The American Presidents Ranked by Performance

by Charles F. Faber

What makes a good American president? The answers to this question have been sought by a variety of means since the very beginning of the presidency. Some contend that a foreign policy makes one superior to another, while others contend that certain personal qualities make a man best. Here America's presidents are rated using a system that evaluates their effectiveness in some of the most critical aspects of the Foreign Relations; Domestic Programs; Administration and Intergovernmental Relations; Leadership and Decision Making; and "Personal" Qualities. Each president is scored in his fulfillment of each aspect of the office, and analysis is provided for all the scores. The presidents are then ranked overall. The most overrated and underrated commanders in chief are also examined. The presidents are then analyzed individually, in chronological order, and each entry includes biographical and political information, as well as analysis of personal qualities. A bibliography and index are included.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2000

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in June 2012, this study represents the most recent attempt by scholars to rank U.S. Presidents by actual performance and includes the recent presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama while excluding the one month presidency of William Henry Harrison and the six months of James A. Garfield. The authors established positive and negative criteria for each of several areas of performance and assigned positive and negative point totals for each. The assessments of each category and the overall numerical tallies that result yielded some intriguing outcomes. While the most commonly acknowledged "greatest presidents" cited in past assessments (Lincoln, Washington and F.D. Roosevelt) continued to score well under Professor Faber's scheme, some presidents who had been described as "failures" (Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan and Martin Van Buren) scored surprisingly well. Ranking at the very bottom (41st among the 41 presidents rated) in both domestic and foreign policy, and next to last (40th above only Grant) in overall accomplishments is George W. Bush. Ronald Reagan is also down in the rankings below the likes of Tyler and Harding. Barack Obama generally ranks in the upper third (based on 3+ years in the White House) while Bill Clinton is in the middle ranges. - Although I happen to agree that the George W. Bush presidency was the single most destructive in American history, I can understand how this book may be open to criticism by scholars who fail to fully accept some of the criteria and methodology offered. This book is intriguing rather than convincing.