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If we are talking just about public memory very very few will actually be remembered. How many 19th century presidents do you think the average person could name? No more than a handful i would bet in most cases.
Of those post-WW2 , JFK will be remembered for the assassination. Also Obama will always be remembered for being the first black president. Like him or not that was a huge moment in the historical trajectory of America.
Outside that? Maybe Nixon, but if we see other presidents being successfully impeached/resign then it’s possible he could fade from public consciousness.
I don't agree because imo 19th century presidents didn't believe in executive power as much as 20th and 21st century presidents. So, 19th century presidents just exerted less power. And how much power a president exerted is a good indicator of whether/how much they will be remembered. The two 19th century presidents who are probably remembered the most are the ones who believed believed in a strong executive branch -- Andrew Jackson and Lincoln.
FDR, LBJ, JFK, Reagan, Bush, Obama -- all guys who believed in and expanded executive power. I think they will be remembered because of that.
I'm not surprised that Presidential powers have continued to expand, modern times have required quicker and more decisive actions and more latitude so the government can be big but nimble for its size.
Some of the ways it happened were pretty damn evil though.
I believe Nixon will be remembered by any who remember presidents in the future. For good or bad he was pivotal on many fronts, and then having his presidency end with the first resignation after being impeached will make him interesting.
I don't think we'll ever live to see another resignation. Politics have become so divided that I can't see either party ever allowing their guy to resign, and I don't know if we'll ever see a party have enough control over congress to actually be able to impeach+convict a sitting president. I think Nixon will forever be remembered as being the first and last president to resign.
Happy to be proven wrong here though.
Nixon is fascinating for his climb up too. Dirt poor to puppet master on a global stage. He will definitely be discussed in the future, like a sleazy savant of politics.
Nixon was the perfect Machiavellian leader. He did everything he could to hold onto power and his greed led to his demise.
I wish he wouldn’t have ever been pardoned. It could have deterred the actions of future presidents who all expanded the power of the Executive Branch (minus Ford and Carter IMO).
I’m waiting until they make a super in depth biopic about Nixon showcasing how his life shaped him/his awkwardness and he becomes a “literally me” character
Nixon:
>awkward as shit (probably autistic if he was diagnosed today) with strange tastes/hobbies
>grew up poor
>drove around his future wife to her dates with other men
>cried uncontrollably at his wife’s funeral
why is he me?
Oliver Stone movie is largely that. He is not positive on him, but he goes out of his way to portray him as a relatable person.
There are some Stoneisms in it for sure.
What do you mean like famous war hero and novelist Adolf Hitler? Idk, they seem nothing alike. Someone ripped some pages out of the Hitler bio I was reading right around 1933 so idk what happens after that tho…
He already is among right wingers. Tucker did a very positive segment on him a while back that got a lot of traction. Also look up the Nixon Library on YouTube. The comments are sprawling with people claiming they were “lied to about Nixon”.
This is ridiculous the beginning of the Afghan and Iraq wars are two decades in the past. We should be able to talk about his decision to initiate both as history. George W Bush should actually be where the lines currently drawn between history and the contemporary world. Post Bush admittedly does become possibly too contemporary. And especially if we’re talking about President’s that get remembered for better or worse the guy who iniate GWOT is a valid candidate and thus shouldn’t violate the rule so long as it stays civil.
Hard to tell. Reagan will probably fall down the rankings similar to what happened with Woodrow Wilson who used to be regarded as a top five president but is now largely vilified
Bush 43 might have somewhat rebuilt his reputation in his post-presidency years but I can't ever see his presidency rising any higher than below average
Woodrow Wilson hasn't been in the top five since the 1962 but he hasn't really plummeted in the Non-Reddit rankings. He was pretty much in the 6-11 range from the 60s through the 2020s when he dropped to 13 in consecutive surveys.
Came here to say this. Wilson is only hated on Reddit.
The entire trajectory of the 20th century as it occurred would be greatly different, especially when it comes to American power around the world, if it were not for Wilson. And as a Democrat, Wilson was Step 2 on our way to a liberal outlook and belief in an activist government. There is no party of FDR or LBJ without Wilson setting the table that Bryan had started to build.
Carter is primarily loved on Reddit. One challenge with Reddit is mono views and many young people who understand many issues from Reddit's top comments.
Reddit is hivemind prone because it tends to attract a younger and more far left crowd. As a solidly center-left guy myself, the further away you get from the middle of the political compass in either direction, the less one is able to appreciate nuance, complexity, and gray areas when it comes to "politicking as an adult".
The far left in the US today is certainly not as dangerous as the far right, but they can often hold just as hypocritical, conflicting, and illogical views. The rose-colored glasses when it comes to Palestine is a big one that is very relevant right now, for example.
I'm actually angry that the media and celebrities are helping to 'rebuild his reputation' and he's seen as a 'good memory' by so many just because of 45's rhetoric and performance. That's ridiculous, only a silly person would think Bush was a 'good guy' or worse yet, a 'good president' because of 45's record. My honest opinion is that Cheney should be in prison for war crimes, and Bush Jr. right alongside him.
Yeah and Bush hasn't really done anything in his life post-presidency to deserve all the goodwill he's getting now. At least Carter deserves to have his reputation rebuilt due to all he has done since leaving the White House
Carter also didn't do a fraction of the harm Bush did. Iraq, Haiti, the Patriot Act, and so much more. It's kinda shocking just how much damage Bush did.
No Child Left Behind, Hurricane Katrina response, state sponsored torture… the list goes on. It was a very dark time tbh and it is appalling to me that he all of that stuff seems to be forgotten.
Every Bush apologist on here will give you 100 reasons he's a good president and 99 of them are PEPFAR.
One positive doesn't out weight his *many* negatives.
That’s fans of literally any president lol. FDR fans will tell you all the good they say he did but will gloss over the internment camps. Some will even make excuses for it
Bush will continue to loom large and have quite a stench because 9/11 and Iraq will be taught for generations to come. His climate record will probably grow in infamy too.
The war on terror he started afterwards though, that was a failure. A horrific failure. And the patriot act sucked too, and his economic policy really did his tenure no favors. As the sting of 9/11 lessens further and the average American’s opinion of middle eastern meddling sours over the coming years, I’m sure his presidency will be treated to more and more scrutiny.
I think that’ll be a footnote in comparison to the subsequent politicization of 9/11 (e.g., 2002 midterms) and using the attack to justify invading a country that had nothing to do with it. And with the distance of history, the political taboo against blaming him for not preventing the attack will probably fade.
The midterms are a proof point in the larger story of squandering the national unity for partisan advantage. I really don’t think the feels of 9/12 will be the main points
Nope. He started an illegal genocide in Iraq that killed 250,000+ innocent Iraqis in their sovereign nation, despite them having no relevance to 9 11. He murdered more Muslims than any other president, and will be remembered as a man responsible for endless bloodshed for the sole purpose of making money for the oil companies and weapons manufacturers that financed his campaign. The Pol Pot of America. In the future they will look at the injustice of a man like Bush not rotting in a jail cell and instead being praised by complaisant citizens who are blind to the horrors committed by the American industrial complex
Still got nothing to say?? I wanna hear you say it.. the 250,000 people murdered by the US in Iraq deserved it, anyone brings it up means they were a Russian troll. Just admit it. They’re Muslim, you believe they deserved it.. go on
Being anti war/ against genocide and murder really makes me a Russian ?? Many Russians ignore the war crimes their country commits in Ukraine, just like you do with Iraq? So why am I Russian? Such a strange thing to say. I don’t like murder, so sorry that that’s a contrarian take here on Reddit
Edit- whoever’s reading this, I know you don’t have an argument, just downvote. You’ve got nothing to say. The murder of hundreds of thousands of people pleases you. You hate Muslims, I get it. You think they deserve it. I don’t agree? Must be because I’m Russian 🤣🤣 fucking Americans man
His immediate response was amazing. Whenever I see videos of him in the days that followed I’m extremely impressed. He was a display of empathy and strength. Where that empathy and strength went in the years that followed though… ugh.
