Worst President Ever?

George W. Bush

George W. Bush makes a case for 'worst president in history' that may be hard to challenge

If outgoing president George W. Bush hasn’t been worried about how history will view his two terms in office, he should start now. Pundits and prognosticators are already suggesting him as poster boy for worst president in history.

That’s no mean feat. Former presidents have made some colossal blunders. James Buchanan, president from 1857-1861, tops many previous “worst” lists, both by learned historians and the public at large. His big boo-boo was his policy of appeasement toward the pro-slavery lobby, which encouraged the South to secede from the Union, leading to the Civil War.

Warren G. Harding, president from 1921-1923, is another contender for worst of the worst. The rap against Harding is that he was indecisive “while his friends plundered the U.S. treasury,” according to a U.S. News report that averaged the results of five separate polls. Ironically, Harding was very popular with the general population while in office. (No worries there for the current president, who enjoys one of the lowest approval ratings in history.)

Andrew Johnson, whose tenure lasted from 1865-1860, barely survived impeachment “after opposing Reconstruction initiatives including the 14th Amendment,” which grants equal protection to all citizens. This bad call demands immediate entrée to the “list.”

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