Who is or was the most morally upstanding President of the United States?
I’m late to the party but I’ll still throw in my two cents.Politically…very few.We can count out the presidents that had scandals during their presidency that would ruin their credibility.Reagan with the Iran-Contra ScandalKennedy got us into VietnamLBJ escalated the war in VietnamNixon escalated the war in Vietnam further before pulling out, after explicitly promising to pull out (plus Watergate)FDR tried to add six justices to SCOTUS so he could pursue a more liberal agendaHarding was a KKK member and gambled away the white house chinaHoover handled the Depression poorlyEisenhower had the U-2 incidentAndrew Johnson was almost impeachedMost of the presidents between Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt (Grant, Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Hayes, Arthur) were in the pockets of big corporations like Standard OilAndrew Jackson was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Native AmericansWoodrow Wilson got us into World War I after running on the basis staying outDubya got us into IraqObama promised to get us out of Iraq, but still hasn’tHerbert Walker raised taxes after promising not toBill Clinton got caught in the White Water scandalFranklin Pierce encouraged the South’s secession, plus he was a huge drunkA lot of people have mentioned John Adams, although I will point out that he tried to make it illegal for people to speak out against the government. George Washington also, who stepped down after two terms, although he likely would have been elected to at least one more if he had ran again. He spent his entire presidency trying to keep the people free of tyranny, and released his slaves upon his death. John Tyler fulfilled all of the goals he set at the beginning of his presidency. Lincoln and Truman never did anything particularly wrong or dishonest either as president. If I had to choose, I’d probably take Washington, as he really worked to help the American people keep their liberty, and would have been shocked at all the hatred between the Democrats and Republicans now.In private, it’s a little more general. We can count out Jefferson, Clinton, FDR, Eisenhower, Harding, LBJ, and JFK, who all cheated on their wives. There are unconfirmed rumors that Richard Nixon beat his wife at least once. Most of the other presidents were good, moral, decent men, and it would be difficult to pick out one who was more morally upstanding than the others
What party is closest to my views? I'm socially conservative and fiscally liberal.
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With a Republican Congress to work with, will Trump succeed at getting the enormous tax "reform" he campaigned on?
Thats tough in the current Congress after the Obamacare repeal failure. As one newspaper put it, there's a civil war within the White House right now, and a similar division of loyalties in the GOP. Granted that is over dramatic but it represents that same political party or not, people still have individual opinions that can effect the outcome. Take the Freedom Caucus members in Congress. By no means do these conservatives have close to a majority, but their individual opinions in the face of other conservatives in the Republican party was enough to put a damper on one of the parties most desired actions since Obama’s presidency- repealing the ACA.I keep bringing up this blunder to answer your question because it shows two things:The President and his staff’s ability to “close the deal” isnt necessarily there. The President and Steve Bannon threatened Republicans with practically an “or else” if they didn't pass the new healthcare act, and it didn't work. So assuming he doesn't change tactics, then I feel as though massive tax system reform isn't going to be too feasible.The Republican Party is calling into question whether to have loyalty to their own beliefs or to the President’s beliefs, and what can be seen is people don't know which way to lean. This uncertainty might do to undermine their political agenda than the opposition party.Now depending on one’s personal beliefs, the tax system may not NEED fixing. Traditionally, the conservative stance on taxation is to allow businesses to work and turn a profit which will in turn stimulate the economy. However, as we have more progressive conservatives and changing opinions, this may serve as another point of division.Overall, it doesn't look like a clear or easy road to travel for the GOP in tax reform, especially after their healthcare issues. If they are to succeed, they will have to either start working across the aisle (which seems unlikely) or set aside their own differences and rally behind the President. As for right now, success does not seem imminent.