* is the stupidest President in my lifetime. Even Nixon, LBJ,

[steve2470]

Kennedy, Eisenhower, Carter, and YES, even Reagan was smarter. Clinton makes * look like a intellectually-challenged child. I thought Reagan was teflony but not stupid. People thought Ford was dumb, but he was just clumsy as hell - that debate gaffe didn't help him any. *,Sr. was smarter.

edited for completeness

[flyingfysh]

1. his reputation for clumsiness was not deserved

He was actually more athletic than several other presidents.

[steve2470]

2. so those tumbles he took were overhyped ? n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Sure, they gave

Chevy Chase something to parody on SNL in the early years.

[Julian English]

39. Seriously--Ford was a great athlete and a Yale law grad.

Look at his biography. All American football player who played on a national championship team, was recruited to coach at Yale (when it was was a football power), and a Yale law school graduate. Ford was definitely smarter (and a better athlete) than either Reagan or Chimpster (or John Wayne, for that matter).

He was no great moral compass, as Carter was, but the the talent of Ford shows how far the Republicans have fall. Today their candidate is an embarrassment, lacking any level of personal achievement.

Go Blue!

[MADem]

42. Gee, we've never seen the press do that before...

...have we, Al or Tipper? Bill, Hill, what do you think? The press would NEVER overhype something, would they?

Ford was a gifted athlete--when you think about the number of times the average person trips, stumbles, or walks into something while doing something else--say, a few times a year--but then multiply the effect with a kazillion news cameras, I'd probably look like a stumblebum after a half day under that kind of spotlight.

There were two beauties I remember--the stair of the aircraft, and the time he beaned someone big time playing golf. He also did something while skiing...can't remember the details. Once he got the label, though, they went LOOKING for errors, with rather vicious glee. It was definitely a "treatment" and it was rather cruel. Of course, he was a good man, and served well as a provisional president, but I was happy that Carter put some REAL, as opposed to the current bullshit, morals in government. Funny how the GOP stole even Carter's act and perverted it.

Wish the lame stream media was half as vigilant going after weecowboy.

[DaveinMD]

3. LBJ fucked up Vietnam

but he was a great domestic policy President. The Civil Rights Act, The Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, AFDC, the Great Society.

[Bush was AWOL]

10. And LBJ had the decency not to run for a second term

after his fuck up.

If LBJ wouldn't have gone into Nam he'd have easily won a second term and been regarded as one of the best presidents.

[Zuni]

15. LBJ realized he had made a huge mistake

unlike Bush.
LBJ was a good man who made a terrible decision.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

4. Yep

bush has only managed to do a couple of good things with his time in office:

1. Unified and energized the Democratic party like it hasn't been in 65 years, or possibly EVER.

2. Made every other president who came before him, even the most suckity-suck-suckers look positively stunning in comparison.

3. Caused me to become personally involved in politics from school board all the way to national elections. Caused me to finally declare myself a Democrat to the world. Caused me to come out of the liberal closet. Caused Mr. Moonbeam to do all the same things.

So there's that.

[MADem]

43. He restored HONOR to his mother's FAMILY

Really--what a service to his dear ole Ma. Yes, the former Barbara Pierce was related to Franklin, widely considered to be if not the finalist, but at the very least in the top two or three as WORST. President. EVER.

Weecowboy's miserable performance puts Pierce far back enough so that he seems just lousy by comparison.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. I never thought

I would EVER say this, but I'd take NIxon back - in a heartbeat - over this disgraceful sack of shit occupying the White House today.

My father is spinning in his grave right now to hear me say this. Yes, Dad, I no longer believe Nixon was the worst thing to happen to our country. And I am so glad you are not here to see the damage * is doing to the country you loved so much.

[steve2470]

6. I agree - at least Nixon had brains and didn't get anybody killed

unless you count his Vietnam de-escalation. I know, I know, that was in the making before he took office.

[Zuni]

17. Nixon got a lot of people killed

he prolonged the Vietnam war by working behind the scenes to derail LBJ's efforts at getting a cease fire negotiated.
Not to mention expanding the war into Cambodia

[steve2470]

26. yes that's right, brain fart, n/t

[delete_bush]

36. but, but. but,.. the Shrimp Boat Captains

said Kerry lied about being in Cambodia.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Nixon managed

to be more than a one issue prez. He helped create the EPA, opened up relations with China, signed specal ed legislation and started the process to end the war in Vietnam.

