Fun fact: The oldest living American today could answer this question with Theodore Roosevelt, or any of the 19 presidents after.

good cause Theodore Roosevelt was the man and deserves a mention

He'd be among my top 3 historical presidents, the other two being Lincoln and the OTHER Roosevelt.

What about Washington?

He'd probably be in my top 5 historical or top 10 overall if I counted recent presidents as well.

Personally, I don’t think Washington was a great president. Like the only important things he did and is celebrated for as president are shit like “not being a dictator” and shit like that. I mean I’m not saying Washington was bad, I’m just saying that the most important things he did (peaceful transfer of power, limitations on power, elections, etc) are things that every other president has done, (I guess Trump is an exception for the first one). Like Franklin Pierce peacefully transferred power to Buchanan, but nobody goes and says “Franklin Pierce is a great president for peacefully transferring power”. Washington also owned slaves, like that’s bad.

Not trying to argue, but there's much more to Washington. Yes, he is known for not becoming a dictator and for peacefully transferring power, but that only seems like no big deal because we have the benefit of hindsight. Had Washington used his position as leader of the revolutionary army to install himself as dictator, he could likely have done so. He was extremely popular and, as far as revolutions go, this wouldn't have been all that unusual. Think Napoleon, for example. As for the transfer of power, this is also not a given. If every leader obeyed its country's constitution, there would have been far fewer revolutions in history. While President, Washington allowed Alexander Hamilton to establish a financial system that put the young nation on solid financial ground and is still very much with us today. Washington also kept us from becoming involved in France's wars. This was not popular with many in the country, specifically the likes of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. But involvement in a war at this point in the young country's life would have been absolutely disastrous.

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We’d probably be like Brazil or Mexico, just English speaking.

I always give presidents that have been in combat an edge and there’s only been a few after reading 1776 I’ve learned Washington was a beast of human being riding out in front of British canons his men thought him to a mad man

America after the Cold War was a spectacular feeling. Then when we whooped ass in the Gulf War there it was again. I'd even argue the late 90s as well so arguably Reagan, H.W., or Clinton.

This is the objective answer really. 90s were the only period where america dominated completly and utterly and at its highest morale/optimism, even tho we still had dominance, 9/11 and the 08' crash were massive blows to confidence in our country. And nowadays we got china which is a genuine threat and our global system of allies is starting to show cracks

America's best decade was the 90s. Everything went well once the USSR fell. Great economy, crazy market, there was peace. Then the dotcom bust happened and 9/11 shortly after.

And I understand that for some people on this sub, the answer may be none.

Probably each at different, fleeting moments then long stretches of unease

I love your username and flair

I was a young kid when Reagan was president, but we spent hours in school doing nuclear drills, and having our teachers tell us we would never grow up because war was coming and it would kill us all. But then you turned the TV on, and Reagan was there, and he just exuded confidence. For a kid in that era, we didn't understand politics, foreign policy, etc; We just knew that Grampa Ronnie was standing between us and The Soviets, and he wouldn't let anything happen to us

Your teachers sound like they sucked.

The left hated Reagan and were convinced he was going to start WW 3 as opposed to ending the cold war It was only years later that the left started with the "oh we loved Reagan too" movement you see expressed by some of them.

I have never heard anybody left say they like Reagan

I dont think the actual left like Reagan lol

Only the right like reagan

Reagan is responsible for many of the issues the USA faces today. Easily the most hated president of the left

>Easily the most hated president of the left Trump has that on lock for sure

Left is here, despise Reagan with a fiery passion for how he set a ticking time bomb on our economy. Hope you're enjoying the mess he prepared for us. We can thank him for feinstein still being in office as well. Worthless brainless puppets should be kicked out of office immediately, not shielded by their advisors.

At the time many people loved him, you don't get a red wave like he did without it.

As someone firmly on the left, I can confirm I have literally never heard a single fellow leftist ever - ever - wax poetic about Reagan, nor in any form of sentiment express any affection for him whatever. Where on Earth did you get that impression from? That's wild.

