# Best Presidential Successes **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 21, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514 "2006-02-21T19:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/21 "2006-02-23T06:49:45Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Other than fix government computers, what exactly did “the government” do? I have to agree with JohnT here… what did the government do? I was one of those people “fixing” legacy code for my company. But it was a company directive, not a govermental one. Even then it was a small portion of my time. We (the company I work for) knew it was an overinflated threat. We fixed it anyway, since it only affected a small part of our codebase. I’d rather thing that the Y2K crisis was a fabrication from the media and nothing to do with presidential policy. ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/22 "2006-02-23T14:37:42Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Because many, many people were predicting massive catastrophe occurring on 1/1/2000, with planes falling out of the sky and electrical systems crashing, etc. As I am sure you will recall, nothing remotely of the sort happened, because the federal government took incredible steps to fix the Y2K problem ahead of time. From your own link: > [@](#): > > There are many people predicting gloom, doom and the end of life as we know it as a result of Y2K. Most of these people are either misinformed or have something to gain by making the Y2K problem seem bigger than it is. There are people making a lot of money Y2K proofing computers and a lot of it is totally unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/23 "2006-02-23T15:46:29Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I wonder if the OP took that into consideration already with: > I will add that, after leaving the presidency, his actions dealing with the Newburgh Conspiracy prevented the USA from becoming a banana republic: > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newburgh\_Conspiracy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newburgh_Conspiracy) I think you meant to say that Washington’s actions in 1783, after retiring as a military commander but before the Constitution was enacted and before he was elected president, prevented the banana republic etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/24 "2006-02-23T16:28:23Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Eisenhower’s success in getting an Interstate Highway system built as one gigantic and seemlessly interconnected project has had tremendous impact on the development of this country over the last 50 years. It was bold and visionary. Some estimates say that it has returned at least 6 dollars for every dollar spent on the project. Grand logistical planning something that is often overlooked but it is among the most important parts of any plan and it is something a General/President could bring. The nation couldn’t have developed like it has if we didn’t have these high-speed, high capacity roads connecting every state and most cities. A remarkable number of programs and policies begun under Eisenhower’s terms have had long-ranging, positive effects for the US and the world. People generally think of the Kennedy Administration as being a kind of turning point for the US being involved in world affairs and a strong defensive posturing against (genuine) Communist incursion in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but Ike set up a lot of ducks for Kennedy and successors to line up. Eisenhower was suprisingly prescienct regarding the danger of military adventurism, the “military-industrial complex”, and the role that space technology would take in preeminence in the world economy. But he wasn’t flash–he definitely liked to work in a low-key environment–and so gets overlooked by many despite his manifest accomplishments in coping with the post-WWII world stage and Truman-era blunders like Korea. > [@Martin Hyde](#): > > 1. Reagan’s Reaganomics\*\* Sorry, even with your qualifications this one made me laugh aloud. Reaganomics was balderdash, an economically and socially destructive philosophy which pumped the American economy on a short term to result in several waves of recession. Conflating Reaganomics with Volcker’s strict control of interest rates doesn’t serve to boost the accomplishments of Reagan’s campaign promise economic policy. Reaganomics was, and I quote George H.W. Bush here, “voodoo economics”. Reaganomics may have looked like an improvement in comparison to previous fiscal US policy–after Nixon’s floundering efforts and elimination of the gold standard, Ford’s “deer in the headlights” approach, and Carter’s “we’re just hoping the oil crisis is over and we can all get back to the good old days” philosophy, any definitive and principled plan of economic policy seemed like brilliance on a stick–but it turned out to be an evicerating gut-slash. This, combined with massive overspending on military and business develolpment, resulted in the kinds of problems that lamentedly sank GHWB’s attempts to bring the economy under control. Clinton, of course, gets massive and largely undeserved props for the great, booming tech-sector economy that occured under his aegis, even though he did very little to actually support it. Just a spin of the wheel, a roll of the dice, a shooting star in the sky. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/25 "2006-02-23T19:51:07Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > I just can’t take seriously a list in which Washington’s success at establishing the Presidency as strong but not dictatorial doesn’t even crack the Top Ten. Well, that was the sum total effect of his eight years in office. It wouldn’t belong on a list that enumerates specific acts or decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/26 "2006-02-26T07:07:41Z")
Carter initiating the idea of human rights being an integral part of US foreign policy W’s increase in humanitarian aid for Africa and AIDS Kenney and the creation of the Peace Corps FDR and the new deal ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/27 "2006-02-26T20:42:16Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > Carter initiating the idea of human rights being an integral part of US foreign policy And Bush disastrously operationalizing it in Iraq? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/28 "2006-02-28T17:23:03Z")
I’ve checked out the other thread on Presidential bungling, and I have to say it’s refreshing to now “look on the bright side of [White House] life” in this thread. My nominations, in chronological order: 1. Washington virtually inventing the Presidency, preserving American neutrality during the Anglo-French wars, and willingly giving up power after two terms 2. John Adams appointing John Marshall as Chief Justice 3. Jefferson completing the Louisiana Purchase (even though it flew in the face of his views about the Federal government’s enumerated powers), and sending out Lewis and Clark 4. Jackson staring down South Carolina nullificationists 5. Lincoln preserving the Union (I know, that covers a lot of ground, but part of his genius was his thoughtful, across-the-board approach to the crisis), signing the Emancipation Proclamation, and signing legislation for the transcontinental railroad and land-grant colleges 6. Theodore Roosevelt building up the U.S. Navy while adroitly conducting foreign policy (mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, sending out the Great White Fleet, working behind the scenes to end the Venezuela crisis) 7. FDR’s First Hundred Days, reassuring the country and preserving democracy in the depths of the Great Depression 8. Truman deciding to confront North Korean aggression 9. JFK skillfully handling the Cuban Missile Crisis; many of those on ExComm would have led us into nuclear war, if they’d been in charge 10. LBJ throwing the full weight of the Federal Government in favor of civil rights (building on Truman’s and JFK’s work, I acknowledge) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/29 "2006-02-28T18:41:08Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > Carter initiating the idea of human rights being an integral part of US foreign policy I’ve seen this statement made many times on this board, and yet if I look at what actually took place during Carter’s administration I see no evidence at all of such a thing. His administration happily cozied up to any number of dictators. And if his administration did apply some policy here I just happened to miss, I see no evidence that it lasted for a second past the moment his administration ended. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514/30 "2006-02-28T21:09:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve seen this statement made many times on this board, and yet if I look at what actually took place during Carter’s administration I see no evidence at all of such a thing. His administration happily cozied up to any number of dictators. And if his administration did apply some policy here I just happened to miss, I see no evidence that it lasted for a second past the moment his administration ended. You are right that he wasn’t a great promoter of rights. > **[FAIR](https://fair.org/?page=2263)** > > FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation. But Carter did also abandon some dictators due to human rights. > **[Jimmy Carter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Foreign_policies)** > > James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American philanthropist, author, and former politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as a Georgia State senator from 1963 to 1967. Since leaving office, Carter has remained engaged in political and social projects. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding the ... I don’t see how the US abandoned human rights as part of its foreign policy after Carter. Human rights have been a point of all preceding presidents. Carter initiated the idea that human rights should be a part of US foreign policy which is something about 80-90% of americans support. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi\_m1316/is\_v18/ai\_4262005](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_v18/ai_4262005) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidential-successes/345514.md?page=1)