Political Quotes of the Year: 2015

Quote of the Year: "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they dorespect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find itsfulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.
-Anthony Kennedy in Obergefell v Hodges (2015)

Quote of the Year (runner up): "To me, especially in the Northeast, confronting my white privilege is going to the tanning salon."
-Katie Pavlich

Reality Check: "On the world stage, I think [Obama's accomplishments] have been minimal. But on the world stage, just to be objective about it, I can't think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than when he took over."
-Jimmy Carter

And the rest...
"Congratulations to the president for turning a two year recession into a six year one."
-Kimberly Gilfoyle

“To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country.”
-Joe Biden

“I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America."
-Rudy Giuliani

"Poor people have been voting Democratic for 50 years, and they're still poor."
-Charles Barkley

"What I dream is that for one election ... every black person in America vote Republican."
-Stephen A Smith

"Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President."
-John McCain

"we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well."
-Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

"There is a liberal fascism that is dedicated to going after believing Christians who follow the biblical teaching on marriage."
-Ted Cruz

“If Sue loves Joe and Tom loves Joe, Sue can marry Joe but Tom cannot,  why isn’t that a straightforward case of sexual discrimination?”
-John Roberts

“When will the media ask @BarackObama & @HillaryClinton key question for 2016- Knowing what we know now, would you still have abandoned Iraq?”
-Liz Cheney

"Let's be honest: Some black lives really don't matter. If you are a young black man shot in the head by another young black man, almost certainly no one will know your name. Al Sharpton won't come rushing to your family's side with cameras in tow. MSNBC won't discuss the significance of your death. No one will protest, or even riot, for you. You are a statistic, not a cause. Just another dead black kid, politically useless to progressives and the media, therefore all but invisible."
-Rich Lowry

"I won't be the youngest president, but with your help I'll be the youngest female president."
-Hillary Clinton

"Racism, we are not cured of it. And it's not just a matter of it not being
polite to say [n-word] in public."
-Barack Obama

“We should start calling this law SCOTUScare."
-Antonin Scalia on King v Burwell (2015)

"The Iran deal will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.”
-Mike Huckabee
"What a stunning historic mistake!"
-Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iran nuclear deal

"What is the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist?"
-Chris Matthews

“She counts on the fact that people are uninformed. The Alinsky model, taking advantage of useful idiots.”
-Ben Carson

“I think God has blessed us, he’s blessed the Republican Party with some very good candidates. The Democrats can’t even find one.”
-Marco Rubio

"The darkness from a decade ago has lifted, the Crescent City has risen again, and its best days lie ahead."
-George W Bush

“We don’t need an apprentice in the White House. We have one right now.”
-Scott Walker

"LGBT community (GGGG) are like the gay white KKK's. Get them some pink hoods and unicorns and let them rally down rodeo drive."
-Azealia Banks

"If you vote to send billions of dollars to jihadists who have pledged to bear direct responsibility to murder Americans, then you bear direct responsibility for the murders carried out with the dollars you have given them. You cannot wash your hands of that blood."
-Ted Cruz on the Iran deal

“Seventy years after the murder of 6 million Jews, Iran’s rulers promise to destroy my country, murder my people, and the response from this body, the response from nearly every one of the governments represented here has been absolutely nothing. Utter silence. Deafening silence.” .
-Benjamin Netanyahu

"We Live in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter"
-Charles Krauthammer

“I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone.”
- Hillary Clinton

“You can tell the Egyptian prime minister it’s a terrorist attack, but you can’t tell your own people?”
-Jim Jordan to Hillary Clinton

"I’ve got a lot of really cool things I could do other than sit around, being miserable, listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them. That is a joke. Elect Trump if you want that."
-Jeb Bush

"Hillary is running for a lot of reasons—one of ‘em is because she wants to stay out of jail."
-Donald Trump

"Why can't we take out these bastards?"
-Reporter to Obama

"She's killed hundreds of thousands of people with her stupidity."
-Donald Trump on Hillary

"This president won't be the same feckless weakling that we have in the Oval Office right now."
-Chris Christie

"Hillary Clinton has announced that she is letting her husband out to campaign but HE'S DEMONSTRATED A PENCHANT FOR SEXISM, so inappropriate."
-Donald Trump

“She was favored to win and she got schlonged."
-Donald Trump

Quotes of the Month: August 2015

Quote of the Month: “Don’t cry.”