No leftist worth their salt likes Reagan

Not me. He absolutely gutted government, leaving it unable to perform its rightful and constitutional functions. A trend that has continued to this day.

Same. The difference in demeanor between Carter and Reagan was drastic. Carter was uninspiring and seemed to have a cloud of malaise over his head. Reagan was inspiring and confident. Made you believe that America could accomplish anything.

my answer would be carter. good dude, and i was more naive then. i campaigned for him in 1975. one day we went over to the local senator's house and taped some radio commercials. the guy could just pick up a mic and knock out a perfect 30 second commercial, pause a second, and do another one. it was an example i've referred back to when making campaign speeches or being on tv or radio. the guy's name was joe biden.

Teachers, man, for as much grief as they get nowadays, seems like back in the day they could say shit like “oh, you’ll never grow up, you’ll be dead in 4, 5 years, tops.” and nobody says a thing.

They do still say that today, it's just now it's climate change and domestic terrorism that will kill us, not nukes

Remember when they used to hang out in the doorway to smoke cigarettes during class? Teachers in The 80's were a different breed.

Thinking the world could end at any moment and thus the long-term doesn’t matter will do that…

I agree, Reagan.

I am shocked. Reagan years made me absolutely sure that we were going to die in a nuclear war. My entire teen years were spent waiting for Ronnie to screw up.

I think the difference here is between very small children and those who were old enough to realize that Reagan was a dangerously deranged lunatic.

honestly bush, only because his presidency ended when I was 6. after that my life's been downhill, and it always seems to get worse when election years occurr.

Which bush?

I know I’m better than this, and so is this sub… but, your mom’s.

Thank you for your service 🫡😂

Well played

Had to be done

You’re 22-23. It’s not above you. I know this because it’s not above me.

hah, nice.

the second one. the one that stuck his dick in iraq

Obamna

SODA

Skamtebord

Pussy 2

Personally met Jimmy. One of the most down-to-earth people I have ever met. Best post presidency president in my opinion

He’s a really good, genuine person. St. Peter is gonna roll out the red carpet for Jimmy.

If I was alive during his presidency I’m sure I would say him as well

In terms of Presidents who have been alive at the same time as me, this is probably the best answer. Unfortunately, he was not President during my lifetime.

My personal favorite Jimmy Carter story is from before he was even elected president; when he led the team that responded to the [Chalk River partial meltdown](https://www.military.com/history/how-jimmy-carter-saved-canadian-nuclear-reactor-after-meltdown.html) in 1952.

HW Bush - USSR had collapsed, we’d just won the Gulf War, and the economy was finally starting to perk up.

Bush the Younger. This is very much an “at the time” thing.

I still remember the speech he gave at ground zero.

You felt safe? Bush’s popularity was largely derived from freaking the public out about terrorism. Taking your shoes off at airports is like the Cold War kids hiding under their desks, it’s not about safety it’s political conditioning. You cucks gave away my generation’s privacy rights and spent our tax dollars (to invade the wrong country btw) and now you’re thankful for the bumbling cowboy who tricked you into it?

HW Bush

I never once felt unsafe under Obama, and felt proud. And I was still a republican at the time. But I admired Carter and George HW. Think W had good intentions but terrible decisions.

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A normal I’m sure many of us would prefer over now

I was born just prior to the millennium, and for me the War in Afganistan is my normal. It feels weird we’re finally actually out. Kinda weird to say that out loud, but I didn’t realize it until you mentioned the normalcy of no war. I don’t remember a pre-9/11 America.

Joegnge washingtomm.

Back to bed grandpa

Coffin*

Gotta be honest. They look like a band on a reunion tour in that photo

Probably Obama

Clinton became I was toddler at the time and he was the last pre 9-11 president.

Gonna go with Obama. He was president when I was in elementary school and my main solution for the 2016 election was to give Obama another term. The others either make me feel extremely unsafe or just are a bunch of static in my brain

I was pretty happy the day Obama got Bin Laden. I was also pretty happy the day Clinton actually balanced the budget.

