Presidents Day

It still baffles me why there is a day to celebrate all Presidents.  And, esp, since it was done at the expense of two days that honor our two greatest Presidents, Lincoln and Washington.  C'mon, what rationale can there be to lump Buchanan, Pierce, A. Johnson, Carter, and Harding in with them to celebrate?

It's no secret that Lincoln and Washington, to me, are the greatest Presidents.  I don't think there's a challenge to their status.  I also like Truman and Eisenhower (for different reasons, recognizing some of their doings I am not crazy about).  I wonder if I'd surprise people to also mention Coolidge as one worthy of considerably more note than he receives.  Jefferson (his first term at least), Reagan, Madison, and Monroe also are on my "good" list.  Without thinking much more about that, I'm sure I'd add a few more.

I noted the worst, or at least among the worst, above.  And I know this is political, but I'd add Obama to that list, maybe even Clinton.  I know I'm going to be accused of being naive or worse, but I think character matters and these two......  That a recent C-Span poll of American historians ranks them so high reflects their biases.  I hope their teaching doesn't do that.

What about F. Roosevelt?  I know he is usually ranked in the top three in polls of historians.  In fact, a few years ago, he flip-flopped with Washington to claim the #2 spot.  I understand this, but only if "great" translates to "most influential."  What FDR did, to me, was very destructive to the US and to Americans, although I'm sure most historians would disagree with me.  Just like I may be displaying some political and philosophical biases, I think anyone who ranks FDR so highly does, too.

Jackson remains an enigma for me.  He did some dastardly things, just horrible.  Yet, his administration(s) paved the way for the future.  That is, what he accomplished probably made the election of Lincoln possible.  Without the transformation of the US under Jackson, would there have been a President Lincoln?  And if not, well, you fill in the blank.

JFK remains problematic for me, too.  I think he was scum and, well, I have noted my value of good character.  His policies and actions vary in my estimation--some good, very good, and some bad, very bad.  Yet, I have softened a bit on him over the years.  His great abilities as a speaker, I think, were very inspirational.  He drove people to do things they might not otherwise have done.

But let me emphasize, being an "average" President is not a slam, far from it.  That reminds me of the 25th guy on the bench of a Major League Baseball team.  There's no laughing at him!  Do people realize how good he was to get there?  Do they realize how many really, really good players never got there?  The same with Presidents.