I have given each president one of five quality ratings from Great to Failure. My ratings are not a numerical ranking. Within each quality rating, I have ordered the presidents chronologically from the earliest to the most recent administrations. These ratings are merely my gut opinions with some deference to historical consensus. To achieve balance, my list includes seven Greats, eight Near Greats, seven Below Averages, and eight Failures. If you disagree, submit your suggestions and comments to me. I will consider your input when making any revisions.
Follow the links on the left or below for comparative biographical information.
Enjoy!
Nick Netchvolodoff
Elected Four Times Elected Twice Elected Once Never Elected
Number |
Name |
Quality
Rating |
Elected |
Term
Began |
Term
Ended |
Tenure
(years) |
| 1 |
George Washington |
Great |
2 |
1789 |
1797 |
8 |
| 3 |
Thomas Jefferson |
Great |
2 |
1801 |
1809 |
8 |
| 16 |
Abraham Lincoln |
Great |
2 |
1861 |
1865 |
4 |
| 26 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
Great |
2 |
1901 |
1909 |
8 |
| 32 |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
Great |
4 |
1933 |
1945 |
12 |
| 33 |
Harry S Truman |
Great |
1
|
1945 |
1953 |
8 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| | 2 | John Adams
| Near Great
| 1 | 1797
| 1801
| 4
|
| 5 |
James Monroe |
Near Great
|
2 |
1817 |
1825 |
8 | 6
| John Quincy Adams
| Near Great
| 1 | 1825 | 1829 | 4
|
| 22 | 24 |
Grover Cleveland |
Near Great
|
2 |
1885|1893 |
1889|1897 |
8 |
| 34 |
Dwight David Eisenhower |
Near Great
|
2 |
1953 |
1961 |
8 |
| 36 |
Lyndon Baines Johnson |
Near Great
|
1 |
1963 |
1969 |
6 |
| 40 |
Ronald Wilson Reagan |
Near Great
|
2 |
1981 |
1989 |
8 | | 44 | Barack Obama
| Near Great
| 2 | 2009 | 2017 | 8 |
| | | | | | | |
| 4 |
James Madison |
Average |
2 |
1809 |
1817 |
8 |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson
| Average | 2
| 1829 | 1837 | 8 |
| 11 |
James Knox Polk |
Average |
1 |
1845 |
1849 |
4 |
| 23 |
Benjamin Harrison |
Average |
1 |
1889 |
1893 |
4 |
| 25 |
William McKinley |
Average |
1 |
1897 |
1901 |
4 |
| 27 |
William Howard Taft |
Average |
1 |
1909 |
1913 |
4 | | 28 | Woodrow Wilson
| Average | 2 | 1913 | 1921 | 8 |
| 31 |
Herbert Clark Hoover |
Average |
1 |
1929 |
1933 |
4 |
| 35 |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy |
Average |
1 |
1961 |
1963 |
2 |
| 38 |
Gerald Rudolph Ford |
Average |
0 |
1974 |
1977 |
3 |
| 39 |
James Earl Carter Jr. |
Average |
1 |
1977 |
1981 |
4 |
| 41 |
George Herbert Walker Bush |
Average |
1 |
1989 |
1993 |
4 |
| 42 |
William Jefferson Clinton |
Average |
2 |
1993 |
2001 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 8 |
Martin Van Buren |
Below Average |
1 |
1837 |
1841 |
4 |
| 10 |
John Tyler |
Below Average |
0 |
1841 |
1845 |
4 |
| 14 |
Franklin Pierce |
Below Average |
1 |
1853 |
1857 |
4 |
| 17 |
Andrew Johnson |
Below Average |
0 |
1865 |
1869 |
4 |
| 19 |
Rutherford Birchard Hayes |
Below Average |
1 |
1877 |
1881 |
4 |
| 21 |
Chester Alan Arthur |
Below Average |
0 |
1881 |
1885 |
4 |
| 30 |
Calvin Coolidge |
Below Average |
1 |
1923 |
1929 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
Zachary Taylor |
Failure
|
1 |
1849 |
1850 |
1 |
| 13 |
Millard Fillmore |
Failure |
0 |
1850 |
1853 |
3 |
| 15 |
James Buchanan |
Failure |
1 |
1857 |
1861 |
4 |
| 18 |
Ulysses Simpson Grant |
Failure |
2 |
1869 |
1877 |
8 |
| 29 |
Warren Gamaliel Harding |
Failure |
1 |
1921 |
1923 |
2 |
| 37 |
Richard Milhous Nixon |
Failure |
2 |
1969 |
1974 |
5 |
| 43 |
George Walker Bush |
Failure |
2 |
2001 |
2009 |
8 | | 45 | Donald John Trump
| Failure | 1
| 2017 | | 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 9 |
William Henry Harrison |
No Rating |
1 |
1841 |
1841 |
32 days |
| 20 |
James Abram Garfield |
No Rating |
1 |
1881 |
1881 |
199 days | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
