Lincoln ranked best president by historians

[kwame k]

WASHINGTON – Just days after the nation honored the 200th anniversary of his birth, 65 historians ranked Abraham Lincoln as the nation's best president.

Former President George W. Bush, who left office last month, was ranked 36th out of the 42 men who had been chief executive by the end of 2008, according to a survey conducted by the cable channel C-SPAN.

Bush scored lowest in international relations, where he was ranked 41st, and in economic management, where he was ranked 40th. His highest ranking, 24th, was in the category of pursuing equal justice for all. He was ranked 25th in crisis leadership and vision and agenda setting.

In contrast, Lincoln was ranked in the top three in each of the 10 categories evaluated by participants.

In C-SPAN's only other ranking of presidents, in 2000, former President Bill Clinton jumped six spots from No. 21 to 15. Other recent presidents moved positions as well: Ronald Reagan advanced from No. 11 to 10, George H.W. Bush rose from No. 20 to 18 and Jimmy Carter fell from No. 22 to 25.

This movement illustrates that presidential reputations are influenced by present-day concerns, said survey adviser and participant Edna Medford.

"Today's concerns shape our views of the past, be it in the area of foreign policy, managing the economy or human rights," Medford said in a statement.

After Lincoln, the academics rated George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman as the best leaders overall. The same five received top spots in the 2000 survey, although Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt swapped spots this year.

Rated worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.

The survey was conducted in December and January. Participants ranked each president on a scale of one, "not effective" to 10, "very effective," on a list of 10 leadership qualities including relations with Congress, public persuasion and moral authority.


Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090215/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ranking_presidents)

[LoungeMachine]

Rated worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.

]

Hoover?


The fact they only consider Chimpy the sixth worst
president in history should be of some solace to the Neo Con Shitbags in here that defended him for 8 years....

:gulp:

[kwame k]

Not really sure if I'd give Old Abe the number one spot. Yes, he was The Great Emancipator and held the Union together but.......

"Although Lincoln is viewed today as "the Great Emancipator," it is a title he wears uncomfortably in view of the relevant facts. His Emancipation Proclamation ultimately freed a miniscule proportion of slaves, and federal legislation beyond this decree did not go into effect until after Lincoln's death. While he was instrumental in paving the way for the abolition of slavery, Lincoln's role as an emancipator was not without ambiguity or reservation." Link (http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/lincoln/section11.rhtml)

He was also said to be a proponent of deporting slaves back to Africa.


George Washington...War hero and we can thank him for the 2 term Presidency. Although he used US troops to quell the Whiskey Rebellion. Still my number one pick.

FDR, a great President and a Saviour to our country but.........he may of knew about Pearl Harbor and allowed it to happen to hasten our entry into WWII.......Caveat....that has never been substantiated one way or the other.
Split consensus on whether or not some of his policies actually prolonged the Great Depression.....faced with such a complete collapse, hell, you're bound to make a few mistakes......

[FORD]

They only thought Buchanan was worse because he was gay. I don't know how William Henry Harrison made the list though. Poor son of a bitch died of pneumonia a month after he took office, and was sick most of that time. How did he do enough damage to make the bottom 5?

[kwame k]

Hoover?


The fact they only consider Chimpy the sixth worst
president in history :gulp:


....isn't that what he ranked in college?

[Seshmeister]

Rated worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.


Worse than Bush? Wow those guys must have been pretty bad.

I dunno about the premise here because e.g. Harrison only served for 32 days which means he must have pretty much left things as he found them. Imagine how brilliant it would have been if Bush had died within 32 days?

Either way Bush is the only one that got re-elected...

[kwame k]

The parallels between Hoover and Bush are striking.

[kwame k]

Either way Bush is the only one that got re-elected...


Matter of opinion whether he was elected in the first place and was re-elected the second time, technically speaking.


Had to preempt FORD!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Worse than Bush? Wow those guys must have been pretty bad.

That's what I was thinking, I gotta do some research on those other guys...

[LoungeMachine]

Hoover?

Wtf?

Who was worse than Hoover besides Chimpy?

:gulp:

[FORD]

Here's where the article completely contradicts itself......

In C-SPAN's only other ranking of presidents, in 2000, former President Bill Clinton jumped six spots from No. 21 to 15. Other recent presidents moved positions as well: Ronald Reagan advanced from No. 11 to 10, George H.W. Bush rose from No. 20 to 18 and Jimmy Carter fell from No. 22 to 25.

This movement illustrates that presidential reputations are influenced by present-day concerns, said survey adviser and participant Edna Medford.

"Today's concerns shape our views of the past, be it in the area of foreign policy, managing the economy or human rights," Medford said in a statement.

Considering the economic policies of the last 28 years led to the fucking mess we're in now, how do Reagan, Poppy, and Clinton get away with higher numbers than the last time?

While Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, was right about energy, the Middle East, and how doing the right thing on the former would get us away from the latter. Yet his numbers drop?

These so-called "historians" are ignoring a lot of history

[kwame k]

Hoover?

Wtf?

Who was worse than Hoover besides Chimpy?

:gulp:

Harrison was worse for only serving a month or so! Fucking quitter........no one likes a President who doesn't even have the common courtesy to get assassinated to end his term.

Where the fuck does Nixon rank on this list..........gotta google!