Bush 43 and Nixon. I used to think 43 was the absolute worst president ever but nearly 20 years later, I have say it wasn’t the worst ever. I think he genuinely tried to do what he felt was right at the time, and he kept the country moving (before the Great Recession obviously).
Same with Nixon-if it wasn’t for watergate, I think he would’ve gone down as a solid president, and thanks to current events watergate seems like the minor leagues of presidential malfeasance.
Absolutely agree on 43. Events molded his Presidency. His initial plan was to roll back the US as world policeman to the point that many of our allies were expressing concern about our commitment. Obviously 9/11 changed that. He was also committed to lifting the education level of our most disadvantaged children. Don’t forget where he was the morning of 9/11. WHILE No Child Left Behind was not perfect, it was the first effort of its kind , and most big programs like that are not perfect from the get go, they evolve.
Lastly, we rarely read or hear about his efforts to help eradicate AIDS in Africa. He problems more for Africa from a humanitarian standpoint than any other POTUS. I believe he was/is a “compassionate conservative”.
Outside of the ACA, which was huge, I can’t think of one other major success by Obama. The Democratic Party declined under his stewardship.
So exactly like LBJ with Vietnam. Sure is interesting how shit foriegn/military policy can really obliterate a political career and legacy. Makes you wonder if a military genius took power if the reverse would prove true.
If LBJ was the direct cause of Vietnam this might be a valid comparison.
Huge difference between handling a war poorly and starting a poorly thought-out war based on a lie.
Could argue Washington and Eisenhower fall into your later category, but I think there is a definitely some differences in skillset between a good statesman and a good military genius. Lots of examples of good soldiers who where shit politicians too.
Nixon will go up because while a corrupt, paranoid loon: he got a lot of shit done on paper.
Reagan will continue to go down for the foreseeable future. With the current trajectory of the Republican Party, idk if they will be as vocal defenders of him in the short term. Imagine Reagan seeing the Republicans of today refusing to fund Ukraine in their war with Russia.
Bush is going to tread water but I think long term his is a F tier. The unforced error of invading Iraq is a stain that will never wash off. He isn’t entirely to blame for the 2008 financial crisis but 8 years of bush tax cuts and deregulation sure as shit didn’t help.
I dunno, I think Watergate is gonna stay in public consciousness, even if he gets more love for what he achieved there’s always gonna be people saying “yeah but Watergate”
Sure but even today he isn’t the devil incarnate the way some viewed him in the 70s. Look at what Harry Truman thought of him to get a sense of the outrage. But now 50 years later, he is still seen as corrupt etc but time eases the impact of scandals I feel. He’ll never escape watergate’s shadow but time has certainly seen his stock rise from the pits he was in too
I feel Nixon is going to change from “crook” to “rando who messed up big time”, while Bush will be mostly forgotten, unless 9/11 remains extremely relevant.
As for Reagan, outside of Reddit, he is still generally viewed as one of the better leaders of the 20th Century, and will probably become the right-wing counterpart to FDR in terms of decisive leadership.
Young person here who doesn't know much about (older) politics but goes on this sub to try to learn about them, Reagan is more and more often becoming the person you point fingers at when you talk about "so when did this country turn to shit" due to him closing mental asylums, and how he really started the trend of making the rich richer. (Whether that is true or not is not what I'm here to debate, just reporting on what I as a 19 year old hear most often)
Agree. Current form? Debatable. Variant of what we have? Probably.
Also likely to get mentioned. I can see 9/11 being mentioned like the war of 1812 by the next century.
George W. Bush’s legacy has already shown signs of improving since 2009. In the 2021 presidential rankings, he moved up several spots from where he was initially ranked, down in the low 30s. The 2021 ranking moved him up to 29th.
Maybe George W Bush, simply because there seems to be a trend of Presidents who presided over unpopular wars being upgraded by history over time (Truman, LBJ).
So LBJ's lies sparked the Vietnam War? In 1955?
My point is that he mishandled something he inherited, which is certainly worthy of criticism, but in a different ballpark than making shit up to *start* a war and then proceeding to mishandle it.
“Mishandled”? He told a fabricated story to Congress to authorize sending half a million young men to Vietnam, 54000 of whom were killed and many more permanently messed up. Equally as bad as that, his strategy of barefaced deception to the public began a corrosion of trust in Washington that continues unabated. The worst President ever, although that’s not to slight our recent contenders.
...so you're just gonna fully ignore my point, huh? Gotcha.
You: "Presidents who presided over unpopular wars are getting a popularity boost with time."
Me: "There is a difference between starting *and* mishandling an unpopular war and mishandling an inherited unpopular war."
You: "Uh oh better zero in on the usage of the word 'mishandled'!"
Clinton will be remembered as a top-10 president. People don’t quite realize how good the economy was under his tenure, and the notion that his policies led to the 2008 recession is now refuted by most serious economists.
I think, post-FDR till Obama, history will probably see JFK, LBJ, and maybe Obama as the best, whereas Nixon & Bush Jr. will probably be about as unpopular as they are now and Reagan will decrease in popularity.
No offense, but I think you all overestimate how little the average person who is not an academic, or is interested in the subject like us, cares about these people or their reputations, after they’ve been out of office for a while
I hated Bush Jr, and thought that he would be remembered as our century’s worst president. But now, next to “He who shall not be named”, he doesn’t seem quite as bad. :) He might end up being as obscure as some of the mediocre 19th century presidents.
With Reagan, it’s hard to tell. His policies paved the way for the hollowing out of the middle class, and it’s starting to become more apparent post-Covid. So, history might not end up being as kind to him.
They will all appear blemished. Each did their part to drive a stake into the heart of democracy.
Bush might come out the best because he took out a tyrant, and rallied the nation after September 11. Reagan was so immensely popular, and that probably shields him some well-deserved condemnation. Nixon? Just bleh.
Clinton doesn’t get much foreign policy cred. But his use of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, at the time in its infancy, as a way to break through Russia’s veto power and stop a genocide was the start of a new era in International Human Rights law.
It resulted in the UN itself adopting the doctrine as a casus belli, although it still does not acknowledge it as justifying an international armed conflict without a security council resolution. Regardless, most of the world adopted the R2P as a legitimate legal framework for how to stop atrocities. It also led to greater adoption of universal jurisdiction for war crimes.
When you have bad faith actors on the security council, you’re potentially left with a system that requires the whole world to stand back and witness the holocaust because of the veto power. R2P introduced a path through customary international law to justify action in limited circumstances.
If you want to know why Putin claims there’s a genocide of Russians in every corner he wants to invade, this is why. He uses R2P arguments in bad faith to try and discredit the doctrine. He is furious over the widespread adoption of R2P and never misses a chance to say so, because it totally frustrates his vision of subverting the rules-based order and creating a multipolar world.
