Greatest Ex-President
 

I was reading over the posts in the Clinton Brings It thread and began to think about ex-Presidents. So I did a search for 'ex-President' and found a nice article about Carter entitled America's Greatest Ex-President?.

So lets say you are elected in your 40's or 50's, and serve 4 to 8 years (sounds like a prison sentence) in the Oval Office. The stress of the job probably ages you twice that. At the end of it you have a nice retirement package and bodyguards for the rest of your life. What you do with it is completely up to you.

Some ex-presidents stay in politics, some supplement their income on the lecture circuit. Some, like Carter, see themselves as ambassadors, domestically and internationally.

So I'll open up the floor. Of the presidents of the 20th century who left office, who was the best ex-president.

I had to leave off three candidates since the limit was 10.
LBJ
Nixon
Reagan

Reagan was ill leaving office. Nixon was disgraced and I don't recall him doing much. LBJ I would have liked to keep on if there was room.

*cough* You left out FDR.

The North Koreans really like Carter... almost as much as Castro.

And what about Reagan, Bush Sr. and Nixon?

FDR died in office, which sort of leaves him out of accomplishing anything as an ex-president.

The poll only allows 10 choices, so I made a judgement call on the remaining presidents who did not die in office.

Nixon may have been a partisan judgement on my part, since I honestly don't remember him doing anything significant in his retirement.

Reagan left office diagnosed with Alzheimer's and did not appear to be very active in affairs.

I honestly forgot Bush Sr.

so it's a poll on the contributions of ex-presidents once they left office?

edit: duh, read the post derek.

Carter's the only one who has proven himself to be truly useful in a post-white house gig. He's a much better diplomat than he was a president, plus he's got character coming out the ears.

Whether or not he has any real impact is in question, but I admire the guy's sense of patriotic duty.

Carter builds nice houses.

Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as ex-President.

Maybe Carter is such a good ex-president because as being a president he didn't reach a lot. So everything he does after being president is better...
But you're right it's the best for, mostly, other reasons!

Ford.

Nobody voted for him, he was in briefly, got the fuck out, didn't do much damage, hasn't done anything since. The consummate politician, folks.

Saturday Night Live never had as much good material as when he was in office.

Is that a good thing or bad thing?:haha:

COME ON!! TRUMAN!!
 

HE dropped the bomb!!!!

Not when he was an ex-president.
.
.
Right?

technicalities!!
 

He's an ex-president NOW, but he's the best EX-PRESIDENT, because he made those sandle weraing goldfish tenders glow!!!