[kwame k]

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Theodore Roosevelt
5. Harry S. Truman
6. John F. Kennedy
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
9. Woodrow Wilson
10. Ronald Reagan
11. Lyndon B. Johnson
12. James K. Polk
13. Andrew Jackson
14. James Monroe
15. Bill Clinton
16. William McKinley
17. John Adams
18. George H. W. Bush
19. John Quincy Adams
20. James Madison
21. Grover Cleveland
22. Gerald R. Ford
23. Ulysses S. Grant
24. William Howard Taft
25. Jimmy Carter
26. Calvin Coolidge
27. Richard M. Nixon
28. James A. Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester A. Arthur
33. Rutherford B. Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren G. Harding
39. William Henry Harrison
40. Franklin D. Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan

Link (http://www.c-span.org/PresidentialSurvey/presidential-leadership-survey.aspx)

[chefcraig]

I dunno...some of these "Book Of Lists"-type rankings (usually read upon the toilet) tend to leave me a tad unfulfilled, not to mention somewhat sceptical. It is often quite humorous how time delegates a perspective, particularly given the vacuum it is presented within.

(Admittedly, the following examples I'll provide live outside the body politic, yet I believe that culturally they hold relevance.)

There was a time during the late seventies that Led Zeppelin were viewed as crass, cynical populists. Their music was called a redundant rehash of outdated thought, those that followed them as narrow-minded drug fiends intent upon complete escape from reality. Oddly enough, around fifteen years later, the same critics that offered these opinions wrote of an affection for the band, and found these same principles to be somewhat chaste and endearing.

So what are political historians? They are the same thing as rock music critics, and are indicative entirely of their time. Look, there are a ton of pissed off people out there at this moment, willing to adjudge G.W. Bush as the worst President of all time. By the same token, some (yet certainly not all, gimme a break) see the newest occupier of the Oval Office to be the finest thing since bottled beer and sliced bread. Therefore, this year Abe Lincoln is the fair-haired lad, and the last Bush was only down around #36. Big deal. For a while there, Rolling Stone believed that Maroon 5 were the future of music. http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-ashamed-smileys-721.gif (http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/Free-Ashamed-Smileys/)

Given the passage of time, some perspective will arrive. Pointedly, that very same perspective will reflect the very time that it solely occupies.

It may be years until history affords us anything close to a true perception of the damage done to this country. And as such, more is the pity.

[kwame k]

13. Andrew Jackson

Old Hickory.......saved our nation at the battle for New Orleans, kicking the British General's ass, the General who kicked Napoleon's ass and was outnumbered almost 2 to 1, with only a small percentage of his men that were regular army....he had mostly free slaves, frontiersmen, pirates and local militia.

Destroyed the Corrupt Banking system of the time.......
First President and only President to pay off the national debt.....



Downside.....The Trail of Tears.....his betrayal of the Indians who fought with him and taking back the land they were given. He stood by and did nothing.

Bonus points.....he was a hot head who would duel you in a blink of an eye.

[kwame k]

I dunno...some of these "Book Of Lists"-type rankings (usually read upon the toilet) tend to leave me a tad unfulfilled, not to mention somewhat sceptical. It is often quite humorous how time delegates a perspective, particularly given the vacuum it is presented within.

(Admittedly, the following examples I'll provide live outside the body politic, yet I believe that culturally they hold relevance.)

There was a time during the late seventies that Led Zeppelin were viewed as crass, cynical populists. Their music was called a redundant rehash of outdated thought, those that followed them as narrow-minded drug fiends intent upon complete escape from reality. Oddly enough, around fifteen years later, the same critics that offered these opinions wrote of an affection for the band, and found these same principles to be somewhat chaste and endearing.

So what are political historians? They are the same thing as rock music critics, and are indicative entirely of their time. Look, there are a ton of pissed off people out there at this moment, willing to adjudge G.W. Bush as the worst President of all time. By the same token, some (yet certainly not all, gimme a break) see the newest occupier of the Oval Office to be the finest thing since bottled beer and sliced bread. Therefore, this year Abe Lincoln is the fair-haired lad, and the last Bush was only down around #36. Big deal. For a while there, Rolling Stone believed that Maroon 5 were the future of music. http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-ashamed-smileys-721.gif (http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/Free-Ashamed-Smileys/)

Given the passage of time, some perspective will arrive. Pointedly, that very same perspective will reflect the very time that it solely occupies.

It may be years until history affords us anything close to a true perception of the damage done to this country. And as such, more is the pity.

Geez, Craig! It's just a list.......:biggrin:

[chefcraig]

Geez, Craig! It's just a list.......:biggrin:

Call me jaded. I once bought my dad a "Fathers Day" gift...it was a roll of Book Of Lists toilet paper. :hee:

[kwame k]

Call me jaded. I once bought my dad a "Fathers Day" gift...it was a roll of Book Of Lists toilet paper. :hee:

Surely you jest!


























I never joke and don't call me Shirley!

[chefcraig]

Surely you jest!



I never joke and don't call me Shirley!

Fine, kiddo. And after all, I'd never lie to a friend. http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/smileys/free-happy-smileys-336.gif (http://www.easyfreesmileys.com/Free-Happy-Smileys/)

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/5030/18890456w434hq80nz1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[kwame k]

At least someone gets my sense of humor!

[chefcraig]

At least someone gets my sense of humor!

One of these days, I'll dig out the clips of Neilsen appearing on the Letterman show. Somewhow, while keeping a straight face, Neilsen let off a very loud farting device throughout the interview. This appearance was only seconded by his starring upon Saturday Night Live, wherein he did a series of personal endorsements (such as an adult diaper -'In fact, I'm relieving myself now" and a tube of suppositories with his face on the tube).

Utterly brilliant stuff. :rockit2:

[kwame k]

Remember those as well, Craig.........

[GAR]

This article is clearly intented to focus public awareness on Clinton by raising his number in the "poll" like that.

Horseshit. They tried the same thing by polling "should foreign-borns be electable?" soon as Schwarzenegger wins Governor of CA.