Worst. President. Ever.

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

This is me aptly characterized by a random book quote. A genetic flaw, certainly. Most definitely not environmental. Well, perhaps both.

MelAnn Love it! 7y

23 likes1 comment

keithmalek

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

bailed

I started reading this about a year and a half ago. It was very slow, and quite boring, but I told myself that I would eventually come back to it and finish it. However, the Trumpchurian Candidate took office on January 20, 2017, and it was abundantly clear by January 27, 2017 that he took Buchanan's place as the worst president ever, so I'm not going to finish it after all.

DGRachel Oh no! I met the author at my local indie and bought the book. I was hoping it would be an engaging read, even though Buchanan can no longer be considered the **worst**. š” 7y

19 likes1 comment

DGRachel

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

#dearmrpresident I think Robert Strauss picked his book title too soon.

#fiercefeb

Cinfhen, batsy

ReviewsbytheMrs š‚ 7y

Leftcoastzen š‚š‘¸ā¯¤ļø¸ 7y

Kaye š‘¨š‘š¸¼š‘¸ 7y

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LitLogophile Hahahahh 7y

tammysue š‚š™š¸» 7y

2BR02B š‘¸š‘¸š‘¸ 7y

batsy š‚š‘ Well played! 7y

CoverToCoverGirl š‚š‚š‚š‚š‚......š‚š‚š‚š‚ 7y

Lcsmcat š‚š‚š‚ 7y

VeganCleopatra š¤£ 7y

vkois88 Amen . 7y

Cinfhen š‘¨š¸»š 7y

Maria514626 Bwa ha ha!!! 7y

Andrew65 š‚ 7y

115 likes14 comments

swishandflick

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

"I will not talk about politics on Litsy. I will not talk about politics on Litsy. I will not talk about po - wait, what the frick did he just say?! Oh hell naw!"

dariazeoli I struggle between keeping informed, which is bad for my health, and disengaging, which is bad for everyone. It‘s scary and disappointing and rage-inducing 7y

swishandflick @dariazeoli that's my exact struggle too!! 7y

Sace @dariazeoli yes! This! Every. Damn. Day. 7y

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Notafraidofwords He knows exactly what he is doing. He is implying that Puerto Rican's can't take care of themselves and are lazy. As a Puerto Rican person, I am enraged by this. 7y

PenguinInFlight He INFURIATES me. š�š�And I agree, he knows exactly what he's saying here. 7y

Booksnchill Lin-Manuel Miranda had an excellent Twitter response to this! #NotMyPresident 7y

Nuwanda Utterly disgusting. He should be ashamed--I know he won't be, but he should be. 7y

Tamra If I believed in hell, I think he'd qualify. 7y

Lizpixie I, for one, have stopped watching the news and reading newspapers because my blood pressure can't take it. And I'm Australian! I can't imagine what it must be like for my American friends. Such a childš�š�š�š� 7y

Karkar Between this and his stupid response to the NFL protests- I have spent more time being pissed off the past weeks. I finally have had to quit reading the news 7y

JoRead @dariazeoli same here. I had to unplug myself from all kinds of social media and go through some kind of mental cleansing. My blood pressure couldn't take it anymore! 7y

That-Bookish-Hiker I miss the days when a President didn't tweet his every inane thought. Why hasn't anyone taken his phone away from him so he can't tweet anymore?! 7y

TheBookStacker Preach! I'm tired of starting every day angry about something he has said while I was sleeping. (edited) 7y

Bookcation74 š� I am out of words to describe my sense of despair š” 7y

swishandflick @Booksnchill I saw that! Love him - and he's so right. 7y

swishandflick @Notafraidofwords Agreed - Such a sad state of affairs when this is the type of messaging that plays to his base. I can only imagine what you and other Puerto Ricans must feel seeing this nonsense! š” 7y

swishandflick Infuriating! Every time he does or says something bananas, I hope (a tiny sliver of hope, but still) that maybe *this* is the thing that finally wakes up his supporters. And then it's so disheartening when it doesn't š” @PenguinInFlight @Nuwanda @Tamra @Karkar @JoRead @That-Bookish-Hiker @TheBookStacker @Bookcation74 7y

