Worst US President - Post 1900

Who was the worst president - Post 1900?

  • George W. Bush

    Votes: 47 46.1%
  • Herbert Hoover

    Votes: 15 14.7%
  • Woodrow Wilson

    Votes: 18 17.6%
  • None of the Above (Other)

    Votes: 31 30.4%

  • Total voters
    102
  • Poll closed .

Caspian

Banned
What have you got against Taft? He did a better job at monopoly busting that Theodore Roosevelt.

Well, Taft vs. Roosevelt, I doubt Taft would have been doing much trust-busting if Roosevelt hadn't set the example before him. Also, Roosevelt was much more instrumental in making the United States a world power, at least in my estimation. I think Taft was a relatively unimportant president as far as the 20th century is concerned (though a much more important Chief Justice).
 
Well, Taft vs. Roosevelt, I doubt Taft would have been doing much trust-busting if Roosevelt hadn't set the example before him. Also, Roosevelt was much more instrumental in making the United States a world power, at least in my estimation. I think Taft was a relatively unimportant president as far as the 20th century is concerned (though a much more important Chief Justice).

Being 'a relatively unimportant president' does not equate to being 'worst president'. It is true that it was more thru the pushing of his wife that Taft agreed to running for the Presidency. I doubt it was easy follow Roosevelt, and even Taft admitted that. Quickly looking over the wikipedia entry on Taft I see alot of accomplishments.

I don't think the more 'progressive' thinking Roosevelt got the better he would have been returning to the White House. I also think that too much is made of Roosevelt's muckraking or that there is too much gloss on the story.
 
Clinton was the one who got us into the economic crisis by mandating banks to loan to those who couldn't pay back. so we would have to blame Clinton for the policies.

Bush made it obvious that he lusted over oil. There was no hiding that, how many Americans died in order to get this oil? He just finished off his father's war.

Nixon. Watergate. Need I say more.


The Community Reinvestment Act has nothing to do with the financial crisis. Subprime Excesses mainly came from institutions that weren't regulated by the CRA and CRA regulated loans are generally considered to be safe and profitable.
 
Clinton was the one who got us into the economic crisis by mandating banks to loan to those who couldn't pay back. so we would have to blame Clinton for the policies.

Bush made it obvious that he lusted over oil. There was no hiding that, how many Americans died in order to get this oil? He just finished off his father's war.

Nixon. Watergate. Need I say more.

On Bush if the Iraq War was really for oil why didn't we seize the oil fields and run it ourselves. As for Nixon there were many good things he did such as withdraw from Vietnam in the best possible way, established relations with China, expanded the space program, established OSHA, and the EPA, had plans for a universal health care system, and so on. Indeed if it were for not Watergate Nixon would be considered a good if not great president.
 
On Bush if the Iraq War was really for oil why didn't we seize the oil fields and run it ourselves. As for Nixon there were many good things he did such as withdraw from Vietnam in the best possible way, established relations with China, expanded the space program, established OSHA, and the EPA, had plans for a universal health care system, and so on. Indeed if it were for not Watergate Nixon would be considered a good if not great president.
Yeah ...

And if Not for Getting Shot, JFK would STILL be Alive ...

For Both, However, The Seminal Moment of their Presidency, Is All Anyone Ever Remembers!

:eek:
 
How was US embassy personell escaping by helicopter off the roof of the Saigon US embassy as VC forces overrun the city pulling out the best way?
Aside from going to china Nixon was a horrible president. His presidency more or less screwed over the country for the rest of the 70s, which includes screwing over the carter administration which in turn allowed reagan to do it all over again, only it took about 20 years for reagans policies to screw us. I figure that Reagan then Nixon respectively were the worst presidents between 1900 and 1990.

However I have a hard time seeing GWB as anything but the most horriffic president in history after time. It may be pretty soon, but, I don't see how anything he has done could be viewed as anything but the worst example of how to run a country. Even if Iraq turns out well, it is still quite obvious that the road to success was paved in way too much blood, incompetence, and corruption. In fact he will be the first president since Ike(vietnam) to get involved in a war that he didn't see finish within his own presidency and it's only compounded by the fact that he did it twice. Also I can't help but draw the parallel between Bush during Katrina in New Orleans and Nero playing a fiddle while Rome burns to the ground. And for being a history major in college he failed to learn a lot of lessons from it. the fact that he seems to have drawn his political and military playbook from Hitler himself seems ludicrously stupid.
 
How was US embassy personell escaping by helicopter off the roof of the Saigon US embassy as VC forces overrun the city pulling out the best way?
Aside from going to china Nixon was a horrible president. His presidency more or less screwed over the country for the rest of the 70s, which includes screwing over the carter administration which in turn allowed reagan to do it all over again, only it took about 20 years for reagans policies to screw us. I figure that Reagan then Nixon respectively were the worst presidents between 1900 and 1990.

