President's Day -- Ranking the Presidents

[Evangelicalhumanist]

It is, I believe, somewhat traditional to have an updated list of Presidential ranking on President's Day each, and of course this year is no different. I will admit, about one President's ranking I was not in the least surprised -- but another one's really shocked me, given the noise on social media these days.

No surprise (to me) Trump occupies far and away the bottom-most rank, with 10.92 points out of a possible 100. The big surprise is that Biden is quite far up, at 14th, with 62.66 points. (For comparison, Lincoln, at number 1, was scored with 93.87, Obama at number 7 with 73.88, John Adams at 62.66 (same as Biden).

Trump has touted his poll numbers against President Joe Biden ahead of a potential rematch in November. However, the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, conducted by Qualtrics, has Biden significantly ahead of the former president.

The survey was conducted online among more than 500 members of the American Political Science Association, an organization of professionals in the field.

Historians rank Trump worst president in history, Lincoln the best - UPI.com

A new survey of historians ranks Donald Trump the worst president in U.S. history.

www.upi.com

 

[Stevicus]

Here's a direct link to the survey PDF article: http://www.brandonrottinghaus.com/u...1/presidential_greatness_white_paper_2024.pdf

And an easier to read list:

1 Lincoln 93.87
2 FD Roosevelt 90.83
3 Washington 90.32
4 T Roosevelt 78.58
5 Jefferson 77.53
6 Truman 75.34
7 Obama 73.8
8 Eisenhower 73.73
9 LB Johnson 72.86
10 Kennedy 68.37
11 Madison 67.16
12 Clinton 66.42
13 J Adams 62.66
14 Biden 62.66
15 Wilson 61.8
16 Reagan 61.62
17 Grant 60.93
18 Monroe 60.15
19 GHW Bush 58.54
20 JQ Adams 55.41
21 Jackson 54.7
22 Carter 54.26
23 Taft 51.67
24 McKinley 51.23
25 Polk 49.83
26 Cleveland 48.31
27 Ford 46.09
28 Van Buren 45.46
29 Hayes 41.15
30 Garfield 40.98
31 Harrison 40.64
32 GW Bush 40.43
33 Arthur 39.61
34 Coolidge 39.38
35 Nixon 36.41
36 Hoover 34.08
37 Tyler 32.99
38 Taylor 32.97
39 Fillmore 30.33
40 Harding 27.76
41 Harrison 26.01
42 Pierce 24.6
43 A. Johnson 21.56
44 Buchanan 16.71
45 Trump 10.92


I probably would have rated Harding below A. Johnson. I think Coolidge and Arthur should be rated higher than GW Bush. Ford should be rated lower than Fillmore.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

And an easier to read list:

Thanks. Whoever was responsible for that graphical representation should be sent back to school.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I still see George W. Bush as the bottom of the presidential barrel. Two wars of aggression, a global recession, and a legacy of destruction and empowerment of terrorism through an utterly misguided "War on Terror"–and the echoes of all of these atrocious failures still affect millions of people to this day.

Trump doesn't even come close to that. Perhaps he would in a second term, with his hawkishness and dictatorial aspirations.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Here's a direct link to the survey PDF article: http://www.brandonrottinghaus.com/u...1/presidential_greatness_white_paper_2024.pdf

And an easier to read list:

1 Lincoln 93.87
2 FD Roosevelt 90.83
3 Washington 90.32
4 T Roosevelt 78.58
5 Jefferson 77.53
6 Truman 75.34
7 Obama 73.8
8 Eisenhower 73.73
9 LB Johnson 72.86
10 Kennedy 68.37
11 Madison 67.16
12 Clinton 66.42
13 J Adams 62.66
14 Biden 62.66
15 Wilson 61.8
16 Reagan 61.62
17 Grant 60.93
18 Monroe 60.15
19 GHW Bush 58.54
20 JQ Adams 55.41
21 Jackson 54.7
22 Carter 54.26
23 Taft 51.67
24 McKinley 51.23
25 Polk 49.83
26 Cleveland 48.31
27 Ford 46.09
28 Van Buren 45.46
29 Hayes 41.15
30 Garfield 40.98
31 Harrison 40.64
32 GW Bush 40.43
33 Arthur 39.61
34 Coolidge 39.38
35 Nixon 36.41
36 Hoover 34.08
37 Tyler 32.99
38 Taylor 32.97
39 Fillmore 30.33
40 Harding 27.76
41 Harrison 26.01
42 Pierce 24.6
43 A. Johnson 21.56
44 Buchanan 16.71
45 Trump 10.92


I probably would have rated Harding below A. Johnson. I think Coolidge and Arthur should be rated higher than GW Bush. Ford should be rated lower than Fillmore.

Thanks for that...didn't have time when I posted.

 

[libre]

After the death of revolutionaries, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons for the consolation and duping of the oppressed.
After the death of the reactionaries, attempts are made to canonize them and convert them into harmless icons of patriotism by ignoring how they treated the oppressed.

