Who was the best president in US history?
There have been several polls taken among historians who study this kind of stuff, and almost all have put Lincoln, Washington, and FDR at the top of the list. Almost universally Lincoln is recognized as the best. Not only did he hold the Union together during, by far, it's most turbulent period, he influenced people who hated him, didn't want to fight, didn't mind slavery, and wanted to see the Union dissolve. Lincoln manged Washington DC, the War, and Politics with a skill unmatched in history. Plus he was our most eloquent speaker. Washington and the Founding Fathers may have given a head and body to our nation, but Lincoln give it It's soul. There is far more discussion regarding the worst. Most people put Hoover down due to his complete ineptitude at handling the Depression. Nixon is a mixed bag, brilliant at politics and diplomacy, but insanely miserable judgment. Harrison was president for about 30 days. His one distinction is having the longest, most boring inaugural speech in history. Tyler was a prick. Jackson did some great things but legalized the murder of Native Americans. Harding was just dumber than dirt and everyone around him manipulated him for their own gain. The four of five presidents before Lincoln, for doing everything they could to ensure that, when slavery did end, its death would be bloody, horrific, and the absolute worst outcome possible. Buchanan has to top that list. It's too early to say about modern presidents - in all likelihood, Reagan will be ranked high, GHW Bush medium-high, Clinton medium-low (see Nixon and the judgment thing) and GW Bush, low.
Who were the top five "best" presidents in the last 100 years and why?
This is highly subjective. Most Americans would list the "Top" something like this (flip numbers around as you wish):Franklin D. RooseveltTeddy RooseveltWoodrow WilsonHarry TrumanJohn F. KennedyRonald ReaganDwight D. EisenhowerLyndon B. JohnsonWilliam J. ClintonI would, based on presidential effectiveness, "mood" of the people (a president can highly affect the mood of the nation), general policies 10+ years after he left office:Franklin D. RooseveltTeddy RooseveltHarry TrumanWoodrow WilsonDwight D. EisenhowerWhy the list as such?FDR — there are a lot of people who argue for or against this guy, but even amongst conservatives, he's typically well regarded for how he handled WWII and his overall efforts at inspiring a desperately hungry nation to dig itself out of the Great Depression.Teddy Roosevelt — I love this man for his social progressiveness. He fought racism as much as could be expected for the era, he broke up some of the worst, most evil trusts in the USA, he established a lot of the laws that protected workers, women & children. He established many food safety laws. Truman, Wilson and Eisenhower are a bit more subjective, but I think they all did a good job dealing with difficult times and delivered very favorable results for the American people. I also hold Bill Clinton in VERY favorable regard, but the list was top five. Three presidents that I think are greatly over-rated: Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan. I think that Kennedy's greatest deed was appointing the first black man on the SCOUTS, beyond that his greatest memorable deed was in being assassinated. I think he botched BoP horribly and was otherwise a sleezeball. I don't agree with Johnson's "Great Society" nonsense that established the long and drawn-out history of the USA handing shit out for no reason to poor people who are now utterly dependent upon those hand-outs. Reagan gets unbelievably disproportionate credit for "defeating Communism" a rotting, rusting entity that was on its way to collapse long before his presidency and was fought just as vehemently by all of his predecessors. Timing, in this case, was Reagan's best friend. Worse still, Reagan solidified Nixon's "Southern Strategy", continued the political polarization with aplomb and started the massive trend of unsustainable spending deficits that are plaguing us to this day.
Who are your top 5 American presidents of all time and why?
In my book Presidents Body Counts, I urged that we judge presidents based on their humanitarian record, who saved the most lives or prevented the most deaths, and not partisanship or likeability. 1. LincolnEnded the slavery of both Blacks and California Indians. Slaves had a child mortality rate double that of free people.Defeating the Confederacy prevented planned future wars by CSA leaders to invade Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. 2. Van BurenPrevented wars with both Britain and Mexico.Prevented California Indian genocide from happening during his term. 3. CarterHuman rights policy saved at least 50,000 dissidents worldwide and helped bring democracy to 25 nations.Rescued over 100,000 refugees from Communism, both Cubans and Russian Jews. 4. GrantPeace Policy reduced violence between the army and American Indians by 3/4 fewer battles.Ended racist violence by the KKK in Georgia and South Carolina. There was no number 5 on my list. There are some presidents who both saved many lives but also cost many lives: FDR, LBJ, Bush Sr, and Obama. There were also the worst presidents based on the cost in lives, either deliberately or by incompetence. In order, with the deliberate ones followed by the most incompetent:Nixon, Reagan, Jackson, Buchanan, Polk, Fillmore, Clinton, Ford, McKinley, GW Bush, and Andrew Johnson.
Who is the best presidential public speaker in United States history?
Clinton. By a large margin. Technically flawless. Mesmerizing to watch. Kennedy. The most inspiring speaker of our times.Reagan. Just oozed leadership. If Mario Cuomo had ever been elected President, he would have wiped the floor with any of the three above, however. :)Obama is very good. But it's more the quality of his speeches than the quality of his speaking. And he benefits from having followed a President who was not very good.