[Recovering_Democrat]

I am not one for slavish subscription to the opinion of academics, but the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal recently published the rankings of the Presidents of a group of scholars. The rankings seem to be reasonably accurate, with a few exceptions. I printed the rankings out to keep...here they are:

GREAT
1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Franklin Roosevelt

NEAR GREAT
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Theodore Roosevelt
6. Andrew Jackson
7. Harry Truman
8. Ronald Reagan
9. Dwight Eisenhower
10. James Polk
11. Woodrow Wilson

ABOVE AVERAGE
12. Grover Cleveland
13. John Adams
14. William McKinley
15. James Madison
16. James Monroe
17. Lyndon Johnson
18. John Kennedy

AVERAGE
19. William Taft
20. John Quincy Adams
21. George H.W. Bush
22. Rutherford B. Hayes
23. Martin Van Buren
24. Bill Clinton
25. Calvin Coolidge
26. Chester Arthur

BELOW AVERAGE
27. Benjamin Harrison
28. Gerald Ford
29. Herbert Hoover
30. Jimmy Carter
31. Zachary Taylor
32. Ulysses Grant
33. Richard Nixon
34. John Tyler
35. Millard Fillmore

FAILURE
36. Andrew Johnson
37. Franklin Pierce
38. Warren Harding
39. James Buchanan

William Henry Harrison was president for only 30 days, and James Garfield was in office only six months. The scholars thought their early deaths made it too difficult to evaluate their tenures, so their presidencies were not included.

I don't agree with all of this...Coolidge ought to be a little higher, in my opinion...Kennedy and Clinton a little lower. Nixon wasn't "below average"--at least not down below Carter. But I think this list is a reasonable representation of a ranking of the Presidents.

[Dog Gone]

Eisenhower doesn't belong in the top 10. I'd rate him right there with Gerald Ford in the "he did no damage, but didn't do anything, either" category. I don't think FDR was great, either, unless greatness means impact.

I'd put Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan in a tie in the top five, and Dubya already ranks above Truman at the start of his second term.

[quesera]

RE: post #72

I was quite young during Nixon, Carter, and Reagan. I Actually remember quite a bit and how I felt in general during Reagan . I really became aware of politics during Reagan, in fact I was inspired by him. There will never be another one like President Reagan. I also love W, but he will be great in his own way.

I can't say I know much about the earlier Presidents except what I learned in HS and College. President Reagan should be among one of the greatest Presidents. I am also troubled by the fact that Nixon was placed in same category as carter, President Nixon deserves to be placed way above Carter. As far as I am concerned Both Carter and Clinton should be placed at the very bottom as two of the worst. Hate is a word I don't use often but I really hated Clinton for what he did to the Oval Office.

President Bush I am hoping will also find a place among one of the greatest.