Essay:My Opinions on US Presidents (DuceMoosolini)

George Washington

How the US trains kids to remember George Washington.

The good

• Resisted attempts to exalt the office of the presidency.
• Supported the Jay Treaty.
• Limited US involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.
• Retired after his second term, setting the precedent.

The bad

• Repeatedly sent the US military into the Northwest Territory to burn Native villages and crops.
• Waged the Northwest Indian War.
• Signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
• Owned slaves while in office and even published a fugitive slave advertisement when Oney Judge ran away from the president's residence.

Finest moment

His retirement. Not because he was particularly bad, but because it enshrined term limits as an important aspect of the presidency.

Verdict

His legacy is most hurt by the mythology and reverence that surrounds him. It always sucks to discover that your heroes are human.

John Adams

The good

• Signed the Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen, which set up publicly-funded healthcare and issued insurance vouchers for US sailors.
• Rejected Hamilton's plan to ally with the British and help restore the Bourbons to the French throne.

The bad

• Signed the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Finest moment

His successful legal defense of the British soldiers charged with murder after the Boston Massacre.

Verdict

His most memorable contributions to history happened before his presidency.

Thomas Jefferson

The cock with his slave mistress.

The good

• Went against his own instincts to buy French Louisiana.
• Refused to pay tribute to the Barbary pirate lords and began and quickly wrapped up a series of wars against them.
• Prohibited the importation of new slaves from overseas.

The bad

• Attempted to suppress the Haitian Revolution and then embargoed the country.
• While a good thing for the US, the Louisiana Purchase was disastrous for the Natives who lived there.
• Began forced removal of uncooperative Native American tribes.
• Signed the Embargo Act of 1807.
• Owned many slaves while in office and even moved some to the White House.

Finest moment

Drafting the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Verdict

Slavery hangs over his presidency and life achievements like a burial shroud.

James Madison

The good

• Initially tried to keep the peace between Natives and whites.

The bad

• Declared the War of 1812.
• After the war weakened the Natives, Madison became more hostile towards them.
• Owned slaves while in office and brought them to the White House.

Finest moment

Authoring and pushing for the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

Verdict

Declared a stupid war to screw over the Native Americans, badly mishandled it.

James Monroe

The good

• Negotiated Spain's cession of Florida to the US.
• The Monroe Doctrine.
• Was the first president to push for infrastructure improvements.

The bad

• Supported the American Colonization Society, which sent freedmen from America to colonize Liberia. Liberia's capital, Monrovia, is named after him.
• Allowed Missouri into the Union as a slave state as part of the Missouri Compromise.
• Owned slaves while in office and brought some to the White House.

Finest moment

• The Monroe Doctrine.

Verdict

• Surprisingly little-remembered, but a decent president.

John Q. Adams

The good

• Pushed for infrastructure spending.
• Vocally opposed slavery and slave owners.
• The first president who didn't bring slaves to the White House (although he may have hired some from DC-based owners).
• Tried to force Georgia to be fairer to the Creek natives, although this ultimately failed.

The bad

• Struck a crooked deal to win the 1824 election.
• Signed the Tariff of Abominations, managing to hurt both US agriculture and US industry.
• Adopted expansionist policies towards Native Americans.
• Joined the Anti-Masonic Party after his presidency.
• His elitism was a primary target of attacks from Andrew Jackson and helped fuel the rise of the Democrats.

Finest moment

Opposing the Mexican-American War in Congress after his presidency.

Verdict

Just another son who couldn't live up to his dad.

Andrew Jackson

"Later bitches, Imma go order some ethnic cleansing!"

The good

• Threatened military force against South Carolina to prevent them from seceding.
• Launched a much-needed crackdown on government corruption.

