Comments | ontd_political: On C-SPAN, Historians Rate W the 7th Worst President Ever

bispo in ontd_political

On C-SPAN, Historians Rate W the 7th Worst President Ever

Feb 15, 2009 10:16

This morning we learn that C-SPAN has surveyed historians to again come up with a President's Day ranking of commanders-in-chief.
Fittingly, for this Abe-a-licious year, the 16th president comes in at #1, with Honest Abe Lincoln retaining his top slot.
He's followed by George Washington, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, and Harry S Truman in the top five ( Read more... )

george (h.)w. bush / bush family, history, abraham lincoln, former presidents, bill clinton

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layweed February 15 2009, 18:40:40 UTC

Funny, I don't see Andrew Jackson anywhere in the top 10 worst. You would think the Trail of Tears would count for something.

ladypolitik February 15 2009, 19:06:46 UTC

LOL, beat me to it.

ex_lost_kit February 15 2009, 19:25:44 UTC

Sorry, but the evaluations here are based on more than their most insensitive acts. Which you should be thankful for if you're a fan of FDR.

Personally I think his attitude towards the Supreme Court was worse.

darthweez February 15 2009, 19:34:11 UTC

So the trail of tears isn't a grossly insensitive act? And FDR's attitude towards the Supreme Court (which I agree was his biggest fault) is worse than the displacement and oppression of thousands of people?

ex_lost_kit February 15 2009, 19:38:04 UTC

It was. I'm just saying that there's a lot more to judge Andrew Jackson on then that.

And my post was poorly-worded. I'm saying that AJ's attitude towards the Supreme Court was probably more dangerous to the country than his Indian policies.

ex_lost_kit February 15 2009, 19:38:34 UTC

Although it's odd that you're saying that FDR's court-packing was worse than internment yourself.

darthweez February 15 2009, 19:52:03 UTC

I didn't say he should be as high on the list as he is, and I in no way condone the Japanese-American internment camps. My comment wasn't about that though; it was about the arguments that you presented. Your claim that court packing is worse than the trail of tears is unfair and offensive.

FDR was wrong to try to pack the courts, and he was wrong to detain all of those Japanese Americans. On the other hand, he did some really amazing things for this country. Andrew Jackson was responsible for the trail of tears, started the spoils system, and opposed having a national treasury. The only good thing he did was pay off the national debt, but that didn't last long because soon the nation went in to a depression that increased the national debt to 10x what it had been (in the only one year).

FDR > Andrew Jackson. Sorry.

darthweez February 15 2009, 20:02:21 UTC

lol, miss read one of your comments. I guess you didn't claim that court packing is worse than the trail of tears. My bad.

I still stand by my argument that FDR > Andrew Jackson.

darthweez February 15 2009, 19:55:27 UTC

I meant to say it was one of his biggest faults, my bad.

screamingintune February 15 2009, 19:34:12 UTC

Sorry, but the evaluations here are based on more than their most insensitive acts.

This is a rare occasion, but I agree with you. It isn't really logical or practical to impose modern notions of sensitivity on historical figures.

cookie_nut February 15 2009, 21:51:02 UTC

That was I was wondering. WTF?

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