Who is the greatest president of your lifetime so far?

32 comments

  1. Obama but I was born during Bush Jr’s administration so there’s not exactly stiff competition.

  2. My lifetime. 1994 to now. I guess Clinton by default. I actually kinda miss the Obama days

  3. In my lifetime I’ve had

    The tail-end of Reagan

    George HW Bush

    Bill Clinton

    George W Bush

    Barack Obama

    Donald Trump

    Joe Biden

    The first president I voted for was Obama so I’m going to go with his as my favorite. I won’t make the qualification of greatest for any person.

  6. That’s a tough one, in my lifetime it’s really been a race to the bottom. It’s sort of like asking which failed company failed the best.

  7. The president’s of my life time are

    -Johnson
    – Nixon
    – Ford
    – Carter
    – Reagan
    – Bush sr
    – Clinton
    – Bush jr
    – Obama
    – trump
    – Biden

    Although there are good things to say about most of them, I have to go with Obama being the best of the bunch.

  9. bill clinton.

    the economy was ballistic. my parents were paint and gas huffing carnie traveling hate salesmen and we had a place to live and money enough for them to smoke weed and drink all day.

  10. I’m an oddball who’s drifting more to the left as I get older, so I don’t love any of the presidents in my lifetime (Reagan to now).

    That said, in retrospect Bill Clinton was a pretty effective leader. Somehow despite his scandals he was able to run his administration – and work with Congress – well enough to have a strong economy, low unemployment, and some social progress like the Family and Medical Leave Act.

    Edit: Military engagements were also relatively limited but effective (as in Bosnia).

  14. When I was born, Nixon was president. It’s a hard choice and they all had their faults but I would say Obama or Clinton.

    Frankly I liked the Clinton years better, but that can’t all be attributed to Clinton himself. Obama I liked/like quite a bit as a person.

  15. Lived through Reagon, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, he who must not be named and Biden.

    Greatest job done as president- Clinton
    Greatest person who has been president- Obama

  17. From Carter through Biden:

    1. Obama
    2. Clinton (too far to the right for my tastes, but very effective)
    3. Biden (but he’s got time to move up or down)
    4. HW Bush (I didn’t like him, but he wasn’t ineffective)
    5. Carter (bad president, good person)
    5. W. Bush (bad president)
    7. Reagan (bad president, bad person)
    8. Trump (horrible president, even worse person)

    Politically I’m far left (for the US), so I’ll admit I’m biased against Republicans.

    It’s amazing that Obama got anything done at all considering the congressional opposition he faced.

    As far to the left as I am, I still rank Clinton (who’s right wing) highly; he was effective.

    Biden is turning out to be further left than I thought he would be (pleasant surprise), but I’m worried that I’m seeing him through rose-color glasses considering his predecessor.

    HW Bush was … _fine_; he was well-qualified for the job, even if I don’t like what he did or how he did it. At no point did I think “President Bush is trying to get Americans killed for funsies.” He didn’t have any qualms about getting non-Americans killed though.

    Carter was ineffective, but his legacy will be his post-presidential work. He’s the person on this list that I’d most want to have a beer with.

    W might have been an OK person (sure, I’d have a beer with him), but he surrounded himself with horrible advisors and then used their horrible advice to do horrible things.

    Reagan rode his charisma into office and then set this country back decades; I live in the DC area and every time I drive to National Airport I have an intrusive thought of “I could just drive right into that statue and knock his ass down. I’ll get arrested, and convicted, and the statue will get put back up, but for a brief moment, I’d feel good. But it would be very inconvenient for all the traffic behind me … maybe next time.”

  18. Harry Truman was President when I was born in 1954, I say Barack Obama was the best and Donald Trump was the worst (even worse than Nixon.)

  20. Barrack Obama. When he took office he was faced with a collapsing economy that became the 2nd worst recession in US history, several foreign wars, and a historically low level of trust for the government. Though I will say I don’t approve of bis methods for resolving the economic crisis, the fact is he got us through it. He failed to disentangle us from our foreign wars, but he was the first president to reduce foreign aid to Israel and proved an able commander in chief. On the domestic front, he attempted to reform the obscenely inefficient and expensive US Healthcare system (which he mostly failed to do). Nonetheless Obamacare is still the law of the land. I won’t say he was a very great president, but I’m only 23 years old and tbh presidents from the 70s on really haven’t been that great.

  26. Bill Clinton. Our economy was good and I felt like most everyone participated, he left us with a budget surplus for the first time since the 50s (maybe 60s), the US was well respected around the world and it’s the last time that I remember when lower paid people could still afford things without straining.

    However, I’m still pissed at him for not keeping his zipper closed for 8 years (I mean dude you’re the president just keep it in your pants for your two terms that’s it) but, to me, that’s more between him and his family even if it was a national scandal.

  27. Oof I have been alive for 5 and I don’t think any were good at all. Clinton, W, Obama, Trump, and Biden. Objectively I’d probably say Obama (even as a republican myself) because he didn’t have any major scandals, the others all do. Low bar, but slim pickings.

  28. Obama!

    The Affordable Care Act made a huge positive difference in my life and the life of millions of other Americans!

  29. Obama. Clinton a close second. Reserving judgment on Biden until he’s done (either looses the next election or finishes a second term)

    Born in 1980 so technically Carter for like a month, Regan, Bush, Clinton, bush, Obama, trump, Biden.

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