I have a running joke with my conservative buddies who bristle every time I bring it up… Most likely because they know it’s true.

They cite small things to try and paint a different picture, but every president has those small things he has to overcome. Washington, Lincoln, there is no exception, except maybe Calvin Coolidge who thought the Chief Executive should do absolutely nothing.  If those little tweaks weren’t there, we probably wouldn’t need an executive branch.   So when Conservatives cite the screw up of the Insurance Sign up computer system as a blemish, I ask them to compare that in scope to see if it is on the same level, as selling weapons to our arch-enemy, and funding an insurgency that Congress forbade giving money too, because the American People didn’t want it.

That of course, is their hero who stooped so low.

If one just takes economics  the greats have to be these… Obama, Clinton, Reagan, Roosevelt….

Roosevelt is sketchy.  His legacy is that he built up legislation protecting the American Middle Class to last for decades, However during his actual term they were either out of work, or fighting a war overseas.

Reagan is best known for reversing his conservative plan and raising lots of taxes along with Tip O’Neil.   That tax raise boosted the economy and got him re-elected with a landslide, so he was able to cut taxes in his latter term, which led to the recession later inherited by the first Bush.

Clinton is best known for his longest running economic expansion in the history of the United States.  He is also best know for creating something no American every thought they would see in their lifetime:  A Federal Surplus.   These two accomplishments put him very near the top.

Finally Obama.  Inherited Roosevelt’s mess, the same one Franklin faced in ’32, and in two years, had most of America back on its feet.  Roosevelt took 9 years.  Of course Roosevelt was acting blind; this president could learn from history and what didn’t work, he could simply not do.  He did this despite a depression similar in scope to the Great Depression, but because quick action was enacted, it was able to be revived soon enough to only be classified as a Recession.  A pretty amazing feat.

Over 5 years, there has been a positive increase in the number of private sector jobs every month… There has never been a month we lost jobs.  No other president, not even Clinton can boast a record like that…  Every month we’ve added private sector jobs.  A fact with which we’ve gotten so comfortable,  the stock market drops if the number of new jobs is not as much as the new jobs created the month before….

Since no other president as ever accomplished this, this would certainly put Obama up for the nomination as the best president ever….

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Now consider this….   What other President do we know of … who when he came in …  Had their opponent Senate Minority Leader stand up in front of his caucus, and with a ring of reporters, say…  “We have only one goal, To make this a one term president….. “

And then…..

had that SAME person acquiesce to a deal of un-conditional surrender, that got their party “absolutely nothing“.

From “making this a one time president”   to …  “getting absolutely nothing...”

Surely this is the greatest president in our lifetimes…