# Who was the most generaly hated U.S. President from 1969-2005? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 19, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780 "2005-08-19T18:32:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/141 "2005-08-25T23:25:59Z")
> [@Crab Rangoon](#): > > Bush II: I just. don’t. get. it. My read is that he is a barely literate He does have a master’s degree. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/142 "2005-08-26T00:13:54Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > :), OK, we’ve come full circle then. But you still haven’t answered my “why” question. All you’ve done is restated the premise. Why is he considered so moral? He wasn’t very moral; he said he had committed adultery in his heart. Plus, didn’t he once say he was going to whip someone’s ass? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/143 "2005-08-26T00:35:43Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > He does have a master’s degree. He’s a rich boy who got a “gentleman’s C”. He could have gotten a degree if he had a lobotomy. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/144 "2005-08-26T00:46:06Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > He wasn’t very moral; he said he had committed adultery in his heart. Plus, didn’t he once say he was going to whip someone’s ass? Wow, tough crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/145 "2005-08-26T00:48:08Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > He does have a master’s degree. I would have to say that waving Bush’s master’s degree around at those of us who can speak, read and remember things, yet do not possess said degree, definitely qualifies as “master’s baiting.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/146 "2005-08-26T00:49:22Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > He’s a rich boy who got a “gentleman’s C”. He could have gotten a degree if he had a lobotomy. Lobotomies were given to address psychological problems and generally didn’t make a person “stupid”. Also, you might want to note that Bush’s [SAT scores](http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040114-074349-3947r) were quite high. > [@](#): > > The New Yorker magazine revealed in 1999 that Bush scored 1206 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test: 566 Verbal, 640 Math. So, unless you have some hard evidence that Bush didn’t have the smarts to complete an MBA, all you’ve really got is your opinion. Which, in this forum, ain’t worth nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/147 "2005-08-26T00:49:57Z")
Like a motherfucker, I might add. No insult intended toward Walloon, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/148 "2005-08-26T00:51:14Z")
Whoops. sorry about the coding there. Was supposed to be small type. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/149 "2005-08-26T00:58:32Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Lobotomies were given to address psychological problems and generally didn’t make a person “stupid”. > > Also, you might want to note that Bush’s [SAT scores](http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040114-074349-3947r) were **quite high**. > > So, unless you have some hard evidence that Bush didn’t have the smarts to complete an MBA, all you’ve really got is your opinion. Which, in this forum, ain’t worth nuthin’. You know a 1206 is not “quite high”. I had a 1370 before the re-centering and I was only 3rd in my High School Class. While it does show he is not an idiot a 1206 is merely above average. A 1370 is good. Quite High should be 1450+ I am sure this board has 100’s of members with higher SAT scores than a 1206. I will admit to being somewhat impressed. I would have bet on a 1050 for Bush Jr. I wonder how many tries he had for the 1208. I have a WAG that it would turn out Carter’s was the highest and if he had taken one Reagan’s would be the lowest. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/150 "2005-08-26T02:14:58Z")
1206 is quite respectable…especially when Bush took the test. While mine (and I suspect many on this board) was higher, 1206 is well above average…definitely enough to get you into any major college. Folks have been trying to slap this ‘he’s barely literate’ BS on him for years now…and really its kind of silly. -XT ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/151 "2005-08-26T02:30:42Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > 1206 is **quite respectable** …especially when Bush took the test. While mine (and I suspect many on this board) was higher, 1206 is well above average…definitely enough to get you into any major college. > > Folks have been trying to slap this ‘he’s barely literate’ BS on him for years now…and really its kind of silly. > > -XT I supplied above bolding I like your phrase much better than **quite high**. It is a nicer way to say above average. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/152 "2005-08-26T02:48:19Z")
Well, its quite a bit above average though according to [this](http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/understanding/average.html): > [@](#): > > 2004 College-bound Seniors’ Average Scores > Verbal (Critical reading) 508 > Math 518 IIRC also older test scores get some kind of adjustment because the grading scales changed…least thats what someone told me I could do with mine (with the adjustment I was nearly 1600 believe it or not :)). I’m not sure if Bush’s scores have already had that adjustment or not…but if not his scores are actually higher than they seem compared to current averages. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/153 "2005-08-26T04:07:54Z")
[Cecil speaks:](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010622.html) > [@](#): > > To find out how [GWB’s SAT] score stacked up, I called Educational Testing Service, publisher of the SAT, and learned that in 1994, SAT scores had been “re-centered.” To offset the steady downward drift of test scores over the years, the scoring scale was adjusted upward so that the mean score for both math and verbal was again 500 (the midpoint on a scale of 200 to 800). Those who took the test before 1994 are now entitled to add a prescribed amount to their scores to see how they compare to students today. . . Doing the same for Bush gives him 640 on both verbal and math, good enough for 88th percentile on the verbal and 86th in math were he entering college now. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/154 "2005-08-26T04:18:52Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > [Cecil speaks:](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010622.html) Why you leave off the next Line > [@](#): > > Then again, I recall having seen a college guide circa 1970 that listed the average SAT for Yale freshmen as about 670 in verbal, 705 in math. So Bush was well below average for his class. He must have written a great essay. 😃 So what is the Prescribed amount you add to an old score? I’m curious if I’ve made it to 1600 without even retesting. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/155 "2005-08-26T04:20:18Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > He’s a rich boy who got a “gentleman’s C”. Could you please explain how being a “rich boy” had anything to do with it? John Kerry had worse grades at Yale than Bush, although I notice no one has mentioned that here. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/156 "2005-08-26T04:23:53Z")
Well, he was below average for Yale…a fairly elite school. I was merely comparing him to the average American who, last time I checked, was at least barely literate, yes? 🙂 I don’t see it in Cecil’s article…my friend of years ago said it worked out to about 100 points (combined) I could add to my SAT’s. -XT ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/157 "2005-08-26T04:34:33Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Well, he was below average for Yale…a fairly elite school. I was merely comparing him to the average American who, last time I checked, was at least barely literate, yes? 🙂 > > I don’t see it in Cecil’s article…my friend of years ago said it worked out to about 100 points (combined) I could add to my SAT’s. > > -XT Thanks, I just checked [ECT.org](http://ECT.org) and Wiki and neither was helpful. I found something funny. Up until 1994 Mensa considered anyone with a 1250+ SAT score eligible to join Mensa. I think we had a over a dozen kids out of 250 get above a 1250, sounds like a fairly low standard. I would have put the mark much higher. So I guess George is very bright compared to the Average American, even brighter against todays 20 years olds but still not Mensa material. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/158 "2005-08-26T04:44:03Z")
I’d be the last person (well, maybe not THE last person) to call George a genius. He’s bright enough, he CAN read, and he did go to college. Thats about it. I was merely responding to the ‘barely literate’ thing earlier in the thread…I just like to argue really. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/159 "2005-08-26T04:47:04Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I’d be the last person (well, maybe not THE last person) to call George a genius. He’s bright enough, he CAN read, and he did go to college. Thats about it. I was merely responding to the ‘barely literate’ thing earlier in the thread…I just like to argue really. > > 😛 > > -XT Isn’t that the main reason to be in Great Debates? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780/160 "2005-08-26T15:04:12Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Could you please explain how being a “rich boy” had anything to do with it? John Kerry had worse grades at Yale than Bush, although I notice no one has mentioned that here. I don’t think it makes all that much difference. Al Gore flunked out of graduate school twice, and he was still smart enough to invent the Internet. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-most-generaly-hated-u-s-president-from-1969-2005/317780.md?page=9)