My Favorite Presidents
Happy Presidents Day to those who (still) celebrate. We used to get two holidays, one for George Washington, and one for Abraham Lincoln but they took one away from us and now we’re left with just one long weekend.
George Washington* in the father of our country, and by default he ranks in the top tier of chief executives.
There are six though, several of them considered paragons of the presidency, who are the ones I look to for guidance, inspiration, and resilience. Many of them represnet a Republican Party I was once a part of, but neither they nor I would call the GOP home. Here they are, in chronological order:
Abraham Lincoln (16th)
At least 15,000 books have been written about Lincoln. For me, though, you only have to read one speech, “Right Makes Might” that he delivered at The Cooper Union in New York City 165 years ago next week (I’ll have a post dedicated to the anniversary.)
In his remarks, he stated to Southern Democrats:
Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events.
Again, Lincoln is our greatest president not because he preserved the Union, which he did, or because he ended slavery, which he did, but because he understood the nature of humanity, of power, and the power of right over wrong. His ability to see around history’s corners makes him our finest chief executive.
Ulysses S. Grant (18th)
“I can’t spare this man, he fights.” So said Lincoln when discussing his continued support for General Ulysses S. Grant. As chief of the Union Army, not only did Grant revolutionize warfare, but he did what was necessary to defeat the Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army, knowing the task would be long, ugly, and bloody.
As president, Grant tried to save Reconstruction after four years of disaster under Andrew Johnson. He sent Federal troops to the South to protect the rights of newly-freed slaves and hunted down and nearly extinguished the Ku Klux Klan.
He also created Yellowstone National Park (one of my favorites) and the precursor to what would be the National Weather Service. No fan of Washington, when Congress left town, so did he, seeing the president as “chief magistrate” who role was to carry out the laws as passed by the people’s elected representatives.
For his trouble, Grant was pilloried as a drunk and corrupt by historians for decades.
Theodore Roosevelt (26th)
My favorite part of Roosevelt’s historic presidency is his trustbusting. Coming to power in the Gilded Age, he recognized the power of monopolies, the ultra-wealthy, and entrenched, corrupt interests, as a threat to competition. Using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, he brought suits against 43 major corporations.
Serving during “The Progressive Era” his actions helped break up monopolies (especially railroads) and slow down the robber barons. We can only imagine what he would make of the oligarchs of today, but I believe he would have walked softly and carried a big stick when dealing with them.
Franklin Roosevelt (32nd)
As the last members of the Greatest Generation pass into history, so does Roosevelt’s legacy and the world he helped create during the 12 years he served. His actions saved the country and democracy from encroaching fascism and communism in the early 1930s when the Great Depression called the question on whether democracy was a viable politial and economic system. Reactionaries never forgave him for it.
A brilliant political communicator, he understood the nature of mass media, for him it was the radio, and his Fireside Chats imparted his vision and direction directly to citizens.
Before America’s entry into the World War 2, FDR gave his “Four Freedoms Speech” that restated our nation’s values for the 20th Century.
Freedom of Speech and Expression
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear
His leadership during World War 2, brought America’s economic, political, military and industrial might to a global stage. Roosevelt also understood “The Stalin Rule” - when facing an existential threat, partner with those who would help you achieve victory in the immediate term, even if your differences are too stark for the relationship to survive when the threat is gone. For perspective, the Soviets lost 8.6 million soldies and nearly 27 million citizens during the war. The US suffered 407,000 deaths.
Dwight Eisenhower (34th)
Like Grant, Eisenhower led American forces in the battle for his time. He led the greatest military coalition humanity has ever known prior to running for president, and understood the nature of power and the necessity to take all possible steps to achieve victory.
In his inaugural address, Eisenhower warned of the times we face, stating:
“For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or timid…”
And…
"A people that values its privileges over its principles soon loses both.”
In office, Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System, sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas to desegregate schools there following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, supported organized labor, and said in his last State of the Union address, “In the long perspective of history, the right to vote has been one of the strongest pillars of a free society. Our first duty is to protect this right against all encroachment.”
Lastly, perhaps most imporantly, as he was leaving office in early 1961, he warned us of the “Military Industrial Complex.” He couldn’t have known that the other arms of the rapacious corporate octopus would entangle each of us.
George H.W. Bush (41st)
The only one of these presidents I ever met, President George H.W. Bush’s life was the definition of service. He was pilot in the Pacific Theater, Member of Congress, Ambassdor to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Envoy to China, Director of Central Intelligence, Vice President and President of the United States. His service didn’t end after his 1992 loss to Bill Clinton. Like Jimmy Carter, his good work, decency, and thoughtfulness continued for decades after he left office for the last time.
Bush was the last of the pragmatists, the last of the compromisers. He passed the Americans with Disabilities Act with Democrats. He raised taxes and cut spending to reduce the national debt and was thrown out for his trouble.
For me, One anecdote sums up Bush: When he heard that his Secret Service detail was going to shave their heads because of the agent’s sons was suffering from leukemia, Bush shaved his head, too. Decency isn’t hard, nor does it cost anything. Doing the right thing for its own sake is a lost art. President Bush is a good reminder what we can and should be as a nation.
Happy Presidents Day, all. We’ll get through this together, one day at a time. Keep the faith.
News and Notes:
The latest edition of The Home Front Podcast is up! Check out my fun conversation with communications strategist and News Nation contributor Kurt Bardella.
*Check out
’s great biography of George Washington.Hey! If you haven’t signed up to Join The Union, what are you waiting for? We need your help doing the hard work of repairing American democracy.
I like that list. And I'm happily surprised to see Grant and Bush on it. They all were rich in decency. Oh, to have any one of them, instead of what we've got now.
I loved this walk down memory lane and the list of past Presidents and their courage in leadership, action and thought. I never met a President, but I did encounter two men that Ike sent out to purchase land for the Interstate Highway system. I set on the floor listening to the deal they were making with my mom. Dare I say that was close to a life saver for us. I also liked George H. W. Bush's "thousand points of light" speech. It was shameful the flack he got for that speech. Although it was late in coming, I now have a deeper heartfelt respect for President Jimmy Carter. His humanity had no limit.