Who was the greatest American President?

You raise a good point and the internment camps were certainly an ugly business but I think they had more to do with the racism of the times than with any FDR attempt to fear monger. He did not highly publicize the internments nationally in an attempt to make Americans cower. This is not to excuse him on this but they all have skeltons in their closet and I doubt that we (or any other country) will ever produce a perfect leader but on balance, FDR's presidency was the most powerful and effective and produced a lot of good. We were at the time he came into office ripe for a Hitler with conditions close to what Germany experfienced before going down the wrong road. Fortunately, we got a lot better. At this point there seeems to be a backlash against Roosevelt's presidency and I expect to hear a lot more about the evil he did. Some will be real (as you've noted) and some not so real. That strikes me as odd coming at a time when we are experiencing some real financial woe that has at its root the repeal of some very essential Roosevelt banking statutes and it may not be a total coincidence.

"Through it all, he never fear mongered. He told Americans that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself. How different from the politicians of today who push fear so they can claim to keep us safe. We need another FDR and we need him now." You are SOOOOOO wrong on that one. He may have done good things for this country, but he performed some downright evil and inexcusable acts. He rounded up Asian Americans and put them in concentration camps. He also did it on a much smaller scale with German Americans. He taught Americans to fear Asians and that was wrong. Every president has some skeletons in his closet, but his acts were some of the most despicable of the 20th century.

I am sure that our age has much to do with how we view past presidents. Someone who was alive during the depression would probably see things much differently than I do. Listening to my grandparents and others speak of the time can give me a picture but it isn't the same as first hand experience.

Yeah. Presidents are like artists. They have to die for their works to be respected.

I sorta agree (by sorta I mean he's not my favorite). And I can't believe that people wanted him impeached for having an affair. It didn't hurt the country or go against the constitution in any way.

the articlals of impeachment were on a charge of pergury, not having the affair. Affairs aren't ilegal, a lie under oath is.

X, you are correct but wouldn't you lie about it if you were president? I would.