Depending on how the next four years go I’m on the fence between Bush Jr. and Trump but I’d like to hear from you

Edit:

Top 10 suggestions so far (unordered):

  • Andrew Jackson
  • Andrew Johnson
  • George W. Bush Jr
  • Ronald Reagan
  • Richard Nixon
  • James K. Polk
  • Woodrow Wilson
  • James Buchanan
  • Franklin Pierce
  • Donald J. Trump
  • watson387@sopuli.xyz
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    28 days ago

    Ronald Reagan did more damage to this country than any president before or after him.

      • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        28 days ago

        I feel like the “so far” is implied…unless you’ve somehow figured out how to 100% accurately predict the future and you haven’t told anyone.

        …By the way, if that’s the case, rude.

    • AndrasKrigare@beehaw.org
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      28 days ago

      I’m continually shocked by how often I learn of some structural systemic issue, pull the thread to see where it started and- oh, surprise, it was once again Reagan.

      • DigitalDilemma@lemmy.ml
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        28 days ago

        It’s no coincidence that Reagan and Margaret Thatcher had such a close relationship - they thought alike.

        In Britain, Thatcher is still reviled by many for sweeping changes. Killed the coal industry without giving support to the many thousands employed there and put the North into recession, took milk away from children, depowered the unions (which were too powerful at the time, tbf) and generally put the Tory Party on the London & Banks first mantra that they’ve been on ever since.

      • Sauerkraut@discuss.tchncs.de
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        27 days ago

        Most of Reagan’s agenda came from the heritage foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eeCPRD0Hgg&t=0

        The capital class controls the heritage foundation and through their countless think tanks, lobbyist, donations, SuperPACs, etc they control the Republican party and even a large part of the Democratic party.

        Marx was correct when he argued that economic democracy was necessary for political democracy. When the wealthy get to own the economy they have the entire country by the balls.

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
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          27 days ago

          Marx was correct when he argued that economic democracy was necessary for political democracy. When the wealthy get to own the economy they have the entire country by the balls.

          Funnily enough even Adam Smith warned about that even before capitalism went in full swing.

          • The Cuuuuube@beehaw.org
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            27 days ago

            Adam Smith: you gotta bust up monopolies because competition drive’s innovation

            the rich: you heard the man! all the wealth has to be consolidated with us! greed is good!

    • ...m...@ttrpg.network
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      28 days ago

      …i don’t know, man: i’m sticking with george the lesser for now

      (trump was a tabloid train wreck but his first term was comparably benign incompetence)

  • kersploosh@sh.itjust.works
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    28 days ago

    While W. sucked in many ways, there is no way he is the worst. Off the top of my head I can easily think of four better contenders: Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan (both guilty of pro-slavery fuckery before the Civil War), Andrew Johnson (fought to let the Confederates off the hook after the war and opposed the 14th amendment), and Donald Trump (first president to be impeached twice, first to be convicted of a felony, and may be remembered by future historians as the spark that ignites the next Civil War).

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      28 days ago

      donvict ain’t done yet, either. i think the damage and legacy he leaves behind, leaking out that giant diaper, will be the worst of the bunch.

    • einkorn@feddit.org
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      28 days ago

      Btw. question from Germany regarding Trumps Felony: I read that people convicted of a felony may not vote yet I also read that Trump cast his in Florida. Hoe does it actually work?

    • guy@piefed.social
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      28 days ago

      Question from another European about that, he’s convicted but never got a sentence? Or did he and why in that case isn’t he serving?

      • FoxyFerengi@lemm.ee
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        28 days ago

        Sentencing was delayed until after Nov. 5th, and now it’s been permanently delayed. I’m sure the conviction will be overturned at some point while he’s in office

        • guy@piefed.social
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          28 days ago

          But have can you delay a sentence?
          I mean it sounds so foreign to be told in court that “Yeah you’re deemed guilty… but we’re telling you your punishment later. Maybe.” instead of just BAM guilty, straight to jail it will be!

          • FoxyFerengi@lemm.ee
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            28 days ago

            Sentencing isn’t always done at the same time a verdict is given. Often a judge will take time to research the punishments available in the law. Sometimes they’ll take advice on a person’s character, and consider the level of remorse the convict has for the crimes.

            There was a small public outcry last year when a celebrity was convicted of sex crimes, and other celebrities known for their work against sex trafficking wrote to the judge to ask for leniency. It made the news because famous people were involved, but it’s a common occurrence.