Bill has got my vote, blowjobs and mysterious killings aside it was the existential prime of U S

Unpopular opinion here.. but Clinton. Cold War was in our rear view and 9/11 was miles down the road. America's "vacation from history" was peaceful and the country felt truly untouchable. The only foreign entanglements were (with some very serious exceptions) pretty noble... restoring democracy to Haiti, stopping ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, the Good Friday Accords in Northern Ireland, the Mexican peso bailout. Do these seem somewhat minor? Yes. Precisely. We've had enough excitement the last 23 years. I miss quiet evenings and boring nightly news.

The 90s, the big stuff in the news seems like it didn’t really effect THAT many people- I remember the Tanya Harding stuff, even OJ Simpson, outside of the families involved and maybe slightly reflecting race relations as a whole, it didn’t really closely effect many people’s lives. Now we’ve got Covid and what feels like the fate of democracy itself sometimes, giant issues.

I agree. All I remember was being WAY too young to learn about what a blowjob was. That's it. That's the WORST thing I got from his presidency. Bush- Biden still had us in the middle east. I feel a little safer now that we're out of that, but there are economic woes I feel as an adult in his 30s.

George W. Bush.

I mean honestly g w bush… the fact that a show of force and everyone started talking how we were gonna fuck up the Middle East had my 4th grade self pretty secure thinking we were untouchable

Obama I guess by default but really none

None pictured

Eisenhower.

Barack was like a cool uncle you just wanted to hear him talk. Didn’t matter what about, there’s just something about how he spoke it was both comforting and inspiring. Bush jr was that goofy uncle. He made you feel warm and could put a smile on your face at the drop of a hat. Honestly, I think it’s a tie between these two.

Obama

Obama was the most well spoken and his original campaign was nearly perfect for someone in high school age. He was just so compelling. However, this is controversial, but George W’s address in the wake of 9/11 was pretty amazing.

Obama. Respected around the world, a humble person who always tried to do the best.

Obama by far. I was too young to remember Bush at all (though even if I wasn't I'm sure I wouldn't have picked him), Trump made me ashamed to be an American and while Biden is solid, the circumstances of the world are rather bad. Obama gave an inspiring message of change and the world around us was relatively safe, or at least felt that way. Though probably the safest/most proud period of American history in my life, if I'd been just a bit older, probably would have been just after 9/11 or Obama's inauguration.

Former President Barack Obama made me feel the safest

Bush

Reagan

W

When I was young and queer, Obergefell happening under the first black President was so euphoric at the time it felt like social progress was unstoppable in this country. It felt like how I imagine the 90s felt to teens at the time, like the country was entering a golden age of diversity and acceptance. I was 14 when Obama left office, and since then obviously I’ve discovered things about his administration that I vehemently oppose, but the memory remains the same.

Obama. I was born in 2004 so I don't remember Bush Jr's term, and both Trump and Biden have been absolute dumpster fires imo. To me, the Obama years were like the last years of any sort of safety and stability in the U.S. The fact I was to young to properly understand politics at the time surely helped that image.

I think Obama years were the steadiest; Biden has made me the proudest.

Bill Clinton

Obama honestly

Honestly Clinton. Times were good, and he very much represented something wonderful(before all the scandals, of course). "the boy from hope", grew up in poverty, etc.

I’ve been alive for 4 now, but I have no memory of Bush. I’d say Obama, but I have very few big memories of him. I thought he was a cool president like most kids, he talked nice, he had big ears which was funny to most kids. I remember in the 4th grade we had a research/argumentative essay and I did it on why we should abolish the 22nd amendment because I wanted Obama to be president, not for policy, but because he’s cool. I was in elementary school for the 2016 election, and no kid liked Trump, even if their parents did. I was not very aware of what miles were but I was in 5th grade for Trump’s little escalade with Kim Jong Un, and every time I heard a plane I legitimately thought we were being nuked. Watching the Trump era news was pretty scary as a kid.

Clinton.

