Who was the best president of the last ten

[Fisher]

George H.W. Bush.

 

[Linc]

And yet we had higter tax rates back then. I'm not an economic genius, like Boehner also said. I'm sure there was a good reason for JFK to lower tax rates. As for LBJ, most of us with cons. Dem roots wanted to WIN the damn war. Vets have stated how Ho wanted to work with us.

1954, right after Ho Chi Minh won his country's independence from the French. It was Johnson who really blew it up into a full scale war, however.

Yes, the interstate highway system is what he deserves to have as his legacy, no doubt, that and the greatest economic boom we've ever had.

 

[a351]

Toss up between Clinton and Reagan, Clinton for his economic, domestic and diplomatic successes and Reagan for his leadership, handling of the Cold War and presiding over a time of general prosperity and recovery. Obama will likely garner the third spot in time. Kennedy's unfortunate length of term makes it difficult to rank him above two term Presidents.

 

[Smeagol]

They all did good thinks and not so good things. It's difficult to make equal comparisons since unique circumstances affected each's administration that others did not have to deal with. For example, I think Bill Clinton was one of the for effective but he was fortunate enough to inherit fiscal dividend of winning the Cold War and deep reductions in the need for military spending. Barrack Obama has had probably the most robust opposition of any president in history complete with a 24 hour news channel and at least one radio station in every city in the United States dedicated almost exclusively to portraying him, his wife and anyone in his administration in the worst possible light. This is something Reagan or JFK didnt have to contend with. Any president that has to be occupied with war probably lives under levels on constant stress peacetime presidents are free of.

For me, considering unique circumstances of each presidency, its hard to say.

 

[falcata]

neither of which he had anything to do with
hey wait wasn't he the prez (up until Obama) that had sent troops into harms way more than any other?
mebbe you were too young then to remember?

I think you need to clarify what "harm's way" is.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

ya ever notice how all the Presidents go gray in office (except Reagan)
I think after they show them what's in that Hangar 75 miles from Vegas
the knowledge of it fries their brains?

 

[Dittohead not!]

And yet we had higter tax rates back then. I'm not an economic genius, like Boehner also said. I'm sure there was a good reason for JFK to lower tax rates. As for LBJ, most of us with cons. Dem roots wanted to WIN the damn war. Vets have stated how Ho wanted to work with us.

Ho Chi Minh should never have been an enemy of the USA.

Yes, the top marginal tax rate was pretty high during the Eisenhower administration, a lot higher than it is now. Overall taxes, though, I'm not so sure were high for the average person. Meanwhile, we built the interstate highways, helped to rebuild Europe, and did it all without building up a ruinous debt. Those were good times.

 

[Linc]

I believe the hangers at Wright-Patterson are way beyond all of that.

ya ever notice how all the Presidents go gray in office (except Reagan)
I think after they show them what's in that Hangar 75 miles from Vegas
the knowledge of it fries their brains?

 

[APACHERAT]

How cold anyone even consider JFK unless they have been indoctrinated in revisionism.

JFK's administration was one failure after another.

JFK signs off on the Bay of Pigs invasion rejecting former President Eisenhower's warnings and advice.

Allowing the Berlin Wall going up.

JFK giving Khrushchev exactly what he wanted during the Cuban Missile Crises.

Rejecting former President Eisenhower's strategy in Southeast Asia and JFK thinking he could fall back to the 17th parallel and stop Communist expansion there.

And JFK's biggest mistake of them all, was when he signed off on the CIA backed military coups of removing the President Diem regime from power in the Republic of Vietnam that went wrong and Diem was executed and from that day on America owned Vietnam, it became America's problem. The end game being, 58,000 American dead.

 

[falcata]

How cold anyone even consider JFK unless they have been indoctrinated in revisionism.

JFK's administration was one failure after another.

JFK signs off on the Bay of Pigs invasion rejecting former President Eisenhower's warnings and advice.

Allowing the Berlin Wall going up.

JFK giving Khrushchev exactly what he wanted during the Cuban Missile Crises.

Rejecting former President Eisenhower's strategy in Southeast Asia and JFK thinking he could fall back to the 17th parallel and stop Communist expansion there.

And JFK's biggest mistake of them all, was when he signed off on the CIA backed military coups of removing the President Diem regime from power in the Republic of Vietnam that went wrong and Diem was executed and from that day on America owned Vietnam, it became America's problem. The end game being, 58,000 American dead.

Not that I'm trying to ignore your other points, but isn't what Khrushchev wanted were missiles in Cuba ?

 

[obvious Child]

Overall quality of how they did

That doesn't answer his question at all.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

How cold anyone even consider JFK unless they have been indoctrinated in revisionism.

JFK's administration was one failure after another.

JFK signs off on the Bay of Pigs invasion rejecting former President Eisenhower's warnings and advice.

Allowing the Berlin Wall going up.

JFK giving Khrushchev exactly what he wanted during the Cuban Missile Crises.

Rejecting former President Eisenhower's strategy in Southeast Asia and JFK thinking he could fall back to the 17th parallel and stop Communist expansion there.

