I thought it might be interesting, while candidates are preparing for the presidential election, to try and figure out who the worst and best modern presidents were and why. My first thought was to look at polls. This didn't work out too good because I was able to find polls that were completely opposite of each other, hardly anything to base opinions on here. I think the problem was that if a website had a Republican leaning, then since it attracted mostly Republicans the polls would reflect that Democratic presidents were the worst and if the website had a Democratic leaning, then their polls would reflect that Republican presidents were the worst.

The modern presidents are considered by scholars to start with Franklin D. Roosevelt, so we will start with him.

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933 - 1945

Considered by many as a great president he was responsible for the New Deal, which created many jobs for people that were still suffering from the great depression. He guided this country through most of World War II. He pushed for the Emergency Banking Act which set standards by which banks had to conduct business and formed the FDIC which insured accounts. He helped the Indians by stopping the sale of Indian lands and giving them back all unallocated lands. He had the great dams built, created Social Security, the Tennessee Valley Authority which modernized backward areas. He pushed bills that lent money to farmers, He legalized collective bargaining and closed shops and set up the National Labor Relations Board. He banned child labor.

Not everything was a success however as the Home Owners Loan Corporation and Agriculture Adjustment Administration he formed were declared unconstitutional, and when he set up the SEC(Security and Exchange Commission) business was very upset with him.

He has to be considered one of the best presidents.

Harry S. Truman 1945 - 1953

One month after taking office Germany surrendered. Truman was responsible for rebuilding Europe through the Marshall Plan. He was the only president to use nuclear weapons when he dropped the A Bombs on Japan. It was felt at the time that this action saved hundreds of thousands of American lives by avoiding an invasion of Japan. Truman became very popular through his 'Fair Deal' policies and beat Dewey who was favored to win the presidential election. He implemented NATO. The Truman Doctrine was established to prevent the spread of Communism. Truman was president during the Korean conflict and banged heads with General MacArthur many times. Harry Truman integrated the armed forces.

Truman was considered a good president by many.

Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953 -1961

Eisenhower was a great organizer and had proved his talent in World War II where he was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Troops. Eisenhower was basically a Cold War president. During his presidency the U.S. and Korea signed an armistice. He appeared at the U.N. and delivered a speech on Atoms for Peace. Unfortunately this was also the time of the McCarthy hearings which investigated communist infiltration and was way too overzealous. Segregation is ruled against by the Supreme Court and the president signs the Civil Rights Act. The U.S. launches its first satellite, three months after the Russians. A U2 spy plane is shot down over the Soviet Union. He warned the country that we had to watch out for the military industrial complex before he left.

He was well liked by all and was a good leader.

John F. Kennedy 1961 - 1963

Kennedy was a progressive president. While his term was short he still managed to develop the Peace Corps., the 10 year Alliance for Progress to aid Latin America and begin the space program that eventually put men on the moon. He sponsored the failed Bay of Pigs Cuban Invasion. He and the Soviets signed a limited test ban treaty on nuclear weapons. His medicare proposals were defeated. He prevented the stationing of nuclear missiles in Cuba. He had sweeping civil rights legislation on the burner when he was shot.

A popular president with mostly a good record for the short time he was in office.

Lyndon B. Johnson 1963 - 1969

A president who was riddled with worry. A president who made secret recordings of meetings, even with his own staff. Johnson, even though he was a southerner, made it a crusade to push Kennedy's civil rights legislation through congress. Johnson had a vision that poverty and racial injustice could be abolished and to this end pushed legislation that pertained to his 'Great Society". He established Head Start, the Job Corps, and the Voting Rights Act. Medicare and Medicaid were established. Urban development, environmental conservation and new immigration laws were also implemented All this was overshadowed however by the Vietnam War. He requested peace talks and reduced bombing and announced he wouldn't seek reelection. The war had taken its toll on Johnson who by now was micro managing every bombing raid on the country.

A good president trapped in a bad war.

Richard M. Nixon 1969 - 1974

Nixon's forte was diplomacy. He managed to end the war in Vietnam and he improved relations with the Soviet Union and China. He ended the draft and created revenue sharing with the states. He proposed and got new environmental laws and tougher criminal laws. He and then Russian leader Brezhnev signed a treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons. He had his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger obtain a disengagement agreement between Israel, Egypt and Syria. Then there was Watergate. A break in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee was traced to the committee to reelect Nixon causing members of his cabinet to resign. Nixon denied involvement but when the courts ordered him to turn over tape he had recorded while in office, they implicated him in a cover up

Many think of him as a criminal but his international record was a good one.