The bad

• Signed the Indian Removal Act, which pretty much did what it says on the tin.
• Ordered military attacks on the Seminoles in Florida.
• And it should be noted that Indian removal was intended to facilitate the establishment of more slave plantations.
• Killed the Bank of the United States and allowed smaller banks across the states to print money without oversight, causing horrendous inflation.
  • High inflation along with the uncontrolled actions of the private banks caused the Panic of 1837, one of the worst economic depressions in US history.
• Allowed the Post Office to censor abolitionist pamphlets in the South.
• Appointed Roger Taney to the Supreme Court.
• Introduced the spoils system to the US government.
• Rather emphatically pro-slavery.
• Owned a shitload of slaves while in office and brought many to the White House.

Finest moment

Bitch-slapping South Carolina.

Verdict

Should be best remembered for the atrocities he unleashed on the Native Americans.

Martin Van Buren

The bad

• Continued Jackson's Indian removal policies, notably the brutal expulsion of the Cherokee from Georgia.
• Continued the Seminole Wars.

Finest moment

Was called "Martin Van Ruin" by his opponents.

Verdict

"Martin Van Ruin" is the most memorable aspect of his presidency today.

William Henry Harrison

He looked like this for his entire presidency.

The good

• Died a month into his term, spending all of that time on his deathbed.

The bad

• Died a month into his term, spending all of that time on his deathbed.

Finest moment

The same as his worst moment: smashing Tecumseh at Tippecanoe.

Verdict

Real men don't wear coats.

John Tyler

President John Treason.

The bad

• Vetoed an act to reestablish a US central bank.
• Got the US involved in selling opium to Qing China.
• Owned slaves while in office and in the White House.
• Was elected to the Confederate House of Reps after his presidency.
• We can't stress enough, that was treason. That Congress was at war with the United States.

Finest moment

Huh?

Verdict

Confederate traitor. DOWN WITH THE TRAITORS, UP WITH THE STARS!

James Polk

The good

• Eventually peacefully settled disputes with the UK over Oregon.
• Did what he wanted to do in his first term, so he declined to run for a second.

The bad

• Started a bullshit war with Mexico as an excuse to annex California.
• Completely disregarded how annexing so much territory would impact the free-vs-slave state tensions.
• Veered dangerously close to war with the UK over Oregon.
• Owned slaves in office and in the White House.

Finest moment

Walked into the Democratic Convention hoping to become VP candidate, became Presidential candidate by accident.

Verdict

Mexicans hate him.

Zachary Taylor

The bad

• Took no stance on the rising tensions between free and slave states.
• Had no interest in the presidency at all, only taking the job since he thought he might as well due to being a famous war hero.
• Was probably one of the dumbest US presidents.
• Owned slaves while in office and in the White House.

Finest moment

Huh?

Verdict

Totally inconsequential.

Millard Fillmore

The good

• Demolished his own party, leading to the rise of the Lincoln Republicans.

The bad

• Signed and enforced the Fugitive Slave Act as part of the Compromise of 1850.
• Sent the Perry Expedition to threaten Japan into opening trade.

Finest moment

Managing to win only ONE state in his bid for reelection.

Verdict

His name is synonymous with historical mediocrity.

Franklin Pierce

Anti Kansas-Nebraska Act cartoon.

The bad

• Signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading to a quasi-civil war in Kansas.
• Led an embarrassingly failed attempt to acquire Cuba from Spain (hoping to make Cuba a slave state).

Finest moment

Going behind his wife's back to accept his presidential nomination.

Verdict

Pierce is the only President who doesn't have a street named after him in Topeka, Kansas.

James Buchanan

Harper's Weekly lambasts "Old Mother Buchanan"'s political cowardice and inaction.

The good

• Did not seek reelection.

The bad

• Endorsed the Dredd Scott v. Sandford decision.
• Tried to get Kansas admitted as a slave state.
• His inaction during the secession crisis contributed to the beginning of the Civil War.

Finest moment

Acknowledging that he was a shitty president and declining to run for reelection.

Verdict

Strong candidate for worst US president ever.

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln gets ready to cut slavery out from under the South.

The good

• Led the US through the Civil War.
• Signed the Homestead Acts.
• Refused to negotiate the CSA's independence.
• Defused a crisis with the UK.
• Signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
• Met with Frederick Douglass to talk about recruiting black soldiers.
• Ordered the US Army to protect freed slaves.
• Rammed the Thirteenth Amendment through Congress.