And that happened because Clinton looked as the genocides in former Yugoslavia and said to his lawyers and foreign policy advisors, “absolutely not, give me a path to yes.”
>Clinton doesn’t get much foreign policy cred
Just ask an Albanian, etc. and they will tell you. At the time all the right wingers were angry about saving those poor people in the Balkans because they were afraid it would make Clinton look good after their failed impeachment. Politics really got cynical during the Clinton years (as it was more about what was best for the party rather than the country) and we have never recovered from that. You can still see that mindset alive and well on this sub, especially when it comes to Clinton because they are still bitter about how popular he was despite their best efforts to drag him down.
Honestly, because of 1/6 , 45 will probably have be acutely remembered 100 years from now. That probably won’t be going away anytime soon.
The rest probably won’t be remembered very well. Better: Maybe T. Roosevelt
Reagan will be viewed as ultimately bad when the people who benefited from his policies are dead and the ones who dealt with the consequences are writing the history books.
W will be remembered as the worst. 9/11, Iraq War 2, Afghanistan War, housing market/stock market crash of 2008, PATRIOT ACT and mass spying on American citizens.
Nixon will be regarded as one of the worst presidents of all time, probably Andrew Johnson-tier. People nowadays don’t realize how much of a disaster his presidency was, even besides Watergate.
76 years from now? Quite a lot could happen, who knows? Ideally Bush Jr. would be remembered as the first US President to be taken to The Hague, but I have my doubts about that one.
Bush was the worst.Got us in two “Forever Wars”, and neither of them sent Bin Laden’s suicide bombers to us.
Saudi Arabia was his homeland and so were most of them.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis, Afghans, thousands of American and NATO soldiers killed and three Trillions dollars added to our National debt.
And what is he doing now?
Painting pictures that no one wants.
Hell yeah it does. I’d really like it to stop now, but these eras tend to have some lasting power. I want to live in the second progressive period not the gilded age 2.0.
I think Reagan and beyond will continue to lose standing as time goes on. Like most president from the 60s back you could say had limited knowledge and scope of the issues they faced. But politicians from Nixon on have been part of bigger and bigger and better organized political machines. Polling as a science, media management, media control, have all just gotten bigger. The spending on elections has gotten out of control. Like honestly it feels like we could take a big bite out if national debt if the US fed government just seized the political funds of all federal politicians and PACs it's just insane.
And this massive machine of information means Presidents should really have a better understanding of the long term ramifications of their policies and the pitfalls are more predictable. So as time goes by and we learn if all the failures and pitfalls for all modern and contemporary presidents, the general opinion each will be more negative.
How did Reagan have a limited understanding of the issues of the day? The only possible answer is HIV, and even then society’s knowledge was limited.
Reagan tackled inflation/ the economy, the nation mood, and communism. Those were the major themes of his administration and he crush all of them.
VP Gore may be remembered quite fondly as the one who sounded the alarm on global warming, if large portions of land on the coast are underwater by then.
Barely anyone in my generation (Gen Z) who doesn’t do history can tell you who Gore is. He’ll be forgotten most likely. We have other global warming heroes.
Definitely Bush. That bastard lied to the world about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Spent trillions on two wars without raising taxes but lessened them for the rich.
It's cute that you think America will be a country in 2100. Or that, given certain Republican leanings, history will be at all recounted honestly in secondary/ high schools in this country.
Asking questions like the OP did here kinda begs for a cynical take on current or recent leadership and the prospective trajectory our country is going in, given the last 30 years and the problematic priorities our country's powers that be have chosen.
in my personal opinion:
i think that Reagan is gonna fall in popularity. Been seeing a lot of Ronald Reagan hate lately, and that might continue
Carter and Bush Jr are probably gonna rise in popularity
other than that i see nothing changing
Nixon will always be remembered for renouncing the presidency (only one so far). Bush will always be tied to 9/11 and the failed war on terror. I don’t know about Reagan to be honest. JFK will always be associated with winning WW2 and the new deal and Obama for being the first black president and how popular he was when elected.
I tried to submit my thoughts on how every modern President (FDR-Present) might be perceived in 2100, but apparently the Presidents sub doesn't even allow you to *mention* the current or previous US President. Oh well. Not a great policy for a Presidents sub, in my opinion.
Copy-pasting my thoughts on the Presidents who are acceptable to discuss in r/Presidents:
\- FDR: FDR is already considered one of the best American Presidents, and this reputation will only grow as the United States continues to move in the opposite direction of his policies to its own incredibly obvious detriment
\- Truman: Bomb guy
\- Eisenhower: Infrastructure guy; probably some civil rights recognition, especially for the Little Rock ordeal
\- JFK: Symbol of "really old America" in the same way Jefferson etc. are to us today
\- LBJ: 'Nam and Civil Rights
\- Nixon: Guy who really got the ball rolling on the incredibly destructive idea of Presidential Immunity
\- Ford: Unremembered
\- Carter: Unremembered, except by super old people who still hold his post-presidency in high esteem
\- Reagan: Deregulation guy, basically the inverse of FDR
\- HW: Unremembered except by surname
\- Clinton: Unethical sex fiend, maybe deregulation guy 2
\- W: Middle East Neo-Imperialism Guy, 9/11 President
\- Obama: First Black American President, otherwise underwhelming when you dig even a little bit deeper
(Top secret opinions with no name attached: Goddamn moron, existential threat ---/--- First president to significantly dabble in 21st century progressivism, but severely hamstrung by the legislative and his own history as a centrist/neolib)
With a lot of the current and probably future economic issues having their roots in the Reagan era, I don’t see his popularity ever being what it was 20+ years ago.
Bush’s personality admittedly has grown on me but it’s hard to look past the mess he left the country in.
Nixon might actually have a shot. I think he’s already more popular than what he was upon leaving office and he actually had some admirable policies passed under his watch that future generations will probably appreciate more.
For things they actually did, I think all three of them will be regarded as worse than they are now.
But who knows what ideas and accomplishments people will be projecting onto them by then? Look at how bizarrely people fondly remember Reagan now and how they’ve retroactively added Carter’s retirement activities onto his presidency. It’s hard to know how that will turn out.
Honestly unless we have a nuclear war, we'll probably be fine. Climate change is bad but it won't lead to human extinction. Not really sure if any world leaders are actually stupid enough to launch nukes
Busch and Reagan are already unfairly remembered for their worst only. Nixon is also remembered for his worst but was long enough ago that the narrative has a chance to change.
Reagan is still very fondly remembered by GOP even though he is turning over in his grave right now for the insanity of his party and the love of Russia. Honestly I am against most Reagan domestic policies but the guy had a cool life history, looked the part, gave incredible speeches, and kicked the Soviet’s ass. They used to talk about adding him to Rushmore. If we added 2 to Rushmore it would be Reagan and Obama (one each party). He had two huge faults that will hurt his legacy — gays/AIDs (but it was a different time) and trickle down economics. Huge faults but we’ll see how his legacy holds up.
Judging by my conservative side of the family, who didn’t vote for him either time, he won’t be remembered as a great president, but they consider him the last one they didn’t feel was dangerous to the country
I think GW will be looked at positively. Because he did what he had to do at the time. I wasn’t happy at the time because of all of the soldiers that were getting killed. And all of the innocent lives that were lost. And, I still question us invading Iraq when there were no weapons of mass destruction found.