-Rhonda Rousey to Bethe Correia after knocking her out

Stupid Quote of the Month: "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever."

-Donald Trump on Megyn Kelly

And the rest...
"Some people think it's a genius album, but I think it's a mishmash of rubbish, kind of like '(Their) Satanic Majesties.'”
-Keith Richards on Sgt. Pepper's

“I’m the only one to separate Siamese twins.”
-Ben Carson

“She counts on the fact that people are uninformed. The Alinsky model, taking advantage of useful idiots.”
-Ben Carson

“I think God has blessed us, he’s blessed the Republican Party with some very good candidates. The Democrats can’t even find one.”
-Marco Rubio

“I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes.”
-Jimmy Carter on his cancer diagnosis

"Just in case y'all not going to decide to do the right thing, if y'all got a crew, you got to have a fall guy in the crew."
-Chris Carter

"The darkness from a decade ago has lifted, the Crescent City has risen again, and its best days lie ahead."
-George W Bush

Quotes of the Month: July 2015

Quote of the Month:
"A Cespedis for the rest of us"?
-Jerry Seinfeld

Stupid Quote of the Month:
"I like people that weren't captured."
-Donald Trump






And the rest...
"On the world stage, I think [Obama's accomplishments] have been minimal. But on the world stage, just to be objective about it, I can't think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than when he took over."
-Jimmy Carter

"I felt like I was in a period-piece sometimes. Because I could hear echoes or
sensations of Connery or of Roger, which I didn't try to censor; I'd just allow
them to come in."
-Pierce Brosnan

"This issue is not really an issue that is on the foremost mind of Kenyans and that is a fact."
-Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta after Obama embarrassed himself with a lecture on gay rights
"The Iran deal will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.”
-Mike Huckabee

What a stunning historic mistake!"
-Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iran nuclear deal

"What is the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist?"
-Chris Matthews

Quotes of the Month: November 2013

Quotes of the Month: “This is not a historic agreement, it’s a historic mistake.”

-Benjamin Netanyahu

And

"The only thing the HOF will let me in for is to use the restroom."

-Todd Jones

Dumb Quotes of the Month:

"It's fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who -- all of a sudden -- their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary."

-Arne Duncan

And

"Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago."

-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on when he tried crack cocaine.

And the rest…

“He’s done the best he could under the circumstances. His major accomplishment was Obamacare, and the implementation of it now is questionable at best.”

-Jimmy Carter

"I know tonight, a dispirited America, angry with their dysfunctional government in Washington, looks to New Jersey to say,'Is what I think happening really happening? Are people really coming together. Are we really working, African-Americans and Hispanics, suburbanites and city dwellers, farmers and teachers. Are we really all working together.' Let me give the answer to everyone who is watching tonight: Under this government our first job is to get the job done and as long as I'm governor that job will always, always be finished."

-Chris Christie

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me."

-Barack Obama

"Honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they got."

-Bill Clinton to Barack Obama

“Certain situations we just got outplayed, ……….and outcoached.”

-Ed Reed

"It is a rolling calamity that must be scrapped." 

-John Boehner

"I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security."

Pope Francis I

Quotes of the Month: May 2012

Quote of the Month:
"You came home and were
 sometimes denigrated when you should have been celebrated. It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened."

-Barack Obama to Vietnam Vets on Memorial Day

Stupid Quote of the Month:

“I was trying to hit him.”

-Cole Hamels after hitting Bryce Harper

Insult of the Month:

“Barack Obama is an amateur.”

-Bill Clinton
　

“Even Jimmy Carter would have killed Bin Laden.”

-Mitt Romney

“Forward, what, over a cliff?”

-Mitt Romney on Barack Obama’s new slogan

"I'm coming back. Write it down in big letters. I'm not going out like this."