The bad

• Suspended habeas corpus nationwide and really liked to arrest people for criticizing the war.
• Nominated Stephen Johnson Field to the Supreme Court, who set the stage for the anti-regulation, anti-workers rights Gilded Age decisions.
• Favored lenient Reconstruction policies.
• Pocket-vetoed the Wade-Davis Bill.
• Ditched Hannibal Hamlin as his VP for his second term, replacing him with the disastrous Andrew Johnson.

Finest moment

"Four score and..."

Verdict

Strong candidate for best US president ever. Was too good to live.

Andrew Johnson

Johnson dumping the Freedmen's Bureau.

The bad

• Allowed Reconstruction to collapse, leading to the era of Jim Crow.
• Gutted the Freedmen's Bureau.
• Tried to block enforcement of the Reconstruction Acts.
• Refused to take action against the Black Codes.
• Vetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act.
• Opposed the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Congress hated him so much they tried to impeach him for a bullshit reason.

Finest moment

Avoided being convicted by the Senate by one vote.

Verdict

Strong candidate for worst US president ever.

Ulysses Grant

Accepting Lee's surrender. Get fucked, rebs.

The good

• Supported the Fifteenth Amendment.
• Went on a diplomatic world tour to win prestige for the US.
• Appointed blacks and Jews to public offices.
• Was the toughest enemy the KKK ever had.
• Favored Radical Reconstruction.

The bad

• His administration suffered a number of severe corruption scandals.
• Signed the Comstock Laws, which made it illegal to mail stuff that was "lewd or indecent."
• Caused the Republican Party to fracture due to political mistakes.
• Mishandled the Panic of 1873.

Finest moment

Defeating Robert Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

Verdict

If only he were as great a president as he was a man...

Rutherford Hayes

The bad

• Struck a crooked deal to win the 1876 election.
• Withdrew troops from the South and ended Reconstruction prematurely.

Finest moment

Was an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Verdict

Ending Reconstruction was a shitty move.

James Garfield

If you've heard of him, it's probably because of this.

The good

• Helped reform the civil service to be less corrupt.
• First president to vocally support universal education, including for freedmen.
• Stopped trying to make nice with Southern Democrats.
• Supported civil rights reforms for black Americans.
• Appointed multiple black Americans, including Frederick Douglass, to high federal positions.

The bad

• Died before he could enact his bold policy ideas, although that's not really his fault.

Finest moment

Shares a name with the much more famous cartoon cat.

Verdict

Most remembered for being shot, but could have been really good. A tragic missed opportunity.

Chester Arthur

Chinese man excluded.

The good

• Signed the Pendelton Civil Service Act, which ended patronage appointments.

The bad

• Signed the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Finest moment

Had magnificent facial hair.

Verdict

No dogs or shitty presidents allowed.

Grover Cleveland

The good

• Fought against political corruption.
• Signed the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate railroads, the first time an industry was subject to actual federal regulation.

The bad

• Signed the Dawes Act, which gave the president authority to liquidate large portions of Native American reservations for white settlement.
• Ordered in the Army to stop a railroad strike.
• Invited Apache leaders to the White House only to betray and have them captured once they arrived.
• Nominated Melville Fuller to be Chief Justice. Fuller joined the majorities in Plessy v. Ferguson, helped strike down the federal income tax, and narrowly interpreted the Sherman Antitrust Act, making it much harder to enforce the law.

Finest moment

• Winning two non-consecutive terms.
• Honorable mention: having top-secret cancer surgery on a yacht.

Verdict

Generic Gilded Age President.

Benjamin Harrison

An unworthy president.

The good

• Endorsed the Lodge Bill, which was to have protected black voting rights. Sadly the bill died due to Democrat filibuster.
• Signed the Sherman Antitrust Act.
• Signed and utilized the Forest Reserve Act of 1891.

