Effectiveness of action
All 16 modern US presidents ranked by their net score on this single sub-criterion. Good and harm are scored 0–10 independently; net is good minus harm. Click a name for the full scorecard.
New Deal achieved partial recovery; full employment came only with war mobilization. Recession of 1937-38 from premature fiscal tightening was a self-inflicted setback. WWII industrial mobilization extraordinarily effective.
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- good·Tier 1·Academic·Unverified
Economic historians attribute the partial 1933-37 recovery to New Deal monetary and fiscal policy, the 1937-38 reversal to premature fiscal contraction, and full recovery to wartime spending.
Romer, 'What Ended the Great Depression?' (Journal of Economic History 1992); BLS unemployment series
Gulf War extraordinarily effective. Cold War endgame masterful. Recession recovery slow. Mixed pattern.
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- good·Tier 1·Academic·Unverified
Bush administration's foreign-policy execution during 1989-1991 ranks among the most effective of any modern presidency; domestic effectiveness mixed.
Gulf War outcome assessments; Cold War endgame analysis
Korea ended; Suez crisis defused; Lebanon 1958 stabilized; Brown enforcement initiated. Sherman Adams scandal (1958) mishandled but no major effectiveness failure.
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- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Eisenhower deployed financial pressure (Sterling crisis threat) to force UK/France/Israel withdrawal from Suez, ending the crisis without military escalation.
history.state.gov ↗
Great Recession recovery effective (sustained job growth). Bin Laden raid successful. ACA effective at coverage expansion. Syria red line ineffective.
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- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Operation Neptune Spear killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan; Syria red line on chemical weapons was crossed without promised military response, damaging credibility.
cia.gov ↗
WWII ended successfully; Berlin Airlift won; Marshall Plan effective; Korean War stalemate (preserved South Korea but at high cost).
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- good·Tier 1·Academic·Unverified
Marshall Plan disbursed $13.3B (1948-1951) to 16 European nations, contributing to Western European economic recovery and stabilization.
Marshall Plan economic outcomes (DeLong & Eichengreen, 'The Marshall Plan,' 1993)
Cuban Missile Crisis: nuclear war averted. Bay of Pigs: total operational failure. Mixed pattern early to late term.
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- good·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Cuban Missile Crisis ended without escalation; Soviet withdrawal of missiles in exchange for Turkey-Jupiter withdrawal and non-invasion pledge.
jfklibrary.org ↗
COVID-19 vaccine rollout effective. Economic recovery effective. Ukraine coalition effective. Afghanistan withdrawal failed objectives. Inflation response mixed.
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- good·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
US COVID-19 vaccination rollout among fastest globally; Ukraine coalition assembled effectively maintaining alliance unity through 2024.
cdc.gov ↗
Economic policy extraordinarily effective. Lewinsky scandal handling damaging. Foreign policy mixed. Y2K effective.
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- good·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Clinton's economic policy effectiveness was extraordinary; political crisis management (Lewinsky) was effective in retaining presidency but damaging to office.
Economic record 1993-2001; impeachment outcome 1999
WIN inflation campaign ineffective. Saigon evacuation effective. Pardon controversial.
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- harm·Tier 2·Historical record·Unverified
WIN (Whip Inflation Now) campaign was widely criticized as ineffective; inflation continued through Ford term.
fordlibrarymuseum.gov ↗
Domestic legislative effectiveness extraordinary. Vietnam war prosecution ineffective. 1968 urban riots inadequately addressed.
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- good·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
LBJ's domestic legislative output is the largest of any modern president; foreign-policy execution was the failure mode.
Great Society legislative record 1964-1968; Vietnam War outcomes
Cold War end effective. AIDS catastrophic failure. Iran-Contra catastrophic failure. Beirut bombing response (withdrawal February 1984) realistic. Grenada invasion militarily successful.
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- harm·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
241 US Marines killed in Beirut barracks bombing October 1983; Reagan ordered withdrawal four months later — reasonable response but defining setback in Reagan-era foreign policy.
usmcu.edu ↗
China opening highly effective. SALT I effective. Watergate cover-up catastrophic failure. Oil shock response (wage-price controls) marginally effective at best.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Watergate cover-up failed completely, producing the first presidential resignation in US history; multiple senior officials convicted.
archives.gov ↗
Camp David effective. Iran Hostage Crisis ineffective. Volcker appointment effective long-term (broke inflation by 1983).
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- harm·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Carter's effectiveness was bimodal: extraordinary on Camp David and human-rights diplomacy, ineffective on Iran and economic crisis management.
jimmycarterlibrary.gov ↗
Stock market volatility post-tariff. Manufacturing reshoring intent vs supply-chain disruption. Federal workforce reduction proceeding but legally contested.
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- harm·Tier 2·Statistic·Unverified
Trump T2 tariff regime produced stock market volatility and economic uncertainty; effectiveness of policy goals contested.
Stock market and economic indicators 2025
Afghanistan initial military operations effective. Iraq War tactically successful but strategic failure. Katrina catastrophically ineffective. TARP effective at stabilizing financial system.
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Iraq Study Group concluded by 2006 that situation was 'grave and deteriorating'; Katrina federal response was widely criticized as showing systemic failure; TARP stabilized financial markets but at major moral hazard cost.
Iraq Study Group Report (December 2006); Katrina After-Action Report; Troubled Asset Relief Program effectiveness analysis
COVID-19 response ineffective on testing/mitigation; Operation Warp Speed effective. ~400K US COVID deaths during T1. Many crises mishandled.
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
US COVID-19 mortality during Trump T1 exceeded peer-country mortality rates; estimated 100,000-200,000 excess US deaths attributable to inadequate federal response (per various studies).
cdc.gov ↗