-Mariano Rivera

"I spend my off days the way I want to spend them."

- Josh Beckett

“Loyalty doesn’t exist in politics.”

-Bill Clinton

“I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

-Barack Obama

“I am motivated to get back quickly and see to it personally those people never walk down Broad Street in celebration again."

-Jason Werth on Philadelphia fans

"I feel ... uncomfortable about the word hero because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war."

-Chris Hayes MSNBC Host dissing vets

Presidential Songs: Jimmy Carter

People questioned whether the government could be competent and honest. Well, Jimmy Carter says yes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h874BPSnbWc

Of course the song that best fits the Carter years is by Gloria Gaynor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I

Quotes of the Month: September 2010

Quote of the Month: "We went to a movie and then had a little midnight picnic on a satanic altar."


-Christine O’Donnell

Dumb Quote of the Month #1: "Long before America was even an idea, this land of plenty was home to many peoples. The British and French, the Dutch and Spanish, to Mexicans, to countless Indian tribes. We all shared the same land,"

-Barack Obama (Mexico became a nation in 1821. The United States formed in 1776).

Dumb Quote of the Month #2: "He's been out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day-care facilities, building health-care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. He's made their lives better."

-Patty Murray on Osama bin Laden

And the rest:

“They talk about me like a dog.”

-Barack Obama

“Hey, Castro came out against anti-Semitism. I'm putting on my snowsuit and booking the flight to Hell.”

-Jason Alexander

"The time I stand up here blaming the officials for a loss is the time I don't have to do this anymore."

-Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz

“We just sucked.”

-Tom Brady on a loss to the Jets

"The United States administrations must recognize Iran is a big power.”

-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

“We in the Senate refer to Sen. Gillibrand as the hottest member.”

-Harry Reid

“I feel that my role as a former president is probably superior to that of other presidents'.

-Jimmy Carter

"It was his fault. Ted Kennedy killed the bill."

-Jimmy Carter on why he did not pass National Health Care

"Catching Boehner with a mistress is the only way to destroy him politically before the election."

-anonymous source from the NY Times

"I don't want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, then sliced by a Guatemalan and served by a Venezuelan in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian."

-Stephen Colbert

Presidential Legacies: 1969-1989

The Johnson Administration’s folly in Vietnam led to Republican Executive Branch dominance for the remainder of the century. The Cold War continued and the Republicans were enlisted to end it and fix an economy damaged by the Great Society. The presidents between 1969 and 1989 battled recession and Russians. In the end, both were conquered.

Richard Nixon benefited politically from Lyndon Johnson’s downfall. His political career was dead. However, he worked hard in 1966 and became the Republican nominee in 1968. Once in office, Nixon worked to thaw the Cold War and end the Vietnam conflict. It took almost four years for the Vietnam War to end. The North Vietnamese refused to negotiate in good faith through much of Nixon’s first term. They finally came around when it appeared he would be re-elected.

The war’s end coincided with two major Nixon diplomatic coups. He became the first president to go to China. This opened China to the United States, set in motion their economic renaissance, and isolated the Soviet Union. The Russians felt threatened and isolated by the U.S. and China. As a result, they welcomed Nixon’s diplomatic overtures. Détente has been criticized by the right, but there was no way for Nixon to know that the Soviet Union would collapse in his lifetime.

While Nixon was racking up the accomplishments, his administration became immersed in the Watergate Scandal. Basically, a group of White House operatives broke into and bugged Democratic Headquarters. The Johnson Administration bugged the Nixon Campaign, so this was nothing new. However, word of the break-in made it into the papers. Nixon made the mistake of attempting to cover it up. He should have fired those involved immediately and claimed ignorance. Instead, he waged war on the press. Events steam rolled and he was forced to resign.

Gerald Ford took over for Nixon. Initially, Ford was very popular. However, he pardoned Nixon and that popularity collapsed. The president from Michigan decided it was best to get beyond the Watergate Scandal. He wanted the country to heal and move forward. Ford did not want to put the country through the agony of a trial. Additionally, Nixon’s health declined dramatically and some worried the former president would not survive a trial. So, Ford pardoned Nixon and that cost him the election of 1976.

