Best President in American History

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   lesliebyarsposted 11 years ago

   I have several presidents I loved for various reasons including: FDR, LBJ, JFK, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. What I wanna know is who is the best and most accomplished president of the United States ever and why?

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      logic,commonsenseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Washington.  He was the first and was treading uncertain waters and uncharted territory.  He did not put himself before the country.

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      safiq ali patelposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Bill Clinton former United States President remains a favorite of mine for his effort in stopping the genocide of ethnics in the former Yugoslavian nations. I also admire President Franklin D Rousavelt for his New Deal that helped lift America out of the Great Depression of the 1920's.

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         tsadjatkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         A favorite?
         The question is "Who is the best and most accomplished president of the United States ever." 
         Cilinton was Monica Lewinsky's favorite president too. I would think if one was to pick a favorite there would be many others to choose from who were faithful to their wives and didn't lie to the country on live TV.
         Under Roosevelt the massive injection of government funds into the economy did not end the Depression though Roosevelt’s confident demeanor did give people hope. Hope is not the same as results however (as President Obama has sadly demonstrated) and economists now say Roosevelt actually prolonged the depression with his policies especially increasing taxes.
         You really can't do any better than these two, especially for the best and most accomplished?

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   tsadjatkoposted 11 years ago

   President Ronald Reagan confronted challenges as daunting as those the nation faces today, and met them so successfully that he’s now considered the best president in modern times.
   In a recently released Harris poll asking respondents who they consider the “best president since World War II,” Ronald Reagan is cited by 25 percent, well ahead of Franklin Roosevelt at 19 percent and John Kennedy at 15 percent.
   There is much to learn today from Reagan’s successes. As Wayne Allyn Root, recently in Forbes magazine: “We need a revolutionary new vision. We need a modern-day Reagan with a bold plan.
   “Reagan was not afraid to ruffle feathers and put dramatic, even radical plans on the table. That is how he created the Reagan Revolution that revitalized America.”
   Reagan faced difficulties on many fronts when he entered the White House in January 1981.
   The nation was heavily embroiled in the Cold War. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan a year earlier. Until the day of Reagan’s inauguration, Iran had held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
   USS Ronald Reagan Cap, remebering the best president since world war twoOn the economic front, the nation was in the doldrums after four years of the Jimmy Carter presidency. Inflation stood around 12.5 percent, unemployment was 7.5 percent, and the top tax rate was 70 percent.
   Reagan implemented free market policies that came to be known as Reaganomics — drastically reducing taxes on income and capital gains, cutting spending on many federal programs, and deregulating the economy. The result: the largest economic boom in U.S. history.
   Reagan’s policies created more than 16 million new jobs, and the GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.85 percent a year. By the time Reagan left office, inflation had plunged to just 4.4 percent, and unemployment had dropped to 5.4 percent.
   Reagan also stood up to the Soviet Union, branding it “an evil empire” in a March 1983 speech. He ordered a massive buildup of American armed forces, and introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) — later dubbed “Star Wars” — to protect the United States from nuclear ballistic missiles launched by the U.S.S.R.
   He also boosted aid to anti-communist resistance movements, including the Mujaheddin battling Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and freed the island nation of Grenada from a Marxist government supported by troops from the Soviets’ North American ally, Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
   In 1987, Reagan stood at the Berlin Wall and challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” Two years later, the Wall came down, and the Cold War was declared over.
   Reagan’s tough foreign policy approach paid off. Two years after his Berlin Wall speech, the Soviet Union collapsed, a pivotal moment in history many attribute largely to Reagan’s huge military buildup and threat of building the SDI — moves that could not be matched by the floundering Soviet economy.
   On the home front, Reagan endeared himself to average Americans with a straightforward, no-nonsense style that earned him the nickname “The Great Communicator.”
   But Reagan’s greatest accomplishment, he said at the end of his presidency, was that he made Americans feel proud of their country again.
   http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Reagan … /id/429722

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   Uninvited Writerposted 11 years ago

   People give Reagan far too much credit...

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      Repairguy47posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No they don't, he had a bad economy when he took office and the problem was solved in his first term. That is why a President SHOULD be reelected, too bad the clown we have now is a complete failure!

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         tsadjatkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         UW has spoken - no evidence or justification for his view (because there is none), just a feeling? SO what is mentioned above is too much credit? I suppose UW thinks it all would have happened with out him. Maybe UW thinks we should have kept Carter (the worst president in recent history) for four more years - yeah like that would have been a solution.

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            Repairguy47posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Just to correct, UW is a she not a he.

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               tsadjatkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Oh, that explains it?

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            Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Okay, in my opinion he is overrated. Gorbachev had more to do with ending the Soviet Union than Reagan did.  Star Wars was roundly criticized by experts and never got off the ground. There was more going on behind the scenes in Iran... that a recent film testified to...  He started the downward spiral by cutting income tax for the highest earners, deregulated industries that should not have been deregulated,

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               tsadjatkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for displaying your total lack of knowledge about Reagan. Star wars was a ruse to force Russian defense to spend itself into bankruptcy and it worked.
               What recent film testified to what thing that Reagan was "overrated" on? And no one of respectable credentials in the area and without a political axe to grind questions that Reagan's tax cuts and deregulation spurred the greatest economic boom in history - and he did raise taxes on the rich by eliminating loopholes and deductions - so as I suspected you don't have an honest leg to stand on - why don't you look for some more looney left wing talking points to share.

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                  tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  He also gave weapons to Iran in exchange for hostages, Do you remember the Iran-Contra affair, which is well documented...

