rightwinger
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- Aug 4, 2009
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You have to consider the times in which they governed. It's ridiculous to compare Abraham Lincoln, who presided over the worst crisis in the nation's history, to Bill Clinton, who was president in a time of peace, prosperity, and nothing-very-important-going-on. How can anyone tell how Clinton would have handled the Civil War?
For that reason, I find Strauss & Howe's four turning idea useful, and can say:
Best High-era president: George Washington
Worst High-era president: Grover Cleveland
Best Awakening-era president: Theodore Roosevelt
Worst Awakening-era president: John Quincy Adams
Best Unraveling-era president: Bill Clinton
Worse Unraveling-era president: James Buchanan
Best Crisis-era president: tie, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt
Worst Crisis-era president: Herbert Hoover
That doesn't really fly. Clinton faced lots of crises and handled most of them pretty badly. But it is much too soon to judge his presidency.
Also this whole era-thing is completely bogus.
It really comes down to how you did compared to the hand you were dealt by history. Lincoln and FDR were dealt a pretty bad hand. Clinton led in a time of peace and prosperity. Hard to compare the two
In determining how great a President is you have to look at what challenges did they face and how they responded to those challenges as well as what lasting contribution they made to this country