Ford lost to Jimmy Carter. Carter was an inexperienced nobody in 1975. In 1977, he was president. Carter’s tenure was marked by disaster. He refused to work with Congressional Democrats. Carter did not see much of a difference between them and Nixon. Then, the economy collapsed. Unemployment and inflation each hit double digits. The country’s confidence was gone. On July 15, 1979, Carter went on national television and chewed out the country. Carter called it a “crisis of confidence.” However, Carter’s tone was that of a fire-and-brimstone preacher and it fell flat. At the end of the year, Iran kidnapped 52 Americans and held them hostage. This paralyzed the Carter Administration even further. The economy and Iran Hostage Crisis cost Carter the White House.

Carter left America searching for a white knight. Ronald Reagan literally came out of central casting. Reagan won two massive electoral victories. Upon taking office, it appeared his economic policy was D.O.A. Then, John Hinkley Jr. tried to kill him in an effort to impress Jodie Foster. Hinkley failed on both accounts. This was a turning point. Reagan got his economic policies through congress. The economy continued to struggle for a time before exploding. By 1984, it was “Morning in America.” In his first term, the economy turned around. In his second term, he would face down the Russians.

During his first term, Reagan had little diplomatic contact with the Soviets. The Soviet leaders kept dying. Additionally, the Russians had been trying to expand in a fashion similar to the Nazis before World War II. By the early eighties, the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan, declared martial law in Poland, and stepped up their proxy wars against American allies. People questioned whether democracy could survive. In response, Reagan began a massive arms buildup. The plan was to outspend the Russians. He succeeded.

By 1985, the Soviet economy was strained. By 1989, it had completely collapsed. The Soviets had overextended and now had to try and keep up with the American arms buildup. The Reagan arms buildup was only part of the reason. The other factor was the new Soviet Premier, Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev attempted to reform the Soviet economy. He did not want to end communism. However, socialism is failed economic theory. Under Gorbachev's socialist reforms, the Soviet economy, and with it the military, collapsed. The Soviet Union itself ceased to exist in 1991.

In 1989, it looked like anything was possible. Communism was collapsing around the world. Dictatorships were on the wane. The world economy was expanding. Freedom was expanding. Would things continue to improve and would mankind enter into some new enlightened phase or would mankind blow it?

Obama Learns From Others

Barack Obama learns from history. He obviously looked at the last two Democratic Administrations and was determined not to follow their mistakes. Carter and Clinton can both be described as failed administrations for different reasons. Carter refused to play nice with his own party. Clinton made several tactical errors in 1993 and 1994 which negated much of his legislative program and led to the Republican Revolution. Obama is determined to avoid such errors.

Carter came to Washington as the white knight aboard his high horse. He treated Congressional Democrats with contempt as they were the establishment. Carter was anti-establishment and would not play the game. He ended up angering his own party and Ted Kennedy challenged him in 1980 for the presidential nomination. Barack Obama plays nice with his party has a good relationship with congress. If they balk at his program, Rahm Emmanuel is there to mail dead fish to dissenters. Things may be moving too slow for Obama, but that is Washington and he understands that.

Unlike Carter, Clinton had good relations with the Democratic Congress. However, he decided to tackle social issues like gays in the military upon taking office. He ended up off message and reaffirming the belief that he was another out of touch liberal. Unlike Clinton, Obama has avoided social issues much to the chagrin of gay marriage advocates.

Clinton struggled to stay on message in the early days, but eventually put forth his legislative program. However, people did not like that program and revolted. The best example is Hillarycare. Clinton gave his opponents time to read the bill and it frightened people. Opposition formed and it was defeated. Obama is determined to avoid a Hillarycare rerun. The Democrats have changed their strategy and now ram through potentially controversial legislation before anyone can read it. Obama won't even post bills online as he promised.

Obama has learned from history. That means his legislative program has a good chance of passing. Success may end up Obama's Achilles heel. Ridiculous deficits and policies formulated in the 19th century will be Obama's undoing.

