Today is Presidents Day, a day to remember and honor the contributions and leadership of the presidents who have best served the United States.  Unfortunately, it is also a time to reflect on those who have brought chaos, corruption, and unnecessary challenges to American citizens.

While it is difficult for a non-historian to create a definitive list of America’s greatest presidents, subject to individual opinions, beliefs, and political affiliation, here is my list of some U.S. presidents who deserve a place on a top ten list.

1. George Washington (1789-1797) - The first president of the United States and the crucial leader in the American Revolution. He established many of the precedents of the presidency and helped shape the federal government’s role in governing the nation. He also presided over the drafting and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and was responsible for our national identity and defining the first U.S. foreign policy.

2. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) – Lincoln’s most significant accomplishment was preserving the Union during the American Civil War and abolishing slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. He also delivered some of the most famous speeches in American history, including the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address. Lesser known accomplishments include the Homestead Act, which provided free land to settlers in the West, and his support of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, which connected the East and West coasts of the United States. Lincoln supported measures to modernize the U.S. economy, including developing national banking and establishing a national currency.

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) - Author of the Declaration of Independence and a strong advocate for individual rights and limited government. He also negotiated the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States. A strong advocate of the freedom of religion, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, designed to promote religious freedom and secular education. Jefferson was instrumental in reducing the national debt by cutting government spending and lowering taxes. He was a strong advocate of agriculture and developing new techniques and practices to improve crop yields.

4. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) - A conservative icon who is credited with ending the Cold War by strengthening the U.S. military, negotiating with the Soviet Union, and encouraging democratic movements around the world. His economic policies, including tax cuts (simplifying the tax code and reducing tax rates for most Americans), deregulation, and focusing on free market principles, brought about a period of sustained economic growth and prosperity. Reagan was responsible for several environmental protection bills, including the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. He also strengthened America’s defense posture with the Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars,” as it was derisively known at the time. Reagan attempted Immigration reform with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which granted amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants and strengthened border security. Unfortunately, Congress failed to strengthen our border and deal with illegal aliens arriving after the amnesty date.

5. Donald Trump (2017-2021) – A president from outside the world of party politics whose notable achievements include successes in foreign policy (the historic peace agreements between Israel and several Arab nations, America’s withdrawal from the disastrous and nonsensical Iran nuclear deal, and new more beneficial trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, and China) and domestic policy), tax reform which reduced tax rates for individuals and corporations, deregulation which implemented numerous regulatory rollbacks across various industries, and which were intended to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses and spur economic growth) as well as other initiatives in criminal justice reform and space exploration with the establishment of the Space Force. 

6. Richard Nixon (1969 to 1974) – A much-maligned president whose accomplishments include ending the Vietnam War, achieving détente with the Soviet Union, improving relations with China, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the environment and regulate pollution, and, of course, space exploration resulting in the Apollo 11 mission which landed the first humans on the moon and expanded the frontiers of space exploration.

7. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) – Truman oversaw the end of World War II, hastened by his decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus shortening the war and saving millions of lives. He also led the U.S. through the Korean war and the beginning of the cold war. He also oversaw the rebuilding of Western Europe after WWII (Marshall Plan) and the Truman Doctrine, which committed the U.S. to provide military and economic aid to countries threatened by communist aggression. Truman ordered the Berlin Airlift in response to the Soviet blockade of Berlin. And notably, Truman advocated for civil rights and desegregation, and his administration took steps to promote equality and justice, including desegregation of the military.

It is also time to remember those presidents who damaged the United States significantly.

1. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) – Wilson was an out-and-out racist who re-segregated the federal government after significant progress towards integration and allowed open discrimination to occur in the government, including actions to segregate previously integrated restrooms and lunchrooms in federal buildings and firing African American civil service employees. Wilson curtailed civil liberties and free speech during World War I, including the abominable Espionage Act and Sedition Act. Wilson assumed direct personal control of American foreign policy, believing it was constitutionally mandated.

2. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) – In response to the national calamity of the Great Depression, Roosevelt presided over an era of massive government intervention in the economy and social welfare programs, as well as a solid commitment to internationalism and liberal (progressive) democracy. He was an advocate of centralized government power. The hero of U.S. socialists.

3. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) – Widely regarded by many as the worst president in modern times due to his fecklessness and impotent economic policies that led to record-high inflation, Carter’s failures far surpassed those of other presidents. Among his accomplishments was the Camp David Accords, which brought peace between Egypt and Israel after years of conflict. Among his failures was the Panama Canal Treaty, which transferred control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama for zero political, financial, or military gain. And, of course, his promotion of the Iranian Ayatollah and his failure to resolve the hostage crisis.

4. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) – Johnson was the personification of corruption and crudeness, with many of his acts concealed or downplayed in the media.  His most notable failure was managing the Vietnam War and the national protests led by communist agitators, many of whom are in positions of authority today. A racist, many of Johnson’s civil rights programs included the surveillance of civil rights leaders, spying on Americans, and the policies which ejected black males from established homes as a condition for receiving federal assistance.

5. Bill Clinton (1993-2001) – Clinton’s scandal-ridden administration was unsurpassed at the time. Clinton was as dirty as they come, from selling access to his office to delivering enhanced weaponry to our enemies. Clinton’s sex scandal overshadowed his presidency and led to numerous “dirty tricks” to defame his opposition. Neck-deep in various scandals was his wife, Hillary Clinton, who went on with many of the same operatives and dirty tricks to become Secretary of State – also selling favors to our enemies.

6. Barack Obama (2009-2017) – I believe that communist-trained Barack Obama was the most dangerous president in the history of the United States. A Manchurian candidate whose continuing scandals and efforts to secrete his operatives deep in our government will result in lasting damage to the nation and render us more vulnerable to our enemies.

7. Joe Biden (2009-2017) – There is little doubt in my mind that President Biden is the most corrupt, ineffective, and politically destructive President in history.  He is cognitively impaired, and Obama acolytes are running his administration.

Bottom line…

What does it all mean? At least to me, the Democrat Party, the party of slavery, secession, segregation, and anti-civil rights legislation, is corrupt and cannot be trusted with setting beneficial domestic policies or engaging in foreign policies to protect the United States of America. Along with a cohort of democrats posing as Republicans (RINOs – Republican In Name Only), our political parties and our “watchdog” media have betrayed the American people.

We are screwed beyond belief, and as much as I hate to say it, there may be only one presidential candidate with the anger and balls to stand up to the existing power structure. Unfortunately, it appears that many in the government, especially its bureaucracy and peripheral power players, will do anything to keep their dunghill intact and functioning as usual.

I repeat we are so screwed.

-- Steve