The bad

• Won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote.
• Made forced assimilation of Native Americans a priority, referring to them as an "ignorant and helpless people" in his first Congressional address and stating his intention to have Native children placed in boarding schools.
• Opened the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to white settlement.
• Forced the Sioux Nation to surrender 11 million acres of land.
• Forced the Crow Nation to give up 1.8 million acres of land.
• Gave Medals of Honor to 20 members of the Seventh Cavalry for their parts in committing the Wounded Knee Massacre!!!
• Threatened war with Chile over a trivial matter.

Finest moment

• His family was remarkably close to being remarkable. His grandfather was William Henry Harrison, who died a month into office, and Benjamin just proved totally unmemorable.
• Honorable mention: fighting in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.

Verdict

• Well meaning, but boring as fuck.

Grover Cleveland

• Fuck off, man, we already did you.

William McKinley

Serving up imperialism.

The bad

• Declared the Spanish-American War for dumb reasons.
• Annexed the Philippines as a colony.
• Tried to suppress Filipinos, leading to a bloody counter-insurgency war.
• Bypassed Congress to send US troops to China to help put down the Boxer Rebellion.

Finest moment

Had Teddy Roosevelt as his VP.

Verdict

Not great.

Teddy Roosevelt

Teddy for president!

The good

• Busted the trusts.
• Made natural conservation a priority and established many National Parks.
• Helped broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
• Pushed through the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
• Strengthened diplomatic relations with the UK.
• Ended restrictions on Japanese immigration to the US.

The bad

• Fucked over Colombia to get his canal.
• Was aggressive in the Philippines during the insurgency.
• Challenged Taft for reelection, splitting the progressive vote and allowing Wilson to win the presidency.

Finest moment

His whole life.

Verdict

Most badass president.

William H. Taft

Teddy is pissed.

The bad

• Frequently launched interventions in Latin America.
• Split from his mentor on conservation and antitrust actions.

Finest moment

Got the job he always wanted after Harding appointed him to the Court.

Verdict

Overshadowed by Teddy.

Woodrow Wilson

No! Stay away from the creepy old man!

The good

• Introduced a progressive income tax.

The bad

• Invasion and bloody occupations of Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
• Segregated the federal government, was a fanatical racist.
• Inspired racists around the whole nation, leading to a sharp uptick in race riots.
• Launched the worst government attack on free speech in US history.
• Persecuted immigrants.
• Began the First Red Scare.
• Nominated James Clark McReynolds to the Court, a bigot who is mostly remembered for openly expressing his hatred towards Jewish Justices Louis Brandeis and Benjamin Cardozo. McReynolds was also one of the conservatives who attacked the New Deal.

Finest moment

Was incapacitated by a massive stroke, allowing his wife to take over and help get the Nineteenth Amendment passed.

Verdict

At least we got the worst president of the Twentieth Century out of the way early.

Warren Harding

The good

• Released Wilson's political prisoners, most notably Eugene V. Debs.

The bad

• Had shitty cabinet members.
• Would throw parties in the White House with smuggled alcohol and illegal gambling.
• Very disinterested in actually being president.

Finest moment

Undoing some of the damage Wilson did.

Verdict

Irresponsible frat boy with bad friends.

Calvin Coolidge

Coolidge stands with Osage men after signing the 1924 ICA.

The good

• Granted citizenship to all Native Americans by signing the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.

The bad

• Did not regulate businesses at all.

Finest moment

His cool name.

Verdict

Is popular with laissez-faire wackos, but Indian citizenship was his biggest achievement.

Herbert Hoover

The bad

• The Bonus Army incident.
• Was unable to cope with the Great Depression.
• Signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which actually dramatically worsened the Depression.

Finest moment

Working under Harry Truman to lead Western Europe through post-WWII devastation. He saved millions from starvation.

Verdict

Good guy, not great president.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The Western Allies.

