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Clinton. He is and was the only president to ever balance the budget. Putting the Monica L. thing aside.
Ike also balanced the budget. And, TBF, Nixon balanced the budget in one year of his administration, although not during the other years of his administration (NOT that I'm defending Nixon). Clinton was the most recent president to date to balance the budget and the first since Eisenhower to have sustained balanced budgets.
OK I am going to LAY my partisan hat aside and go only on the effectiveness and accomplishments of the Presidents to rank them:
These days, that's almost an act of rebellion against the state. Worse yet, it's freethought, making up your own mind without regard to the partisan braying that passes for national debate. What will your neighbors say?
OK I am going to LAY my partisan hat aside and go only on the effectiveness and accomplishments of the Presidents to rank them:
1. Abraham Lincoln (R)
2. George Washington (?)
3. Franklin Roosevelt (D)
4. Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)
5. Ronald Reagan (R)
6. Lyndon B Johnson (D)
James Polk, who achieved in one term, everything he pledged he would bring about? James Polk, our hardest working president ever? James Polk doesn't rate as a top five in effectiveness and accomplishments?
Well I might agree that Reagan gave the best performance of an actor imitating a President.
But the best president?
Isn't he the one who evicted all the mentally ill from the institutions and put them out on the streets and fired all the air traffic controllers, putting the flying public in harms way?
Great achievements, those...
My personal choice would be Washington.
The mentally ill were not evicted...they were freed. If you read in detail on the topic you will find that there was an outcry against holding these people who were not a threat to others.
There are certain professions deemed critical that are not allowed to strike as they'd have too much power in their ability to cripple society. So, steel worker striking? Factory worker striking? Fine....but shutting down virtually all air-travel in the country? Mmmmmmm nope. The situation resolved itself rather neatly.
Ronald Reagan: consider that after the 1970s we had fallen well behind the Soviets in military power, we truely had the worse economy since the depression (not unlike now - things are bad now but not double digit inflation, interest rates, and equally high unemployment), high taxes. We were considered a weak giant, directionless, and the previous president (carter) said Americans need to get use to being less then what we were.
After Reagan left office, the economy had rebounded to the point that it became the longest sustained growing economy since WW 2, We were no longer considered a weak giant but had gained new respect throughout the world, and as a result of his pressure on the Soviet economy (various means - building up our military, Star Wars, negotiating wt Saudi Arabia to keep oil prices low - thus denying the Soviets of increased revenue from the sale of their oil which is a big revenue source for them, spreading the message of freedom around the world, etc) the cracks formed in the Soviet empire and Soviet style communism fell. It is easy for people not living then or too young to remember what it was like to live under the threat of nuclear distruction. Reagan didn't accept MAD "mutually assured distruction" but believed that the greatness of the USA - its economic potential and military might - we weren't to be servants to this fear any longer. By the shear strenght of his positive personality, he lifted this country out of dispair (carter's malaze). Was everything perfect - NO. Was there still poverty, hurting and poor. Yes. But national security is the 1st responsibility of of the federal gov't. Reagan gave us that security again so that later presidents could work on other issues. Security also comes wt a stable economy - Due to big gov't intervention in the 1970s - Nixon's price control, dropping the gold standard, Carter's devestating policies - the economy was in terrible shape. Reagan taught us that the gov't isn't the answer but the problem - it is time that we relearn this principle in light of our current president (and also George Bush's) big gov't spending.
Clinton. He is and was the only president to ever balance the budget. Putting the Monica L. thing aside.
Check history - clinton would not have balanced the budget wtout the republican congress. Clinton benefited from the longest sustained economic growth which started under Reagan. The Republican congress but a break on the big spending programs he had originally campaigned for (remember - Hiliary had the 1st gov't sponsored health care program proposed). Clinton had to modify his policies in hopes of getting re-elected. Clinton was not the only president to balance the budget. Also, he was one of only 2 presidents to be impeached. he did not ack 'presidential'. Unfortunately, under GW Bush, the republican congress forgot how to be fiscally responsible and they are equally liable wt the democratic party for our current situation
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