INTRODUCTION: The Presidency, Federalist No. 10, and the Constitution by Steven G. Calabresi

THE RANKINGS

1. George Washington (1789-97) by Richard Brookhiser

2. John Adams (1797-1801) by Matthew Spalding

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-09) by Forrest McDonald

4. James Madison (1809-17) by Lynne Cheney

5. James Monroe (1817-25) by David B. Rivkin, Jr., and Mark Wendell DeLaquil

6. John Quincy Adams (1825-29) by Richard Norton Smith

7. Andrew Jackson (1829-37) by H. W. Brands

8. Martin Van Buren (1837-41) by John Steele Gordon

9. William Henry Harrison (1841) by Glenn Harlan Reynolds

10. John Tyler (1841-45) by John S. Baker, Jr.

11. James Knox Polk (1845-49) by Douglas G. Brinkley

12. Zachary Taylor (1849-50) by Brendan Miniter

13. Millard Fillmore (1850-53) by Melanie Kirkpatrick

14. Franklin Pierce (1853-57) by Cynthia Crossen

15. James Buchanan (1857-61) by Christopher Buckley

16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-65) by Jay Winik

17. Andrew Johnson (1865-69) by Jeffrey K. Tulis

18. Ulysses Simpson Grant (1869-77) by Michael Barone

19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-81) by Ari Hoogenboom

20. James Abram Garfield (1881) by Allan Peskin

21. Chester Alan Arthur (1881-85) by John J. DiIulio, Jr.

22. & 24. Stephen Grover Cleveland (1885-89, 1893-97) by Suzanne Garment

23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-93) by Jessica King

25. William McKinley (1897-1901) by Fred Barnes

26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) by John S. McCain

27. William Howard Taft (1909-13) by Theodore B. Olson

28. Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) by Max Boot

29. Warren Gamaliel Harding (1921-23) by Jeremy Rabkin

30. John Calvin Coolidge (1923-29) by John O. McGinnis

31. Herbert Clark Hoover (1929-33) by Robert H. Ferrell

32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-45) by Robert H. Bork

33. Harry S. Truman (1945-53) by Terry Eastland

34. Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-61) by Edwin Meese III

35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-63) by Peggy Noonan

36. Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-69) by Robert Dallek

37. Richard Milhous Nixon (1969-74) by Kenneth W. Starr

38. Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (1974-77) by Thomas J. Bray

39. James Earl Carter, Jr. (1977-81) by Joshua Muravchik

40. Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-89) by Harvey C. Mansfield

41. George Herbert Walker Bush (1989-93) by Pete du Pont

42. William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001) by Paul Johnson

43. George Walker Bush (2001-    ) by Paul A. Gigot

Presidential Leadership in Economic Policy by Robert L. Bartley

Presidential Leadership During Wartime by Victor Davis Hanson

Presidential Leadership and the Judiciary by Robert P. George

Presidential Leadership After Disputed Elections by James Taranto

1. Methodology of Rankings by James Lindgren

2. Survey Participants

3. Election Data, 1789-2000

Acknowledgments

Index

Red Bean Burgers
Tasty and nutritious soy-packed burger great for summertime picnics and fun. Ingredients 2 16 oz. cans of red beans 1/2 pound firm tofu 1 egg 1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese 1 onion 1/2 green pepper Directions Dice and lightly saute onion and green pepper, set aside. Mash beans with fork in medium mixing bowl. Mix tofu in with fork. Mix in breadcrumbs, egg, and [..]

Industrial Pollution and Chemicals
We’ve made it to the 21st century and we’re still extremely dependent on petro-chemicals for all our needs. They’re detrimental to personal and planetary health. At the rate we’re going we won’t have a planet for future generations and the air won’t be healthy enough to breathe. Today was a perfect day to go out and [..]

The Future of Music
The vaunted future of music is a favorite topic with critics. Here we raise the possibility that a turning point has been reached. Music is many-splendored: it is a form of expression, a form of communication, and a form of entertainment. As a form of expression, music is about the self, the artist. As a form [..]

Fat and Fit. Fat and Happy
Is it possible to be fat and fit? Some think so. The obesity experts say that being 30 pounds overweight isn’t all that dangerous. If you’re less than 30 pounds overweight, you should really be worried only if you have two or more risk factors such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, [..]

Antioxidants and Free Radicals
It is known that smoking produces free radicals in the body. Find out more about what these are and how they’re related to antioxidants. Oxygen may be hazardous to your health. We can’t live without oxygen, of course. But just as exposure to oxygen causes iron to rust and butter to go rancid, it can wreak [..]