# Who Would you rank highest among the six previous Presidents? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948 "2014-06-29T17:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/41 "2014-06-30T22:30:58Z")
Clinton deported 12 million illegals: > **[Obama Deportations Definitely Not Record-Breaking](https://cis.org/Vaughan/Obama-Deportations-Definitely-Not-RecordBreaking)** > > In its first four years the Obama administration deported 3.2 million aliens, averaging just over 800,000 per year. Pro-amnesty advocacy groups, administration officials, lawmakers, and lazy reporters all have claimed this is a record, but it is not.... And they back it up with a DHS cite. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/42 "2014-06-30T23:10:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > America is an individualist nation. Get over it. That’s not changing. Please keep your jingoistic (and meaningless) Hannity talking points out of non-Hannity threads. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/43 "2014-06-30T23:12:13Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Today that program would be a pretty far right program. No, today that’s a moderate program. A far right (or even mainstream right) ‘program’ for immigration is the following: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/44 "2014-06-30T23:21:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > So what the GOP needs now is a Kennedy. Nope. Millard Filmore. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/45 "2014-06-30T23:31:07Z")
I went with Obama. I thought it was close with him and Clinton (and know much less about Carter, since I was born during his presidency), but Obama unwinding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, pushing through the stimulus, the ACA, and finally taking the first steps on climate change puts him over the top. If the climate change initiative stalls out, I may change my mind. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/46 "2014-07-01T01:03:13Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s what we founded this country on and it’s gotten us pretty far. There are 180 other countries to live in if you don’t like the model. I hate to be the one to break the news, but John Wayne wasn’t one of the founding fathers. Were you completely honest when you clicked the User Agreement? ---
**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:** [July 1, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/47 "2014-07-01T01:10:44Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > While its too early to judge obviously, I’d say Obama is shaping up to be the best President since LBJ, even if solely because of the Affordable Care Act. What makes you say that out of curiosity? What legislative achievements did he do that were better than Nixon, Reagan, Carter, etc. They all had accomplishments (Nixon with the environment, Bush sr with the ADA act). Even Bush jr had some legislative accomplishments like fighting diseases in Africa, or making it easier for criminals to re enter society, or medicare D. The ACA is a good change, but doesn’t it mostly just offer subisides to buy into a failed system? It will move the overton window to the left on healthcare and make meaningful, necessary health reform in 10-20 years more feasible but that is the biggest achievement of the ACA. Paving the way for real health reform down the road. Personally I think credit card reform, increasing mpg standards are big achievements that are often overlooked. But overall I don’t know if he is the greatest since LBJ. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/48 "2014-07-01T01:21:43Z")
Carter is the only one I like at all. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/49 "2014-07-01T03:34:59Z")
One big thing Carter did was the Camp David accords which created a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt–a peace which has lasted (while before Camp David the two countries had wars at regular intervals). None of the other Presidents has had a more positive impact on Middle Eastern issues. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/50 "2014-07-01T18:52:33Z")
No surprise. Clinton easily won this poll. He was my favorite too. He did have a few challenges. The first Twin Towers attack (Feb 26, 1993, one month after he took office), Waco (Feb and April 93), OK City bombing (April 95). Life in the 90’s wasn’t a rose garden. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/51 "2014-07-02T21:31:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’d have to go with Clinton. His biggest failure, IMO, was signing the repeal of Glass-Steagall, which helped lead to the economic meltdown of 2008. But the guy was and is an extremely intelligent and canny politician who is able to work both sides of the aisle. We had eight years of economic boom and budget surpluses under his regime. Carter got a bad rap because of Iran, but was excellent with foreign policy. And of course both have done more in their post-presidency years than all of the others combined. Carter sucked at foreign policy. He was a joke. Among other things: In re the Iran Hostage Crisis, he sent, of all people, Muhammad Ali over there to be a representative to the Iranians/kidnappers, because ‘he was Muslim’. Of course, Ali screwed the pooch, and made Carter/US look like a bunch of dildoes. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948/52 "2014-07-02T21:34:25Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Given the historically unprecedented opposition… Cites? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-highest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691948.md?page=2)