I don’t know, Clinton oversaw a very good economy and working with the Republicans actually got meaningful welfare reform, improved our world image, oversaw a period of unprecedented decrease in crime, a massive decrease in deficit spending, inflation was low and he helped broker a lasting peace in Ireland. This is a pretty good record and overall beats out Bush in my opinion.
I chose Clinton, but let’s be honest; high tech was booming and manufacturing during his presidency was still quite robust. Things were also good in Canada during this period. Jobs were plentiful and stock options were being offered as incentives all around.
That bubble burst in 2000, and then really went south after 2001. Clinton was not responsible for either of these events. He’ll be remembered as a great president (personal issues aside) but a lot of it was just being in the right place at the right time.
Proposed by Bush: http://irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc151b.pdf (PDF)
Until Bush Jr., I don’t believe that our world image was all that dire. If the greater world (aka Europe) liked Clinton better than Bush Sr, I would have to imagine that it’s simply because Europeans are more left-leaning. I don’t think that Clinton did anything special to improve our world position, and I recall that quite a few Europeans were annoyed by having American forces bombing the hell out of Eastern Europe every time Clinton’s name was in the news.
I’m highly doubtful that that had anything to do with Clinton. The current running theories as to the drop in crime are:
- 3 strikes laws
- Lead reduction in gasoline
- Roe v. Wade
None of those is thanks to either of the two persons being discussed.
Started by Bush: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 - Wikipedia
I’m unaware of that, but I’ll give it to you.
But Clinton hasn’t been president yet. During that push for universal health care that Clinton headed up, she was merely the First Lady at the time.
<d&r>
“great”?
It was always going to be between Clinton and Obama, and my decision was threefold:
One of them passed DADT, one of them abolished it
One of them passed ACA
AFAIK, one of them didn’t fuck underlings. I don’t care about the infidelity issue, it’s the power relations dynamic I don’t like.
That kind of gives it to Obama in a walk. This is nothing to do with recency* and everything to do with actual achievements.
- OK, I guess stories of Obama screwing around could still come out, he’s not out of office yet. But I somehow doubt it.
You think the world loved Reagan? Before Clinton, the image was pretty dire, yes. My vision of the US Presidency pre-Clinton was nicely captured by Genesis’ Land of Confusion music video. Hell, I know I have no love for Bush Snr. just because he was Reagan’s Veep even though by all accounts he wasn’t a bad president for a Republican.
I feel that Bush Sr. did it best. Granted he hasnt done what Clinton and Carter have done, meaning work with charities, but he just quietly went into retirement and only emerges when from time to time when things come up. Like shortly after leaving office he slapped down the NRA by publicly resigning over the “jack boothed thugs” comment about the ATF. He has given advice to future presidents and worked well with the transition to the Clintons.
So he just seems to me an example of how a president should just slip quietly into retirement and take on the role of an elder statesman and advisor.
When we say “Clinton” in the poll, are we talking Bill or Hillary?
Seven votes for Bush, Jr.
Anyone care to say why?
Somebody turned on the wifi in the asylum?
Two things about Obama: First, if the Republicans win the next election, it seems likely that Obamacare is down the drain. So there goes that. More than half the states are dragging their feet and, depending on SCOTUS, this could bring the whole thing down. Second, leaving people like Summers in charge of the financial recovery is equivalent to leaving the fox in charge of the henhouse. Let those too-big-to-fail banks fail and then rescue them. Too bad for the shareholders, but next time, they might pay more attention to the shenanigans that are starting to reappear. The banks are back to playing the heads-we-win, tails-you-bail-us-out game.
Then there is the failure to do anything about the torture gang.
One of the jobs of the Prez is to work with what you got. Yes, Clinton got in during a great economic time. But I believe Dubya could have gotten in during the most amazing time in American history and still fucked it up.
And Clinton did have to deal with the worst domestic act of terrorism in US history–the Oklahoma City bombing. Which he did with grace, style and dignity.
One word about Bush Sr.: people forget that he pardoned pretty much everyone involved in Iran-Contra just before leaving office.
Oh, yeah, I forgot - Bush Snr was head of the CIA, wasn’t he? That automatically disqualifies him from the list of “Acceptable Human Beings”, never mind “Greatest Living Presidents”
A President should be judged on how he reacted to events in office. Carter did a couple of good things like deregulation but when confronted by the Hostage crisis or the invasion of Afghanistan did nothing. Bad President.
Bush 1 presided over the end of the USSR but the die had been cast and mostly he just had to not mess up. Desert Storm was well done but ultimately did little to change the Middle East. He was competent but not consequential.
Clinton was just sort of present. Lots of little police actions overseas with no overall vision or purpose. All he wanted was to be popular so he never really made any tough decisions. Was fortunate to be in right place at right time.
Bush 2 was confronted with the worst terrorist strike in US history. HE acted immediately and decisively. He used proxies to overthrow the Taliban and send Al Queda on the run. Created the infrastructure for the War on Terror which has kept the civilized world safe from Islamic terrorists. He overthrew Saddam one of the worst and most dangerous tyrants in the world. When the insurgency happened and everyone had turned against the war he authorized the surge which ultimately won the war. He should have pressured the Fed to loosen monetary policy to keep the great recession from happening, but I don’t blame him too much since very few people knew how tight money was at the time. He was good and consequential.
Obama has had no consistent foreign policy, failed to sign an agreement to keep some troops in Iraq, had no strategic vision for the Libyan war, has been all over the road with Syria with no discernible vision or strategy. Domestically he doubled down on everything wrong with the healthcare system with Obamacare, spent alot of stimulus money for almost no return, failed to appoint people to the Fed during a critical time, no accomplishments to speak of. He has been over his head and floundering since Day 1.
If you didn’t want anyone voting for Bush, Jr. then you shouldn’t have put him in your poll.
Until puddleglum spoke up, there were reasons given for all presidents voted for but that one, and now we have at least one for that president. Okay?
Not to mention spying on literally every human on earth. W started it, but Obama ran with it. I can’t forgive that. I voted for him twice because his opposition was truly terrible, but ending two wars (better late than never) and repealing DADT are the only Obama accomplishments I can applaud.
For me it was a tossup between GHW Bush and Clinton. Waco tips the scale towards Bush so that’s who I voted for.
I’m naively hoping that it will be too politically damaging to overturn Obamacare. Millions of insured people back to uninsured. Each one with a vote (so long as they live). Obamacare is a great issue to hate on as long as they can’t actually overturn it.
I agree about the NSA spying, though. And killing American citizens without trial. I don’t care if they were terrorists (alleged, of course, because, you know, no trial).
Clinton passed DOMA, and Obama got rid of it, but Clinton was right - it was the best that could be done at the time. The Republicans *wanted *traditional marriage as an amendment to the constitution.
Clinton was a great pragmatist and effective leader.