The Worst President Ever?
The Nation
Mon Feb 20, 2006

The Nation -- In commemoration of President's Day, I dug up a December column by noted presidential biographer Richard Reeves entitled, "Is George Bush the Worst President--Ever?"

Turns out 415 historians were recently asked by George Mason University to answer that question. And 50 replied that yes, Bush was, while over 80 percent said that W was failing at his job.

Generally speaking, Reeves says James Buchanan, our 15th president, usually earns the worst ever distinction, as "a confused, indecisive president, who may have made the Civil War inevitable by trying to appease or negotiate with the South."

Taking a more modern view, The Nation wrote following Ronald Reagan's death:
Until the current occupant side-stepped into the White House, Reagan was the worst American leader since Herbert Hoover.

This debate, however, will likely not be settled for quite some time. As Reeves notes, there are other figures in the White House who deserve equal blame:

Many of the historians note that however bad Bush seems, they have indeed since worse men around the White House. Some say Buchanan. Many say Vice President Dick Cheney.

And that was before he shot a man in the face.

original page: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=61818
this page: http://www.radicalhippie.com/president/worst_president.htm