Presidents: The Best And The Worst

On the day we honor our nation's presidents, a new survey was released by C-SPAN ranking all the presidents from best to worst. The poll asked some 60 historians across the political spectrum to rank their choices based on a variety of categories, everything from relations with Congress to moral authority. All categories carried equal weight.

Richard Norton Smith, a historian from the Ford Museum and Library in Washington, D.C. says it was a fair way to rank performance especially in the case of a president like Bill Clinton.

"Bill Clinton is perhaps the most dramatic example. He ranked fifth in terms of economic management, obviously reflecting the current prosperity of the nation. He came in dead last in terms of moral authority," Smith says.

In many cases the passage of time serves as an advantage. Smith says a president may have been judged much more harshly during his own time than many years later.

"Each generation brings its own perspective, its own values," he says. "As the passions of the moment cool, you can see (for example) that Lyndon Johnson, 25 years after Vietnam, ranked tenth. That was in spite of Vietnam, and because of civil rights."

One exception is Thomas Jefferson, historians ranked him seventh. "I think it reflects perhaps some of the current preoccupation with extracurricular activities at Monticello," Smith says, citing the recent CBS miniseries that focused on Jefferson's reported affair with his slave Sally Hemmings.

Smith says there were no real surprises among the top five:

• Fifth was Harry Truman. "He began the policy that ended the Cold War."
• Fourth was Theodore Roosevelt. "He created the modern presidency and bully pulpit."
• Third was George Washington. "Without him there wouldn't be a United States."
• Second FDR. "He took us through the greatest crisis of the 20th century, the depression and World War II."
• First, Abraham Lincoln. "He dealt with the greatest crisis in American history, both military and moral, and he set an example for all presidents to follow.

"The times give the opportunity to be a great president. There's no doubt about that. But, also, you look at those top presidents, they're all visionaries. Someone like Woodrow Wilson who envisioned international cooperation, and whether he was able to achieve it, we credit him with the vision."

The five worst presidents:

• 37th was William Henry Harrison. He died after serving one month in office.
• 38th was Warren G. Harding. He was personally popular but corruption permeated his cabinet appointees.
• 39th was Franklin Pierce. He helped set the stage for the Civil War with the Kansas/Nebraska act. Tenions on Capitol Hill ran so high during his term there were fist fights on the floor of the Congress.
• 40th was Andrew Johnson. "He was the first president after the Civil War and failed to understand what it was all about. He set back the course of racial justice in this country for 100 years."
• 41st, the worst of all American presidents was James Buchanan. "He was the last president before the Civil War and failed to prevent it."