The Worst "Best" President Ever

I ran across this short, entertaining piece in the Washington Post and it made me chuckle. Those on the right are starting to say more and more that Obama is the worst president ever. Of course those on the left immediately reply back that George W. Bush has a vice grip on the title. The author of this piece seems to think it might be William Henry Harrison, who had the dubious honor of only being in office for one month before he died.

While Harrison was certainly insignificant, I wouldn’t call him the worst. Actually, he’s probably one of the only presidents that hasn’t messed anything up, therefore he might be the BEST president we’ve ever had! Unfortunately, politicians are often judged by how much they do, and it doesn’t really matter if they do it well or not.

Obama has certainly done a lot, and that’s been enough to fool many people into thinking he’s a good president. G.W. Bush certainly did a lot, but a war is easier to denounce than poor economic policy, so it’s easier for some people to say Bush was a worse president than Obama. While I think both Obama and G.W. Bush are certainly worthy of mention in the debate, I think the Worst-President-Ever Award must go to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

FDR, through a series of poor economic policies, turned what would have been a moderate recession into a decade-long depression. For instance, according to a 1937 New York Times Article, “The cause [of the depression] is attributed by some to taxation and federal curbs on industry; by others, to the demoralization of production caused by strikes”.

FDR can be directly blamed for all of those causes. FDR continuously experimented with governmental power and intervention into the market; the effect of which was to paralyze business and dry up investment and entrepreneurship. In a desperate and foolish response to cautious business practices tacitly encouraged by FDR’s policies, he passed the National Labor Relations Act with greatly strengthened unions and put the power of government behind them. This caused businesses to hire even fewer workers, aggravating an already disastrous situation.

But perhaps his most lasting failure is the fact that he almost single-handedly turned America into a welfare state. By passing the Social Security Act in 1935, he put America on an un-reversible course towards dependency on government. Not only is Social Security itself insolvent, but it paved the way for Medicare and Medicaid, two of the most disastrous government programs ever (Medicare and Medicaid were introduced to America in 1965 in an amendment to the Social Security Act).

Medicare and Medicaid are directly to blame for the healthcare debacle currently being experienced in this country. Rising healthcare costs have pushed Obama to try to “reform” the system, but in fact he’s only made it worse. But perhaps healthcare wouldn’t have been so broken in the first place if it weren’t for Medicaid and Medicare. This is just one clear example of how FDR’s failed policies are still hurting us today, over 65 years after his death.

So while my biggest gripes with FDR are his failed social welfare policies, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the very tragic and oft-overlooked aspect of FDR’s presidency - his decision to inter Japanese-American citizens during WWII and his refusal to allow Jews to emigrate from Europe; basically sentencing thousands to death.

Furthermore, FDR blatantly disregarded the long-held, unspoken tradition of presidents serving no more than two terms in office. When George Washington was first elected, observers in Europe became resigned to the fact that the new United States would become a monarchy. Nobody expected Washington, once he attained power, to give it up.

Washington set perhaps the most respected and important precedent of our nation by willingly and voluntarily stepping down after two terms and ensuring a peaceful transition of power. That had basically never been done before. Washington set America on the right path and made is an excellent example to the world of what peaceful transitions of power should look like.

Since Washington’s time, no president ever wanted to tarnish or undermine Washington’s legacy, or erode the precedent by serving more than two terms. It was a hallowed tradition. Unfortunately, FDR didn’t care much about that and only sought to consolidate and accumulate power. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t died in office?

The country was so disturbed by FDR’s lust for power that Congress immediately passed the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, ensuring no president could serve more than two terms. It was ratified by the states in 1951. To amend the Constitution requires broad and deep support from across every political spectrum across the entire United States. It’s not an easy thing to do. The fact that such an Amendment was written and passed so easily is a testament to the bad taste FDR left in people’s mouths.

A by-product of FDR’s illegitimately long tenure in office was his influence on the Supreme Court. He first tried to unconstitutionally “pack” the Supreme Court with 15 Justices. FDR sought this measure because he wanted to control the Court because he was frustrated that it rightly declared unconstitutional many of his New Deal programs.

Even though his quest to pack the court failed, due to his long term in office FDR was successful in appointing eight Justices, second most of any president, behind George Washington. At one point in the composition of the court, 7 of the 9 Justices were appointed by FDR and the remaining two were appointed by FDR’s Vice President-turned-President Truman.

I’d say FDR was successful in his plan to transform the court and thus transform the country. FDR changed the character of America. Most students, from grade school through college are only given the rosy picture of FDR as America’s savior during its greatest crises. Unfortunately FDR disregarded individual liberty and sound economic policy – two mortal wounds from which the US will never recover – in order to become the “greatest” president ever. If that’s what greatness means, then the world truly is upside-down.