10 Worst Presidential moments
A story today talked about the presentation of the ten "worst Presidential moments". This was announced at a conference of presidential scholars, which was held at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center. They listed these moments as:
- President James Buchanan's failure to do more to prevent the secession of the southern states during his Presidency in the 1850s.
- President Andrew Johnson's post-Civil War decision to side with southern whites and not push for efforts to improve civil rights for freed slaves.
- President Lyndon Johnson's allowing the Vietnam War to escalate (neither President Johnsons had much luck in office - strange).
- President Wilson's refusal to compromise on the Treaty of Versailles after World War I.
- President Nixon's Watergate cover-up.
- President Madison's inability to keep the US out of war with Britain, leading to the War of 1812.
- President Jefferson's self-imposed embargo of European trade in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars.
- President Kennedy allowing the Bay of Pigs invasion attempt, for fueling escalation which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- President Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair (I always felt he was trapped, and would've taken a lot of criticism had he NOT pursued efforts to trade arms for the American hostages).
- Last but not least ... Clinton and Lewinsky.
I'd also bump Watergate up...
Buchanan's failure is a tough one to put that high; the states were going to do what they were going to do with or without Buck's involvement. Also tough to list Wilson's refusal to compromise, since he had suffered a stroke and was pretty much unable to speak... Listing Madison's "inability to keep the US out of war with Britain" is absurd.
so, my list:
1. Watergate
2. Jackson's post Civil War...
3. Vietnam
4. Bay of Pigs
5. Lewinsky/Bosnia/Sudan aspirin factory bombing
6. Clinton's allowance of nuclear weapons technology to go to China, while North Korea was unsuccesssfully bribed to put aside their nuclear ambitions
7. Clinton's refusal to take custody of Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, allowing the Cole, barracks and 9/11 attacks.
8. Jefferson's Euro-bargo
9. Buchanan's failure
10. Iran-Contra
2. Reagan's Iran-Contra
3. Bush allowing 911 to happen on his watch.
4. Bush not capturing Osama bin Laden
5. Ike's disregard and modest apathy as American screenwriters were pursued as Communists (Reds)
6. Clinton's inability to come forward addressing his infidelity instead of allowing the 74 Anti-Terrorist FBI agents to focus on preventing attacks instead of investigating his bedroom antics.
7. Reagannomics which took 20 years to pay off.
8. George W. Bush creating an even larger deficit.
9. Madison for allowing the Red Coats to burn the White House.
10. Gerald Ford for pardoning all of the crooks, except G.Gordon Liddy, involved in the Watergate hotel incident.
Keep it up!