Does moral composition matter for politicians anymore?

1) John Q Adams

2) Jimmy Carter

3) Abe Lincoln

then?

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2018/01/the-irs-scandal-day-1706-lois-lerner-liberty-and-the-bureaucracy.html

Drain the effin' swamp

posted by Verbal Kint

1) John Q Adams

2) Jimmy Carter

3) Abe Lincoln

then?

 

I would put T. Roosevelt up there. I'm not done reading Theodore Rex yet though.  

posted by FatHobbit

 

I feel like the older i get, the more immoral the presidents become. I'm not sure if it's because I'm more aware more or if anything has really changed. (Although i do think Trump jumped the  moral train off the tracks and through the city right over an orphanage and a no kill dog shelter) 

Abraham Lincoln

George Washington

Teddy Roosevelt

US Grant

Eisenhower

Carter

Obama

Bush Sr.

posted by ernest_t_bass

I'd say Jim Jordan has a high moral compass. 

Exactly why Jordan should end his loyality with Trump.  The fact that Jim Jordan and Donald Trump are both considered Republicans, is embarrassing 

posted by Verbal Kint

I'd like to know which presidents you all believe had a moral compass?  Maybe 3-6 depending on your level of scrutiny. 

 That deserves its own thread.  

posted by ernest_t_bass

I'd say Jim Jordan has a high moral compass. 

He would also kick anyone's ass in congress.

posted by Verbal Kint

I'd like to know which presidents you all believe had a moral compass?  Maybe 3-6 depending on your level of scrutiny. 

The initial question was more in reference to moral makeup (ie. what a person indicates that they believe to be good and bad) as opposed to whether or not they can be held to any sort of objective moral standard.

During my lifetime (and arguably since Goldwater's run for the Presidency), it always seemed to be that one of the primary reasons Republicans saw most Republican candidates as better was because of things like being family-oriented and having a very obvious dedication to a Christian faith.  Those weren't just coincidences or commonalities.  They were articulated as grounds for being fit for office by many on the right.

So, I suppose my quandry is this: Were those things not relevant then, because they don't seem to be now?  Or are they still relevant, and we will see those as objections raised against Trump by Republicans?

posted by superman

I would put T. Roosevelt up there. I'm not done reading Theodore Rex yet though.  

That whole creating a Spanish American war thing and invading the Philippines.

He was very racist, but what 19th freemason wasn't.

Stole the panama canal.

But Kudoas for not shooting the old tied up bear on your hunting trip.

posted by FatHobbit

(Although i do think Trump jumped the  moral train off the tracks and through the city right over an orphanage and a no kill dog shelter) 

Is Trump actually worse or more "immoral" than Slick Willy, or does it just seem that way because he's so darn unlikable?

I think W was certainly a high character guy

In my life time:

Eisenhower - I was young, life was good and Ike should go down as one of our best Presidents ever.

Carter - Very moral and honest man. It was way over his head to be President.  Will and should always be considered one of the worst.

I have always though a man or the President could believe something to be true and have it turn noot to be and this man still can be a moral man,  I do not think a President that opens his mouth and knowingly lies is and can be a moral man. The most recent Presidents to do this that come to mind ( and they did it many times) Obama and Bill Clinton.