The Top 10 Presidents of the USA

[sarxist]

I wrote this article knowing that I would have a limited amount of space for it. I would like to know what you think about it and, if you can, any information that you think would help in rating the presidents. Debate is always welcome. http://www.helium.com/tm/317414

[gordon s]

How do you rate more modern presidents?

The 10 that you give all look worthy contenders. However, since I'm from Britain I perhaps am presented with a different view by our media.

Do any recent presidents get close to your top 10? - Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon

Most seem to be a mixture of good and bad. How does the USA public view these?

[sarxist]

Well the first modern president, John F. Kennedy, comes in at number 12. He probably would have been higher if he had not had such a short presidency. He kind of just left a whole bunch of hollow promises that he obviously could not fill because of his death. Lyndon B Johnson came in at number 14. In my opinion he could have been a little higher, he was really a master at the political game. However, the whole Vietnam debacle was pretty bad. Ronald Regan comes in at number 15. I am no fan of Reagan because he pretty much only had good foreign policy and domestic really lacked. The next two are surprising, Bill Clinton at number 21 and George W. Bush at 22. I think it is a little to early to judge these presidents because we have not seen the full effects of their presidency yet. Personally though, Clinton should be a few spaces down and Bush should be near the bottom. George Bush senior is at 25 which is suitable because he did do many stupid things in office including the Gulf War. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford are tied for 26. I personally don't know much about Carter but as for Ford, he should have been higher. Ford did pretty much nothing in his presidency, and that was what the country needed at the time right after Watergate. Richard Nixon is at 32 which seems high out of 43 presidents. In all of his trickery, Nixon was a decent foreign policy leader. Well I hope that answers your questions, it would be interesting to see a list of the top 10 Prime Ministers.

[gordon s]

That's a hard call. I don't follow politics in any great detail. There have been 51 Prime Ministers so far and another one is expected any time now. Putting my neck on the line here are a few suggestions for top 10 contenders.

Winston Churchill 1940-5 and 1951-5 Conservative
He must be rated highly based on his leadership during WW2. As a peacetime leader he may slip down the rankings. One of the great speakers amongst our PMs.

Clement Attlee 1945-51 Labour
He was responsible for the creation of the British national health service.

Benjamin Disraeli 1868 and 1874-80 Conservative
Improved the life of working people and education for the masses.

Margaret Thatcher 1979-90 Conservative
Loved or hated she held the office for 11 years. Forced through some reforms of the unions and said no to Europe.


This isn't much of a commentary on our PMs but someone out there is bound to help out.