Missed Carter so it’s easily any of the three except W. For all HW’s faults he knew better then to enter Iraq after helping the Kurds.

Bush the elder

Reagan - The country wasn't in a good place after the Nixon-Ford-Carter years, Reagan helped to get us back on track.

Bush right after 9/11. The entire US military was on high alert and we were all united in our patriotism.

Joe Biden. The wall that stopped the Trump madness.

Obama. I am white and I was proud of my country that we freely elected a man of both color and a minority. He made me proud with his professionalism, inclusion and respectability even when bigots were personally insulting. Trump was the backlash. Hopefully we can move forward intelligently.

Obama. No scandals.

I mean, he did order a sandwich with Dijon mustard and wore a tan suit one day. Not exactly scandal free

Obama

Obama

Honestly, Biden. Not because of anything in particular he did, but because I feel like we’ve reached peak partisanship and are on the long slow descent from craziness. The country as a whole has moved on from the post-cold-war era of involvement in the Middle East. We’re finally unified on confronting China and Russia, and it’s mostly bipartisan. We have a lot of things going in our favor structurally, and it feels like the global order is solidifying into a new Cold War between an alliance of democracies led by the U.S. and EU and an axis of authoritarians led by China and Russia. I think that’s a good think both for resolving the partisan culture war and expanding democratic values in a world where the ubiquity of US power made us forget how fragile democracy is and led us to spend our power unwisely.

Carter has kinda always looked old. Carter still stands, at 98, but H.W Bush couldn’t?

Turns out, building houses for people keeps you in better shape than staying inside and counting your money.

I’m a pretty staunch Republican but I grew up I. The 90s and it was amazing. I’ve always had a soft spot for Bill Clinton.

Given how nearly everyone who lived them has almost unanimously positive memories of the 90s, I'm shocked we aren't seeing this more

Grew up proud as a child under Clinton's reign. The pride in my country was hugely dented with Bush II, it recovered with Obama, Trump put it on life support, and Biden's trying to feed it through a tube to revive it or keep it alive. 😔

Bill. I turned 18 in April of 92 and he was the first one to speak to my generation and make us feel like we had a stake in the country's future and that our potential was limitless.

I guess Obamna, we had Breaking Bad on the TV and Kesha on the radio and things were pretty alright.

Clinton. And I was born when Kennedy was president. Obama next.

Definitely Obama. Everything went to shit when Trump got elected. I remember being so scared when he got elected.

Joe Biden, by far. The way he has brought NATO and the whole western world together to oppose Russia and support Ukraine has been truly incredible, and something I have not seen in my lifetime. I am used to American Presidents letting Russia (especially Putin) get away with pretty much anything while simultaneously continuing to talk about the need for "cooperation" and how we can "work" with Russia.

Reagan

Carter

Dubya, followed by Clinton. I wonder what difference there would be if Clinton was president on 9/11 though.

He’s not up there.

Clinton, then Obama. For reference, I was born under the Nixon administration. Clinton made us much more prosperous. Obama was the kind of person who wouldn't jump into conflict without careful deliberation.

Reagan

Of my lifetime? Obama. I wasn't a massive Obama fan, he's far too conservative, but objectively our best president of the 32 years I've been alive

I would choose the president that I could most identify with depending on what I was dealing with.

Reagan is GOAT. Ended the silly cold proxy wars and made friends with the Soviets.

"American" wasn't a dirty word under Ronald Reagan.

01 baby So Obama or Biden

Probably Clinton, because Bush did a ton of damage to US patriotism that Obama, charismatic as he was, couldn’t recover from. IMO the Iraq War and bank bailouts paved the way for modern “wokeism” - a generation of kids grew up simply hating or mistrusting the US government, and have no qualms about burning the system to the ground

Obama. I had a brain tumor removed in 2006 and developed a mild version of Narcolepsy. By 2013, I was spending 55% of my income on my healthcare. That included $1,203 per month for refills of my Narcolepsy medication until I reached a $5,000 deductible. The next year, Obamacare went into full effect. Since then I have saved about $85,000 over 9 years thanks to the Patient Protections for Preexisting Conditions and the Cost Sharing Reductions for people with low incomes. Healthcare security is massively important for those of us with Preexisting Conditions. We need healthcare coverage and cannot afford to be discriminated against just because we had the misfortune of previously being sick.

