Best President of 20th Century

It's President's Day .. Why not?
Who was the best/greatest President to sit in the Oval Office in the 20th Century? And why?

My pick is Harry S. He's my favorite. The guy who inherited the mantle of great leadership and responsibility - and did so in the shadow of FDR's death. And he was up to the challenge.

I also think Truman was our last moral president. A guy with a sense of fairness, a moral compass and a good grip on how things should work. For instance, he declined to engage in the middle-eastern coups (see Iran) that would be green-lit by Eisenhower.

I listed Reagan because he's the Jesus Christ of the GOP
Clinton - our blowjob and chief - because he's a Democratic favorite.
JFK .. Cause he's JF-fucking-K!
LBJ ... His Civil Rights measures certainly merit consideration.
TR ... Gave birth to the modern president and the use and power of the Executive Order.
FDR ... Four terms. The Depression and WWII.
Nixon ... I wouldn't have listed him, but we had a history class in college and more than one (older) student listed Nixon as the greatest based solely on the fact he ended the war in Vietnam.

Feel free to argue for others, while they may have attributes to merit discussion I don't think any of them deserve to be considered the best.

 

FDR.

Basically changed the country. Invented the safety net. Bullied the Supreme Court into interpreting the Constitution in a way that essentially set the stage for the judicial activisim of the '50s and '60s.

 

I love Teddy, but between WWII and the Depression, they should be clearing space on Mt. Rushmore for FDR.

And Ike should be on the list. Better than Kennedy. I think JFK gets more credit because so much was accomplished by LBJ in reaction to Kennedy dying (civil rights, Great Society, space program). Don't know if half that stuff gets done by JFK in two terms.

 

It's interesting because you have to start this examination by asking what is the criteria for "great." At getting his own agenda passed and changing the country in the image of his vision for it, FDR was tremendous. But some might question the policy of that vision. How much do results matter and how much does leadership matter? Reagan certainly imposed his will upon the country - but to the detriment of income equality and organized labor.

 

Is William McKinnley going to have to choke a bitch?

That said, I voted Bull Moose.

 

It's R-e-a-g-a-n.

 

I reject the premise.

 

That's not what your mom said.

 

FDR. You know, that whole Depression and WWII thing.

 

Hilarious there are four (probably more) mouth-breathers who think Grandpa Dementia was the century's best president

 

Ronald Regan was easily one of the best communicators who ever held the job. I think he was mediocre as a president but people love gramps.

I don't get the love for Harry Truman.

 

At the time Reagan seemed great, but the hole he left us to dig out of in the Middle East might be his lasting legacy.

Plus, he was the first one to start undercutting education in America.

And he seemed to like debt.