I read an article in CNN about how Obama being president has strained relationships between some white people and some black people since it exposed a level of racism that black people didn't think their white friends had. Makes me think how it bothers me so much when people (mostly on Fox News) talk about how Obama has worsened race relations when it seems clear that his presidency has simply exposed racism that was already there. Anyhow, it got me thinking about where Obama stands among the presidents I've experienced which is pretty much Carter onwards. I was seven when Carter was elected and it was during his term that I first started paying attention to politics. This feels like the only safe place I can express this.
I'll start with character. 1. Carter - Easy choice. Even people who hate him rarely question his character.
2. Obama - While I feel like he stepped back from the promise of his 2008 campaign, he still shows a lot of character to me. The dude took on health care knowing the heavy political price it would cost because he felt it needed to be done.
3. H.W. Bush - Always struck me as a very decent man. I put him below Obama because I think he had less political courage. That's the last of the easy ones, now it gets tough to figure out.
4. Clinton - Does he have character issues? No doubt about it. He also made some politically craven decisions during office. However, despite investigation after investigation, his administration didn't have many, if any, scandals that actually affected governance. Also, and this puts him above the last two, he kept his administration in control.
5. W. Bush - This is tough, but I think I have to put W. Bush before Reagan. I think he's a decent enough guy, but that's the problem, he's just this guy. He didn't have the force of personality or the intellectual confidence to control his administration. No wonder the deficit exploded, the financial system collapsed, and we ended up in two land wars in Asia. No business being president.
6. Reagan - I didn't think I'd end up with Reagan last, but then I remembered the numerous scandals that did affect governance. I remember fact-free press conferences. I remember a president who felt like little more than a figurehead. I remember just being a kid and not seeing how his campaign promises added up: we're going to cut taxes, ramp up defense spending, not touch social security, and balance the budget? What? He seemed a decent sort of fellow, but not someone who really had what it took.
Of the recent presidents before my time, I have to admit I'm also intrigued by LBJ. He seems like the last person you'd expect to battle (and from what I understood he got in there and really twisted arms) for civil rights and fighting poverty. And he did it knowing full well the staggering political cost for his party.