Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty (Independent Studies in Political Economy) Review

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Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty (Independent Studies in Political Economy) ReviewWikipedia's article "Historical Rankings of United States Presidents" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_United_States_Presidents) features a spreadsheet of twelve scholarly surveys. In general, the presidents were judged on "achievements, leadership qualities, failures and faults (such as corruption)." Consistently topping the lists were Lincoln, Washington, FDR, and Jefferson, with conservative and liberals disagreeing only on the placements of our 1st and 32nd presidents.
Ivan Eland questions the criteria used in these conventional rankings. In his RECARVING RUSHMORE, his Introduction states that undesirable biases shape surveys conducted by such as the Siena Research Institute. There is the "effectiveness bias" which supposedly focuses on a president's ability to get his programs enacted while not weighing the value of the programs. In other words, action trumps judgment. Then Eland mentions biases for "charisma," "service during a crisis" (i.e., war or depression), and "activism."
Eland wants to evaluate presidents on other criteria, namely, how well they procured or perpetuated peace, prosperity, and liberty. His rankings "reflect the degree to which presidents upheld the founders' original vision of a limited federal government with an appropriately constrained executive" although Eland concedes that "each president has to be evaluated at his point in time" and "cannot be blamed for the size of government he inherited or the power he was expected to wield at the time he took office." Still, the idea is to assess the presidents on whether they avoided "wars of choice;" whether their economic policies contributed to prosperity; and whether they respected the constitution, checks and balances on their office, and individual freedoms.
The resulting Eland ranking is consequently radically different from the Siena (2002) or Wall Street Journal (2006) surveys reprinted in RECARVING RUSHMORE for comparison. Among the Eland "Excellent" presidents is Grover Cleveland (#2). He ranks at #12 in WSJ and at #20 in Siena. Bill Clinton comes in at #11 (Eland), but at #22 (WSJ) and at #18 (Siena). George W. Bush registers close to the bottom with Eland (#36) whereas he fared somewhat better with WSJ (#19) and Siena (#23).

The bulk of RECARVING RUSHMORE consists of chapters on each president examining his record on peace, prosperity, and liberty. Woodrow Wilson's chapter, for instance, naturally discusses his entry into World War I at length and is labeled the "Most Interventionist President in U.S. History." He also scores poorly for prosperity because he pursued "an activist domestic agenda contrary to the history of the Democratic Party, which has been a bastion of small government." Likewise, Wilson received low marks for liberty because his policies eroded civil liberties and because to him "some racial groups were more equal than others." These chapters are invaluable as a means of viewing the presidents from perspectives seldom published.
RECARVING RUSHMORE is a contrarian reevaluation of presidential contributions. And it is precisely for this reason that it ought to be widely read (or at the very least studiously browsed) and its conclusions debated. Eland has supported his rankings with solid arguments and a definite and distinctive philosophy about what Americans ought to look for and value in men and women they choose to hold the office of President of the United States. Recommended. 4.5 stars.Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty (Independent Studies in Political Economy) Overview

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