Siena Research Institute Rates the Presidents

[tommieharris91]

America's Presidents: Greatest and Worst (http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/independent_research/Presidents%20Release_2010_final.pdf)

Here's the complete rankings. (http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/independent_research/Presidents%202010%20Rank%20by%20Category.pdf)

And no, I don't agree with all of it.

[Frozen Sooner]

Don't tell Clonish Non-Student that FDR topped the list for every survey. His disdain for one of our greatest presidents is legendary.

[SicEmBaylor]

Don't tell Clonish Non-Student that FDR topped the list for every survey. His disdain for one of our greatest presidents is legendary.

As a conservative, I can say that FDR clearly deserves to be in the top-5. The problem I have with these lists is the measure by which they determine a President to be "Great" or "Horrible." Are they judging by legislative success? Foreign policy accomplishments? The degree to which they faithfully governed within the restraints of the Constitution? The whole package?

By a very arbitrary and generalized standard of accomplishments, there's no denying FDR deserves to be in the top-5. Hell, even Lincoln deserves to be in the top-5.

[XingTheRubicon]

Holy crap, SicEm just made sense. SicEm just made sense AND had Lincoln in his post. We can shut the innerwebs down now.

[texaspokieokie]

I'd have Jefferson nearer the top.

[Frozen Sooner]

As a conservative, I can say that FDR clearly deserves to be in the top-5. The problem I have with these lists is the measure by which they determine a President to be "Great" or "Horrible." Are they judging by legislative success? Foreign policy accomplishments? The degree to which they faithfully governed within the restraints of the Constitution? The whole package?

By a very arbitrary and generalized standard of accomplishments, there's no denying FDR deserves to be in the top-5. Hell, even Lincoln deserves to be in the top-5.

SicEm, the criteria they used are laid out in the link.

[JohnnyMack]

Well they gave Washington 18th on "party leadership" which right from the get go makes wonder what the **** these people based this **** on.

[sooner_born_1960]

Regardless the criteria publicized, any ranking that has Obama as the 15th best president to-date is suspect.

[Lott's Bandana]

"experts"


meh.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

As a conservative, I can say that FDR clearly deserves to be in the top-5. The problem I have with these lists is the measure by which they determine a President to be "Great" or "Horrible." Are they judging by legislative success? Foreign policy accomplishments? The degree to which they faithfully governed within the restraints of the Constitution? The whole package?

Ditto. I think many people just identify that FDR was the pres. during most of WWII, and we won it. The economy got good after the war, and that makes him a good, maybe great president, in their partially misinformed minds.

They don't realize just HOW bad a president he really was.

[Breadburner]

Lol..It's Bogus....Obama is not even done F**** everything up yet....

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Lol..It's Bogus....Obama is not even done F**** everything up yet....He's real serious about his plans, too.

[BillyBall]

So Andrew Johnson finished behind GW Bush in communication ability. Did he speak with a voice box or something?

[ndpruitt03]

Woodrow Wilson might have been the most evil man to ever take the office. He is by far the worst. Nobody else can really hold a candle to how bad he really was.

[Harry Beanbag]

Garbage.

[GottaHavePride]

Regardless the criteria publicized, any ranking that has Obama as the 15th best president to-date is suspect.



It's a survey of scholars ranking the presidents in 20 different categories. So while Obama is near the bottom (32nd) in background/experience, he's hear the top in communication ability (7th), court appointments (13th), ability to compromise (10th), imagination (6th), integrity (12th), and intelligence (8th). Everything else is a pretty middle-of-the-road score except for foreign policy accomplishments (22nd) and avoiding crucial mistakes (21st). So he averages out to 15th so far. Give it time.

[soonerscuba]

Give it time.BUT I HATE HIM NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jello Biafra]

Regardless the criteria publicized, any ranking that has Obama as the 15th best president to-date is suspect.

i agree. dude hasn't even finished his only term. not only that but GW is the worst president??? i think he was pretty bad but.....worst? i think not.

[Frozen Sooner]

He wasn't rated the worst. He was rated fifth-worst. Johnson was ranked the worst.

[GottaHavePride]

Frankly, I was surprised Jackson wasn't down there in the bottom 5.

[OUMallen]

As a conservative, I can say that FDR clearly deserves to be in the top-5. The problem I have with these lists is the measure by which they determine a President to be "Great" or "Horrible." Are they judging by legislative success? Foreign policy accomplishments? The degree to which they faithfully governed within the restraints of the Constitution? The whole package?

