The Presidents: #38a, b, and c

#38a: Millard Fillmore
Term: July 9, 1850 - March 4, 1853
Grade: F


#38b: Franklin Pierce
Term: March 4, 1853 - March 4, 1857
Grade: F


#38c: James Buchanan
Term: March 4, 1857 - March 4, 1861
Grade: F

These Presidents deserve are all so very equally bad, they deserve to be recorded as a trio. They presided over one of our nations worst decades, a decade in which the unanswered question of slavery festered and grew until it split the country and plunged us into war. None of them seemed able to comprehend the major changes which were taking place as the country moved forward in its move westward and its industrialization. Although it is unlikely that anything could have been done to avoid the horrible war of the next decade, their actions certainly made it more inevitable. Whether openly antagonizing the north, such as Pierce, or trying to come to a compromise every party hated, such as Buchanan, these Presidents just did not succeed.

Fillmore helped divide the Whig party and divide the Wilmot Proviso, while doing nothing to answer the tough questions put forth on the issue of slavery. After the defeat of Winfield Scott by Pierce in 1852, the Whig party ceased to be an effective political party, paving the way for the rise of the Republican Party.

Pierce's term wasn't any better, as Bleeding Kansas erupted during this time. A southern sympathizer, he didn't do anything to stop the spread of slavery, favoring the repeal of the Missouri Compromise for the idea of "popular soveriegnity", which further angered northern citizens without pacifying the southerners. Like Fillmore, he was so unpopular the Democrats didn't bother nominating him for 1856, instead choosing James Buchanan.

During Buchanan's administration the bottom fell out. The Dred Scott decision and John Brown's raid further divided the country, while Buchanan did nothing to solve the issue. His bungling almost started a small war against the Utah mormons, although he didn't make the situation of the Pig War any worse. Like his two predecessors he was not chosen to run in 1860, as the Democratic party split in two between northern candidate Stephen A. Douglas and southern candidate John C. Breckenridge. His biggest failure was to do nothing as South Carolina and six other southern states left during the lame duck period before Abraham Lincoln took office. Believing secession illegal, but doing anything about it to also be illegal, he acheived the goal of pleasing nobody while trying to please everybody.

While not rising to the levels of absolute sinister incompetence of George W. Bush, or the disgusting malfeasance of Richard Nixon, these Presidents deserve a grade as bad as our bottom dwellers. They did nothing to slow down, and in many cases acclerated our nations greatest crisis. For this they deserve to be in the "F" club.

The Presidents: #39

#39 George W. Bush
Jan 20 2001 to Jan 20 2009
Grade: F

Unlike the rest of the Presidents at this end of the pool, the only one I've had the ignominy of having to live under is George W. Bush. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I played a role in putting him where he was, voting for him in 2000. Fortunately, I didn't vote for him in 2004, not that it did much good.

Who knows when we will finally understand just how corrupt, malevolent and incompetent his administration was. Whether it was his dumb-assery, Grand Vice-Chancellor Cheney, or his incompetence minions, the first eight years of the 21st century won't go down as a time of inspired government in the U.S. Heck, President Obama could call his term a success just cleaning half the mess the Bushies made in Washington.

There was a time (From 1/20/2001 to the first time I heard about the Axis of Evil) that I gave President Bush the benefit of the doubt. He seemed solid enough as a responder to the fanatics in Afghanistan that supported the fanatics who attacked the United States. However, any capital he had gained with me was lost by the pointless and obvious imperial move towards attacking Iraq. I cannot forgive him for the over 4,000 American deaths caused by that unnecessary and unprovoked conflict.

Before his administration, I was a solid Republican. Now, I doubt I will ever go back to the party. This wasn't entirely his doing (the Evangelist/Racist/Amoral Capitalist Wings of the party helped as well), but he helped bring about my party switch. About the only thing good I can say about him is that he did have a somewhat reasonable immigration. Unfortunately, he couldn't get any major Republicans not named John McCain to support it, and it was a failure. Just like his term in office.

The Presidents: #40

#40 Richard M. Nixon (1968-1974)
Grade: F


I'm aware of Nixon's achievements in normalizing US relations with China. I'm also aware that he was President when the Environmental Protection Agency was created, and that domestically he was much more moderate than his Republican successors. I even find some admirable traits in Mr. Nixon, and give him credit for meeting with the protesters at the Lincoln Memorial. And once the entire light comes out on President #39 on my list, it is quite possible that his sorry Administration will deserve this spot on the list.

Had Richard Nixon not operated with such contempt of the checks and balances of our government, it is likely he could find himself in the top half of this list. But act with contempt he did, and therefore he gets the "real" loser spot.

As an incident, the Watergate break-in was a fairly minor scandal. Although breaking into the opposing political party's headquarters wasn't exactly a honorable thing, it wasn't something that should have brought down a presidency. Had Nixon admitted his sordid involvement in the crap, apologized the day after he beat McGovern, and promised to handle his administration better, it would have disappeared.

Instead, he and his associates decided to cover it up, resulting in one of our nations sorriest chapters. The idea that the President is above the law is a disturbing belief, and one that smacks of the obsolete notion of Divine Right. Nixon wasn't the first President to overstep this boundary, but he was certainly the one that did it with the least remorse and without just cause.

On top of the crimes his administration committed during the early 70s, many of his junior acolytes would later be involved in the Reagan and Bush administrations, learning how to continue violating the Constitution without getting impeached, instead of learning the real lessons that were evident. Therefore, Nixon gets penalized more as the trend-setter, rather than the trend follower of Bush 41 (and to a somewhat lesser extent Reagan).