            He also wanted to wait to see what the Supreme Court would rule in the presidential immunity case, and I honestly can’t blame the man for delaying indefinitely following the results of that. This judge and his family received a lot of death threats and harassment from Trump’s supporters, but he also had to consider that Trump is immune to whatever crimes he chooses to commit in office.

      • 50MYT@aussie.zone
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        28 days ago

        Non burgers here: I believe the sentencing for the conviction was delayed till after the election. And since that they have announced it has been delayed indefinitely.

        • guy@piefed.social
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          28 days ago

          How is this even possible? Aren’t sentences supposed to come with the verdict?
          The punishment might come at a later date (it might in my country where you can be told that in 3 months you will serve jail time), but the sentence?

  • ℕ𝕖𝕞𝕠@slrpnk.net
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    28 days ago

    It’s tempting to pick someone recent, but the real answer is probably Andrew Jackson. He successfully engineered a genocide, trampled the Constitution and human rights, and was actively hostile to limits on Presidential power.

    • P_P@lemm.ee
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      28 days ago

      We’ll see if 47 surpasses him. He’s set up to do so. It’s going to be wild to see what happens when Trump order troops to fire into crowds of American citizens.

      • OprahsedCreature@lemmy.ml
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        28 days ago

        We always seem to get this crazy hyperbole that Trump is going to be some competent fascist that’s going to perform some great coup that will end the US, but in reality it always seems the real damage he does is the evil bureaucracy that erodes rights and liberties while exacerbating things in foreign policy.

        Jan 6th was very flashy, but comparatively speaking, nothing really happened.

        • Ledivin@lemmy.world
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          28 days ago

          I’m not afraid of Trump’s competence. I’m afraid of Trump’s cult of personality and the competent people that are now handling him. We didn’t elect Trump, we elected Project 2025.

          • OprahsedCreature@lemmy.ml
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            28 days ago

            Handling is a somewhat strong word here though. For better and worse, he’s very impulsive and egotistically sensitive. His last administration left a huge wake of people that haven’t been rehired and likely won’t be.

            Even if we assume his new lackeys care enough about the Heritage Foundation to attempt to implement their plan, I’d be amazed if they could corral his attention long enough to get him to sign anything in.

        • OprahsedCreature@lemmy.ml
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          28 days ago

          Just wondering if you had a few other overseen examples off the top of your head since you seem knowledgeable on this.

      • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml
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        28 days ago

        Pretty much all of them actively participated in various genocides and massacres, either directly like native genocide or Philippines or all the aerial massacres of XX and XXI century (even the one who was president for a month), or indirectly like even the “most peaceful president” Carter supported the massacres in Indonesia.

      • The Cuuuuube@beehaw.org
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        27 days ago

        Christ. most of them.

        George Washington got to be in charge of a country that enshrined chattel slavery in its constitution for 20 years. Thomas Jefferson provided military aid to France’s efforts to quash a slave revolt in Haiti. Andrew Jackson personally orchestrated a genocide against the Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw (all of whom were aligned with american interests). Zachary Taylor put a bounty on bison, in an effort to starve the native Americans of the great plains. Abraham Lincoln allowed his western military expeditions to do basically whatever to the native Americans. Andrew Johnson started the process of letting confederate leadership be who directed reconstruction rather than being punished for it.

        And here we reach Ulysses S Grant. one of America’s favorite punching bag presidents because he got scammed rather frequently, but when you dig into why he was prone to getting scammed, it’s because he thought it was America’s duty to use its economic power to help the lowest people in society. it’s hard to be mad at a guy who was trying so hard to help people that sometimes he let someone con him into thinking they deserved help.

        i can keep going on how a ton of our historical presidents have sucked. i’m still personally willing to say the top 3 are Andrew Jackson, Ronald Reagan, and Donald trump

  • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    28 days ago

    lol trump is bad but not like Andrew Jackaon bad.

    Probably

    1. Andrew Jackson - Crimes against native people
    2. Andrew Johnson - Fucked up reconstruction
    3. Ronald Reagan - Trickle down economics
    4. 45/47 🤮 - We all know why…
    5. Richard Nixon - The Infamous Crook

    Might have some memory gaps, but these are what I can remember from the top of my head.

    • P_P@lemm.ee
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      28 days ago

      Don’t forget that the SCOTUS appointed by 47 ended the American experiment since Presidents are now effectively kings. Thanks to Presidential immunity, we no longer get to say nobody is above the law.

      • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        28 days ago

        Elected Temporary Dictator with small restrictions.

        They still have to get rid of elections to make thing permanent, and time will tell if they actually managed to do so.