By a very arbitrary and generalized standard of accomplishments, there's no denying FDR deserves to be in the top-5. Hell, even Lincoln deserves to be in the top-5.

RTFA :P

[BillyBall]

I think FDR's strength of schedule really helped him in the cpu polls.

[picasso]

Don't tell Clonish Non-Student that FDR topped the list for every survey. His disdain for one of our greatest presidents is legendary.

If only he could have gotten what he really wanted.

[Frozen Sooner]

If only he could have gotten what he really wanted.

Working legs?

[JohnnyMack]

Working legs?

Lt. Dan?

[picasso]

Working legs?

oy!

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Working legs?Coronation, prolly.

[SicEmBaylor]

FDR's legs were patriots. They quit on the socialist SOB.

[SicEmBaylor]

FWIW, Here are my top-5/bottom-5 Presidents based purely on my own preferences and politics.

Top 5:
1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Calvin Coolidge
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Grover Cleveland

Bottom 5:
40. Richard Nixon
41. George W. Bush
42. Teddy Roosevelt
43. Franklin Roosevelt
44. Abraham Lincoln

[ndpruitt03]

Lincoln isn't close to the bottom 5. His situation was because of bad political decisions for 40 years starting with the so called "Great Compromise" and all the liberties he took away because of war he put back after the war ended. He had more crap to deal with than any president ever will. I wouldn't put him in the top 5 though.

[SicEmBaylor]

Lincoln isn't close to the bottom 5. His situation was because of bad political decisions for 40 years starting with the so called "Great Compromise" and all the liberties he took away because of war he put back after the war ended. He had more crap to deal with than any president ever will. I wouldn't put him in the top 5 though.

:shakes head:

Uh, when exactly did he reinstate all those liberties since he was assassinated right at the end of the war? In fact, there was still sporadic fighting going on even after he was killed. And when exactly were the rights of the sovereign states "reinstated?" Lincoln was a tyrant and all that crap he had to "deal with" was of his own making.

[ndpruitt03]

Top 5 in no real order
Jefferson - basically the free market president. He basically started the free market going in the US. Outside of probably Madison he was the smartest man of the era.

Coolidge - led the country during one of the most prosperous decades in the history of the country. Cut taxes and spending more than just about anyone ever.

Reagan - took over a real tough situation and it hurt his popularity at first. But eventually his positive attitude and tax cuts saved the economy. His 2nd term wasn't as good and his spending was still too much for my taste. But many of the things he did led to a boom in the 90s.

JFK - cut tax and spending but I think his biggest accomplishment was the jump start of our Space program. The CRA of 64 is credited to him but that's was actually basically Eisenhower's original CRA of 57 that got stripped away because it wouldn't have passed.

Warren Harding - passed the first real civil rights laws in this countries history with the anti lynching acts. Also cut taxes and tried to undo some of the disaster that was the Wilson administration. Also had arguably the most open administration ever allowing media in the WH which is probably why he's remembered for scandal's more than what he actually accomplished.



Worst
FDR
Wilson
Hoover
LBJ
then pick one between Pierce, Buchanan, Filmore, Taylor Tyler, & Polk

[GottaHavePride]

Heh. Abraham Lincoln is SicEm's Darth Vader.

[ndpruitt03]

:shakes head:

Uh, when exactly did he reinstate all those liberties since he was assassinated right at the end of the war? In fact, there was still sporadic fighting going on even after he was killed. And when exactly were the rights of the sovereign states "reinstated?" Lincoln was a tyrant and all that crap he had to "deal with" was of his own making.

He was the first real leader of any of those politicians from about 1820 on. We'll agree to disagree. But if you think politics is bad now, back then you had a politician being beat to death for what they believed. The violence between pro slave and anti slave politicians just built more and more from about 1820 on.

[SicEmBaylor]

Heh. Abraham Lincoln is SicEm's Darth Vader.

:D So true.

[BillyBall]

FWIW, Here are my top-5/bottom-5 Presidents based purely on my own preferences and politics.

Top 5:
1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Calvin Coolidge
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Grover Cleveland

Bottom 5:
40. Richard Nixon
41. George W. Bush
42. Teddy Roosevelt
43. Franklin Roosevelt
44. Abraham Lincoln


Man I should have put your *** on ignore a long time ago...

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Top 5 in no real order
Jefferson - basically the free market president. He basically started the free market going in the US. Outside of probably Madison he was the smartest man of the era.

Coolidge - led the country during one of the most prosperous decades in the history of the country. Cut taxes and spending more than just about anyone ever.