The good

• The New Deal and the Fireside Chats.
  • Established Social Security with the Social Security Act.
  • Signed the Fair Labor Standards Act to establish a minimum wage, maximum working hours, and overtime pay.
  • Signed the Glass–Steagall Acts to prevent another investment banking fuckup.
  • Established the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate the stock market.
  • Established the Public Works Administration to get people back to work on infrastructure projects.
  • Rural programs like electrification, roads, schools, etc.
  • Established the First Food Stamp Program, but ended in 1943.
  • Founded the Federal Housing Administration.
  • Signed the Social Security Act.
  • Signed the National Labor Relations Act to protect workers rights.
• Ended the Smoot-Hawley tariffs.
• Good Neighbor Policy (temporarily) ended US misadventures in Latin America.
• Helped end Prohibition.
• The oil embargo on Japan was the right thing to do.
• Helped keep the UK on its feet in the first years of the war.
• Supported China and the Soviets during the war.
• Balanced diplomacy between widely different wartime allies like Churchill, Stalin, and Chiang.
• Helped lay the groundwork for the UN.

The bad

• Court-packing.
• Hostility to Jewish refugees.
• Japanese internment.
• Got conned by Stalin at Yalta.

Finest moment

His speech to Congress after Pearl Harbor.

Verdict

Another American hero who suffered from human shortcomings.

Harry Truman

The perpetual underdog.

The good

• The Marshall Plan.
• Helped establish NATO.
• The Berlin Airlift.
• Resisted MacArthur's urgings to drop nukes in Korea.
• Ended segregation of the military and the federal government.
• Weathered postwar economic turmoil.
• Pushed for national healthcare (and it's a damn shame he didn't get it).

The bad

• Tried to take North Korea during the Korean War, extending the conflict and almost leading to a total loss.
• Supported French imperialism in Indochina.

Finest moment

Turned the Democrats away from segregation. "My forebears were Confederates ... but my very stomach turned over when I had learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of Army trucks in Mississippi and beaten."

Verdict

Underrated president.

Dwight Eisenhower

The good

• Ended the Korean War after personally visiting the front lines and seeing that it was pointless.
• Appointed Earl Warren as Chief Justice, perhaps the best we've had.
• Enforced the Brown v. Board decision.
• Started no foreign wars.
• Signed amendments to the Social Security Act greatly expanding the scope of the program.
• Interstate Highway System.
• Bitch-slapped Joseph McCarthy
• Bitch-slapped the UK and Israel to end the Suez Crisis.
• Established NASA.
• Increased programs for STEM education.
• Balanced the budget by cutting military spending.

The bad

• Signed Executive Order 10450 to purge gays and lesbians from government service.
• Supported the CIA coup in Iran.
• Added religious bullshit to the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Opposed the Geneva Convention's plan for peaceful Vietnamese reunification.

Finest moment

Being Supreme Allied Commander. More specifically: his "great crusade" speech on D-Day.

Verdict

Everybody should like Ike.

John F. Kennedy

No, Kennedy, please! You have no idea what you're about unleash!

The good

• Found a way out of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
• Support for civil rights, including pushing for legislation.
• Gave some pretty damn good speeches.

The bad

• Bay of Pigs.
• Increased aid to South Vietnam and deepened US commitments in the region.
• Signed off on assassinating the president of South Vietnam.
• Compromised with the Dixiecrats by appointing wingnut federal judges.

Finest moment

The Cuban Missile Crisis.

Verdict

Most of the good stuff he supported was only realized after his death.

Lyndon B. Johnson

The good

• Signed the Civil Rights Act.
• The War on Poverty programs.
• Signed the Voting Rights Act.
• Signed the Clean Air Act.
• Signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which created Medicare and Medicaid.
• Nominated Thurgood Marshall to the Court.

The bad

• Repeatedly escalated US involvement in Vietnam.
• Got Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin resolution even though he knew that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was a farce.
• Repeatedly lied to Congress about the Vietnam War.

Finest moment

Signing the Civil Rights Act.

Verdict

His hands are stained with the blood of Vietnam and American soldiers.

Richard Nixon

Nixon resigns in disgrace.