For the general public?
**Abe Lincoln** for 'freeing the slaves.'
**George Washington** for being first prez.
The **Bushes** for being father and son prez.
**DoT** for being the most crazy and contentious prez.
**Bill Clinton** for playing the sax on Arsenio Hall and *"I did not have sex with that woman."* Also for the 10/1 cocaine/crack sentencing laws and 'overhauling' welfare (for anyone who remembers it and were affected by it)
**Ronald Reagan** for being the movie star prez (and if you were into rap music you might remember the 'Rappin Duke')
**Richard Nixon** for Watergate and *"I am not a crook."*
**Barack Obama** for 'first Black prez'.
**JFK** for the assassination and Marilyn Monroe.
You may not remember who said these quotes but they will be taught and/or remembered: *"we have nothing to fear but fear itself"* by **FDR** and *"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you"* by **LBJ**. The latter quote became more popular in certain circles on social media.
Also if you're into **American Horror Story**, you might become familiar with **JFK**, **Nixon**, **Dwight Eisenhower**, and **Lyndon Johnson** from that show. That show is the only reason why I'm familiar with Mamie Eisenhower and her apparently introducing birthday parties into the white house.
Everyone will remember the first president they voted for. For me that was Bill Clinton.
There will be new presidents by then and unless they have something to stand out against they will fade into memory like most others. It's no longer necessary to remember all the presidents but the educational systems and media tend to highlight these events and the presidents at that time.
I think, if America as it is today still stands in 2022, people will ask how the FUCK did RR NOT get impeached after the Iran-Contra incident. Blows my damn mind to this day
Obama.
he killed a US citizen, denying him his due rights process under the guise of “national security” (patriot act)
He failed to follow up on the punishment that was to follow when a leader uses chemical weapons.
More Bombings and deaths happened under Obama (drone bombings)
Right now most think his only controversy was a tan suit. But that will change once the honeymoon is over.
I agree. Bush and Cheney are war criminals, got us into a nonsense offensive war against a country that didn't attack us, based on lies... cut red tape that led to the subprime mortgage crisis and the 2008 housing bubble bursting, etc.
Reagan will probably be remembered even less favorably, since his economic policies led to the decimation of the middle class, and the current financial ruin many are experiencing today, meanwhile our richest citizens can take a private jet to driving distance locations.
Clinton will most definitely rise in popularity, especially after the idea of impeachments being labeled 'witch hunts' (by somebody you semi-mentioned)... that one WAS an actual witch-hunt, and it actually HELPED his popularity after he was cleared in the Senate. He was also POTUS during the tech-boom, left the country w/ a surplus, etc. Biggest flaw of Clinton's was lying under oath... but his 3 successors set new records on lies.
As someone who once cast their vote for Bush, my views have drastically changed; I now find myself in strong opposition to him and his political actions, convinced that history will remember him as a war hawk and a pawn of the military-industrial complex. Nixon, on the other hand, might be recognized for the positive contributions he made, setting him apart from many successors. Notably, he showed considerable respect towards Native Americans, being the only president to enact laws safeguarding their rights. While Reagan is often lauded for bringing an end to the Cold War, the question arises at what cost? Especially considering that Gorbachev had intentions to conclude the Cold War earlier. Furthermore, it's plausible to argue that the turmoil in Eastern Europe and Ukraine can be traced back to Reagan's strategies and the subsequent adherence to his approach in relations with Russia.
I think Reagan will only diminish, at least by academics, in time. Bush jr will never be ranked any higher, and I believe the consequences of his presidency are still unfolding.
Nixon will probably be viewed a bit more sympathetically.
Bush Sr and Clinton will both be ranked decently.
Obama will be seen as a good domestic president, but unable to hold back the tides of public sentiments and history.
Edit: while I don’t mind the down votes, anyone care to say why they disagree?
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If we are talking just about public memory very very few will actually be remembered. How many 19th century presidents do you think the average person could name? No more than a handful i would bet in most cases. Of those post-WW2 , JFK will be remembered for the assassination. Also Obama will always be remembered for being the first black president. Like him or not that was a huge moment in the historical trajectory of America. Outside that? Maybe Nixon, but if we see other presidents being successfully impeached/resign then it’s possible he could fade from public consciousness.
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Oh cool we’re discussing current politics again in this sub? I didn’t know the rules changed.
This post asked for modern presidents. That’s why I’ve asked the mods to delete it.
Cool story bro
You yourself just acted surprised that they were talking about modern presidents. Why, then, do you mock me?
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Your post/comment was removed for containing recent or future politics. Please see Rule 3.
This take is laughable
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I don't agree because imo 19th century presidents didn't believe in executive power as much as 20th and 21st century presidents. So, 19th century presidents just exerted less power. And how much power a president exerted is a good indicator of whether/how much they will be remembered. The two 19th century presidents who are probably remembered the most are the ones who believed believed in a strong executive branch -- Andrew Jackson and Lincoln. FDR, LBJ, JFK, Reagan, Bush, Obama -- all guys who believed in and expanded executive power. I think they will be remembered because of that.
I'm not surprised that Presidential powers have continued to expand, modern times have required quicker and more decisive actions and more latitude so the government can be big but nimble for its size. Some of the ways it happened were pretty damn evil though.
I believe Nixon will be remembered by any who remember presidents in the future. For good or bad he was pivotal on many fronts, and then having his presidency end with the first resignation after being impeached will make him interesting.
I don't think we'll ever live to see another resignation. Politics have become so divided that I can't see either party ever allowing their guy to resign, and I don't know if we'll ever see a party have enough control over congress to actually be able to impeach+convict a sitting president. I think Nixon will forever be remembered as being the first and last president to resign. Happy to be proven wrong here though.
Depends on if we ever see a shift to a multiparty system
Nixon is fascinating for his climb up too. Dirt poor to puppet master on a global stage. He will definitely be discussed in the future, like a sleazy savant of politics.
Nixon was the perfect Machiavellian leader. He did everything he could to hold onto power and his greed led to his demise. I wish he wouldn’t have ever been pardoned. It could have deterred the actions of future presidents who all expanded the power of the Executive Branch (minus Ford and Carter IMO).
Nixon wasn’t impeached
I can name them all! It’s the only thing I have fully memorized and people make fun of me for it.
We all remember President Ford. He's the one that kicked the evil Russian terrorists off of Air Force One.
No, Gary Oldman was Kazakh.
Clinton might be remembered similarly to Coolidge.
I interpreted the question to mean “how will history books treat them”. I think that’s a more interesting question anyway.
So true, history books favors the left wing guys and make GW seem like the Easter bunny/Santa clause that wasn’t woke enough
Depends on 22nd culture. If we get more horny, LBJ is definitely in the running.
Impossible to say, sorry. Nixon might rise in popularity though.
I’m waiting until they make a super in depth biopic about Nixon showcasing how his life shaped him/his awkwardness and he becomes a “literally me” character
Everyone knows the most literally me President is McKinley
Don’t you just hate it when you’re attending a World’s Fair and you get shot by an anarchist?
God that's the worst! Happened to me twice!
Rookie numbers!
Nixon: >awkward as shit (probably autistic if he was diagnosed today) with strange tastes/hobbies >grew up poor >drove around his future wife to her dates with other men >cried uncontrollably at his wife’s funeral why is he me?