* on the other hand, has been a one issue prez and his one issue - this damn war - has not gone well for him.

[belle]

37. Nixon: evil, yes. Stupid, no.

Which is worse? smart evil or stupid evil? I guess if we're talking about Nixon, then * is certainly worse. Still, it makes me shudder to think where we'd be if the PNAC squad had chosen a God-talkin' little emperor with more charisma and brains to sit in the catbird seat. brruh.

[cheshire]

7. It's emotional also. He's crippled.

[Wind Dancer]

8. As bad as Nixon was, and he was bad,

he did care about the environment.

* is extremely dangerous with too much power. Anybody that feels they've been chosen by God, (or claims such nonsense) to lead this country, should scare any sane person.

[steve2470]

9. kick n/t

[expatriate]

11. I agree

I never thought there could be a President dumber than Reagan - heck, back then I kept thinking "this man isn't competent to dress himself, at some point people are going to wake up and demand something be done" - but The Gipper was absolutely teflon coated. And now, of course, we know that he was probably in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease, and certainly wasn't competent.

Nixon wasn't particularly dumb. Crazy, yes. Dumb, no.

Bush surpasses them all. Every time I hear him trying to speak or see him mugging and mouthing and making faces like J. Fred Muggs, I cringe.

Contrasting the way he speaks and struggles to express himself now with those video clips from the Texas governor's race ten years back is really bone chilling. This man has gone downhill quickly, and is obviously losing intellectual capability fast.

[Zuni]

13. I think reagan was much smarter than Bush

He was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers when he was elected.

[Zuni]

19. Nixon was not dumb at all

in fact he was very intelligent.
But he was paranoid, vengeful and lacked morals.

[Zen Democrat]

12. By comparison, * makes Dan Quayle look like a rocket scientist.

[DireStrike]

16. Agreed... Quayle couldn't spell, but * can't even speak.

If * had spelled it potatoe, we woulda had a new way to spell potato.

Say it with me. NEW-KLEE-AR.

[Zuni]

14. Gerald Ford maybe

He was dumb. LBJ said 'Gerry Ford is so dumb he can't fart and chew gum at the same time."
LBJ was brilliant at domestic policy and pushing legislation through Congress.
Nixon was very intelligent but utterly immoral.
Carter was a very smart, deeply caring man who micromanaged the presidency too much to be to effective. But as far as being honest and moral, he was light years ahead of most.
Reagan was personally charismatic and as a person very likable. But his alzheimers was affecting him even in 1980---and as his presidency went on the neo cons took control of the white house while he drifted away in his own mind.
George Herbert Walker Bush was very bright, but like Nixon immoral.
Clinton was very bright, but faced the most hostile press and congress any president could imagine.

[steve2470]

28. but I remember back then that some journalist pointed out that

Gerald Ford had been a "B" student at Yale, I think. Was he "socially promoted" also, like * ?

[PurityOfEssence]

32. Ford was dumber, but he was/is a decent human being

LBJ also said that he'd been playing football too long without a helmet.

Ford was an honorable person, but was completely out of his depth; in many ways, he was Forrest Gump.

Carter, Nixon, Clinton, Kennedy and Johnson were smart. Ike was reasonably smart, but on a learning curve in the bloodsport of politics. Reagan was already senile, but of semi-moderate intelligence and a certain degree of industriousness. Bush I was a two-digit plodder and his son is an imbecile with a mean streak wider than the mighty Mississippi and twisted hatred and pettiness that drive his every action.

Whatever.

[WindRavenX]

18. Nixon was fucking insane...

...but was also extremely intelligent. His fault was that he was just insane and paranoid...

[Zuni]

20. His paranoia was intense

it got to the point where he felt the North Vietnamese were doing things to make him look bad. really.

[WindRavenX]

21. and didn't he think the Jews were out to get him?

I mean, from everything I read, he was just plain ol' BATTY! :crazy:

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Remember the lists

of subversives Nixon gathered? If you subscribed to certain magazines, you were on a list. If you belonged to certain clubs, you were on a list. He and Hoover spent more time compiling these lists. Nixon was crazy. But he was NOT stupid.