The good

• Only Nixon could go to China.
• Ended US involvement in Vietnam (eventually).
• Proposed a comprehensive federal health insurance program.
• Established the EPA and expanded enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
• Signed the Endangered Species Act.
• Began the effort to find a cure for cancer.
• Signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972, which expanded Medicare to disabled people under 65.
• Pushed for greatly increased funding to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in order to help impoverished First Nations.

The bad

• Greatly delayed ending US involvement in Vietnam despite promising to end it.
  • Expanded bombing campaigns to Cambodia and Laos.
• Started the War on Drugs.
• Ordered the CIA to help organize the coup that brought Pinochet to power.
• Just about everything he did in relation to the Pentagon Papers leak.
• Antagonized Arab oil-producers by supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
• Nominated William Rehnquist to the Supreme Court.
• Tried to veto the Clean Water Act (was thankfully overridden by Congress).
• Watergate. Just Watergate.

Finest moment

Went to Disney World to deliver his "I am not a crook" speech.

Verdict

He could've been a decent president had he not been a fucking crook.

Gerald Ford

The good

• Granted amnesty to Vietnam War draft-dodgers.
• Deescalated Cold War tensions.
• Signed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which returned much power and resource control to the First Nations.

The bad

• Pardoned Nixon.

Finest moment

Falling down some stairs.

Verdict

Not very memorable.

Jimmy Carter

The good

• Pardoned Vietnam War draft-dodgers.
• Negotiated the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt.
• Pushing for affirmative action.
• Made a point to appoint more women and blacks to the federal judiciary.
• Established a commission which led to the creation of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The bad

• Greatly escalated Cold War tensions in response to Soviet adventurism in Afghanistan.

Finest moment

All of the good work he's done after his presidency.

Verdict

A great man who got fucked over repeatedly by world events.

Ronald Reagan

Oh, no, Zombie Reagan has risen from his grave! Put him back!

The good

• Signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, granting amnesty for many illegal immigrants .
• Used executive authority to grant legal status to many children of illegal immigrants.
• Worked with Gorby to reduce Cold War tensions once the new Soviet leader took power.

The bad

• Reaganomics.
• Nominated Scalia and Rhenquist to the Supreme Court.
• AIDS crisis? What AIDS crisis?
• Escalated the Drug War.
• Iran-Contra.
• Vetoed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which would have punished the racist regime of South Africa.
• Selling raw materials to Iraq to build chemical weapons.
• Signed the ridiculous National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.
• Signed repeal of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980, gutting the US mental health system.
• Nominated Antonin Scalia to the Court.
• Nominated Robert Bork to the Court, although this luckily failed to pass Congress.
• Heavily contributed to out-of-control military spending, a legacy that haunts us to this day.
• Shifted the GOP towards wingnuttery.

Finest moment

• "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Verdict

Overrated in many circles. Overly demonized in others. Have since changed my mind. He's quite fairly demonized.

George H. W. Bush

The good

• Signed NAFTA.
• Correctly handled the Kuwait Crisis.
• Signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Greatly expanded the Clean Air Act to curb urban air pollution and dirty coal.
• Was pro-immigration and even supported extending some benefits to illegals.

The bad

• Mishandled the end of the Gulf War by calling for uprisings against Hussein and then failing to offer support when they happened.
• Nominated Clarence Thomas to the Court.
• Obstructed the Iran-Contra investigation.
• Was far too conciliatory towards China in the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen.
• Escalated the War on Drugs.

Finest moment

The Dukakis tank ad.

Verdict

Another grim sign that the GOP was going wingnut, but did some good too.

Bill Clinton

The good

• Established the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The bad

• Welfare reforms that exacerbated poverty nationwide.
• Signed multiple mass incarceration laws.
• Signed the Defense of Marriage Act.
• Repealed Glass-Steagall.
• Perjured himself.
• Escalated the Drug War.
• Signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
• Signed the Copyright Term Extension Act.

Finest moment

Beat an incumbent president.

Verdict

Overrated president.

