President Bush II is force-feeding us one more in a steady diet of shitburgers with the economic collapse of 2008. And with the epic fail of Iraq and Katrina, the "GWoT" generally, and coupled with lawless and corrupt behavior in running the government, living in the present it's hard to argue with the notion that he is the worst President ever.
So, what's the competition?
The rogues gallery on the flip…
This list is obviously my own personal short list. I'll put my pick at the bottom, and my explanation. I would love a lively debate in the comments.
#15 - James Buchanan. Negatives: "Maybe it'll just go away" attitude to sectional divisions. Trying to let Kansas in as a slave state against the vote of the Kansans. Panic of 1857. Bungled war on Mormons. Fiddled while Fort Sumter burned. Said "History will vindicate my memory." (FAIL!) Redeeming quality: may have been America's first gay President.
#17 - Andrew Johnson. Conciliatory policies towards the South. Vetoed civil rights bills. Impeached. Confederate Amnesty. Brought Alaska into the Union (; Redeeming quality: only Southern Senator to stay in office.
#18 - Ulysses Grant. Prematurely ended Reconstruction. Panic of 1873, did jack. Completely corrupt Cabinet/Whiskey Ring. Redeeming quality: won a war or something.
#29 - Harding. Similar to Grant, corrupt cabinet/Teapot Dome scandal, all people brought with him from Ohio. Soft on KKK, possibly even a member. Redeeming quality: kindly removed himself by kicking the bucket.
#31 - Hoover. One word: DEPRESSION. Redeeming quality: nice dam.
#37 - Nixon. Southern Strategy, Red Baiting, delayed draw down in Vietnam for political gain, 1973 Oil Embargo breaks dollar, HMOs, originator of unitary executive, Watergate, Pinochet. Redeeming quality: EPA.
#43 - Bush II. See above. Redeeming quality: Obama elected.
Maybe it's just my picks, but they seem to come in clumps. What's fortunate about that is that those clumps stick to great ones like FDR and Lincoln. Maybe that bodes well for Obama.
I can't decide, but I can narrow it down. It's either Bush II or Grant. To me, the problem of slavery was punted by the Founders, and they knew it was a problem. When it finally blew up, it almost destroyed this country. It took an awful war and the efforts of many great men to end it.
But then, Reconstruction was an abortion. Many important laws were passed, like the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, and the Civil Rights Acts (which were promptly neutered in the bullshit Supreme Court decision called The Civil Rights Cases, which also limited the facially obvious meaning of cl. 5 of the 14th Amendment whose progeny was Plessy. And who appointed the author of that case? Grant.
Grant had the cred as big general man to keep the ball rolling and finish the job and bring Truth and Reconciliation to the United States, but he chickened out and decided to let the South back into the club just cuz.
As a result, the best opportunity to end what the Founders didn't tie off was missed, and it perpetuated the sectional divide to this day. We have had to take it really slow on this issue. The Civil Rights movement and Obama's election each represent important quantum leaps forward, but those leaps might have been uncecessary if they had been nipped in the bud at the time. Buck passing does not become Presidents.
It's hard to judge what all the effects of Bush II will be still, but so far we can tell enough. He's been a disaster of world-wide magnitude, something no President before 100 years ago or so could even dream of. Still, I'm not sure we can say that Bush II left us with an angry wound that been torn open left unsealed for 150 years or more. In fact, he actually ended up being a uniter, not a divider: we all united against him.
Yeah, it's Bush. Totally
UPDATE: Bush in a landslide!
I'm cowardly adding this long after my diary scrolled away, but for archival purposes, I just wanted to note that the reason I didn't put Reagan—and I'm ready for the flaming—is that I think Presidents are largely judged by the Big Picture things they did. For better or worse, through bumbling or otherwise, Reagan did scare the USSR into destroying their economy. Just about everything else he did, and the legacy in government he left, was fucking nasty. So, by no means do I rate him a "good" president, but I just don't think he's in the running for #1 worst.