        The federal government doesn’t run elections, states do. Whether or not states decide to resist the tyranny of the federal government will decide if we will have legitimate elections.

        Swing States do not all have a republican trifecta.

        Also remember there are non-maga republicans, like Brad Raffensperger.

        And president does not yet have unlimited power, only immunity from breaking laws. The president still have to find those yes-men to do their bidding.

        He cant just say “Kill all Democrats” on day one. That aint happening. The military isnt maga yet.

        It takes time to purge the military. Not every non-maga military member is gonna announce their beliefs. You cant find them all and purge them all in 4 years. Hitler already had a majority of loyalists in the military when he became chancellor. trump does not. Not yet.

        When the federal government becones tyrannical, states can declare federal actions unconstitutional and use their state national guards. Then our country’s fate is up to the military and national guards.

        The US can totally become a dictatorship forever if we don’t change course, but there is still time to reverse course.

    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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      27 days ago

      He allowed American Surveillance with Patriot Act I and II.

      People at the time were begging for that. There were a very, very few civil libertarians that realized just how dangerous those acts would be, but the people, as a whole, were really behind them. Just like the people went in gung-ho for the start of GWoT.

      He is essentially the ripple effect of everything we’re dealing with today and Trump is merely the symptom of that.

      I’d put that at the feet of Reagan first. Reagan was the one that cozied up to the ‘moral majority’, which was based in racism and misogyny, what with Bob Jones University being forced to desegregate. That’s where the birth of the alt-right (which I guess is now just mainstream Republicans) happened.

      • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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        27 days ago

        People at the time were begging for that. There were a very, very few civil libertarians that realized just how dangerous those acts would be, but the people, as a whole, were really behind them. Just like the people went in gung-ho for the start of GWoT.

        “Do you want the terrorists to win?!?” was hurled at me a bunch back then.

    • Random Dent@lemmy.ml
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      27 days ago

      I agree. Bush Jr. was the one who broke the window, Trump is just the inevitable crackhead who climbed in and started living on the couch.

  • Today@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    I would hire nucular George every day for the next 4 years to get rid of the orange dipshit.

    • undercrust@lemmy.ca
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      28 days ago

      It is absolutely fuckin bonkers that Trump is so bad that a person can say they yearn for the good old days with Dubya without a hint of sarcasm

      • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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        27 days ago

        Dubya at least had a face of ‘compassionate’ conservatism, and believed in the rule of law. Yeah, he bent the law a lot, but he never outright broke it. He was incompetent–or, he was at least not up to the task of being a president–but not apparently malicious.

        Pity that SCOTUS stepped in with the Florida recount, since it was eventually found that Gore should have won. I wonder where we’d be on climate change now if Gore had won? Oh well Florida, enjoy your flooding and hurricanes.

  • BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee
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    28 days ago

    andrew jackson (or johnson can never remember which) for the trail of tears. absolutely awful

    • OmnipotentEntity@beehaw.org
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      28 days ago

      Andrew Jackson was Trail of Tears, but I actually think Andrew Johnson was arguably worse. He was Lincoln’s Democrat vice president (he was brought on to help “balance the ticket” instead of sticking with his strongly abolitionist first term VP Hannibal Hamlin), who started dismantling reconstruction and giving the power back to the former slaveowners.

      You can pretty much lay Jim Crow at his feet.

        • OmnipotentEntity@beehaw.org
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          27 days ago

          I’m not really trying to weigh and decide if 6000+ deaths and forcible removal of 100k+ people from their homes is better or worse than 100 or so years of systemic oppression followed by more, quieter oppression. Instead, I’m looking at this from the perspective of alternatives.

          After the Civil War we very nearly had a moment when we could have maybe did something real for racial equality beyond anything we’ve seen even up to the present day. The Freeman’s Bureau was fighting for wages for former slaves, and was generally a force for working class empowerment. Black congressmen were already being voted into office rapidly. If it were left to do its work, it might even have helped to innoculate the Irish- and Italian-Americans against future union busting on Black/White racial lines a few decades down the line.

          Instead, after only about a year, Andrew Johnson started fighting and dismantling the Bureau, placing the former slaveowners back into a de facto master/slave relationship with their former slaves, giving the old Southern Democrats back their political power, and generally restoring the status quo as much as possible. The Bureau itself lasted only 5 or 6 years, don’t remember. The KKK rose up because reconstruction wasn’t there anymore to prevent it, because the Democrats wanted so bad to just put all of the states back in the union and go back to bad old days, and so on.

