Of Polls and Presidents
I must object to "The 10 Worst Presidents" [February 26] article featuring not one but two photographs of Richard Nixon. Watergate was a juvenile prank compared with the performance of other presidents. What about Dwight Eisenhower, our golf-playing, do-nothing president for eight long years? How about Ronald Reagan's economic disasters and inability to remember significant details when called before Congress? We can leave George W. Bush's harm to the economy and tarnishing the nation's world image to future generations as suggested. If he wants to be remembered as a wartime president, he will be.
HELEN ROBERTS
Napa, Calif.
The worst president was Woodrow Wilson. He created the Federal Reserve, which contributed to the Great Depression as described by Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman. Wilson also created the modern federal income tax, which, along with the Federal Reserve, provided funds for easily entering war after war. In 1917, after our World War I opponents in Europe had exhausted themselves and would likely have come to the table to negotiate, Wilson took us into war, saying: "The world must be made safe for democracy."
ARTHUR L. RUOFF
Ithaca, N.Y.
By your own admission, reasonable people wouldn't have William Henry Harrison on any list at all except for shortest term in office. The guy spent all 30 days of his presidency on his deathbed, so who knows if he would have been a poor or a great president? A long-winded inauguration speech is hardly an excuse to drop him into the lowest tier.
TONY VENTURATO
Hyde Park, Utah
It wasn't hard to grasp the thinking behind the worst presidents cover. The list might have also included Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and Ronald Reagan, among others. But their faults are nothing compared with those of the current commander in chief.
CHARLES WALNUT
Barnegat Light, N.J.
Perhaps your cover story should have been named "America's Worst Deceased Presidents" because a president who is still with us qualifies: Jimmy Carter. During his single term, I remember out-of-control inflation, gas lines, his dismantling of the military, the Iranian attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and the blundered rescue attempt that followed.
STEVE WILSON
Cambridge, Md.
You mentioned one characterization of failed presidents is "passivity or inaction in the face of great historical challenges." Do the years 1993 to 2001 ring a bell? Despite his gregarious personality, Bill Clinton dithered indecisively during numerous attacks on United States embassies, a warship, and military barracks that culminated in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Historically, I believe the Clinton presidency will become infamous for the magnitude of its irresponsibility.
SCOTT ANDERSON
Green Valley, Ariz.
Surely, if your article had included both living and deceased presidents, Bush, the current incumbent, should have rated near No. 1 on that illustrious list. Richard Nixon, for all his faults, was head and shoulders above President Bush in foreign affairs. At least Presidents Andrew Johnson, Grant, and Hoover had some accomplishments to their credit before moving into the White House.
ALFRED T. MILES
Heathsville, Va.
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