Reagan - took over a real tough situation and it hurt his popularity at first. But eventually his positive attitude and tax cuts saved the economy. His 2nd term wasn't as good and his spending was still too much for my taste. But many of the things he did led to a boom in the 90s.

JFK - cut tax and spending but I think his biggest accomplishment was the jump start of our Space program. The CRA of 64 is credited to him but that's was actually basically Eisenhower's original CRA of 57 that got stripped away because it wouldn't have passed.

Warren Harding - passed the first real civil rights laws in this countries history with the anti lynching acts. Also cut taxes and tried to undo some of the disaster that was the Wilson administration. Also had arguably the most open administration ever allowing media in the WH which is probably why he's remembered for scandal's more than what he actually accomplished.



Worst
FDR
Wilson
Hoover
LBJ
then pick one between Pierce, Buchanan, Filmore, Taylor Tyler, & PolkWorst group, you somehow left out Jimmuh Carter. Criminal Clinton was no prize, either.

[SicEmBaylor]

Worst group, you somehow left out Jimmuh Carter. Criminal Clinton was no prize, either.

Clinton is no where near the bottom. At the very worst, I'd put him in the teens.


As for Carter, he barely missed out on the bottom-5. He'd likely be 39.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Clinton is no where near the bottom. At the very worst, I'd put him in the teens.


As for Carter, he barely missed out on the bottom-5. He'd likely be 39.If rape, treason and impeachment for lying to congress doesn't land you in the bottom tier, the standards for quality have truly been driven down.

[GottaHavePride]

If rape, treason and impeachment for lying to congress doesn't land you in the bottom tier, the standards for quality have truly been driven down.

Who is Clinton supposed to have raped now? I think I missed the treason bit, too.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Who is Clinton supposed to have raped now? I think I missed the treason bit, too.Were your blinders on during the presidential campaign of '96, when Clinton took all the foreign money, and money from foreign governments?(and, expectedly, wasn't raked over the coals by the MSM)That's the most glaring treasonous act he performed, that I can think of, just off the top of my head.

The rape of Juanita Broderick, and the sexual harrassment of who knows how many females, including Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey. The dishonest and corrupt behavior of Clinton paved the way for the massive deceit and fraud in the Democrat party ever since, and lookit what they have become. I guess you missed all that the first time around.

[GottaHavePride]

I remember the Broaddrick case she initially said nothing happened, then changed her tune later. She wasn't even a credible enough source to call during the impeachment hearings, so I'd put her in the "golddigger smells settlement money" category.

Going through the finance scandal: everything I've seen says that all the money coming from questionable sources was flagged and returned by the DNC. Plus, it's not like Clinton was back at the DNC office personally going over every incoming donation. Blame some DNC staffers for being a little slow doing their background checks on that money, sure, but I fail to see how that's Clinton's fault.

[ndpruitt03]

Carter is definitely way down there. Clinton was actually half way decent most of his 2nd term. Then the Monica stuff happened.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I remember the Broaddrick case she initially said nothing happened, then changed her tune later. She wasn't even a credible enough source to call during the impeachment hearings, so I'd put her in the "golddigger smells settlement money" category.

Going through the finance scandal: everything I've seen says that all the money coming from questionable sources was flagged and returned by the DNC. Plus, it's not like Clinton was back at the DNC office personally going over every incoming donation. Blame some DNC staffers for being a little slow doing their background checks on that money, sure, but I fail to see how that's Clinton's fault.Sure thing, haha. He's a real gem.

Hey, I have some Pacific Beachfront property you might want to buy in NV!

Are you one who believes ACORN is no more?

[GottaHavePride]

What, I'm supposed to be surprised that a lobbying organization that's been around since the 70s would be smart enough to just re-organize under a different name? The voter registration fraud scandal involved a whopping FOUR employees. For a group with offices in six different countries and a budget of 25 million I'd say first that it's a pretty small problem and second that there are probably plenty of other groups out there on BOTH sides of the aisle that just haven't been caught yet.

[JohnnyMack]

What, I'm supposed to be surprised that a lobbying organization that's been around since the 70s would be smart enough to just re-organize under a different name? The voter registration fraud scandal involved a whopping FOUR employees. For a group with offices in six different countries and a budget of 25 million I'd say first that it's a pretty small problem and second that there are probably plenty of other groups out there on BOTH sides of the aisle that just haven't been caught yet.

You can't reason with him. He's insane. Not "funny ha ha" crazy, he's a ****ing loon.

[Eielson]

Politics isn't really my thing, and I know a little history, but not enough to win any arguments, so could somebody please inform me what it is that would warrant FDR being rated #1, or anywhere near that?