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| Michael Swickard |
© 2019 Michael
Swickard, Ph.D. February
is President’s Month. Recently I noticed on Social Media quite a few posts
about current and former United States Presidents. Over two-hundred thirty
years there are only forty-four men in that exclusive club.
One post proclaimed
Barack Obama worst president ever. There was as usual a vigorous battle of emotions.
I believe it takes at least thirty years to get a real historical feel for the
value of a President. The jury is still out for me on Bush 41 to Trump.
My
response to that post: Lyndon Johnson was the worst president ever. There were some
good results during his presidency. However, his legacy is the damage to Social
Security for political purposes, micromanaging the Vietnam War including not
understanding our military technically won the war in 1968.
Additionally,
Johnson pushed a welfare system that incentivized single parents. Over his
political life he was very corrupt. Yes, many U. S. Presidents were corrupt in
one way or many. In my opinion, LBJ was worst. My post on LBJ was divided by
partisans so LBJ either sat on the right hand of God or of Satan.
If you study
U. S. Presidents, you find they are all flawed human beings. Some Presidents control
their flaws better. Question: what is the lasting good and lasting harm of each
of them?
Most
harmful: Polk, Bucannon, Wilson, both Roosevelts, LBJ and Carter. You might
have a different list. I can talk hours why those seven Presidents left our
nation much worse off.
Best Presidents:
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Coolidge, Truman, Eisenhower and Reagan. Each,
despite flaws, left our nation better for their time as president.
All must
grow into the job. Even George Washington had growing pains throughout his
presidency since he had to take each crisis as a new learning activity.
George
Washington previously served as General of the Army. Being President is vastly
different. He learned and left our nation better. The same can be said of
Eisenhower. However, President Grant did not leave a lasting good though he was
very popular in his lifetime.
Take
Abraham Lincoln, an awful President his first year but grew into the Presidency
and left our nation better off. Maybe one of Lincoln’s contemporaries would
have grown into the presidency like Lincoln but we will never know.
Both Calvin
Coolidge and Harry Truman were trust into the Presidency and left the nation
better off. Both did not want the office but took it when the then President
died in office.
We can use
the same logic for Governors and Mayors but again about thirty years or so must
go by before any real historical decisions are appropriate.
At New Mexico
State University in 1970 I drew the ire of then President Roger Corbett while I
was in the Student Senate. At the time I thought him an awful president.
After years
of reflection I believe the top five NMSU President were Hadley, Foster, Kent,
Thomas and yes, Roger Corbett. The academic world of NMSU is ever so much
better for each of them being the President.
I cannot
make a judgement on my fellow Class of 1968 Alamogordo High School graduate
Danny Arvizu, who now leads NMSU. I liked him in high school, but I do not know
if he will lead NMSU in turbulent times to a better place than he finds it.
When government
leaders are elected, and leaders of academic institutions are appointed it will
be decades before we really know the total results of that decision. However, we
can learn much by those who came before, if we want to learn.
Email:
drswickard@comcast.net
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