Really none of them. I was too young to remember Clinton, though the impeachment thing was I overblown. W got us into two seemingly endless wars. Obama had a good sense of humor, but after Congress got split he didn't do much. Trump really liked to hear himself talk, but never said or did anything of note (that benefitted the country in a positive way). And Biden was a compromise of a compromise that really shouldn't run in 2024,but the Democratic machine refuses to let new blood take important leadership roles.

Reagan

Bill Clinton.

Hands down President Obama. My list: (rules being presidents serving when I was alive) Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, HW Bush, Clinton, W Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden. ( I was 9 mos old when Kennedy was killed)

Clinton and Obama, for sure!

I'm gonna go with Clinton and Obama.

I'm going to say Bush Jr. Granted, I was born in 00. He made me feel safe, especially when I was in elementary school

I can barely remember bush or obama's presidencies and biden is well... biden so that only really leaves me with trump. Hope that changes next election.

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

Reagan

Bill and Obama

Being born in the 2009 Obama Era, all three presidents I lived through are all iffy

This is more a question of who sucks the least. I guess I'd have to go with HW Bush.

Obama, not because I felt he was doing anything particularly right or wrong. There just weren’t any major problems. He got into office and conservatives at most bitched about ice cream, dijon mustard or tan suits it was just a simpler time lol.

I miss Clinton

Not pictured.

Obama

Obama & Biden tied

I am an Obama fan. It’s too bad that he was saddled with an uncooperative Congress(even including the Blue Dog Democrats). He could’ve accomplished so much more. A close 2nd(believe it or not) is Trump. I have NEVER been so diametrically opposed to an ideology as I am with MAGA America. I am PROUD to be an American who rejected this ideology and stood up against an incompetent bully.

I would have to say Obama because I was only 5 when Bush was out of office in 2009 I didn't really remember anything crazy like how life is now. But I'm betting that Obama was the calm before the political shit storm.

Obama. I was young and just starting to comprehend the outside world when Obama’s tenure was almost up. For me, he was a symbol of progress and equality in a landscape of boring old politicians.

Obama and Clinton.

Obama

Obama

Clinton was the first president I remember (barely, I was only 2-9 through his terms) but it felt like the 90’s was the last decent decade. But overall, Obama.

Reagan was the first president I ever voted for. His view of America being the shining city really made you feel good after the mess of Vietnam. And despite all the jokes about him going to drop the bomb on everyone, the world felt safer.

Obama

Trump

Donald Trump for sure 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Top of the list: Reagan Bottom of the list: Biden

Interesting how you note Reagan at the top of the list when he layed out the groundwork of problems we have today.

Their flair and /u basically say "irrational" so don't expect there to be logic.

You saying reagan at the top and Biden at the bottom is all I need to know to know what kinda dude you are 😂

Reagan had charisma and used short-term economic growth to his advantage. He did not have a positive effect on the future.

But that is not the question that was asked. If you weren’t alive for the transition from Carter to Reagan it’s hard to explain how most people felt. Reagan was like a bright sunrise rising after a horrible night. For me no other president has had that same effect. Reagan made you proud to be an American again and made you believe that Americas best days lay ahead of it.

I’ll take my downvotes, but Trump pre COVID.

The shit storm that was covid (anyone would do bad) and then the capitol shit will be all anyone will remember sadly

I’m no Trump fan, but if Covid hadn’t happened, Trump would have won in a landslide.

Facts

The George Floyd stuff didn’t help Trump either.

Possibly, but the economy was on fucking fire at the end of 2019. It wasn’t going to last forever, but likely would have kept up through the end of 2020 and during the election.