Presidential Legacies: The Next Generation 1825-1849

As the Founders' generation died off, people were leery of the next generation. Could America stay America without the Founding Fathers around to guide them? Here's the next generation of presidents starting literally with the next generation asJohn Quincy Adams takes office.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829): Adams came into office under a cloud. The 1824 election was thrown to the House of Representatives. Adams won with the help of Henry Clay. Although no candidate won a majority of votes, Adams won less than Andrew Jackson. As a result, Adams felt he could not initiate any major policies since he did not think he had a big enough mandate and faced a very hostile Jacksonian Congress. Adams had no real accomplishments as president. George W. Bush used Adams as the example of what not to do in 2001. Bush decided to go after tax cuts, education reform, and a prescription drug benefit as opposed to sitting around like Adams. President Adams real legacy came after leaving office. Although, he was an accomplished diplomat, negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, the purchase of Florida, and the Monroe Doctrine, Adams should be remembered for his war on slavery. John Quincy Adams was the best ex-president in U.S. history.

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837): Jackson created the modern presidency. His detractors called him "King Andrew." Jackson vetoed more bills than any president to that point. He launched a war on the Bank of the United States and killed it. When South Carolina threatened to leave the union, Jackson threatened to destroy them. He also removed Native Americans from Georgia in violation of a court order. Jackson dramatically expanded executive power like no one before.

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841): Van Buren considered the presidency his reward for years of hard work. He worked his way up and helped form the modern Democratic Party. He maneuvered himself into the Vice Presidency by ingratiating himself with Jackson. Once he moved into the White House, he was as paralyzed by events as Jimmy Carter 140 years later. A major depression, sectional strife, and an inept chief executive marked Van Buren's stewardship. As a result, people began calling him "Martin Van Ruin" with the same contempt people in the 1930s appropriated Herbert Hoover's name for all things poverty.

William Henry Harrison (1841): Harrison ran the first modern presidential campaign complete with songs, spin, modern packaging of candidates, and a catchy slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Once elected, Harrison gave a ridiculously long speech in bad weather, caught pneumonia, and died one month later.

John Tyler (1841-1845): Virginian John Tyler was added to the 1840 ticket for regional balance. Although Harrison was a Whig, Tyler was a Jacksonian Democrat. This was strange since Whigs and Democrats were opposites on important economic issues. However, no Vice President had ever become President and they were supposed to disappear into a black hole for four years. Harrison's death created a crisis. Who's president? Tyler assumed the office himself and asserted the right of all Vice Presidents to become President when the Chief Executive dies. Additionally, Tyler opposed his new party's programs and began vetoing their legislation. He was evicted from the Whigs and the Democrats refused to have him back. He became a man without a party. The Tyler Years demonstrate the importance of having a president and vice president on the same page ideologically. After leaving office, Tyler supported the Confederacy during the Civil War.

James K. Polk (1845-1849): Polk took the U.S. to War with Mexico. Polk attempted to bully the Mexicans into surrendering California and the American Southwest. They refused and attacked American troops at the Texas border. The United States won the war handily and conquered all or part of California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. This made up 42% of Mexico at the time.

Media Bias: 1963-1980

The press loved Massachusetts aristocrat John Kennedy. When he died and was replaced by a (gasp) Texan, it was yet another politician without the right pedigree. As a Texan, Johnson was another outsider. He was a pretender to the throne and a vulgar man. He had a ranch. LBJ was everything the press hated. They turned on him the first chance they had. The press even printed pictures of LBJ holding his dog up by its ears. It reaffirmed their image of Johnson as a vile and uncultured man. In 1964, the press pulled for the Republican Rockefeller. However, the GOP nominated Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was worse than Johnson, so they went after him with full fury. Goldwater lost and then the press went back to criticizing Johnson. When Georgetown burned during the urban uprisings, someone told LBJ that Georgetown was on fire. Many press insiders lived there. Johnson's responded "I've waited 35 years to hear that!" The press helped drive him from office.

