The Worst President Ever

Our current president hasn't been winning any popularity contests, as I'm sure you all know. He will be remembered as the president who got us "mired" in an "un-win-able" war. Indeed, the chant goes, "Bush lied, people died," when they talk about our involvement in Iraq. He is being blamed for the current economic crisis. Some even blame him for 9-11. Indeed, the chant goes, "Bush lied, people died," when they talk about our involvement in Iraq. I recently saw his approval rating, which is up to 27% (I think it got as low as 18%). In another poll, around 1 in 4 rated him as the "worst president ever."

As a history teacher, I feel it is my duty to remind people of some of the less-than-stellar presidents we have had (especially in recent memory) to help them make an educated decision when doling out the dubious recognition of "worst ever." Since this is a subjective rating, I will include items that some individuals might look down on.

Clinton ended welfare and medicare as we knew it, limiting its benefits and scope. There was also much less spending during his years than in some previous presidencies.

Carter's idealism and urging for miss guided energy policies sent the US economy into a recession which effects lasted well into the '80s. During his presidency the "Happiness Index" was invented, which measures the happiness of the citizens of the US based on proxy indicators like GDP growth, housing, and others. Also during his presidency, the index was at its lowest point than we've ever seen since. His peace talks between Israel and Egypt were a great success, until the other Arab nations found out and decided to lash out toward Israel.

Nixon was a real class act. He was enigmatic in public, and a real creep in private. He went to China, but he also engaged in low-class political tricks, which eventually forced him to resign (he just got caught, though; I wouldn't be surprised if some of our other "classy presidents" did some of the same things).

LBJ tried as hard as he could to set up a socialist state with his expanded government programs in the form of the "Great Society." I would like to remind everyone also that he got us involved in the infamous Vietnam War.

Woodrow Wilson takes the cake, in my opinion. He was our fascist president, setting his government up much the same way as Mussolini and Hitler. He was a "progressive," believing like all other progressives that society and its morals evolve, and that the interpretation and even the text of the Constitution should change as society evolves. He believed that civil liberties, in this evolving morality, were mutable, as is evident in the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. These acts caused several interesting things: 1) widespread nativism and racism in the 1920s towards Germans and Italians in particular and 2)freedom of the press and speach were limited in regards to the administration and their actions. Otherwise peaceful protests were broken up and hundreds put in jail for the crime of speaking against the war and the administration. Feminists were jailed and brutalized.

Bush's legacy? He kept the US safe for 7 years after 9-11. He stuck to his principles, for better or worse. You don't have to like everything he did, but think before you rate him as "worst ever."