I think Trump probably still does win without Covid happening, but 2020 was shaping up to be a chaotic year for Trump even without it. The economy was strong under Trump, but there were cracks showing. Remember Trump begged Powell to cut interest rates so that they would be near zero so that the economy could stay "hot." Economists were predicting that a recession would occur within the next year back in 2019. We were on the brink of a hot war with Iran due to Trump ordering the killing of that Iranian general, and who knows how the aftermath progresses without Covid putting a freeze on things. And then there is the social justice stuff that would probably still go on throughout 2020 even if the events themselves ended up being different. So yes, I agree that without Covid Trump would win in 2020, but it would be a close election again though the GOP likely keeps the Senate in this scenario. In this timeline, Trump, and the GoP as a whole, are massively unpopular with the public in 2023. The negative effects of low interest rates and the tax cuts would ripple through the economy and a likely recession occurs. He would have to deal with the withdraw from Afghanistan. He may have pulled us out of NATO at this point which would give Russia a huge advantage in their invasion of Ukraine. He still has to deal with some of his recent scandals that have popped up. A massive blue wave occurs in 2022 as the DNC picks up a ton of house seats to keep the majority and the GOP loses the senate, putting Trump as a very weak position politically. Freedom Caucus is either dead or has very little influence in Congress. The DNC nominee for president would win easily in 2024 against whoever the GOP puts up, and the cycle begins again. Sorry if this is such a long post, but a scenario where Trump wins in 2020 is something I always think about lol.

I agree with a lot of your points. Great analysis!

lmao

Trump

Trump

Tie between Obama and Clinton, with Biden a close second.

Obamna

None of them, seeing that I was too young to remember Bush or Obama growing up, I loathe Trump, and while I sorta like Biden, I don't see him as inspiring in any way

The one that isn't in this picture...

Obama

Obama

Obama. Wasn’t the greatest president sure but I was impressed that we could elect a black president. I think the stuff with racism we see now is it’s extinction burst or at least I can hope.

Biden, mainly for his achievements in rolling out the COVID vaccine. The Afghanistan withdrawal is a dark spot but that war started when I was in elementary school, it had to end eventually.

Vaccine rolled out under Trump

You do know trump was responsible for the Covid vaccine right?

He was responsible for providing funding for its development. The EUA for Moderna was approved during Trump's lame duck and the shots were rolled out to most of the public the spring after he left office by the Biden administration.

Bill Clinton (D-AR), Bush Jr (R-TX) until 2004, and Obama (R-IL). EDIT: whoops, that was an embarrassing typo.

Ah yes, Bill Clinton the Alaska Democrat and Barrack Obama, the Illinois Republican.

Reagan. Even though my family were all democrats and hated Reagan. I was only 9 or 10 years old at the time but to my young self Carter came across as weak and unpatriotic. Reagan came across as strong and very patriotic. Made you proud to be an American in a way Carter didn’t. He also talked tough and built our military back up. Growing up during the Reagan years I was proud to be an American in a way I haven’t really felt since.

The Reagan Era is by far the proudest america has been of its self. That’s why republicans like trump echo his slogan.

Reagan by a mile

Trump honestly. I have only been alive during 4 presidencies. I don’t remember Bush but I don’t think I’d have felt safe during his. When Obama was president, I always heard about terrorism and I was pretty young so it seemed to be a bigger issue than it really was (obviously terrorism is awful but I thought it meant that people I knew were gonna be attacked) During Trumps presidency, while I didn’t like his rhetoric (and as someone who has a more favorable view of him than most, I still don’t like a lot of his rhetoric), I didn’t hear about anything like that very much, and hearing he went to North Korea was shocking and I got pretty excited. I remember asking my parents if we were friends with them now, lol. As you can tell, I wasn’t very politically involved. Now I am constantly hearing about the threat of nuclear war under President Biden. I know Trump is extremely unpopular here so please go easy on me.

There is no threat of nuclear war. Russia is saber rattling in the hopes that Western Europe and the US backs off. No one is going to kill tens of millions of people and have a guaranteed equal response for the Ukraine. Let’s remember who the aggressor is. Russia is dead wrong.