And JFK's biggest mistake of them all, was when he signed off on the CIA backed military coups of removing the President Diem regime from power in the Republic of Vietnam that went wrong and Diem was executed and from that day on America owned Vietnam, it became America's problem. The end game being, 58,000 American dead.

yer so right the best thing he did for the country was to get blasted from the grassy knoll

 

[obvious Child]

Best is a subjective term that has no real meaning.

I will say that President Ford is an underrated Presidency.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

Khrushchev wasn't he the guy with the shoe?

 

[SayMyName]

John F. Kennedy. As much as I would like to say Reagan, JFK paid off the US debt left over from WWII. Took a stand against the Russians. Made the move to end the power of the Federal Reserve to print US currency in executive order 1066. By the way, two months after signing that order, he died. Two months later LBJ recended that order.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

executive order 1066 is what got him whacked

 

[Linc]

And to continue to fulfill the every 20-year prophecy of a POTUS dying in office. It takes a real angry assclown to celebrate the death of a POTUS. We Real Americans were all grateful President Reagan and President Ford survived attempts on their lives.

yer so right the best thing he did for the country was to get blasted from the grassy knoll

 

[falcata]

yer so right the best thing he did for the country was to get blasted from the grassy knoll

That is just horribly bad taste. The man was president of the United States at least show him respect for that.

At least give yourself and JFK the dignity of expressing your opinion with at least semi-proper English.

 

[AngryOldGuy]

I are knot gonna do it
hah Where would the current administration be if they weren't allowed to print money willy nilly?

 

[APACHERAT]

Not that I'm trying to ignore your other points, but isn't what Khrushchev wanted were missiles in Cuba ?

No, Khrushchev put missiles in Cuba because NATO had missiles in Turkey aimed at the Soviet Union. Khrushchev wanted those missiles out of Turkey and JFK ordered the NATO missiles out of Turkey when Khrushchev said he would remove his missiles from Cuba. JFK insisted that this be kept a secret from the American people and Khrushchev concured. It remained a secret for twenty five years.

You have to remember that the Kennedy klan has a well established machine in place to protect the Kennedy legacy. But that machine is getting rusty and Teddy Kennedy is no longer around to see that machine is well oiled.

 

[Jredbaron96]

Either Bush or Obama.

 

[falcata]

No, Khrushchev put missiles in Cuba because NATO had missiles in Turkey aimed at the Soviet Union. Khrushchev wanted those missiles out of Turkey and JFK ordered the NATO missiles out of Turkey when Khrushchev said he would remove his missiles from Cuba. JFK insisted that this be kept a secret from the American people and Khrushchev concured. It remained a secret for twenty five years.

You have to remember that the Kennedy klan has a well established machine in place to protect the Kennedy legacy. But that machine is getting rusty and Teddy Kennedy is no longer around to see that machine is well oiled.

Ah I get the jist of what you're trying to say, but I'd like to make an adaption to it.

What you are saying is that Khrushchev wanted a level playing field. This could be achieved by with a status quo of missiles in Turkey and Cuba or with a absence of both. However the United States couldn't stand-by with Missiles a stone's throw away from Miami. So the only real end result would be mutual "demisslizing" of those areas.

If this is the case though would you say the Cuban missile crisis was actually no real crisis at all?

Actually if I'm not mistaken didn't we never actually take our missiles out of Turkey?

 

[AngryOldGuy]

For once you are actually not mistaken

 

[Captain Adverse]

and when he got shot he lived

hah yeah JFK my posterior, The failed Bay of Pigs invasion nearly caused a nooclear exchange during the Cuban missile crisis.

JFK was sworn into office on January 1, 1961. The Eisenhower Administration had already concocted a plan to invade Cuba using Cuban expatriates led the CIA “officers.” They fully expected to go for it if then Vice-President Nixon had been elected President. Once he lost to JFK the CIA spent Kennedy’s first two months in office convincing him of the effectiveness of the plan and that it would result in a general uprising which would require NO AMERICAN troops in support. That timing was of the essence.

Kennedy trusted Eisenhower and the CIA so he ordered the action on April 17, 1961; and two days later the rebels were all caught by the Cuban military...gee kinda reminds me of several subsequent mistakes by the CIA misleading Presidential policy; like the Shah’s Iran, and the WMD’s in Iraq.

Kennedy was not about to commit American troops to any invasion of Cuba. That might have led to real war in Europe with the Soviet Union. He did exactly what he said he would to the CIA, back a newly formed democratic Cuban government or try his best to get the rebels out.

As for the Cuban missile crisis? That was the first time a U.S. President stared down the nuclear armed Soviet Union and the Soviet's blinked first. Everything that came after was built on Kennedy's non-appeasement policy with the Soviet Union. Reagan and his "administration" stood on the shoulders of JFK. Without that "Liberal President" standing up during the Cuban Missile Crisis the Soviets wouldn't have worried about "Hard liner" Reagan at all. :twocents:

 

[CanadaJohn]

I've been a fan of Richard Nixon and his accomplishments all my life. I came of age during Nixon's Presidency. His impact on America, both good - from ending the Vietnam war to opening up relations with China - and the bad - letting the Watergate burglary take down his Presidency - paints him as one of the most influential Presidents of our time. Nixon took the job seriously and worked hard at it, unlike many men before and after him.