Best U.S President Of The Last 50 Years

[Red Spyder]

I'd say those who have aircraft carriers named after them: John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Too bad that Eisenhower was president over 50 years ago. The George H. W. Bush would be the only exception.

Plus I think that it was proper for Jimmy Carter to have a sub named after him. He served aboard one..........and like his presidency, it's a boat that is designed to sink :tongue:

 

[Kingfisher]

Wow, I can't believe people picked Kennedy and Bush.

 

[darthtexan]

Reagan easily. Killed inflation, massively lowered taxes along with simplifying the tax code, and defeated the Soviet Union. His only 3 goals, and he accomplished them. Not only the best of the past fifty years but the best of the 20th century. And he did it with a Democrat Congress. Ofcourse, the large mandates he got from his landslide victories didnt hurt either. The fact that not even Barack Obama dares to talk about going back to a top tax rate of 70% shows just how much of a transformational president he was.

Bill Clinton? Hard to say. He was dealt a very good hand. Sometimes I think he deserves a lot of credit for not messing it up, because some presidents would have. But you know, he tried to mess it up in his first two years. However, in the end, luck, circumstances, the Republican Congress, and his own political and governing talent kept him from screwing it up. He deserves credit for hiring Dick Morris and taking his advice, and for working with the Republican Congress.

The fact that you guys think W Bush was such a horrible president is the reason we have the current embarassment in the White House. Certainly Bush was no where near an ideal president like Reagan. He was at worst mediocre and at best somewhat good. Certainly on the domestic front he was better than his father. People talk about what Barack Obama inherited, and it wasnt a good situation, but Bush was also dealt a bad hand by history. He had his faults and he made mistakes. While it took him too long to change course and correct those mistakes, atleast he eventually corrected them - both on the economy and on Iraq. Which is a lot more than you can say for the current president.

 

[JasonCook78]

Tie Between Nixon and Clinton, but I have to with Clinton,

 

[Johan]

Bill Clinton but it's been a tough call with John Kennedy.

 

[Rey C.]

Reagan easily. Killed inflation, massively lowered taxes along with simplifying the tax code, and defeated the Soviet Union. His only 3 goals, and he accomplished them. Not only the best of the past fifty years but the best of the 20th century. And he did it with a Democrat Congress. Ofcourse, the large mandates he got from his landslide victories didnt hurt either. The fact that not even Barack Obama dares to talk about going back to a top tax rate of 70% shows just how much of a transformational president he was.

Bill Clinton? Hard to say. He was dealt a very good hand. Sometimes I think he deserves a lot of credit for not messing it up, because some presidents would have. But you know, he tried to mess it up in his first two years. However, in the end, luck, circumstances, the Republican Congress, and his own political and governing talent kept him from screwing it up. He deserves credit for hiring Dick Morris and taking his advice, and for working with the Republican Congress.

The fact that you guys think W Bush was such a horrible president is the reason we have the current embarassment in the White House. Certainly Bush was no where near an ideal president like Reagan. He was at worst mediocre and at best somewhat good. Certainly on the domestic front he was better than his father. People talk about what Barack Obama inherited, and it wasnt a good situation, but Bush was also dealt a bad hand by history. He had his faults and he made mistakes. While it took him too long to change course and correct those mistakes, atleast he eventually corrected them - both on the economy and on Iraq. Which is a lot more than you can say for the current president.

Although I agree that Reagan is one of the better Presidents of the past 50 years or so, it is inaccurate to give him credit for killing/taming inflation. That feat was accomplished by Paul Volker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve during those years. Neither the President nor Congress controls monetary policy, the mechanism which most directly affects inflation. The Fed does that exclusively. One could give Reagan credit for re-appointing Volker, but not credit for Volker's actions. It was Volker who raised interest rates to historically high levels to combat inflation, and it eventually worked. Volker was a hard man, but a very smart and focused man.

As for W. Bush correcting the mistakes that he made, I don't believe there is any real evidence of that. Especially on the economic front, considering that his policies contributed to the U.S. falling into a near depression, he never corrected many of his earlier mistakes. Many of those mistakes will be with us for years to come. The tax breaks that he pushed early in his term (which even Arthur Laffer admitted did not contribute to economic growth, but did contribute to the deficit), along with two unfunded wars, took us from a surplus during the Clinton Administration to a heavy deficit. He was also very weak on trade policies with China, all but refusing to push cases with the WTO. This contributed to a loss of domestic manufacturing jobs and a trade deficit with China that's continued to accelerate to where it essentially is now. Other than Herbert Hoover or Warren G. Harding, I can't think of a worse President in the 20th Century than George W. Bush. He used the terrorist attacks of 9/11 for political gain and then squandered the treasury fighting a nation-building war in Iraq. He should have focused on Afghanistan, (actually) accomplished that mission and gotten us out of that rat hole - but he didn't do that. Also, he pushed too many unfunded mandates, like No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D. He was a fiscal train wreck. Luckily he was not able to pass his proposal to privatize Social Security or we would be in an even bigger mess than we already are. I've heard that W. Bush is not a bad guy. But he was a very, very bad President. The proof is in the pudding. There's just no way to spin that any other way.

I'm no big fan of Obama's policies either. But it was the complete cock-up that Bush created that set the stage for Obama to be elected. Well, that and McCain's lack of conviction while campaigning and his choice of Silly Sarah from Wasilla as a running mate.

So as far as the most effective Presidents of the past 50 years, I'd go with Reagan or Clinton. I'd put W. Bush back in the pack with Nixon to fight it out for the worst President of the past 50 years. And W. Bush would probably take the title by a nose for almost killing the U.S. economy.

 

[bobjustbob]

Gotta look at Nixon. Ended the Viet Nam War. Broke down the Cold War with China and Russia. Nuclear arms limitations. Started trade with them. Created the EPA, OSHA, Clean Air Act. Took the first real steps toward desegregating schools. Remember it was the Dixie Democrats with George Wallace that stood by segregation at that time. Saw that ERA went through with his support. Gotta give the guy some props for stuff that still stands today. Don't remember him starting a war either.

 

[DR. B]

Bill Clinton made money for our economy during his second term, but him not doing anything when Al Qaeda bombed the USS Cole started things to come for that bitch George W. Bush.

 

[Rey C.]

Gotta look at Nixon. Ended the Viet Nam War. Broke down the Cold War with China and Russia. Nuclear arms limitations. Started trade with them. Created the EPA, OSHA, Clean Air Act. Took the first real steps toward desegregating schools. Remember it was the Dixie Democrats with George Wallace that stood by segregation at that time. Saw that ERA went through with his support. Gotta give the guy some props for stuff that still stands today. Don't remember him starting a war either.

Good points on Nixon, Bob. He did accomplish some very good things. It's just a shame that he was so paranoid that he let it destroy those accomplishments in the public's mind. Now, that's all most people remember about him... although maybe that's not a fair way of judging him. I mean, it's not like he was even half as corrupt as Harding or Andrew Johnson. My grandfather was a big Nixon supporter in California. Somewhere in the family there is a picture of the two of them standing together at a GOP function. To be honest, I never tried to get a copy of it... because who wants a picture of a relative standing beside Nixon? But maybe I'll try to get a copy now. :yesyes: