# GQ: Who was the second least qualified U.S. President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316 "2016-11-10T03:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/21 "2016-11-10T19:50:10Z")
I’m not sure how much different military experience is from executive branch experience. The President is at the top of the military chain-of-command … President --\> Sec. of Defense --\> Sec. of the Army --\> General of the Army … similarly … President --\> Sec. of State --\> Undersec. of State for Asia --\> Lacky in the Povertonia Embassy … If the Undersec. of State for Asia defies the President, there will be consequences … kinda like if a Captain defies a Major … I would say that military experience is more closely aligned with executive experience than legislative experience … Obama was the first President from the Congress since JFK/LBJ … them’s a ton of years for sure for sure … Unless there’s any other President with strictly business experience … then the second least qualified President would have to be George Washington, since at that time no one had ever held such a position … no one had any experience for the job. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/22 "2016-11-10T19:53:42Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/23 "2016-11-10T21:21:57Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Well clearly the two generals Grant and Eisenhower have the least political experience. Zachary Taylor is right up there with them. He held no office and had never even voted before becoming President. Several other 19th century generals had minimal political experience. Andrew Jackson had a total of about three years in the House and Senate. William Henry Harrison had about two years in Congress. He was governor of the Indiana Territory for a decade, an appointed, not elected, position. Benjamin Harrison had one term in the Senate, although he ran for and lost many previous elections. In addition, as noted above, neither Taft nor Hoover ever had a previous elected position. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/24 "2016-11-10T21:33:43Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I would say that military experience is more closely aligned with executive experience than legislative experience … Obama was the first President from the Congress since JFK/LBJ … them’s a ton of years for sure for sure … Both Nixon and George H. W. Bush’s were Senators before becoming vice president, and in those days it was hard to say how much of an office that was. Ford was in the House for decades before becoming President. > [@](#): > > Unless there’s any other President with strictly business experience … Hoover was a millionaire businessman who could afford to retire early and turn his attention to do-gooding. Carter was famously vilified as a “peanut farmer.” > [@](#): > > then the second least qualified President would have to be George Washington, since at that time no one had ever held such a position … no one had any experience for the job. You said this earlier, Loach demolished it earlier, and you acknowledged his demolishing it. Time for a hefty dose of ginkgo biloba. Besides, by this standard the only non-President qualified to be President was Benjamin Harrison in his second, non-continuous term. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/25 "2016-11-10T22:23:36Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Carter was famously vilified as a “peanut farmer.” Carter was also a Navy nuclear engineer. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/26 "2016-11-10T23:31:59Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > This is a highly subjective question. Qualifications beyond what is required by the US constitution are widely subject to opinion. > > I don’t understand this notion that career politician is the strongest qualification for POTUS. Clearly a large chunk of voters disagrees with that sentiment. A large chunk of voters are idiots. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/27 "2016-11-10T23:51:26Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Besides, by this standard the only non-President qualified to be President was Benjamin Harrison in his second, non-continuous term. I think you mean Grover Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/28 "2016-11-11T01:37:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I think you mean Grover Cleveland. Good grief. My brain is mush. Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/29 "2016-11-11T02:31:42Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Grant did not have any elected offices before coming President…just the army and some failed business ventures. I think historians generally regard him as a terrible president. He was elected in a fervor of excitement over winning the war, without people thinking about whether he was really qualified to be president. ETA: Of course, he also presided over a very difficult period in history. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/30 "2016-11-11T02:39:03Z")
Didn’t Harding admit he wasn’t qualified? Harding and Grant were the first 2 that came to mind for me. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/31 "2016-11-11T16:25:04Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Didn’t Harding admit he wasn’t qualified? Harding and Grant were the first 2 that came to mind for me. Harding had served in the Ohio State Legislature, as Lt Governor and as Senator for 6 years. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/32 "2016-11-11T16:47:02Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Lincoln’s experience is eerily similar to our current president’s. Well there’s the wrestling, for one thing… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/33 "2016-11-11T21:52:55Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Not only had Washington never held political office in a Republic … _no one_ had held office in a Republic … no blueprint, no history, no one knew what the President was _supposed_ to do. This! Washington was revered as the leader of the Revolution, and for good reason. It has been said there would not have been a success without him. In any event his years of leadership prepared him as much for these uncharted waters up ahead as anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/34 "2016-11-11T23:01:04Z")
I would think Woodrow Wilson should get a mention. 2 years as governor of a small state. No military or other political experience. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/35 "2016-11-11T23:08:39Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Both Nixon and George H. W. Bush’s were Senators before becoming vice president Bush ran for the Senate in 1970, but lost. He served two terms in the House starting in 1967. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/36 "2016-11-11T23:30:26Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Bush ran for the Senate in 1970, but lost. He served two terms in the House starting in 1967. Right. His father, Prescott, was the Senator. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316/37 "2016-11-12T02:07:02Z")
Dang, ninjad in my shot at Xap. What a world, what a world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-who-was-the-second-least-qualified-u-s-president/771316.md?page=1)