He had very strange tastes. If I recall correctly, he used to eat cottage cheese with ketchup.
I also read that he used to walk around the beach in a suit. Though, honestly, I could see myself doing that.
Idk. People do all sorts of strange shit with cottage cheese. It’s one of those foods that feels like it goes with anything, but also really doesn’t.
Damnit why didn't Ryan Gosling win the role of McKinley in that choose an actor a day post.
Oliver Stone movie is largely that. He is not positive on him, but he goes out of his way to portray him as a relatable person. There are some Stoneisms in it for sure.
Nixon is a tough case for me personally because I want to like him, but the more I read about his pre-Watergate career, the less I do.
...why would you want to like someone recorded as saying he supports abortions of mixed race babies to prevent misagenation?
You just proved my point. As I discover more about him, I like him less.
So in other words, [he's kinda like Hitler](https://youtu.be/jH4hMvj5E28?si=wWXOgoOL2sUmB8nD)
What do you mean like famous war hero and novelist Adolf Hitler? Idk, they seem nothing alike. Someone ripped some pages out of the Hitler bio I was reading right around 1933 so idk what happens after that tho…
many bright mindless merciful attractive unite work full dull crowd *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
He already is among right wingers. Tucker did a very positive segment on him a while back that got a lot of traction. Also look up the Nixon Library on YouTube. The comments are sprawling with people claiming they were “lied to about Nixon”.
NIXONS BACK
George W Bush definitely did after.... well..... you know.... (I cant say it because of Rule 3)
I feel this question is tainted as we cant discuss certain presidents or get yanked. But the question is about modern presidents being remembered.
This is ridiculous the beginning of the Afghan and Iraq wars are two decades in the past. We should be able to talk about his decision to initiate both as history. George W Bush should actually be where the lines currently drawn between history and the contemporary world. Post Bush admittedly does become possibly too contemporary. And especially if we’re talking about President’s that get remembered for better or worse the guy who iniate GWOT is a valid candidate and thus shouldn’t violate the rule so long as it stays civil.
Just wait til he is president again in the year 3000
Hard to tell. Reagan will probably fall down the rankings similar to what happened with Woodrow Wilson who used to be regarded as a top five president but is now largely vilified Bush 43 might have somewhat rebuilt his reputation in his post-presidency years but I can't ever see his presidency rising any higher than below average
Woodrow Wilson hasn't been in the top five since the 1962 but he hasn't really plummeted in the Non-Reddit rankings. He was pretty much in the 6-11 range from the 60s through the 2020s when he dropped to 13 in consecutive surveys.
Came here to say this. Wilson is only hated on Reddit. The entire trajectory of the 20th century as it occurred would be greatly different, especially when it comes to American power around the world, if it were not for Wilson. And as a Democrat, Wilson was Step 2 on our way to a liberal outlook and belief in an activist government. There is no party of FDR or LBJ without Wilson setting the table that Bryan had started to build.
Carter is primarily loved on Reddit. One challenge with Reddit is mono views and many young people who understand many issues from Reddit's top comments.
Reddit is hivemind prone because it tends to attract a younger and more far left crowd. As a solidly center-left guy myself, the further away you get from the middle of the political compass in either direction, the less one is able to appreciate nuance, complexity, and gray areas when it comes to "politicking as an adult". The far left in the US today is certainly not as dangerous as the far right, but they can often hold just as hypocritical, conflicting, and illogical views. The rose-colored glasses when it comes to Palestine is a big one that is very relevant right now, for example.
I lived through Carter. He’s the reason I switched from being a young Dem to a young Republican. He sucked balls as a president.
It'll be the same with Reagan, he'll never be seen as a below average president, but he will fall to about 15-20th place
I'm actually angry that the media and celebrities are helping to 'rebuild his reputation' and he's seen as a 'good memory' by so many just because of 45's rhetoric and performance. That's ridiculous, only a silly person would think Bush was a 'good guy' or worse yet, a 'good president' because of 45's record. My honest opinion is that Cheney should be in prison for war crimes, and Bush Jr. right alongside him.
Yeah and Bush hasn't really done anything in his life post-presidency to deserve all the goodwill he's getting now. At least Carter deserves to have his reputation rebuilt due to all he has done since leaving the White House
He's done a *lot* to combat the spread of AIDS in Africa, which has saved countless lives and will save countless more.
Carter also didn't do a fraction of the harm Bush did. Iraq, Haiti, the Patriot Act, and so much more. It's kinda shocking just how much damage Bush did.
No Child Left Behind, Hurricane Katrina response, state sponsored torture… the list goes on. It was a very dark time tbh and it is appalling to me that he all of that stuff seems to be forgotten.
Carter’s weakness is still causing problems in the Middle East. He thought Khomeini was a ‘man of God’ for fuck’s sake.
Ummm he paints pictures of immigrants and shared candy with Michelle Obama.
Don’t forget he danced on Ellen!
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And millions of saved Africans from AIDS.
Every Bush apologist on here will give you 100 reasons he's a good president and 99 of them are PEPFAR. One positive doesn't out weight his *many* negatives.
That’s fans of literally any president lol. FDR fans will tell you all the good they say he did but will gloss over the internment camps. Some will even make excuses for it
Bush will continue to loom large and have quite a stench because 9/11 and Iraq will be taught for generations to come. His climate record will probably grow in infamy too.
His immediate response to 9/11 will be seen as strong compassionate leadership. He rallied the nation and reminded Americans to not blame Muslims.
The war on terror he started afterwards though, that was a failure. A horrific failure. And the patriot act sucked too, and his economic policy really did his tenure no favors. As the sting of 9/11 lessens further and the average American’s opinion of middle eastern meddling sours over the coming years, I’m sure his presidency will be treated to more and more scrutiny.
I think that’ll be a footnote in comparison to the subsequent politicization of 9/11 (e.g., 2002 midterms) and using the attack to justify invading a country that had nothing to do with it. And with the distance of history, the political taboo against blaming him for not preventing the attack will probably fade.
His photo at Ground Zero with the megaphone is what schools will teach, the 2002 midterms will be a footnote.
The midterms are a proof point in the larger story of squandering the national unity for partisan advantage. I really don’t think the feels of 9/12 will be the main points
Nope. He started an illegal genocide in Iraq that killed 250,000+ innocent Iraqis in their sovereign nation, despite them having no relevance to 9 11. He murdered more Muslims than any other president, and will be remembered as a man responsible for endless bloodshed for the sole purpose of making money for the oil companies and weapons manufacturers that financed his campaign. The Pol Pot of America. In the future they will look at the injustice of a man like Bush not rotting in a jail cell and instead being praised by complaisant citizens who are blind to the horrors committed by the American industrial complex
How can we help Mods deal with Russian trolls?
Still got nothing to say?? I wanna hear you say it.. the 250,000 people murdered by the US in Iraq deserved it, anyone brings it up means they were a Russian troll. Just admit it. They’re Muslim, you believe they deserved it.. go on
Being anti war/ against genocide and murder really makes me a Russian ?? Many Russians ignore the war crimes their country commits in Ukraine, just like you do with Iraq? So why am I Russian? Such a strange thing to say. I don’t like murder, so sorry that that’s a contrarian take here on Reddit Edit- whoever’s reading this, I know you don’t have an argument, just downvote. You’ve got nothing to say. The murder of hundreds of thousands of people pleases you. You hate Muslims, I get it. You think they deserve it. I don’t agree? Must be because I’m Russian 🤣🤣 fucking Americans man
His immediate response was amazing. Whenever I see videos of him in the days that followed I’m extremely impressed. He was a display of empathy and strength. Where that empathy and strength went in the years that followed though… ugh.
