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.
I was dismayed by the "America's Worst Presidents" cover and the headline associated with it. To label any of our presidents as "America's Worst" or "our most dismal commanders in chief" is at best disappointing. All these men served their country to the best of their abilities. I applaud their efforts and respect the office of the President of the United States of America.
CLYDE W. ZIEGLER
Frisco, Texas
The Ailing Amazon
If Brazilian President Luiz InÃÂácio Lula da Silva is successful in transforming the entire Amazon forest into a cattle ranch and desert, such a disastrous change will alter climate and rainfall patterns in both North America and Europe, causing much misery and suffering to people worldwide ["Whither the World's Last Forest?" February 12]. Unfortunately, Lula is succeeding despite safeguards on Amazonian development in the Brazilian Constitution. The central question remains unanswered: What is the extent of the protected Indian territories that expansion could affect? If Amazonian Indians can petition the international court in The Hague to arbitrate this dispute, then perhaps that remains the last hope for rescuing what's left of the world's greatest forest.
CLIFTON WELLMAN
Elmhurst, N.Y.
Wavering Over Weather
Congress finally starts to talk seriously about cutting global warming and pollution, and the nation gets socked with ice and snow ["Snow, Ice, and Bracing Cold," February 19]. Ironic, as you suggest? Hardly. No one should draw conclusions about the climate from any individual weather events. And long-term climate trends point to more precipitation for the northern half of the United States. Warmer air, combined with rising ocean and lake temperatures, is leading to more intense winter precipitation in the Northeast. And the warming of the Great Lakes has generated more rain and snow as warmer air directly over the lakes meets the colder winter air above. Global warming isn't just driving temperatures up in summer. It's changing background conditions for weather all year round.
BRENDA EKWURZEL
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington, D.C.
This story appears in the March 19, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.