ASSIGNMENT
One of the joys of studying the presidency is, of course, getting to make a list of the best and worst Presidents and then arguing about that list. It’s like the “greatest rock band of all time” argument – there may not be objectively “right” answers, but there are certainly better and worse attempts (for instance, any list that doesn’t put The Beatles at #1 is a bad attempt).
For most folks, their list will be a simple reflection of their party preferences and ideology. Bush, Obama, Trump, or Biden will be among the “worst ever” depending on your party affiliation. But, that is very lazy. You, conversely, are armed with all of our course material, and you can make a more “objective” attempt at a rank order (even if one of those two still sit at the bottom of your rankings). You are a political scientist!
Plenty of attempts at a sophisticated rankings system have been made already.
Consider this survey by the Brookings Institute trying to place Trump among our other presidents: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/03/20/comparing-trump-to-the-greatest-and-the-most-polarizing-presidents-in-u-s-history/ Links to an external site.
The Sienna College survey is one of the most famous and respected. See this: https://scri.siena.edu/2022/06/22/american-presidents-greatest-and-worst/ Links to an external site.
Or see this (dated) attempt to statistically rate presidents through Obama: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/contemplating-obamas-place-in-history-statistically/ Links to an external site.
Now, it’s your turn. Take it seriously. Choose at least 3 or 4 key criteria for ranking what makes a successful president (not one you like or dislike, but one that “succeeds” on some measure or other). Defend those as a proper measure for ranking presidents. And, give us your top 3 and bottom 3 presidents. Defend those choices. Now, take a shot at a rough ranking of our last 4 presidents against history and each other (if they aren’t already on your list – Clinton, Bush II, Obama, Trump – let’s wait on Biden, as he is still in office). Again, defend your choices.
