed (wich is sad by the way) he would have just been another mediocer Democrat in a long line.
Steven, Arizona, USA
Johnson-- near the bottom. He wanted to do good things. No doubt about it but he wasn't a good multitasker... Vietnam and Great Society... Guns AND Butter. And the Space Program. The first two were completely mismanaged under his term even with good people helping him like Clark Clifford.
Briano, Los Angeles, USA
As a Republican, I would put Clinton in this bracket and agree that he is too low.
So Polk, Wilson, Truman, FDR, Teddy, Reagan, Washington, Jefferson and Ike can't wait to see how they rank. Most ranking tends to interchange the top 3 between FDR, Washington and Lincoln.
Alex, La Jolla,
LBJ gave the US the Federal welfare state and the Vietnam War. He most definitely ranks in the bottom 10 of U.S. Presidents. The legacy of the Vietnam War is well realized. Less well understood is the utter stupidity of taking the welfare of citizens out of the control of the 50 States.
Jeff Benson, Sandy, Utah
Lyndon Johnson should be farther down the list, certainly below Jackson,. Madison, and McKinley. Johnson's management of the Vietnam war was a disaster and he couldn't even bring his own Democratic party along on the civil rights act which a majority of Republicans supported.
Clay Edmunds, San Francisco, USA
Anything meaningful that Kennedy did?
How about bring the world back from the brink of a nuclear Holocaust? He chose embargo over attack. Only later did we realize that Cuba had short range nuclear rockets and Castro was itching to launch. An attack would have meant the end of humanity.
Jerry Kreps, Lincoln, United States
Richard, I believe you are a bit confused. Either thay, or you'd have preferred him to bomb the targets, as his generals wanterd, which WOULD have started WWIII. We're lucky Jack & Bobby were there. I won't say the Kennedy's saved the world... scratch that, I will - and they did.
Patrick, Philadelphia, USA
In a hundred years, when no one cares about the "star" quality of Kennedy, his ranking will drop. It is very difficult to identify anything meaningful that he did (other than speak well in interesting speeches). Sound familiar?
Bill, Atlanta, GA, US
I agree I love Bill Clinton I think history will judge him well.
Nathan, London, United Kingdom
C'mon FDR! WHOOO!
Franklin, Delano, Roosevelt
Kennedy restored the romance?
Oh, that's just great.
With that criterion in place, Mr Obama will be the perpetual Number 1, if he manages to fall under a bus on Jan 21 ( which I emphatically hope will not happen.)
Better for the world that he disillusions the Utopians who elect him.
Germaine Botterell, London,
Kennedy was rubbish! Bay of pigs drove Castro firmly into Kruschev's arms and he got the nukes for self preservation (understandibly) which damn near ended the world! At least GW Bush only attacked Iraq (moronic) - Kennedy's monumental stupidity almost started WWIII!
Richard, Cambridge,
I simply can not believe the decision to place Clinton in at a paltry number 23. As President, he left behind an legacy which Bush squandered. A budget surplus, America's standing the world improving and huge steps forward in health and employment protection laws. Bill Clinton was a Great President.
George Schooling, Cambridge, England