They also helped drive Richard Nixon from office. Had Nixon been an insider, they would have ignored Watergate. But, Nixon defeated good establishment liberals in his run for the house, the senate, and the presidency. He also brought down Alger Hiss. What drove them the craziest was his use of media to get his message across. Whether it was the “Silent Majority” speech or the trip to China, Nixon used the press images for favorable coverage while reporters seethed. The press never forgave him for that.

Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, came from Michigan. He even graduated from the University of Michigan. The press accepted him at first, but quickly went after him. Ford pardoned Nixon to get Watergate behind the country. The press began to work to undermine his presidency. They portrayed Ford as dimwitted and clumsy. Press coverage of Gerald Ford can be summed up with the headline: Ford to City: Drop Dead.

The press sided with Ford’s opponent, Jimmy Carter, in 1976. Carter was not Nixon. He was also a feel good story. The press played up Carter and attacked Ford (Ford did help doom himself with a debate gaffe). Carter made some silly mistakes in the press when he admitted he lusted in his eyes, saw a UFO, and by claiming to have been attacked by a killer rabbit (not making this up). Carter’s novelty disappeared quickly. The press enjoyed making Carter’s brother look like a fool. When all was said and done, Carter was another outsider. He was from Georgia. The press hoped he’d be one of them, but he wasn’t. The press did not rally to him until Ronald Reagan became the Republican Nominee.

The New Right scared the press. They were the ultimate outsiders. These Goldwater-ites were everything the press was not. They were not East Coast. They were not Ivy League. They were not Elites. They distrusted government. They distrusted power. They distrusted liberalism. The press pumped the candidacy of George H.W. Bush. Bush failed. Reagan won the GOP nod. They attacked Reagan as dumb, unsophisticated, and simple. They claimed he’d start World War III and civilization would end with a Reagan Presidency. The press went nuts. Then, Reagan won. The Reagan Revolution changed the dynamic. The press changed its tone and went after Republicans and gave Democrats a free ride. The GOP epicenter was no longer the East Coast. It had moved to the heartland while the Democratic epicenter remained elitist. The press sided with the East Coast while the GOP sided with the heartland and the blue collar voter.

The Failures

Here is the final installment on the presidents. This final list includes the seven presidential failures including the reason for their inclusion on the list. They are ordered chronologically.

1. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857): Pierce got run down and pushed around by Stephen Douglas when leadership was needed most. He supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act which led to a civil war within the state of Kansas. He could not deal with that crisis and was denied renomination. Kansas-Nebraska helped lead to the Civil War. Pierce retired to a life of alcoholism.

2. James Buchanan (1857-1861): Buchanan was the worst of them all. He was unrepentantly pro-Southern. Buchanan pushed for the Dred Scott decision, the Lecompton Constitution in Kansas, and even thought about attacking the Mormons in Utah to unite the country. When South Carolina left the Union, he did nothing.

3. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869): Johnson did everything he could to block Reconstruction. He did nothing to help the freedmen in the South. Eventually, he was impeached, but acquitted. Johnson would later become Senator from Tennessee.

4. Warren Harding (1921-1923): The first Clinton Administration. Harding's Administration was rife with scandal and devoid of achievements. The Teapot Dome scandal is still one of the greatest scandals in history. On the plus side, he did work for arms limitation and supported Blacks in the South.

5. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933): The Great Depression was not his fault. It struck in his seventh month in office. However, Hoover could not solve the country's woes. Ironically, he was the best man for the job having worked on European relief during World War I. Hoover raised taxes and tariffs which made things worse. Hoover did try an unprecedented governmental aid program, but most people do not know this because FDR's New Deal dwarfed it. (FDR did not end the Depression either). The government has never fixed an economic downturn. In 1932, a group of World War I vets marched on Washington asking for their war bonus early. The army rolled in the tanks. It was an American Tiananmen Square and an exclamation mark on the Hoover years.

6. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981): No man has ever been less qualified for office (unless Obama wins in 2008). Carter's policies made an economic slowdown worse and led to the misery index (inflation rate + unemployment rate= Misery Index). While in office, Iran took 52 Americans hostage and Carter looked weak and incompetent. On top of this, gas prices went through the roof as did unemployment and inflation. People have been saying the economy today is the worst since the Depression. This is wrong. It is the worst since Jimmy Carter. On top of this, Carter had a super majority in the Congress. He refused to work with them even when Tip O'Neill promised to help pass anything Carter wanted. Carter was defeated in a landslide by Ronald Reagan.

7. Bill Clinton (1993-2001): Clinton set the record for most scandals. He pushed Fannie and Freddie to make risky loans which collapsed the economy. When offered Osama Bin Laden by the Sudan, he refused. When he could have whacked Bin Laden with a missile strike, he refused. Clinton also gave us Monica and was impeached.

Revolution!!!

Jimmy Carter was a failure. He had the worst presidency since James Buchanan (1857-1861). Inflation and unemployment combined to make the "misery index." The misery index was around 25%. He was challenged by Ted Kennedy for the nomination. This challenge wounded Carter as Reagan's challenge wounded Ford in 1976. On top of this, Carter looked weak as Iran kidnapped 52 Americans and held them for 444 days. They would not be released until Carter left office.
Carter's challenger was the former governor of California. Ronald Reagan had led an insurrection against the Republican establishment. He stood for small government and lower taxes. His personal charisma and message was formidable and Carter knew he was in trouble. As a result, the Democrats attempted to paint Reagan as a warmonger as they did to Barry Goldwater in 1964. They failed. Reagan's charm and Carter's incompetence overcame any misgivings people had. When a rescue mission to free the hostages in Iran crashed in the desert killing the rescuers, Carter was toast. Reagan won in a landslide.
Four years later, Carter's Vice President, Walter Mondale, won the Democratic nomination and promised to raise taxes. Mondale's running mate was the first woman to run on a major party ticket. Unfortunately, Geraldine Ferraro's husband had IRS issues and was rumored to be tied to organized crime. Reagan was personally popular and the economy was the strongest peace time economy in history. Reagan won in the mother of all landslides. He won 49 states. The key moment came during the debates. Reagan looked old and lost in the first debate, but in the second debate, he was on fire. When the age issue arose, Reagan said he would not exploit Mondale's youth and inexperience for political gain. The election ended that night.
Reagan would serve two full terms and is now considered a near-great or even a great president by Republicans and Democrats (albeit begrudgingly) alike. He led a revolution that reverberates to this day and has led at least one imminent liberal historian to dub the era, "The Age of Reagan." Jimmy Carter is still alive, formed Habitat for Humanity, and has recently lost his mind. Walter Mondale is no longer with us.

The Man from Georgia: 1976

The Republican Party was in tatters. Watergate decimated the G.O.P. Although personally honest and likeable, President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon had amplified voter anger. On top of this, the right wing had decided to make its move. Ronald Reagan launched an insurgency that cut into Ford even further. On top of all this, Ford had been appointed to the Vice-Presidency and ascended to the Oval Office upon Nixon's resignation. So, he was not elected to either of the top two offices.
The Democrats were delighted and looked forward to recapturing the White House. They nominated Jimmy Carter. Carter was a one term governor of Georgia and former peanut farmer. Carter ran as an outsider that would clean up Washington and jumped to a 33 point lead in the polls.
Despite his immense lead, Carter made several mistakes that brought him back to Earth. Carter remained vague on the issues and Ford hammered him for his inexperience. Additionally, Carter's mother gave an interview with Playboy that was less than complimentary to the candidate.
Despite Carter's problems, Ford made the biggest gaffe of all during a debate. In it, he claimed the Soviet Union did not dominate Eastern Europe. Carter responded, "Tell that to the Poles." Ford failed to retract the blunder and it reinforced the media's image of him as dumb. It also brought up visions of a shifty Nixon.
On election day, Carter pulled out a narrow victory 50-48%. The electoral college was 297-240. Carter would go on to be the worst president since James Buchanan. He'd even get attacked by a rabbit. Ford would go golfing. Ronald Reagan would lead a revolution that would redefine the terms of debate in American politics to this day.