          That was never a realistic moment that I know of in American history where people against war with the native tribes of this land had outsized power and influence. Jackson completely ignoring the Supreme Court’s ruling was awful, but while the ruling was grounded in good moral and legal principles, it was, like it or not, extremely unpopular. There wasn’t an entire party with a supermajority in Congress that could have kept up the pressure on this issue.

          • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml
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            27 days ago

            To only count the direct deaths of the forced march and not the deaths resulting in having your land stolen and along with it your ability to reproduce your society is straight up genocide denial.

            After the Civil War we very nearly had a moment when we could have maybe did something real for racial equality beyond anything we’ve seen even up to the present day.

            And this is absolving responsibility of all the people who maintained slavery, which one could argue is even worse than jim crow.

            • OmnipotentEntity@beehaw.org
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              26 days ago

              I think you’re reading more intent in my post than was actually present. I’m not denying we did genocide to 100 million natives. All I’m denying is that Jackson specifically is significantly worse than the historically reasonable alternatives to the position. Had (for instance) John Quincy Adams, one of the authors of the Monroe doctrine and a big proponent of western expansion, won the presidency, I do not doubt that a similar overall trajectory would have taken place. Maybe we wouldn’t have specifically had a trail of tears moment, but there’s more to the genocide of native americans than just the trail of tears.

              And this is absolving responsibility of all the people who maintained slavery, which one could argue is even worse than jim crow.

              How so? I believe you’re arguing in good faith, but I honestly don’t see how you come to this conclusion from what I wrote?

  • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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    28 days ago

    Trump is definitely in the bottom quintile, but also anyone putting him in the bottom 5 is just recency bias.

    • Zyratoxx@lemm.eeOP
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      28 days ago

      Most people who argued for Trump said it’s because of Jan 6th and his other felonies and that he was allowed to run again and became reelected (even tho a partition of the us citizens are to blame for the latter). I also think people already value him lower because of Project 2025 and out of fear what will happen during his 2nd term.

  • saigot@lemmy.ca
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    27 days ago

    Does worst mean:

    • least able to achieve their stated agenda, ie worst at their job. (Trump)
    • worst vision for America, ie most evil (Reagan)
    • worst overall impact to America, ie one you’d kill with a time machine (Bush Jr, but Trump might catch up in term 2)
    • Worst for the world, ie the one I’d kill with a time machine (Washington)

    Although I’m not American and don’t know your history that well.

    • iii@mander.xyz
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      28 days ago

      I’m having a hard time deciding between grape and kiwi what about you?

        • Zyratoxx@lemm.eeOP
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          28 days ago

          Everyone loves strawberries

          (But ngl I just really wanted to know what people would say. I find some answers very reasonable, others quite debatable. But I’d also be interested in what Lemmy thinks is the best president the US has ever had)

          • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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            28 days ago

            Sorry about that, I wasn’t trying to say the question wasn’t asked in good faith, it was meant light hearted what with the general tension with the recent election.

            Which, I think that also points to the likely pick for me, though I’d definitely say that Johnson is a damn good bed example of a president. I mean, dude came in after a civil war and set back part of what was accomplished by playing wimp with the ex confederate states. He single handedly set up another century of oppression and strife.

            Best though? That’s actually harder. To be the best you have to have done something that stands out, which means there has to have been something big during your presidency to give you that opportunity. It means that some of the good presidents might not have shown their greatness as presidents because they didn’t have anything to work on, or maybe didn’t have a Congress willing to work with them.

            That being said, Franklin Roosevelt has to be an option for best. The man made plenty of bad choices, but he was the leader that the country needed at the time, and did his best at every step (even when it turned out less than stellar), and that is pretty much all anyone can do.

            Lincoln is another pick for the same reason. Gets elected during the most turmoil ridden era, and manages to get the country back together during a war that could well have led to a permanent split.

            • imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
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              28 days ago
              1. Lincoln
              2. FDR
              3. Washington
              4. Teddy Roosevelt
              5. Jefferson
              6. Eisenhower
              7. Truman
              8. JFK
              9. LBJ
              10. Obama

              JFK would have been top 5 if he hadn’t been gunned down 2 years into his presidency 😭

              @[email protected]

              I prefer talking about the best, talking about the worst just makes me depressed.

              • Zyratoxx@lemm.eeOP
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                28 days ago

                I prefer talking about the best, talking about the worst just makes me depressed.

