Who Are The Best and Worst Presidents Of All Time?

Who are considered the best and worst Presidents of all time? Some of the results might be a surprise, and some no surprise. The Times Online asked 8 of its international and political commentators to take on this task.

"The Collins English Dictionary definition of great reads thus: relatively large in size or extent; relatively large in number; having many parts or members; of relatively long duration; of larger size or more importance than others of its kind; extreme or more than usual; of significant importance of consequence; of exceptional talents or achievements; remarkable; doing or exemplifying something on a large scale; arising from or possessing idealism in thought, action etc; heroic; illustrious or eminent; impressive or striking; active or enthusiastic; skilful or adroit; excellent, fantastic."

President: 2009 rank, 2000 rank (Times Online)

Abraham Lincoln: 1, 1
The number one: our panel chose the radical Republican who kept the fledgling nation alive when it could have collapsed altogether.
The first Republican President, Lincoln led the defeat of the Confederate states in the American Civil War and freed around four million slaves by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. The formal abolition of slavery in the US was ratified soon after his death.
He succeeded in unifying the nation militarily as well as laying out a moral imperative for its governance in his Gettysburg address. During the final days of the civil war he was shot dead by John Wilkes Booth.

George Washington: 2, 3
Franklin D. Roosevelt: 3, 2
Theodore Roosevelt: 4, 4
Harry S. Truman: 5, 5
John F. Kennedy: 6, 8
Thomas Jefferson: 7, 7
Dwight D. Eisenhower: 8, 9
Woodrow Wilson: 9, 6


Ronald Reagan: 10, 11
Feted by many of the panel and implicated in the current financial crisis by others, Reagan's controversial reputation remains but his revolutionary zeal forced him into the top ten.
He was elected with a clear mandate for radical economic policy to tackle high inflation and unemployment rates. His tax cutting, budget slashing, laissez-faire strategy known as “Reaganomics” became extremely popular as the US economy recovered.
The former actor’s foreign policy was more divisive and his administration was attacked for perceived bellicosity as well as embarrassments including the Iran-Contra affair. But even though he was seen as a hawk when he took office, Reagan managed to grasp the historic opportunity brought about by Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in the Soviet Union to help bring an end to the Cold War.

Lyndon B. Johnson: 11, 10
James K. Polk: 12, 12
Andrew Jackson: 13, 13
James Monroe: 14, 14


Bill Clinton: 15, 21
Clinton was one of the most controversial figures in our list with some of the panel rating him highly while others buried him at the foot of their rankings.
Clinton was the first Democrat to be re-elected President since Franklin Roosevelt. He successfully passed progressive legislation, including the right to take unpaid leave during pregnancy or illness and an increase in the minimum wage but he failed with other proposals such as his medical reforms.
His second term was dominated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal and attempted impeachment but he still left office with a 65 per cent approval rating.

William McKinley: 16, 15
John Adams: 17, 16


George H.W. Bush: 18, 20
Reagan’s economic legacy left President Bush facing an enormous national debt and, with the country in recession, he was pressurised by Democrats in Congress to raise taxes. The tax hike contradicted his manifesto pledge for no new taxes and cost him popularity among the electorate and the Republican Party.
Success in Iraq, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the destruction of the Berlin Wall were not enough to restore his popularity.

John Quincy Adams: 19, 19
James Madison: 20, 18
Grover Cleveland: 21, 17
Gerald R. Ford: 22, 23
Ulysses S. Grant: 23, 33
William Howard Taft: 24, 24


Jimmy Carter: 25, 22
Many of the comment posters on yesterday's worst ten presidents could not believe Carter missed the roll of shame. Well our panel only just left him out - making him their 11th worst President.
The Carter administration was dominated by a series of foreign policy disappointments including the surrender of the Panama Canal, the Iranian hostage crisis and the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
In Washington, Carter instituted major civil service reform and restructured the health and education departments but he failed to excite the voting population and, with the economy struggling, he was comfortably voted out of office after a single term.

Calvin Coolidge: 26, 27
Richard M. Nixon: 27, 25
James A. Garfield: 28, 29
Zachary Taylor: 29, 28
Benjamin Harrison: 30, 31
Martin Van Buren: 31, 30
Chester A. Arthur: 32, 32
Rutherford B. Hayes: 33, 26
Herbert Hoover: 34, 34
John Tyler: 35, 36


George W. Bush: 36, NA
A dead heat between the unpopular Bush and the dastardly Richard Nixon.
The September 11 attacks, eight months into his presidency, created a central focus for the Bush administration that lasted into his second term. Bush responded by declaring a “war on terror” and leading military invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan as part of his doctrine of pre-emptive military action. The lengthy operations have plummeted in popularity throughout his time in office.
Domestically, he implemented tax cuts and the “no child left behind” education programme but has been criticised for his failure to deal with the impact of Hurricane Katrina and the collapse of the US financial market.

Millard Fillmore: 37, 35
Warren G. Harding: 38, 38
William Henry Harrison: 39, 37
Franklin D. Pierce: 40, 39
Andrew Johnson: 41, 40
James Buchanan: 42, 41



To read more about each president visit Times Online. Sphere: Related Content