Bill Gardner is a great friend, for over 50 years. He’s a retired University of Minnesota professor and dean. He was my graduate adviser in the 1960s and a lunch companion frequently now. He’s a fine person and a superlative teacher.
Bill’s annual letter at Christmas closed with this serious observation:
"I have never included political comments in holiday letters, but the current presidential campaign has brought fear and loathing to my poor old heart. The current set of Republican candidates contains not a single person who qualifies for the presidency, and the content of their many debates is at the low end of political discourse. There was a time when there were good, solid conservatives who thirsted to follow in Lincoln’s footsteps and serve the people. Where have they gone?"
I’ve watched and listened to the debates and believe Bill is correct. The campaign theatrics attendant to the electoral skirmish for the White House are reminiscent of junior high student behavior I recall from my early teaching days, and the candidates offer little evidence of courtesy, statesmanship or propriety. Media "fact finders" list abundant half-truths and pure lies spewing forth in candidates’ assertions.
Bill did succeed in sending me "back to school," however. I thought it might be helpful to review some presidents and see what kinds of traits might be common among those who have been rated "best," and those rated "worst," followed by an examination of candidates to see who might likely fit some kind of prototype.
It’s not difficult to find lists of "best" for just about anything. For presidents, the lists are often the products of groups of scholars, professors, deans and professional associations. Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States in our national history under the Constitution proposed in 1787 and ratified in 1789. Forty-four presidents over more than 225 years is not a large group.
With any "rank order," there will be argument. However, here’s a fairly widely accepted list of the 10 "worst" presidents, arranged by me in chronological order: William Henry Harrison, ninth president; John Tyler, 10th president; Zachary Taylor, 12th president; Millard Fillmore, 13th president; Franklin Pierce, 14th president; James Buchanan, 15th president; Andrew Johnson, 17th president; Warren Harding, 29th president; Herbert Hoover, 31st president; and George W. Bush, 43rd president.
At 68, William Harrison was the oldest elected president until Ronald Reagan won the post in 1980. Reagan was 69 on his inauguration, but lived to serve two terms. Harrison fell ill on inauguration day and lived only another month. He had been a successful soldier, held a number of appointed governmental positions, and served in both the U.S. House and the Senate. But, with only a month in the White House, I really don’t think he ought to be ranked.
In a broader sense, perhaps it’s futile to look back on 44 presidencies for clues in a search for chief executives. Times do, as the expression goes, change. And "change" was a charge made by just about all seven of the Republican debaters last week in their condemnation of Obama. Obama’s achievements, incidentally, are targeted for change by the opponents of change.
Pre-Civil War era
But, in our list of 10 "worst" presidents, we find that six of the 10 served before the Civil War (1861-65), and a seventh, Andrew Johnson, succeeded to the office on Lincoln’s death by assassination in 1865.
Most of the presidents prior to Harrison had been struggling with early national problems of independence and in being Founding Fathers. From Harrison to Johnson the struggle focused on sectional issues, "free state vs. slave state," Indian wars, war with Mexico, westward expansion, growth of industry and cities.
Five of the "worst" had served their states in the legislature or as governor. Six of the 10 had served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, or both (although Senators were "elected" by the state legislatures until the 20th century). Two of the 10, Zachary Taylor and Herbert Hoover, brought no governmental office experience to the White House.
By trade, four had "read law" under practicing attorneys in order to become lawyers themselves by passing the bar examination. Even medical doctors rarely attended medical school until into the 20th century. Thomas Jefferson had strong views on the proper education for "the law," but even U.S. Supreme Court justices were rarely law school graduates until relatively recently. We often forget that the U.S. Constitution says very little about what is required to be a legislative, executive, or judicial federal office holder.
Other than attorney, two had been successful in business, two more attained fame and success in the military, two had been teachers, one publisher, a mining engineer, an oilman, and several had farm backgrounds. Three indicated they had no formal education.
Religion seems to be an ever present issue in American politics. Of the 10 "worst" presidents, only Andrew Johnson had no religious affiliation. Four of the others were Episcopalian, and one each for Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Quaker, and Unitarian. With seven of the 10 serving prior to the 20th century, we are dealing with "Catholics and Jews need not apply" qualifications.
Only James Buchanan was a bachelor president. John Tyler, incidentally, was father to 15 children with two wives. As vice president to Harrison, the two men accounted for a total of 25 offspring.
Historians agree on the point that Buchanan failed as a president. Yet, he carried the right baggage. He was a college graduate (1809), a prominent attorney, had served in the Pennsylvania legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, and in the U.S. Senate. He had diplomatic service as minister to Great Britain and to Russia, and also served as Secretary of State under President James Polk. At age 65 upon taking office, only Harrison of the 10 "worst" was older.
Of the current Republican candidates who appeared in the last debate, Donald Trump is oldest at 69. Ben Carson is 64, John Kasich is 63, Jeb Bush is 62, Chris Christie is 53, Ted Cruz is 45 and Marco Rubio is 44.
We need also to see what kinds of things we can learn about the "10 best" presidents. That group includes more recent chief executives, but does begin with the nation’s very first. More to come.
Clayton Diskerud, Buffalo, formerly of Lake Augusta, is an emeritus professor of social science and criminal justice (for which he was program director.) He has taught at the University of Minnesota and Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. He is a regular contributor to the Advocate.