George W. Bush

The good

• Funded an AIDS relief program.

The bad

• Began the Iraq War on false pretenses.
• Signed No Child Left Behind.
• Mishandled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
• His irresponsible deregulation helped lead to the Great Recession.
• The global gag rule.
• Signed the PATRIOT Act.
• Exploded the size of the surveillance state.

Finest moment

The immediate aftermath of 9/11.

Verdict

Bad president. Probably caused more actual human carnage than any other.

Barack Obama

The good

• Pushed and signed the Affordable Care Act.
• Deescalation of the Drug War.
• Authorized the Bin Laden raid.
• Ended Don't Ask Don't Tell.

The bad

• Aggressive persecution of whistleblowers.
• Weak foreign policy against Russia.
• Inaction in the early days of the Syrian Civil War.
• Extended the PATRIOT Act.
• The Iran Deal.

Finest moment

The Bin Laden raid.

Verdict

Above average president, will likely be remembered well. Honestly, the best thing that could have happened for his legacy happened in 2016. He'll definitely be remembered well compared to his successor.

Donald Trump

File:Daily News- S**t for brains -WomensMarch -WomensMarch2018 -SenecaFalls -NY (38908891475).jpg

200px

The good

• Signed bipartisan sentencing reform legislation.
• Opposed Nicholas Maduro's regime.

The bad

• Embarrasses the country every time he opens his mouth or types something.
• "Zero tolerance" immigration policy, separating families.
• Muslim immigration ban.
• Dumb tariff spat with China.
• Disturbingly friendly with Saudi Arabia and Putin's Russia.
• Alienation of NATO allies.
• Irresponsible deregulation.
• Nominated Brett Kavanaugh.
• Mishandled of Hurricane Maria.
• Transgender military ban.
• Conciliatory attitude towards the alt-right.
• Gutted the EPA.
• Allowed CHIP to expire.
• Appointed Ajit Pai to chair the FCC.
• Encouraged crackdowns on BLM protesters.
• Personally ordered the gassing of peaceful protesters in DC for a photoshoot.
• Catastrophic failure on COVID-19.
• Nominated Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
• Encouraged QAnon conspiracy theory.
• Trying to destroy faith in the integrity of US elections.
• Refused to accept his electoral defeat, instead falsely claiming fraud.
• Used false fraud allegations to incite violence at the US Capitol.
• Near constant lying.

Finest moment

His unexpected election victory. Somehow, this asshole saw an opportunity no one else did.

Verdict

TBD, but it's likely the Twenty-First Century will have its worst president out of the way early just like the Twentieth.

Joe Biden

Joe Brandon takes a break from forcing communism on innocent Americans.

The good

• Undid some of Trump's executive actions like the Muslim ban and the transgender military ban.
• Finished up the COVID pandemic with more seriousness than Trump could have managed.
• Ended US support for the Saudi atrocities in Yemen (which makes the vote for him worth it there, imo).
• Opposed Nicolas Maduro's regime.
• Pledged to maintain sanctions until Iran reenters the Iran Deal.
• His unwavering support for Ukraine during the brutal Russian invasion. I shudder to think how the former guy would have handled this crisis.
• Confirmed US support for Taiwan.
• Delayed student loan repayments for a long time, and finally forgave a chunk for all lenders.

The bad

• The classic Obama mistake of trying to compromise with an unreasonable Republican caucus.
• Walked back on many campaign promises, including no deportations, increasing the minimum wage, and penalizing the Saudi crown prince. Those things would have been nice to see.
• Apparently forgiving student loan debt entirely is too much for Joe.

Finest moment

• Winning Arizona and Georgia, along with the election, after a few very tense days of mail ballot counting.

Verdict

Way too early. Hard to see how he could be worse than his predecessor, though. Also hard to see many substantive policy benefits in the future.

See also

• Essay:How I see each President (TheUmbilicalCordGuy)
• Essay:Jeh2ow's Good and Bad of Every U.S. President
• Essay:RWRW's thoughts on UK Prime Ministers