230: Washington Freak Show

Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump.  Those are the presidents in my lifetime.  Here is my take:

Eisenhower - Although I was too young to form first hand impressions, I have studied Ike enough to know that he was the closest president to measure up to Washingtonian ideals than any other.

Kennedy - Mostly style; very little substance.  Assassination created the favorable JFK myth.

Johnson - Should have remained a school teacher.

Nixon - Machiavellian, dark, brilliant global thinker, tragic figure.

Ford - Good man, simple, not power hungry enough to retain power.

Carter - Too much moral superiority.

Reagan - A relief from Carter's stuffiness, and surrounded by lots of competent people.

Bush - The last statesman.  Should have been elected in 1980.

Clinton - The beginning of the end.  Billary was thoroughly corrupt in every sense, driven mad by thirst for power.

Bush II - Lot's of good qualities; got a bad rap for being dumb; got pushed around by Congress.

Obama - Without a doubt, the most unqualified person ever to be elected president.  If he was not half black, would never have been elected dog catcher.

Trump - Without first having Obama, would never have had Trump  This was a violent reaction to 8 years of feckless media attention to Obamamania.  Trump's personal style and monumental ego are disgusting, but I enjoy every second of his contempt and distain for all things Washington.