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                     tsadjatkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Well it appears you have a little more documentation than what the investigations revealed because several investigations ensued, including those by the United States Congress and the three-man, Reagan-appointed Tower Commission. Neither found any evidence that President Reagan himself knew of the extent of the multiple programs. So say what you will, no one proved Reagan gave weapons to Iran.

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   Credence2posted 11 years ago

   Reagan is overrated, the whole concept of deficit spending which 30 years later is responsible for so many of our fiscal problems began with "the Gipper". Rightwingers swoon over the man, but is that to be unexpected? In modern times I liked JFK and  Bill Clinton. What a speech Clinton made at the DEM Convention, better than Obama and putting the finishing touches on Romney's coffin.
   
   The greatest president in my opinion is Abraham Lincoln.

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      Repairguy47posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No Reagan is not overrated, Clinton most certainly is though. Why were the times so good under Clinton? Ronald Reagan and the FACT that Clinton was kept in check for 6 out of 8 years by a Republican congress and senate. If deficit spending is so terrible under Reagan why isn't it terrible under Obama?

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         Credence2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Leave it to conservatives to give credit to themselves, but never take the responsibility for screwups during their watch. Your 'facts' are just conjecture, which is just as valid as any 'almighty' rightwinger .To those of us on the left, Reagan does not deserve to be placed upon a pedestal. The problem of deficit spending started with Reagan and he bears a great deal of blame for starting us all down the slipperly slope that succeeding presidents would afterwards have to deal with....

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            Repairguy47posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Wonderful, totally ignored facts. If deficit spending is so bad why is it tolerated by the left under Obama? You realize he added more to the deficit than 5 previous Presidents combined and he did it in four years, twice as fast as Reagan and Bush and you think he should be applauded?

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               Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               So why do the right now attack it?

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                  Repairguy47posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Because its waaaaaay too much spending!

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                     tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     RG, Because we just suffered the worst recession since the Great Depression, hence the most government spending in order to stabilize the economy...If you remember Bush put us in two wars on a credit card, not very fiscally responsible, deregulated the banks also irresponsible, and set the stage for the spending, if you recall...

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                        Repairguy47posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        I'm sorry WHO deregulated banks?

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                           tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           http://www.ehow.com/info_7748733_deregu … -bush.html
                           I know where your coming from, so we will skip the back and forth, and I will just leave this link

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                              wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              Shame on you, Tammy.  At least keep it in the family!
                              
                              http://lionsdenmedia.hubpages.com/hub/S … ion-Claims

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                                 tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 "The idea of deregulating financial markets is driven by the free market philosophy of social and economic relations. While the idea had been bandied about since the Nixon administration, it was the Reagan administration, with George H.W. Bush as vice president, that began the legislative push to end federal oversight over Wall Street, the banks and the financial services sector."
                                 
                                 "At the very end of the first Bush administration in 1992, one of the crucial deregulatory decisions was made to permit banks to function outside of their state boundaries. This was a major step in that it permitted banks to get involved with major commercial deals of international scope, and eventually eliminated smaller local banks. Banking, after this reform, became an oligarchy, dominated by a few major big-city banks involved in international speculation and investment."

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                                    wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                    Actually, I was just reading a thread about outsourcing our labor costs; check the location of your link and mine.
                                    
                                    Sorry to stick my nose in without actually following what was going on - just mean to poke a little fun.

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                                       tammybarnetteposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                       All in good fun Your always welcome to add to any conversation I am a part of

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                                    innersmiffposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                    The oligarchy was in as soon as the United States enforced a central bank - those policies only served to re-affirm the cartel.
                                    
                                    http://mises.org/daily/3480

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   Uninvited Writerposted 11 years ago

   Why did you ask if you were only going to accept people who agreed with you and attacked those who don't?
   
   Way to rewrite history about Star Wars...
   "The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983,[1] to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD). The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) was set up in 1984 within the United States Department of Defense to oversee the Strategic Defense Initiative."
   
   I was around then, I don't need anyone to tell me what was going on.
   
   
   In terms of a movie I was talking about what the Carter government was doing to free the hostages...

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      Cody Hodge5posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yea, its funny how a conservative such as Reagan wanted to bankrupt the country with a defense system that would never have worked thirty years ago.

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         logic,commonsenseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         It did work.  It put the Soviets out of business.  Maybe not directly, but indirectly.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I don't think Reagan wanted to bankrupt the country any more than Obama wants to turn it into a Muslim community.
         
         While I do think Reagan actually had hopes of the system working one day he had no way of knowing whether technology of the time (or technology that would be developed then) would do the job without trying.  If we always simply declared that "it won't work" we'd never have any technology at all; star wars was the beginning of technology that now can shoot down an incoming missile.
         
         There is also the possibility, as tsadjatko says above, that star wars was nothing more than a gigantic ruse designed to ruin the Soviet economy.  If so, it was a definite success as it played an instrumental part in the strategy without causing too much damage to the US.

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      tsadjatkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      "I was around then, I don't need anyone to tell me what was going on."
      
      You may have been around then but it is obvious you weren't paying attention, and how does a movie about what the Carter government was doing to free the hostages in any way make Reagan over rated? Whatever Carter was doing, he failed miserably and if some history revisionist wants to say he had more up his sleeve it was obviously too little too late. Reagan didn't have to do anything to get the hostages back, just his presence as Commander in Chief was enough.

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   habeeposted 11 years ago

   I like the way Reagan and Clinton were able to work with both sides. I've always admired Jefferson's intellect and his thirst for knowledge.
   
   Funny, I didn't care much for Poppy Bush when he was in office, but I've read a lot about him since, and I have a new admiration for him - as a person.
   
   Oh, and President Ben Franklin was a hoot! Yeah, I recently heard someone refer to Franklin's being POTUS.

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