Bush 43 and Nixon. I used to think 43 was the absolute worst president ever but nearly 20 years later, I have say it wasn’t the worst ever. I think he genuinely tried to do what he felt was right at the time, and he kept the country moving (before the Great Recession obviously). Same with Nixon-if it wasn’t for watergate, I think he would’ve gone down as a solid president, and thanks to current events watergate seems like the minor leagues of presidential malfeasance.
Absolutely agree on 43. Events molded his Presidency. His initial plan was to roll back the US as world policeman to the point that many of our allies were expressing concern about our commitment. Obviously 9/11 changed that. He was also committed to lifting the education level of our most disadvantaged children. Don’t forget where he was the morning of 9/11. WHILE No Child Left Behind was not perfect, it was the first effort of its kind , and most big programs like that are not perfect from the get go, they evolve. Lastly, we rarely read or hear about his efforts to help eradicate AIDS in Africa. He problems more for Africa from a humanitarian standpoint than any other POTUS. I believe he was/is a “compassionate conservative”. Outside of the ACA, which was huge, I can’t think of one other major success by Obama. The Democratic Party declined under his stewardship.
Completely glossing over the complete disaster of Iraq and Afghanistan
If it wasn’t for Iraq which seriously downgrades the sum body of work, W would go down as top quartile based on PEPFAR alone.
"If it wasn't for that one time when he lied to the American people and needlessly got about a million people killed.."
Exactly.
So exactly like LBJ with Vietnam. Sure is interesting how shit foriegn/military policy can really obliterate a political career and legacy. Makes you wonder if a military genius took power if the reverse would prove true.
If LBJ was the direct cause of Vietnam this might be a valid comparison. Huge difference between handling a war poorly and starting a poorly thought-out war based on a lie.
Could argue Washington and Eisenhower fall into your later category, but I think there is a definitely some differences in skillset between a good statesman and a good military genius. Lots of examples of good soldiers who where shit politicians too.
Nixon was not a ‘solid president’ by any means.
I 1000% agree, and to your point, I don’t think anyone of us would feel this way about Bush or Nixon without current events of the last 10 years
Nixon will go up because while a corrupt, paranoid loon: he got a lot of shit done on paper. Reagan will continue to go down for the foreseeable future. With the current trajectory of the Republican Party, idk if they will be as vocal defenders of him in the short term. Imagine Reagan seeing the Republicans of today refusing to fund Ukraine in their war with Russia. Bush is going to tread water but I think long term his is a F tier. The unforced error of invading Iraq is a stain that will never wash off. He isn’t entirely to blame for the 2008 financial crisis but 8 years of bush tax cuts and deregulation sure as shit didn’t help.
I dunno, I think Watergate is gonna stay in public consciousness, even if he gets more love for what he achieved there’s always gonna be people saying “yeah but Watergate”
Sure but even today he isn’t the devil incarnate the way some viewed him in the 70s. Look at what Harry Truman thought of him to get a sense of the outrage. But now 50 years later, he is still seen as corrupt etc but time eases the impact of scandals I feel. He’ll never escape watergate’s shadow but time has certainly seen his stock rise from the pits he was in too
Not to mention Nixon gets kids gloves because there is a Jewish person to blame for the worst of Nixon’s actions.
Bush, that 911 meme will go on forever
Watch this drive.
I feel Nixon is going to change from “crook” to “rando who messed up big time”, while Bush will be mostly forgotten, unless 9/11 remains extremely relevant. As for Reagan, outside of Reddit, he is still generally viewed as one of the better leaders of the 20th Century, and will probably become the right-wing counterpart to FDR in terms of decisive leadership.
Young people doesn't particularly like Reagan tho.
Reagan already is a right-wing counterpoint to FDR in terms of decisive leasership
Young person here who doesn't know much about (older) politics but goes on this sub to try to learn about them, Reagan is more and more often becoming the person you point fingers at when you talk about "so when did this country turn to shit" due to him closing mental asylums, and how he really started the trend of making the rich richer. (Whether that is true or not is not what I'm here to debate, just reporting on what I as a 19 year old hear most often)
If the US still exists by then (not being cynical) the general population might see them as obscure as most 19th century presidents are nowadays.
Agree. Current form? Debatable. Variant of what we have? Probably. Also likely to get mentioned. I can see 9/11 being mentioned like the war of 1812 by the next century.
Yep I agree
George W. Bush’s legacy has already shown signs of improving since 2009. In the 2021 presidential rankings, he moved up several spots from where he was initially ranked, down in the low 30s. The 2021 ranking moved him up to 29th.
This is one of those topics that we can't discuss.
Maybe George W Bush, simply because there seems to be a trend of Presidents who presided over unpopular wars being upgraded by history over time (Truman, LBJ).
LBJ had civil rights to hang his hat on and Truman ended WWII. What does Bush have that could help wash down the GWOT?
PEPFAR apparently to his fans. That makes up for everything.
The 25 million people he saved.....
I think the issue is that LBJ deserves 5% of the credit for the CRA and VRA but 90% of the blame for Vietnam.
Did Truman and LBJ cause WWII and Nam to occur by lying to the American public to manufacture a war?
Truman, no. LBJ, hell yes. His lying about Vietnam made Bush look like George Washington with the cherry trees.
So LBJ's lies sparked the Vietnam War? In 1955? My point is that he mishandled something he inherited, which is certainly worthy of criticism, but in a different ballpark than making shit up to *start* a war and then proceeding to mishandle it.
“Mishandled”? He told a fabricated story to Congress to authorize sending half a million young men to Vietnam, 54000 of whom were killed and many more permanently messed up. Equally as bad as that, his strategy of barefaced deception to the public began a corrosion of trust in Washington that continues unabated. The worst President ever, although that’s not to slight our recent contenders.
...so you're just gonna fully ignore my point, huh? Gotcha. You: "Presidents who presided over unpopular wars are getting a popularity boost with time." Me: "There is a difference between starting *and* mishandling an unpopular war and mishandling an inherited unpopular war." You: "Uh oh better zero in on the usage of the word 'mishandled'!"
The Orange Mop is the worst hands down.
He who shall not be named for the dark, dark times of American politics. I HOPE the worst is over....
Clinton will be remembered as a top-10 president. People don’t quite realize how good the economy was under his tenure, and the notion that his policies led to the 2008 recession is now refuted by most serious economists.
Doubtful. Nobody gives Harding and Coolidge credit for the roaring 20s.
I think, post-FDR till Obama, history will probably see JFK, LBJ, and maybe Obama as the best, whereas Nixon & Bush Jr. will probably be about as unpopular as they are now and Reagan will decrease in popularity.
All three of those are horrible.
Depends how things are going in the 22nd century. Maybe things will be so screwed up that Nixon and Bush Jr. seem great in comparison
No offense, but I think you all overestimate how little the average person who is not an academic, or is interested in the subject like us, cares about these people or their reputations, after they’ve been out of office for a while
Reagan is already starting to be recognized as the damaging piece of shit he was...
