Q&A of the Day – Part 2 Where does President Trump rank historically?
Bottom Line: Continuing with the evaluation of Post-World War II Presidents...
- Johnson (6)
Defense: Poor 2 – While Lyndon Johnson saw President Kennedy’s vision for America’s space program to fruition, his interventionist policy to drag the United States into the middle of the Vietnam War proved to be a poor one.
Economy: Good 4 – While he largely benefited from the Kennedy tax cuts, he presided over the creation of Medicare and Medicaid and the economy was strong throughout his term.
- Nixon (7)
Defense: Outstanding 5 – Ended US involvement in the Vietnam War, was effective at mitigating the escalation of the cold war with Russia and China.
Economy: Poor 2 – Term featured two years of negative economic growth and removed the United States from the gold standard
- Ford (7)
Defense: Good 4 – Negotiated a truce between Israel and Egypt, kept Russia’s cold war ambitions at bay.
Economy: Solid 3 – Exercised fiscal restraint which helped the economy bounce back from recession to robust growth while keeping inflation at bay.
- Carter (4)
Defense: Solid 3 – Mixed record on defense. Obtained the ratification of the Panama Canal treaty, obtained the Camp David agreement continuing peace between Egypt and Israel but lacked credibility with several hostile actors. While he signed a limited nuclear treaty with China and Russia, history would show they didn’t adhere to the standards and his lack credibility led to the Iran hostage crisis.
Economy: Awful 1 – Badly mismanaged US economic policy leading to record high inflation and interest rates culminating in a recession that would take three years after he was out of office to fully recover from.
- Reagan (10)
Defense: Great 5 – Led by a policy of peace through strength, Reagan’s credibility immediately ended the Iran hostage crisis without conflict. Similarly, he ended the decades long threat of nuclear war with Russia without a single shot being fired.
Economy: Great 5 – Inherited a recession with record high inflation and interest rates. Passed through the largest tax cuts in American history which led to a period of unpreceded economic prosperity – including US economic growth exceeding 7% in 1984.
- H.W. Bush (6)
Defense: Good 4 – took the baton from Reagan’s and successfully ran with it. This included seeing Reagan's vision of the Berlin wall coming down through to reality. It also included the successful overthrow of the Noriega regime in Panama as the security of the canal was threatened. Likewise, in the middle-east when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, President Bush coordinated the most effective UN-led mission in history to liberate Kuwait and provide stability to the energy markets.
Economy: Poor 2 – Breaking with Reagan’s policy of tax cuts, and his own promise not to raise taxes which became his political undoing, he approved tax increases and experienced an economy which experienced less economic growth in each successive year
- Clinton (6)
Defense: Poor 2 – On the surface the only real blemish were events in Mogadishu in which two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and adequate support wasn’t provided by the Clinton Defense Department for those engaged in the Somali conflict. More astute analysis saw President Clinton preside over the rise Islamic terror brought about by Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda. During Clinton’s time as President, Al Qaeda bombed the world trade center (1993), multiple US embassies in Africa and the USS Cole. Despite these direct attacks on Americans, President Clinton looked the other way. This included an opportunity in which President Clinton was asked directly by the Pentagon for the authorization to eliminate Bin Laden but declined. Of course, the result cultivated in the 9/11 terror attacks less than eight months after he left office.
Economy: Good 4 – Led by the emergence of the consumer internet, President Clinton presided over a robust economy backed by fiscal restraint with a Republican controlled Congress which led to strong economic growth and unprecedented prosperity throughout his administration. While the tech bubble burst in the stock market led to a recession exiting his administration, his economic record is among the most impressive. The biggest knock against his economic agenda was the signing of NAFTA, which proved determinantal to American manufacturing.
- W. Bush (5)
Defense: Neutral 3 – George W. Bush’s defense policy is the hardest to rate of any president. In the aftermath of 9/11, his administration’s creation of the Department of Homeland security and effective response to gut Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, while keeping Bin Laden on the run kept Americans safe. Conversely, there’s the expansion of the War on Terror into Iraq. After initial success in toppling Saddam Hussain, it was clear there was a miscalculation in the ability for Iraq to self-govern without US support which led to years of ongoing conflict resulting in hundreds of billions in tax dollars being spent and thousands of lives of American heroes.
Economy: Poor 2 - Bush’s economy was a tale of his two different terms in office. Led by tax cuts in his first year in office, the economy rebounded from the recession he inherited and managed to quickly overcome the economic harm done by the 9/11 terror attacks. A housing boom ensued and with light regulation over mortgages, most lenders engaged in irresponsible loan activities creating a bubble resulting in the housing crisis which led to the Great Recession.
- Obama (4)
Defense: Poor 2 – President Obama’s top achievement, the killing of Osama Bin Laden by Seal Team 6, was meaningful yet largely symbolic as new terror cells had risen up in the middle-east. Called the Muslim brotherhood and ISIS, these organizations thrived under the Obama administration. In fact, at one point during a visit in Egypt he called on the Muslim Brotherhood to rise up. They did and became an elite terror group which seized control of Egypt and created widespread instability. This instability was seized on by ISIS which made it known they intended to carry out a caliphate, which they accomplished during his administration. The rise of ISIS also led to frequent attacks in the US by those radicalized by the terror organization. There was also the misguided toppling the Libyan government followed by the subsequent tragedy which the Obama administration allowed to happen at our consulate in Benghazi and subsequently lied about.
Economy: Poor 2 – Led by a significant increase in regulations, tax increases via the allowed expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the passage of the Affordable Care Act, economic growth proved to be challenged during his eight years. He became the first President in American history to serve at least a year and to not have at least one year of 3% plus economic growth. The average economic growth rate during his eight years, at 1.8% is the lowest in American history.
To continue with the third part of today's Q&A: https://ihr.fm/35WPySB
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