I don't think it's surprising that everyone thinks the current right-winger is a new low, this is how American ideology seeks to breathe life into it's dead presidents.

 

[Estro Felino]

I can't take this chart seriously.
I mean...Kennedy is surpassed by the Freemasons Roosevelts?

Please...this is spitting on JFK's grave.

First place: Kennedy
Second place: Lincoln

The last two places: the two Roosevelts preceded by some unspeakable Freemasonic stuff.

 

[F1fan]

I still see George W. Bush as the bottom of the presidential barrel. Two wars of aggression, a global recession, and a legacy of destruction and empowerment of terrorism through an utterly misguided "War on Terror"–and the echoes of all of these atrocious failures still affect millions of people to this day.

Trump doesn't even come close to that. Perhaps he would in a second term, with his hawkishness and dictatorial aspirations.

I suggest that Trump is responsible for more American deaths than Bush Jr. I can see that as a hard issue to forget.

 

[F1fan]

I can't take this chart seriously.
I mean...Kennedy is surpassed by the Freemasons Roosevelts?

Please...this is spitting on JFK's grave.

First place: Kennedy
Second place: Lincoln

The last two places: the two Roosevelts preceded by some unspeakable Freemasonic stuff.

In other words, excellent public service.

 

[F1fan]

I don't think it's surprising that everyone thinks the current right-winger is a new low, this is how American ideology seeks to breathe life into it's dead presidents.

It’s current right WINGERS, and who don’t work, but do try to suffocate the efforts of previous good presidents with authoritarian behaviors and the stripping away of established rights.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I can't take this chart seriously.
I mean...Kennedy is surpassed by the Freemasons Roosevelts?

Please...this is spitting on JFK's grave.

First place: Kennedy
Second place: Lincoln

The last two places: the two Roosevelts preceded by some unspeakable Freemasonic stuff.

Kennedy accomplished some very good things (but nearly screwed up the Bay of Pigs invasion). But you must consider, he had not even one full term (slightly less than 3 years as President) before he was assassinated. I don't think being a "martyr" is one of the things historians count in the asset column when assessing leaders.

And in spite of what you might prefer, I don't think they measure good looks, either.

 

[libre]

I don't think being a "martyr" is one of the things historians count in the asset column when assessing leaders.

I agree, I see it as using personal tragedies to mask real analysis.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I suggest that Trump is responsible for more American deaths than Bush Jr. I can see that as a hard issue to forget.

I do believe that Trump was one of the absolute worst American presidents on a domestic level, for sure. His COVID response alone was a major disgrace.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I do believe that Trump was one of the absolute worst American presidents on a domestic level, for sure. His COVID response alone was a major disgrace.

Worse, I think at times it went past disgrace into actual farce. (I'm picturing that moment when he suggests to his science team that maybe people could bleach their innards and somehow insert UV light into people's bodies. This is ignorance on a grand scale.)

 

[Regiomontanus]

I can't take this chart seriously.
I mean...Kennedy is surpassed by the Freemasons Roosevelts?

Please...this is spitting on JFK's grave.

First place: Kennedy
Second place: Lincoln

The last two places: the two Roosevelts preceded by some unspeakable Freemasonic stuff.

The Great Legacy of T.R. is our national forest system and national wildlife refuges. Teddy was a blood thirsty imperialist, but I thank God for his concern for land conservation!

IMHO, #20 (JQ Adams) is the most under appreciated President. He was the most highly educated and intelligent Presidents ever and WAY ahead of his time in many ways. See for example:

https://www.amazon.com/John-Quincy-Adams-American-Visionary/dp/0061915424

 

[Quintessence]

Not a fan of this survey. Dug into the source, and it's... while I won't say the opinions of subject experts are irrelevant, the way they went about evaluating this isn't very insightful. What the heck does a 20 mean? A 40? What aspects of the presidency were taken into consideration? What would be more insightful is ratings on specific domestic and foreign policy issues, then amalgamating that into some value.

 

[Revoltingest]

I dint see David Palmer on the list.

 

[Regiomontanus]

I dint see David Palmer on the list.

Umm, Steely Dan?

 

[Revoltingest]

Umm, Steely Dan?

 

[Stevicus]

The Great Legacy of T.R. is our national forest system and national wildlife refuges. Teddy was a blood thirsty imperialist, but I thank God for his concern for land conservation!

IMHO, #20 (JQ Adams) is the most under appreciated President. He was the most highly educated and intelligent Presidents ever and WAY ahead of his time in many ways. See for example:

https://www.amazon.com/John-Quincy-Adams-American-Visionary/dp/0061915424

I remember reading that John Quincy Adams used to have a habit of skinny dipping in the Potomac River in the early morning. He would just walk over from the White House. No President could do that nowadays. Even Clinton going out jogging was probably a nightmare for his Secret Service detail.