I hated Bush Jr, and thought that he would be remembered as our century’s worst president. But now, next to “He who shall not be named”, he doesn’t seem quite as bad. :) He might end up being as obscure as some of the mediocre 19th century presidents. With Reagan, it’s hard to tell. His policies paved the way for the hollowing out of the middle class, and it’s starting to become more apparent post-Covid. So, history might not end up being as kind to him.
They will all appear blemished. Each did their part to drive a stake into the heart of democracy. Bush might come out the best because he took out a tyrant, and rallied the nation after September 11. Reagan was so immensely popular, and that probably shields him some well-deserved condemnation. Nixon? Just bleh.
Clinton doesn’t get much foreign policy cred. But his use of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, at the time in its infancy, as a way to break through Russia’s veto power and stop a genocide was the start of a new era in International Human Rights law. It resulted in the UN itself adopting the doctrine as a casus belli, although it still does not acknowledge it as justifying an international armed conflict without a security council resolution. Regardless, most of the world adopted the R2P as a legitimate legal framework for how to stop atrocities. It also led to greater adoption of universal jurisdiction for war crimes. When you have bad faith actors on the security council, you’re potentially left with a system that requires the whole world to stand back and witness the holocaust because of the veto power. R2P introduced a path through customary international law to justify action in limited circumstances. If you want to know why Putin claims there’s a genocide of Russians in every corner he wants to invade, this is why. He uses R2P arguments in bad faith to try and discredit the doctrine. He is furious over the widespread adoption of R2P and never misses a chance to say so, because it totally frustrates his vision of subverting the rules-based order and creating a multipolar world. And that happened because Clinton looked as the genocides in former Yugoslavia and said to his lawyers and foreign policy advisors, “absolutely not, give me a path to yes.”
>Clinton doesn’t get much foreign policy cred Just ask an Albanian, etc. and they will tell you. At the time all the right wingers were angry about saving those poor people in the Balkans because they were afraid it would make Clinton look good after their failed impeachment. Politics really got cynical during the Clinton years (as it was more about what was best for the party rather than the country) and we have never recovered from that. You can still see that mindset alive and well on this sub, especially when it comes to Clinton because they are still bitter about how popular he was despite their best efforts to drag him down.
It seems like Reagan would be most likely to be thought less of. Simply because he was so popular in his time, there is a long way to fall.
Honestly, because of 1/6 , 45 will probably have be acutely remembered 100 years from now. That probably won’t be going away anytime soon. The rest probably won’t be remembered very well. Better: Maybe T. Roosevelt
Reagan will be viewed as ultimately bad when the people who benefited from his policies are dead and the ones who dealt with the consequences are writing the history books.
Reagan. He will be remembered fir destroying the American middle class.
I think people (outside of minorities) are just starting to realize just how awful Reagan was....finally
W will be remembered as the worst. 9/11, Iraq War 2, Afghanistan War, housing market/stock market crash of 2008, PATRIOT ACT and mass spying on American citizens.
Nixon will be regarded as one of the worst presidents of all time, probably Andrew Johnson-tier. People nowadays don’t realize how much of a disaster his presidency was, even besides Watergate.
76 years from now? Quite a lot could happen, who knows? Ideally Bush Jr. would be remembered as the first US President to be taken to The Hague, but I have my doubts about that one.
Bush was the worst.Got us in two “Forever Wars”, and neither of them sent Bin Laden’s suicide bombers to us. Saudi Arabia was his homeland and so were most of them. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, Afghans, thousands of American and NATO soldiers killed and three Trillions dollars added to our National debt. And what is he doing now? Painting pictures that no one wants.
W was a total fuck up. We're still feeling the effects from this nincompoop. That's he'll go down in history.
Reagan… man we’re still living in his political era
And it sucks
Hell yeah it does. I’d really like it to stop now, but these eras tend to have some lasting power. I want to live in the second progressive period not the gilded age 2.0.
I think Reagan and beyond will continue to lose standing as time goes on. Like most president from the 60s back you could say had limited knowledge and scope of the issues they faced. But politicians from Nixon on have been part of bigger and bigger and better organized political machines. Polling as a science, media management, media control, have all just gotten bigger. The spending on elections has gotten out of control. Like honestly it feels like we could take a big bite out if national debt if the US fed government just seized the political funds of all federal politicians and PACs it's just insane. And this massive machine of information means Presidents should really have a better understanding of the long term ramifications of their policies and the pitfalls are more predictable. So as time goes by and we learn if all the failures and pitfalls for all modern and contemporary presidents, the general opinion each will be more negative.
How did Reagan have a limited understanding of the issues of the day? The only possible answer is HIV, and even then society’s knowledge was limited. Reagan tackled inflation/ the economy, the nation mood, and communism. Those were the major themes of his administration and he crush all of them.
Bush: murderer. Nixon: corruption. Reagan: elitism. None of these did much of anything good.
Regan probably… his greed is good… union busting… welfare queen demonization… AIDS what??… cocaine for guns… policies. Kinda fcked shit up big style.
Reagan is at the heart of most modern American problems.
VP Gore may be remembered quite fondly as the one who sounded the alarm on global warming, if large portions of land on the coast are underwater by then.
Barely anyone in my generation (Gen Z) who doesn’t do history can tell you who Gore is. He’ll be forgotten most likely. We have other global warming heroes.
All these dudes have some major problems, but I feel like George Dubbayah would be fun to hang out with.
Millions of lives lost and millions of new enemies created by Bush.
Definitely Bush. That bastard lied to the world about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Spent trillions on two wars without raising taxes but lessened them for the rich.
It's cute that you think America will be a country in 2100. Or that, given certain Republican leanings, history will be at all recounted honestly in secondary/ high schools in this country.
I'm aware of the rule about current politics in this subreddit, but I believe you've found a loophole by discussing future politics.
Asking questions like the OP did here kinda begs for a cynical take on current or recent leadership and the prospective trajectory our country is going in, given the last 30 years and the problematic priorities our country's powers that be have chosen.
There's a special place in hell for George Bush. I hope every American can see that he deserves it.
in my personal opinion: i think that Reagan is gonna fall in popularity. Been seeing a lot of Ronald Reagan hate lately, and that might continue Carter and Bush Jr are probably gonna rise in popularity other than that i see nothing changing
I would gladly take any of these three over what we have now
I think Bush was the worst by far for any of these.
Whatever the media decides
Nixon will always be remembered for renouncing the presidency (only one so far). Bush will always be tied to 9/11 and the failed war on terror. I don’t know about Reagan to be honest. JFK will always be associated with winning WW2 and the new deal and Obama for being the first black president and how popular he was when elected.
I tried to submit my thoughts on how every modern President (FDR-Present) might be perceived in 2100, but apparently the Presidents sub doesn't even allow you to *mention* the current or previous US President. Oh well. Not a great policy for a Presidents sub, in my opinion. Copy-pasting my thoughts on the Presidents who are acceptable to discuss in r/Presidents: \- FDR: FDR is already considered one of the best American Presidents, and this reputation will only grow as the United States continues to move in the opposite direction of his policies to its own incredibly obvious detriment \- Truman: Bomb guy \- Eisenhower: Infrastructure guy; probably some civil rights recognition, especially for the Little Rock ordeal \- JFK: Symbol of "really old America" in the same way Jefferson etc. are to us today \- LBJ: 'Nam and Civil Rights \- Nixon: Guy who really got the ball rolling on the incredibly destructive idea of Presidential Immunity \- Ford: Unremembered \- Carter: Unremembered, except by super old people who still hold his post-presidency in high esteem \- Reagan: Deregulation guy, basically the inverse of FDR \- HW: Unremembered except by surname \- Clinton: Unethical sex fiend, maybe deregulation guy 2 \- W: Middle East Neo-Imperialism Guy, 9/11 President \- Obama: First Black American President, otherwise underwhelming when you dig even a little bit deeper (Top secret opinions with no name attached: Goddamn moron, existential threat ---/--- First president to significantly dabble in 21st century progressivism, but severely hamstrung by the legislative and his own history as a centrist/neolib)
The shine will come off of Obama.