Gerald R. Ford 1974 - 1977

Gerald Ford was a very likeable person. In September 1974 he pardoned Richard M. Nixon of all crimes during his presidency. He offered amnesty to all draft evaders and deserters from the Vietnam War. He vetoed a bill that would have strengthened the Freedom of Information Act. His veto was overridden by both the House and Senate. Some consumer protection bills were signed by Ford. Ford signed bills that limited campaign expenditures and sponsored campaign reform. He set guidelines for the CIA to prevent that agency from tampering with our civil liberties.

I have mixed feelings on this president but don't think he was one of the better ones.

Jimmy Carter 1977 - 1981

Carter did not have a good relationship with congress. He was able to squeak by congress bills for his two Panama Canal treaties. He was responsible for the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt which he brokered at Camp David. The Soviets attacked Afghanistan during his presidency. He launched a trade embargo and boycott of the Olympics in Moscow. Iran captured U.S. hostages, 55 of them from the U.S. Embassy. Negotiations failed as did a rescue mission we had sent. Inflation was a problem for Carter due to the rise in oil prices.

He did not have a very good record.

Ronald Regan 1981 - 1989

Former guild president and actor, Regan has been practically raised to sainthood by some of his admires. He had an aircraft carrier named after him while he is still alive. Some people believe Nancy his wife really ran the presidency and that he was not at the top of his game even then.

He reached an arms reduction accord with the Soviets. He presided over a huge deficit. He failed in the war against drugs, but so did everyone else. He cut taxes, but this drove the deficit up even more. The Iran Contra scandal took place during the Regan Administration. The Berlin Wall came down after Regan made a speech asking the Soviets, if they were serious in wanting better relations, to tear down the wall. He must have been as surprised as the rest of us when they did. Some say that the military buildup started by Regan caused the collapse of the Soviet Union. Regan left office with extremely high approval ratings. He had a way of saying the things that the American citizen wanted to hear. He fired and black listed many air traffic controllers who wanted a pay raise and better working conditions. In 1986 the Iran-Contra scandal implicates Regan Administration officials in illegal activities.

I think he will be remembered as a good president but not a great one but because of the Iran-Contra scandal one can not be sure.

George H. W. Bush 1989 - 1993

An interesting aside is the fact the Bush was the head of the Republican National Committee during Nixon's term in office and he wrote the letter asking Nixon to resign.

Bush sent troops into Panama and captured Noriega. Bush sent troops into Iraq but pulled them out before Iraq was conquered. Crime was rising along with violence in the inner cities. He insisted on restraint in U.S. policy toward the new nations that were emerging from the communist yoke. Bush is linked to the Iran-Contra Scandal by the independent council appointed to investigate as is Regan.

I don't see how he could be considered a good president.

William J. Clinton 1993 - 2001

Clinton's presidency was marred by constant investigations, mostly into his extramarital affairs but also into real estate deals but finalized by his impeachment proceedings. Clinton was cleared but he was so hated by his opposition that his administration was almost paralyzed.

Clinton signed the Brady Bill into law which required a waiting period for gun purchases.He signed the Family and Medical Leave Act into law. A deficit reduction bill that called for cuts in government spending and tax increases was passed. He provided federal funds for crime fighting and prison construction. He backed the National Service Law to improve communities and the GOALS 2000 bill on education. He sponsored the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He lifted the trade embargo against Vietnam. In his second term taxes were cut. He fostered Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the military.

Average president but if things were different who knows.

George W. Bush 2001 - present

Bush overturned the limits on mining waste sites. He tells the UN about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He sends troops into Afghanistan He sends troops into Iraq. Bush allowed undercover CIA agents identity to be leaked without seeking punishment to those who did it. He signs the Medicare Drug Prescription Bill that helps no one but gives windfall profits to the drug companies and costs the tax payer an estimated 530 Billion dollars over the next ten years. Bush pushes the Patriot Act then tries to expand it. Bush relaxed the clean air act, allowing old plants to increase their operations. By declaring an end to major combat operations in Iraq Bush has deprived the military in Iraq of their combat pay. He has created a huge deficit. A book by Bob Woodward states that Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia was told about plans for the Iraq invasion two months before Colin Powell.

Bush signed the World War II Memorial Bill. Bush signs a tax cut bill. Bush signs a bill freezing the assets of terrorist organizations. Bush issues a military order on allowing detention, treatment and trial of non citizens in the war against terror. Bush signs the Terrorism Relief Act giving tax relief to families of those killed on September 11. Bush establishes the Freedom Corps.

My opinion is a bad president but I am sure there will be a lot of disagreement here. As a sitting president he could change but it is not likely.