Hard to pick just one because even though there have been a slew of real winners (he says sarcastically), we've been fortunate to have several really, really great presidents: Lincoln, of course, Teddy Roosevelt, Kennedy prevented WWIII. But I have to say FDR. He gave people hope and encouragement when there seemed to be nothing but wall-to-wall despair. Instituted protective triggers to help prevent another financial collapse (rich people hated him for that). Overcame the ravages of polio to lead this country out of its darkest periods: the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor. He made us keep the faith when it looked like Hitler might actually win the war. He encouraged and inspired us to sacrifice, gear up, and fight the good fight.

Personally, I think he saved the country.

Clinton, cause he followed his heart.... not what others were telling him to do instead...

James K. Polk. Only because the They Might Be Giants song played an important part in my childhood. In truth, I'm not a fan of his presidency. Manifest Destiny FTL. But I do love the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwIcWt1HKt8

Gotta love FDR. He was a RICH guy who didn't mind helping out the underdog in any number of creative ways (CCC, WPA, etc.) Decorum was observed, much as it was in Hollywood. No badgering press prying into illness and marital privacy. War was entered into at the last possible moment when the US was overtly provoked by Japan. The era could be endlessly rewritten, but I feel FDR was mostly a gentleman and a statesman who certainly had his detractors.

All this aside, if a men is getting his sexual and emotional needs met outside his marriage, I feel this is really no one's business. However, I appreciate knowing if he is a serial cheater who abuses women on many levels, particularly in the workplace. Double standard? A question of degree. I know I have done things in my youth that would certainly not stand up to the scrutiny of the current climate. Perhaps the guys at your old frat house are not the best judges of character, but what have you been doing in past two or three decades?

I like Nixon, because I felt he was a true middle class person. I think his downfall came from not believing himself up to dealing with the "elites" and much of the pressure to oust him came not from any big crimes on the scale of things, but from political foes who feared the changes he was bringing (detente, end Vietnam, off the gold standard, FAP (which amounted to a negative income tax!), and much more).