However I have a hard time seeing GWB as anything but the most horriffic president in history after time. It may be pretty soon, but, I don't see how anything he has done could be viewed as anything but the worst example of how to run a country. Even if Iraq turns out well, it is still quite obvious that the road to success was paved in way too much blood, incompetence, and corruption. In fact he will be the first president since Ike(vietnam) to get involved in a war that he didn't see finish within his own presidency and it's only compounded by the fact that he did it twice. Also I can't help but draw the parallel between Bush during Katrina in New Orleans and Nero playing a fiddle while Rome burns to the ground. And for being a history major in college he failed to learn a lot of lessons from it. the fact that he seems to have drawn his political and military playbook from Hitler himself seems ludicrously stupid.

What do you then suggest do in Vietnam? If we had withdrawn immediatly the same thing would have happened. The best option would have been for the US to invade North Vietnam and that would have had no support in the US. Also Nixon as I've said already created OSHA and the EPA among other things.
 
What do you then suggest do in Vietnam? If we had withdrawn immediatly the same thing would have happened. The best option would have been for the US to invade North Vietnam and that would have had no support in the US. Also Nixon as I've said already created OSHA and the EPA among other things.


The 1973 agreement that began the end of U.S. involvement contained the same terms that were first proposed in 68 or 69. Nixon prolonged the war by about four years even though in his 68 campaign he claimed to have a secret plan to end the war.
 
also, when kissinger told the Russians and Chinese that the US would accept a communist nation in Indochina that pretty much resulted in both parties ramping up their supplies to the NVA which then lead to the south being overrun and the eventual chaotic US evactuation from the country.
 
Also I can't help but draw the parallel between Bush during Katrina in New Orleans and Nero playing a fiddle while Rome burns to the ground. And for being a history major in college he failed to learn a lot of lessons from it. the fact that he seems to have drawn his political and military playbook from Hitler himself seems ludicrously stupid.

I don't see why the president should be called upon to micromanage any disaster. That is the responsibility of those at the local, municipal, county and state level first. Are we to hold the president responsible for rescueing cats from trees?
 
I don't see why the president should be called upon to micromanage any disaster. That is the responsibility of those at the local, municipal, county and state level first. Are we to hold the president responsible for rescueing cats from trees?


The levees were a federal responsibility and funding for their maintenence had been cut under Bush. Also, the competence of FEMA declined since Bush filled it with his cronies while under Clinton the agency was highly regarded.
 
Harding is the worst in terms of professional competence. However, when we say "bad" president, we must also factor in the impact of the president's actions on the country and the world. In the early twenties, the US economy was booming and the country retracted from international affairs. The economy ran on auto-pilot and Harding's incompetence had little lasting effect. Likewise, Coolidge could sleep his days away with little consequence.

Had JFK started a nuclear conflict, he would have been condemned. Since he did not, he is remembered as the hero who invigorated the space program, presided during the Berlin crisis, started a war on poverty, started the Peace Corps, met with Martin Luther King to discuss civil rights, established physical fitness programs in schools, and yes, turned the Russians away from Cuba.

No twentieth century president ended up putting the integrity of the US in jeopardy. It will take decades, though, for the impact of GW Bush's decision to invade Iraq to complete its impact on world history. When all is said and done, I really believe the GW Bush administration will go down as the worst since 1900.

And Hurricane Katrina is a black eye on the Bush administration. It is not micro-management for the president to take immediate action on an event of this magnitude. The US military is the only institution large enough to move in for the immediate assistance needed. It would be four days before military helicopters would arrive on site. By contrast, it took only three days for our copters to assist earthquake victims in Pakistan.

Assistance from the Mexican Army and Canadian Red Cross reached New Orleans before that of the US military. Pathetic.
 
Pierce may be poorly judged for many things, but considering his 'inducting Jefferson Davis onto the national stage' as one of his signature failures is questionable to the highest degree and begs the question of sanity for any individual thinking so.

The vote for all-time worst president has to go to James Buchanan for his complete inaction as states left the union. He owed his country some degree of effort and instead ignored the problem so it would pass on to Lincoln.
 
The vote for all-time worst president has to go to James Buchanan for his complete inaction as states left the union. He owed his country some degree of effort and instead ignored the problem so it would pass on to Lincoln.

Since the US Constitution says nothing, one way or another, about secession that seems hardly far.

Tho I think we are suppose to limit our debate to post 1900.

Exactly how does this thread qualify for this forum?
 
Since the US Constitution says nothing, one way or another, about secession that seems hardly far.

Tho I think we are suppose to limit our debate to post 1900.

Exactly how does this thread qualify for this forum?

True, Buchanan is pre-1900 so he should not be included here. But presidents are evaluated by their impact on the future; and in retrospect, Buchanan's inaction resulted in a "worst" vote against future benefits.

This thread was moved from the "After 1900" form to Chat because it includes current political discussion. One of the rules of the forums is that current political issues be confined to Chat because that form is viewable by members only. At times, Ian the Admin even moves ASB topics to Chat if they go political.
 
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