# Who would you Rank lowest among the six previous Presidents? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947 "2014-06-29T17:27:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/81 "2014-07-02T03:37:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Facts are stubborn things, but they don’t hold a candle to you. > > Reagan did not free the hostages. It may be a cornerstone of Republican mythology, but it just ain’t so. He didn’t win the cold war or cut government spending either. But in the Legend of Reagan, he did all of those things. And he defeated Sauron. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/82 "2014-07-02T03:50:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He didn’t win the cold war or cut government spending either. But in the Legend of Reagan, he did all of those things. And he defeated Sauron. At least he didn’t give in to terrorists, unless you count Lebanon and Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/83 "2014-07-02T03:52:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He didn’t win the cold war or cut government spending either. But in the Legend of Reagan, he did all of those things. And he defeated Sauron. Wait, I thought he _ **was** _ Sauron, bravely defending Mordor from the forces of international consensus. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/84 "2014-07-02T06:29:54Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > …Every single-payer system I’ve looked at also allows people to buy insurance too if they wish. Ummmm… I don’t think you understand what the word SINGLE in “single payer” means. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/85 "2014-07-02T13:03:30Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Thanks for being so condescending! I said “nudging.” If you don’t think that Single Payer is the ultimate goal of this process, you aren’t paying attention. And that alone will qualify him for worst President in a long, long time. I suppose Eisenhower was a terrible president for inflicting that socialist Interstate Highway System on us. Even before Ike, there were public schools. EEEEEEEK! SOCIALISM!!! Ben Franklin, the pinko, started those socialist public libraries and fire departments. Of course, you probably despise that socialist FDR and his Social Security. Damn, if only we could go back to having the oldsters beg in the streets! And those socialist public works like sewage and water systems. Holy shit, weren’t things better when we fought those pathogens on our own rather than let the damn gummint do it for us? And rural electrification. What a crummy socialist idea! Now those hillbillies are watching television instead of learning to play the banjo. And now we have the King Of The Socialists, Barack Obama, and his dastardly plan to implement (gasp) single payer health care by that sneaky requirement to buy private insurance. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/86 "2014-07-02T13:20:20Z")
On related topic: [http://www.wbir.com/story/theoval/2014/07/02/obama-george-w-bush-quinnipiac-poll-reagan-clinton/11985837/](http://www.wbir.com/story/theoval/2014/07/02/obama-george-w-bush-quinnipiac-poll-reagan-clinton/11985837/) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/87 "2014-07-02T13:20:30Z")
It’s interesting to compare the results of this poll with the results of a similar [Quinnipiac poll](http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2014/07/02/obama-george-w-bush-quinnipiac-poll-reagan-clinton/11985837/) that’s out just now. > [@](#): > > In a new Quinnipiac University Poll, 33% named Obama the worst president since World War II; another 28% put Bush at the bottom of post-war presidents. > [@](#): > > Ronald Reagan topped the poll as the best president since World War II, with 35%. He is followed by presidents Bill Clinton (18%) and John F. Kennedy (15%). > > Obama received only 8% in the best presidents poll. Says a lot about the skew of this board (which is an oft-debated topic). And the shock of certain posters that _anyone_ could rate GWB as better than Obama :eek: only reveals the extent to which these posters are inhabiting a liberal cocoon. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/88 "2014-07-02T13:53:10Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > And the shock of certain posters that _anyone_ could rate GWB as better than Obama :eek: only reveals the extent to which these posters are inhabiting a liberal cocoon. Interesting substitution of “a liberal cocoon” for “reality”. Seriously, Bush and Cheney could fuck up a two car parade. Except for his compassion for AIDS victims in Africa, I’m really hard pressed to see what W accomplished that was positive. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/89 "2014-07-02T13:54:28Z")
You are confusing two different points. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/90 "2014-07-02T14:23:28Z")
As I posted in the Elections forum, that poll tells us pretty much nothing we didn’t already know. The Obama-haters hate Obama a lot, and they love Reagan. Dog bites man. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/91 "2014-07-02T16:02:43Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I suppose Eisenhower was a terrible president for inflicting that socialist Interstate Highway System on us. Even before Ike, there were public schools. EEEEEEEK! SOCIALISM!!! Ben Franklin, the pinko, started those socialist public libraries and fire departments. Of course, you probably despise that socialist FDR and his Social Security. Damn, if only we could go back to having the oldsters beg in the streets! And those socialist public works like sewage and water systems. Holy shit, weren’t things better when we fought those pathogens on our own rather than let the damn gummint do it for us? And rural electrification. What a crummy socialist idea! Now those hillbillies are watching television instead of learning to play the banjo. And now we have the King Of The Socialists, Barack Obama, and his dastardly plan to implement (gasp) single payer health care by that sneaky requirement to buy private insurance. Need a towel to get all that foam off of your mouth? Thanks but no thanks. I’ll save my debating energy for someone who can do it calmly and rationally. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/92 "2014-07-02T16:22:09Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Need a towel to get all that foam off of your mouth? Thanks but no thanks. I’ll save my debating energy for someone who can do it calmly and rationally. So we’ll stipulate that you’re not against things that really are socialist but are dead set against things that aren’t socialist on the grounds that it might someday lead to socialism. Got it. ---
**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 2, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/93 "2014-07-02T16:42:28Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > And the shock of certain posters that _anyone_ could rate GWB as better than Obama :eek: only reveals the extent to which these posters are inhabiting a liberal cocoon. It’s not surprising if the reason is extreme partisanship or racial hatred. Those I can understand. Certainly one could make an argument that Bush Sr. was a better president. But the GWB presidency was an epic failure. Obama would have to nuke 2 or 3 states into oblivion to reach that level. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/94 "2014-07-02T16:50:46Z")
Bilge. I meant to vote for Bush the Lesser, but I hit Bush the 1st through sheer negligence. Is there any way to fix it? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/95 "2014-07-02T17:03:16Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > If you don’t think that Single Payer is the ultimate goal of this process, you aren’t paying attention. And that alone will qualify him for worst President in a long, long time. Yeah, it’ll be a real shame when we have better health care for less money, like all the other countries do. Seriously, other than Freedumb[sup]TM[/sup], nobody’s been able to quantify the benefits of our paying twice as large a GDP share for health care as everyone else does. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/96 "2014-07-02T17:08:51Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > It’s not surprising if the reason is extreme partisanship or racial hatred. Those I can understand. > > Certainly one could make an argument that Bush Sr. was a better president. But the GWB presidency was an epic failure. Obama would have to nuke 2 or 3 states into oblivion to reach that level. Yes, Obama’s main fault is that he didn’t live up to the great expectations. I could see rating Bush sr. over him, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/97 "2014-07-02T17:18:11Z")
Yeah, I don’t get the people who argue that single payer would be this nation-dooming catastrophe. I lean libertarian in many areas, but I’m a pragmatist and not an ideologue. Single payer isn’t some liberal pipe dream: we have tons of real world experience with it, and even if it’s not one’s preferred system, it clearly works just fine. People sound kind of ridiculous trying to argue away better outcomes and lower expenditures to get all the way to utter disaster. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/98 "2014-07-02T17:52:10Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > Yeah, I don’t get the people who argue that single payer would be this nation-dooming catastrophe. I lean libertarian in many areas, but I’m a pragmatist and not an ideologue. Single payer isn’t some liberal pipe dream: we have tons of real world experience with it, and even if it’s not one’s preferred system, it clearly works just fine. People sound kind of ridiculous trying to argue away better outcomes and lower expenditures to get all the way to utter disaster. Yes, it not some weird idea that has never been tried, like some of the weird “flat” tax or "all sales tax’ ideas. Single Payer may or may not be right for America, but it’s a proven system that works in many nations. It’s not crazy or socialistic. It’s barely Liberal. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/99 "2014-07-02T20:38:12Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Ummmm… I don’t think you understand what the word SINGLE in “single payer” means. Yes, I do. The term “single-payer” means the government which means funded by out taxes. The Dems used to call it “universal” health care but, years ago, my active-in-the-GOP mentor told me I should use the term “single payer” because the term “universal” raised GOP hackles even though they (the GOP) all acknowledged it was coming, it wasn’t going down well with their constituents. Now before you climb all over me about this be aware that I am merely repeating what I was told by someone else - and that was his interpretation of the the situation. This occurred when I was working in the health-care payment system BTW. Also, when referencing that Obama brought in this “socialist” program, you should be aware that this plan was first proposed by Republican legislators as a counter to Hillary Clinton’s rejected plan back in the 90’s. So A) who’s the socialist? and B) it still seems to be a program that has a much lower overall price than ours and actually works well for a lot of democracies. And I bear firsthand witness to that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-rank-lowest-among-the-six-previous-presidents/691947/100 "2014-07-02T20:50:14Z")
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