[Zuni]

40. In a way

he felt that the Jewish lobby was out to destroy his career. But he felt like that about a lot of groups of people. The Press, blacks, hippies etc.

[Strelnikov_]

22. Stupidest? Hard To Say. Most Inept, Incompetent? Without A Doubt

[Sara Beverley]

27. He is definitely a mental midget. Made his way through college by his

dad's name and money and position. We would be claiming the fraud of affirmative action if Bush were an African-American. We would be saying that he was unqualified (which he is) not the best choice (which he wasn't) and that he was a quota (from the imbicile group). It's just astounding to me that this man is President of the US. I still can't believe it. It's like a bad dream that has lasted far too long.

Bush was a "legacy appointment" in college and a "legacy appointment" to the WH.

[steve2470]

29. kick

kick

[Zen Democrat]

30. Descendants of Millard Fillmore must be ecstatic!

[MrTriumph]

31. Time to reconsider Ford & Eisenhower

Sure, it has been easy to belittle Ford & Eisenhower for not being the brightest. However, none of that disparagement approaches the venom heaped upon them by the Bushie/neo-cons. Having heard the Bushie/neo-con clap-trap that Ford & Eisenhower really weren't of their ilk (which is true to the presidents' credit) maybe we should cast a more favorable light on these two Republican presidents.

Bush is in a category all to himself.

[Zuni]

41. Eisenhower couldn't have been that dumb

He was the top guy organizing one of the largest military efforts in history.
He just got lazy in the 1950s.
Don't forget his farewell speech, where he warned of the military industrial complex.

[MrTriumph]

46. I agree absoolutely.

Thanks for making the point.

[elperromagico]

33. Clinton and LBJ were politically savvy (is, in Clinton's case),

and no modern President since FDR has worked Congress more capably than LBJ - of course, both FDR and JFK had solid Dem majorities.

Eisenhower's diaries reveal that he was far more intelligent than he sometimes revealed as president. Beneath that cheery, slightly dopey exterior was a very strong, in-command politician.

Kennedy, from what I've seen of his dealing with the Alabama segregation crisis and the Cuban missile crisis, is the classic Democratic executive - weighing out a variety of options, considering the possibilities, before making a decisive decision. Bush could learn from him. I think Kerry already has.

Nixon was highly intelligent and articulate. But he was undoubtedly the most paranoid person to ever occupy the White House.

Ford? He's not stupid, but I don't think he's getting any MENSA invites either.

Carter is brilliant, and honest to a fault - but like many brilliant people, he's stubborn as a mule. It may be why his presidency wasn't a massive triumph.

Reagan was a master of the presidential "image." I've never thought he was stupid - he had the actor's sense of timing, which is not gennerally inate, IMO.

Bush 41. Not dumb, but completely lacking in the ability to empathize.

[A Simple Game]

34. Carter's presidency wasn't a massive triumph

also had a lot to do with circumstances beyond his control(oil prices) and the start of republican dirty tricks.

edit to add: If Reagun hadn't discontinued many of Carter's energy programs, we might not be in the situation we are now regarding energy. My respect for Carter goes up a notch almost every time I hear about the things he does for this Country and humanity.

[elperromagico]

35. He was very good on energy policy, yes.

Also very good on human rights. I'm not saying he was a horrible President - he was dealt a bad hand in many ways - but he was not one of the greats.

[A Simple Game]

45. History will be kind to Carter.

[endnote]

38. Nixon was a really smart man, unlike Chimpy.

[steve2470]

44. kick

kick

[liberalpragmatist]

47. NIXON Wrote Tomes on Foreign Policy After Office

Despite my disgust with Nixon, he wasn't one-dimensional, he did some good things and, although I have no opinion on this, many close to him say he had a genuine desire to make the country a better place. The thing is, he was so egotistical, vindicative, and bitter that he belived only HE could save this country - almost a messianic type thing. Some have said it's almost Shakespearian.

Of course, I still depsite Nixon for the way he disgraced the office.

Even so, he was NOT dumb. He wrote tomes on foreign policy after leaving office.

Can you imagine Bush writing a book, let alone a scholarly book on policy?