Choosing the country’s greatest presidents
(Dateline: Washington DC). On our way from New York to Las Vegas, we passed by the US capital, Washington DC, site of the White House, US Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) and the Supreme Court. It is where museums and memorials are located: Washington Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and my favorite Smithsonian Institute. Nearby in Virginia are three important landmarks: Pentagon, partly hit by the 9-11 terrorist attack; Arlington National Cemetery where, among others, the famous eternal flame lights John F. Kennedy’s burial ground; and Mount Vernon, resting place of America’s first president, George Washington.
Talking of greatest presidents, I read an old book, “Presidential Leadership,’’ published by the Wall Street Journal, where some scholars, historians, columnists, political writers, law and political science professors, economists, businessmen, diplomats, civic leaders, and journalists ranked the US presidents from Washington to George W. Bush, the 43rd president (excluding Barrack Obama and Donald Trump). The results of the scientific ranking were three ‘Great Presidents’: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Seven ‘Near Great Presidents’: Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, James Polk and Andrew Jackson.
Six “Above Average Presidents’’ were: Woodrow Wilson, Grover Cleveland, John Adams, William McKinley (Fort Bonifacio was once named after him), John F. Kennedy (some say he was great, but others said he was greatest in oratory), and James Monroe. Eight were classified “Average Presidents”: James Madison, Lyndon B. Johnson, George W. Bush (the son), William Taft (Taft Avenue was in his honor), George HW Bush (the father), Bill Clinton, Calvin Coolidge, and Rutherford Hayes. Ford the father was a one-term president; the son was re-elected.
There were 11 “Below Average Presidents”: John Quincy Adams (son of John Adams), Chester Arthur, Martin Van Buren, Gerald Ford, Ulysses Grant, Benjamin Harrison (Harrison Plaza was in his honor), Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon (resigned in disgrace, almost impeached), Zachary Taylor, Jimmy Carter (I thought he was great; persuaded Israel to return Mt. Sinai to Egypt), and John Tyler. Five presidents deemed “Total Failures” were: Millard Filmore, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, Warren Harding and James Buchanan.
I wonder if we do these to Philippine presidents. The Yellowtards might consider Great — Corazon and Benigno III; Near Great — Quezon, Magsaysay, Macapagal (the father), FVR, and Aguinaldo; Average — Osmeña, Roxas, Garcia, and GMA; and Failure — Marcos, Erap and Duterte.
But if the current government would do it: Great are Marcos and Duterte: Near Great — Magsaysay, Quezon and Aguinaldo; and all the rest are average, except the Aquinos who might be tagged “failures.” You see, there is subjectiveness here. But in the US, they have objective criteria. I have my own, and my greatest are Magsaysay and Osmeña. I have only two failures but they are neither Marcos nor the Aquinos who were “average.” I would rather keep their names secret.
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