I like what you said, Roger. I agree that we are too close (in time) to the presidency of George W. Bush. I think history will find him to be a better president than what he is now felt to be.
After taking a quick peek at the list, it seemed to me that those at the top of the list are the most well-known presidents. So I have to wonder if the historians who voted on this had that in mind.
I'm actually surprised that George Washington was 3 (2000) and 2 (2009) on the list. Yes, he was the father of the country, but I have to wonder about a man who wouldn't shake hands with people. Now this was in the days where the idea of germs was unknown (or pretty much unknown) so he wasn't doing this to avoid germs - he thought he was 'too good' to shake hands with people.
I'm also surprised that Andrew Jackson was rated 13th since he was responsible for one of the worst things to happen in American history - The Trail of Tears. With my Cherokee heritage, I have always had bad feelings towards this man even though he died many, many years before I was born.
Martin Van Buren made the list at 31 and 30. At least he was low on the list, but should he be even lower? He put out an extermination order on an entire religious group. And what kind of person orders the lawful murder of so many people?
And what about JFK? Should he be so high on the list? Is he there because of the so called Kennedy dynasty? Is he there because he was assassinated? Yes, he was a popular president and he was handsome. He also almost threw the world into nuclear devastation. It could also be argued that he saved the world from nuclear devastation.
Oh, I'm sure I could say more because I'm a bit of a presidential history buff, but I really should be in bed.
Oh, and I see Ann has posted since I started my post. I think we might be too close in time really judge Bill Clinton's presidency either.
And we also need to remember that the US president is not a king. Sometimes the things that happen during a president's administration should more be blamed on the Senate and the House of Representatives than on the President. The judicial, legislative, and executive branches of the US government are considered (at least in theory) to have equal power. I rather think that the judicial branch has gained too much power.