                Oh I totally get where you’re coming from. I usually use my lemm.ee account for when I’m stable enough for discussion (because lemm.ee is still federated with both hexbear and 'grad and .world and the more pro western servers which helps me train my critical thinking and arguing) but sometimes I just don’t want any more negativity or politicised battlegrounds and then I just use my .world account to spread the good vibes and enjoy the memes.

                Regarding JFK I heard he was a bit of a “you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain” kinda case but I also heard that he would have been a good president so I’m kinda split. It’s similar with William Henry Harrison, who was president for 31 days before he died. As a slave holder he would have probably been a horrible president but he never really made any calls so he’s not among the worst candidates.

                • imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
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                  27 days ago

                  I definitely have to admit some pro JFK bias as an Irish American 😅

                  But I obviously also have rationales for why I think he was a great president. Foremost among them is that I feel he was a truly independent political force that was beholden neither to his party nor to external interests. His popularity, wealth, and personal relationship with the American people gave him the potential to do radical things against the wishes of the entrenched oligarchy, which is possibly why he was assassinated. He demonstrated a willingness and a capacity to upend the established order.

                  William Henry Harrison is often considered among the worst for the simple reason that he did die. Put on a coat mah boi, we didn’t elect your ass to get a cold and die instantly.

                  because lemm.ee is still federated with both hexbear and 'grad and .world and the more pro western servers which helps me train my critical thinking and arguing

                  I wish hexbear was more into debating and less into memeing. I find that they tend to run away from serious debate and prefer to troll. Honestly lemmygrad has seemed less annoying to me than hexbear lately because they seem more likely to take things seriously and make legitimate arguments. I don’t see too much of them because I’m usually on my main account and sjw blocks them.

                  I use my account at lemmy.myserv.one in a similar way to your lemm.ee account, but since I’m an admin here I end up spending way more time on this account.

            • Zyratoxx@lemm.eeOP
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              28 days ago

              I’d be lying if I wasn’t aware I was poking the beehive so no need for you to be sorry (or at least I should say that I am sorry too). Plus I could have made it sound less like I was turning the US into some sort of punching bag for bad emotions but to be honest I have to admit I wasn’t all too sober when I posted and whilst my main intention was curiosity I failed to phrase my question that way and I failed to filter my personal emotions so the question was negative. I’m yet another example why one shouldn’t be allowed to use social media drunk and I am sorry for that. :')

              I agree with your picks for good presidents and your reasoning. Thank you for the added details :)

  • Taalnazi@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    Plenty of choice. In my view, most presidents were rambling reeking right wingers in some way or other, save for FDR and Teddy Roosevelt, who were the two presidents I’d actually call capable and outspoken on civil rights (rather than just pragmatical like Lincoln). They did have their blemishes, but less than e.g. Andrew Jackson.

    So many presidents were terrible for one people or another.

    Andrew Jackson? Held hundreds of slaves and quite literally led an ethnic expulsion against Native Americans (the Trail of Tears).

    Lincoln? Mostly good, but did not forbid slavery in the form of penal labour. If one were to abolish slavery, why not go the full mile?

    Wilson? Rabid antisemite, pretty much.

    Hoover? Might’ve tried to tackle the Great Depression – but did so by allying with large coorporations, effectively being corrupt and choosing bribery.

    Truman? Dropped nukes and set the stage for “we support any government that hates people being remotely leftist”.

    Nixon - corrupt and wanted to sidestep the rule of law, all for his own profit: to stay in power. Other than thaf, decent, but that’s a big “other than that”.

    Reagan - enough said. Ultracapitalist, misleading, made the US economy far worse by accruing debt like there’s no tomorrow, and shoving it onto the poor – typical oligarch behaviour! Militaristic, power-hungry. And no, he did not end the Cold War: Gorbachov did.

    JFK: socially pretty good, actually. But economically, the cutting of the top rates made the richest keep more money. At least it wasn’t down below 50%, but still. Had that happened, I think the tax rates would’ve allowed wealth accumulation.

    And so on.

    So, in my view, it’s hard to focus on who is the worse, and better to rather focus on what is the best. Ted would be my candidate. Not only social progress, but also economical, and in a way that favour the worker – and he also was environmentally aware. That is a good president.

    • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
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      27 days ago

      FDR and Teddy Roosevelt, who were the two presidents I’d actually call capable and outspoken on civil rights (rather than just pragmatical like Lincoln). They did have their blemishes

      Blemishes? FDR seized the property of 200,000 Americans and threw them into concentration camps because of their race. The guy’s bottom 10 if not bottom 5. He’s easily the worst Democrat of the last 100 years.