This is a great time to start anew and jumpstart our Monthly Topic! Remember, you don’t have to write an eloquent treatise – just a couple of simple sentences will do!
It’s a great time for our NEW MEMBERS to jump in and let their voices be heard!
Which is a more successful presidency: one in which a president succeeds when facing big challenges, or a president who doesn’t have (m)any big challenges to face to begin with?
POSTING/COMMENTING GUIDELINES
We encourage lively, thought-provoking discussions conducted with dignity and decorum. We reserve the right to remove any comments that are deemed abrasive and directed toward any member. No president is off limits, but we adhere to the longstanding tradition of refraining from fully evaluating presidents who have not been out of office for at least 20 years. While negative criticism of specific presidents is allowed, here’s what’s appropriate and what is not.
Appropriate: “I think President___________was an ineffective president because…”
Inappropriate: “President __________ was an idiot!”
Well, if the president didn’t create those big challenges, directly or indirectly, but helped overcome them, then I think that is the most impressive accomplishment. But sometimes presidents don’t have big crises because they keep things under control. It’s hard to say which is more of a success – I guess it’s on a case-by-case basis.
That is a great question. I think a good way to evaluate presidents is to evaluate them within the context of their time. Sometimes a crisis is too big (like the impending Civil War) and other times, presidents have it easier.