"I welcome their hatred" FDR

[Foxfyre]

Best president under what constraints? Were they rating presidents on their compliance with the constitution or their popularity?

Given that those in Academia, most especially those who would be assessing the historical rankings of Presidents, are known to be near universally far left in ideology, you would expect those academics to favor those Presidents they judged to share their own values and what would be judged to be great accomplishments.

Those same academics who voted most likely believed the long accepted hype that FDR got us out of the depression. Had they been taught or been exposed to the UCLA studies showing that this was indeed all hype with little basis in reality, the vote might have gone very differently.

To evaluate it with any accuracy, one would have to know what criteria was used to rank the Presidents. Certainly leftist historians or political scientists will score each man much differently than would conservatives in virtually any discipline.

 

[regent]

Best president under what constraints? Were they rating presidents on their compliance with the constitution or their popularity?

The 238 noted historians, and presidential experts used twenty criteria to rate the presidents. How many citizens can even name all the presidents much less rate them on twenty criteria pertaining to the presidential office? As for the constitution, which presidents were never accused of violating the constitution, there were some, but Lincoln was not one, nor FDR, nor Teddy Roosevelt, nor Truman, nor Jackson, nor Jefferson. How about Reagan or Bush?

 

[PaulS1950]

What were the twenty criteria?
It would help in understanding why the cosen were.

 

[Foxfyre]

What were the twenty criteria?
It would help in understanding why the cosen were.

Exactly. For instance, Richard Nixon is rated a failure as President despite the fact that he had a pretty darn good record right up to the Watergate scandal of which he was not part of, but did participate in covering it up. I doubt people would do more than blink now for a similar crime committed by a current President as we have had Presidents who have done far worse.

But among Nixon's accomplishments included:

As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace.

His accomplishments while in office included pulling the country out of recession and bringing down high unemployment, revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program including establishment of the EPA. His cabinet and court appointments were not seriously challenged by either party. It was during his term of office that we beat Russia to the Moon, and he began the process of winding down the Vietnam war--Gerald Ford finished the final evacuation of troops after Nixon resigned.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in foreign policy. He negotiated reduction in strategic weapons with Brezhnev, overcame cold war stalemates with Communist China, announed an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina, and in 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

And while there is much to criticize with Nixon, all of that cannot be negated by the sad saga of Watergate. Many Presidents cannot claim as many successes in really difficult things.

 

[regent]

What were the twenty criteria?
It would help in understanding why the cosen were.

Exactly. For instance, Richard Nixon is rated a failure as President despite the fact that he had a pretty darn good record right up to the Watergate scandal of which he was not part of, but did participate in covering it up. I doubt people would do more than blink now for a similar crime committed by a current President as we have had Presidents who have done far worse.

But among Nixon's accomplishments included:

As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace.

His accomplishments while in office included pulling the country out of recession and bringing down high unemployment, revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program including establishment of the EPA. His cabinet and court appointments were not seriously challenged by either party. It was during his term of office that we beat Russia to the Moon, and he began the process of winding down the Vietnam war--Gerald Ford finished the final evacuation of troops after Nixon resigned.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in foreign policy. He negotiated reduction in strategic weapons with Brezhnev, overcame cold war stalemates with Communist China, announed an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina, and in 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

And while there is much to criticize with Nixon, all of that cannot be negated by the sad saga of Watergate. Many Presidents cannot claim as many successes in really difficult things.

Each of your positives regarding Nixon deserves serious scholastic study. For example, how could historians find anything wrong with Nixon and his secret plan to end the Vietnam War?
As to the presidential ratings this one was done by Siena, check it out. About ten or so groups rate the presidents but some more reliable than others, and started with the 1948 Schlesinger poll.

 

[Foxfyre]

What were the twenty criteria?
It would help in understanding why the cosen were.

Exactly. For instance, Richard Nixon is rated a failure as President despite the fact that he had a pretty darn good record right up to the Watergate scandal of which he was not part of, but did participate in covering it up. I doubt people would do more than blink now for a similar crime committed by a current President as we have had Presidents who have done far worse.

But among Nixon's accomplishments included:

As Vice President, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower Administration. Nominated for President by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace.

His accomplishments while in office included pulling the country out of recession and bringing down high unemployment, revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program including establishment of the EPA. His cabinet and court appointments were not seriously challenged by either party. It was during his term of office that we beat Russia to the Moon, and he began the process of winding down the Vietnam war--Gerald Ford finished the final evacuation of troops after Nixon resigned.

Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in foreign policy. He negotiated reduction in strategic weapons with Brezhnev, overcame cold war stalemates with Communist China, announed an accord with North Viet Nam to end American involvement in Indochina, and in 1974, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria.

And while there is much to criticize with Nixon, all of that cannot be negated by the sad saga of Watergate. Many Presidents cannot claim as many successes in really difficult things.

Each of your positives regarding Nixon deserves serious scholastic study. For example, how could historians find anything wrong with Nixon and his secret plan to end the Vietnam War?
As to the presidential ratings this one was done by Siena, check it out. About ten or so groups rate the presidents but some more reliable than others, and started with the 1948 Schlesinger poll.

Each of 'my positives' regarding Nixon have alrady received serious scholastic study and are indisputable. They do not refer so much to the character or personality of the man as they do to the very real and important accomplishments of his Administration. Whatever you think of Nixon personally, you cannot take that away from him.

I only mentioned them to bring into the cold, hard light of reality the rankings of Presidents cited that I deem to be very questionable. Nixon was no angel and perhaps nobody anyone should aspire to emulate. But he was by no means a failure as a President.

And regardless of the rankings, the facts of the Reagan administration are not changed regardless of where some academics rank him among Presidents.

Similarly FDR's accomplishments are now also receiving serious scholastic study and, as per the UCLA study posted earlier, there is now serious question whether his policies deserve praise or criticism as ill advised and/or unsuccessful. And whether he deserves to be at the top as one of the most successful. It is treading on a lot of sacred cows to even question his Administration, but it is his policies and accomplishments that are the implied topic of this thread.