Harding and Congress cut spending by 50% in 2 years. It is a stronger case for conservativism than the article implies.
Too bad Warren Harding was brought down by corruption within his party...
Not sure if he would have won a second term as he suffered from a Heart Attack in 1923, paving the way for Calvin Coolidge, who presided over the roaring 20’s.
Traditionally, polls of historians and scholars have ranked Harding as one of the worst Presidents (nonetheless the nation’s unemployment rate dropped by half during Harding’s administration); primarily due to the multiple scandals in his administration caused by the “Ohio Gang”. These were Harding’s cabinet and appointees who warranted federal corruption investigations, charges, and convictions.
His presidency has always been evaluated in terms of presidential record and accomplishments in addition to the administration scandals and very few considered his accomplishment in leading America out of the panic of 1920.
The most recent Presidential rankings have had various lower results for President Harding.
A 2008 study for The Times placed Harding at number 34, and a 2009 C-SPAN survey ranked Harding at 38.
In 2010, a Siena College poll of Presidential scholars placed Harding at a very low 41 ( almost the worst ).