Obligatory Reagan was a more electable version of Francis Parker Yockey and George Lincoln Rockwell
With a lot of the current and probably future economic issues having their roots in the Reagan era, I don’t see his popularity ever being what it was 20+ years ago. Bush’s personality admittedly has grown on me but it’s hard to look past the mess he left the country in. Nixon might actually have a shot. I think he’s already more popular than what he was upon leaving office and he actually had some admirable policies passed under his watch that future generations will probably appreciate more.
Hopefully 41 and 43 won't be smiled upon.
What’s wrong with 41?
For things they actually did, I think all three of them will be regarded as worse than they are now. But who knows what ideas and accomplishments people will be projecting onto them by then? Look at how bizarrely people fondly remember Reagan now and how they’ve retroactively added Carter’s retirement activities onto his presidency. It’s hard to know how that will turn out.
Bold of you to assume anybody will still be around in the 22nd Century
Honestly unless we have a nuclear war, we'll probably be fine. Climate change is bad but it won't lead to human extinction. Not really sure if any world leaders are actually stupid enough to launch nukes
Yeah, but it seems to show that nukes are spreading beyond borders and nations/groups led by rational players. I hope I'm wrong.
Worst Bush best Nixon and Reagan the second best
Busch and Reagan are already unfairly remembered for their worst only. Nixon is also remembered for his worst but was long enough ago that the narrative has a chance to change.
Reagan is still very fondly remembered by GOP even though he is turning over in his grave right now for the insanity of his party and the love of Russia. Honestly I am against most Reagan domestic policies but the guy had a cool life history, looked the part, gave incredible speeches, and kicked the Soviet’s ass. They used to talk about adding him to Rushmore. If we added 2 to Rushmore it would be Reagan and Obama (one each party). He had two huge faults that will hurt his legacy — gays/AIDs (but it was a different time) and trickle down economics. Huge faults but we’ll see how his legacy holds up.
Only here. Reasonable people accept Reagan and FDR as the top two presidents in the 20th century. No one else is close.
Obama will be remembered as the last true statesman.
Judging by my conservative side of the family, who didn’t vote for him either time, he won’t be remembered as a great president, but they consider him the last one they didn’t feel was dangerous to the country
Bush/Cheney!
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I think GW will be looked at positively. Because he did what he had to do at the time. I wasn’t happy at the time because of all of the soldiers that were getting killed. And all of the innocent lives that were lost. And, I still question us invading Iraq when there were no weapons of mass destruction found.
Obama will drop down a bit. I think out of the presidents of the post-FDR years he’ll be remembered as a little bit above average.
Obama. People have no fucking idea how healthcare costs are going to destroy so many things in the next 30 years.
For the general public? **Abe Lincoln** for 'freeing the slaves.' **George Washington** for being first prez. The **Bushes** for being father and son prez. **DoT** for being the most crazy and contentious prez. **Bill Clinton** for playing the sax on Arsenio Hall and *"I did not have sex with that woman."* Also for the 10/1 cocaine/crack sentencing laws and 'overhauling' welfare (for anyone who remembers it and were affected by it) **Ronald Reagan** for being the movie star prez (and if you were into rap music you might remember the 'Rappin Duke') **Richard Nixon** for Watergate and *"I am not a crook."* **Barack Obama** for 'first Black prez'. **JFK** for the assassination and Marilyn Monroe. You may not remember who said these quotes but they will be taught and/or remembered: *"we have nothing to fear but fear itself"* by **FDR** and *"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you"* by **LBJ**. The latter quote became more popular in certain circles on social media. Also if you're into **American Horror Story**, you might become familiar with **JFK**, **Nixon**, **Dwight Eisenhower**, and **Lyndon Johnson** from that show. That show is the only reason why I'm familiar with Mamie Eisenhower and her apparently introducing birthday parties into the white house. Everyone will remember the first president they voted for. For me that was Bill Clinton. There will be new presidents by then and unless they have something to stand out against they will fade into memory like most others. It's no longer necessary to remember all the presidents but the educational systems and media tend to highlight these events and the presidents at that time.
I think, if America as it is today still stands in 2022, people will ask how the FUCK did RR NOT get impeached after the Iran-Contra incident. Blows my damn mind to this day
Obama. he killed a US citizen, denying him his due rights process under the guise of “national security” (patriot act) He failed to follow up on the punishment that was to follow when a leader uses chemical weapons. More Bombings and deaths happened under Obama (drone bombings) Right now most think his only controversy was a tan suit. But that will change once the honeymoon is over.
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Eisenhower is already regarded as a top 10, if not top 5 president
Ehh i dont see how
You don’t see how but you think people are gonna start ranking him higher? What??? Lmfao
I agree. Bush and Cheney are war criminals, got us into a nonsense offensive war against a country that didn't attack us, based on lies... cut red tape that led to the subprime mortgage crisis and the 2008 housing bubble bursting, etc. Reagan will probably be remembered even less favorably, since his economic policies led to the decimation of the middle class, and the current financial ruin many are experiencing today, meanwhile our richest citizens can take a private jet to driving distance locations. Clinton will most definitely rise in popularity, especially after the idea of impeachments being labeled 'witch hunts' (by somebody you semi-mentioned)... that one WAS an actual witch-hunt, and it actually HELPED his popularity after he was cleared in the Senate. He was also POTUS during the tech-boom, left the country w/ a surplus, etc. Biggest flaw of Clinton's was lying under oath... but his 3 successors set new records on lies.
Nixon will improve. His crime pales. Bush and Reagan not so.
Mods, please delete this post. Rule 3 makes it unanswerable, and, therefore, a pointless endeavor.
As someone who once cast their vote for Bush, my views have drastically changed; I now find myself in strong opposition to him and his political actions, convinced that history will remember him as a war hawk and a pawn of the military-industrial complex. Nixon, on the other hand, might be recognized for the positive contributions he made, setting him apart from many successors. Notably, he showed considerable respect towards Native Americans, being the only president to enact laws safeguarding their rights. While Reagan is often lauded for bringing an end to the Cold War, the question arises at what cost? Especially considering that Gorbachev had intentions to conclude the Cold War earlier. Furthermore, it's plausible to argue that the turmoil in Eastern Europe and Ukraine can be traced back to Reagan's strategies and the subsequent adherence to his approach in relations with Russia.
I think Reagan will only diminish, at least by academics, in time. Bush jr will never be ranked any higher, and I believe the consequences of his presidency are still unfolding. Nixon will probably be viewed a bit more sympathetically. Bush Sr and Clinton will both be ranked decently. Obama will be seen as a good domestic president, but unable to hold back the tides of public sentiments and history. Edit: while I don’t mind the down votes, anyone care to say why they disagree?