Best/Worst Presidents

[bouzane]

Marks said:

bouzane said:
Worst: Ronald Reagan

+ Staunch environmentalist
- Massive deficit spending
- Staggering unemployment rates (10%+)
- One of the greatest sponsors of terrorism ever
- Support for NASA and commercial space exploration proved rhetorical
- Opposed segregation of Church and State
- Escalated the War on Drugs
- Counter productive Immigration Reform and Control Act

Such a mind blowingly, god awful president in almost every way imaginable. I was going to name Bill Clinton as the best but a bit of research has lessened my respect for him.

+ Cut taxes from an astromical 70% down to a still too high but much more reasonable 28%

+ Raised goverment revenues from $244 billion in 1980 to $446 billion in 1989

+ Increased GDP by 36% during his presidency

+ Environmentalism, as you mentioned

+ Ended the cold war, Berlin Wall taken down

- Pointless/expensive war on drugs

- Increased deficit ($994 billion -> $2.9 trillion)

- Added more trade barriers

- Increased poverty (12% -> 15%) and unemployment (7% -> 11%)

 

I'm torn whether or not he was good. I like the tax cuts and environmentalism but the deficit spending, war on drugs and higher unemployment really hurts. 

Mikhail Gorbachev ended the Cold War, all Reagan did was continue the Carter Doctrine. Now look what we have as a result, several well funded terrorist organizations that we continue to fight to this very day. To me, that was a huge strike against him. Also, his economic track record would have been mixed even if you did not factor in the staggering increase in debt. Truly the beginning of the end for the once mighty nation.

 

Edit: The Cold War never really ended. The wars in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan are all relics of that era and tensions with Russia are on the rise as they modernize their military and assert themselves on the world stage once more.