BookBrat @dariazeoli That‘s my struggle too. I engage for a few days and then have to step away for a bit. 7y

swishandflick @Lizpixie I keep thinking maybe now is the perfect time to apply for one of those Working Holiday visas you guys have in Australia! 7y

minkyb It is reprehensible. 7y

Booksnchill This was very cathartic- love bookish angry people(women)!!!š‘¨š‘¨ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ 7y

Booksnchill @karkar it is particularly awful in the south but proud that my TN Titans support the domestic violence coalition in the state and sat out the national anthem! 7y

Booksnchill @swishandflick thanks for starting this conversation not about politics- I need to hear sane voices here in the south! 7y

swishandflick @Booksnchill I know that feeling - I grew up in NC! 7y

ElenaBaer LET'S MAKE A BOOK LIST OF THINGS HE COULD READ THAT SHOW A LESSON IN WHAT EMPATHY IS !!!! Like "London's Perfect Scoundrel" by Suzanne Enoch. Where a spoiled aristocrat learns no one cares if he lives or doesn't return home. And how to care for those less fortunate. (edited) 7y

88 likes25 comments

DGRachel

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

The Donald is just too obvious for this today and the mere thought of him makes my blood boil, so I'm going with James Buchanan, based on this book from my TBR for #AmericanIdiot. #characters2017

LibrarianRyan

LibrarianRyan š¤“š‘¨ 7y

62 likes1 comment

Yossarian

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

so-so

Personally, I rank James Buchanan above Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, and James K. Polk, but below Franklin Pierce and William Harrison. Fourth worst is hardly a ringing endorsement, though.

Overall, the book was entertaining, but sort of meandering between biography and persuasive essay. It could have used a stronger editor.

hwheaties That graphic is the best. 8y

BookHermit I am that graphic š³š‚š 8y

obviateit That graphic is #myentirelife ! š‚ 8y

PurpleyPumpkin Love this graphic! I think my "what I can put into words" circle would be smaller though. ? 8y

Mimi28 My voice is very low and both my mom and therapist are hard of hearing so IRL my what people actually understand circle would be even smaller. That's why I am always babbling on here, lol 8y

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Yossarian

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

I am a very slow reader. To meet my personal reading goals, I need to finish the last 42 pages of this biography of James Buchanan tonight. But I'm not feeling it. He's seeming like a substantially sub-par president, but worst? Eh.

Megabooks I've heard him called that. Hastened the Civil War. 8y

pocketmermaid Buchanan is widely regarded among historians as being the worst US President as it was his ineffectiveness as a leader and inability to take a firm stance on slavery that ultimately led to the Civil War. We've had other lame duck presidents, for sure, but Buchanan's weaknesses led to a horrifying period in US history. 8y

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Hooked_on_books Yup, pretty sure the worst is being inaugurated in January. 8y

Yossarian @pocketmermaid Not saying he wasn't bad, but the book is blaming him for the Dred Scott decision, that came down right after his inauguration. Buchanan didn't write the crappy Supreme Court decision. 8y

Yossarian @BookishFeminist @Hooked_on_books For my money, it would be pretty hard for anyone to be worse than Andrew Jackson. 8y

pocketmermaid I agree with you on that -- Andrew Jackson is my least favorite President. And regarding the Dred Scott decision, I'm sure the book goes into detail about the (improper) pressure he was putting on the SCOTUS prior to his inauguration. This discussion is making me want to read the book now! 8y

Yossarian @pocketmermaid It does, but "improper pressure" is sort of putting the rabbit into the hat. The decision was Taney's and his Associates. Buchanan agreed with it, but Presidents don't have the kind of power where they can get six judges to decide a case wrong and then expand the scope beyond what is necessary to decide the case. Agreed with Dred Scott is wrong, but not at the level of ignoring a Supreme Court ruling like Jacksondid. 8y

pocketmermaid I'm with you. I think there's a huge difference between Jackson's action and Buchanan's inaction, regardless of the consequences. I guess what I'm saying is that Buchanan's wussiness is probably what gets him the reputation as the "worst." I assume that in spite of Jackson's atrocious acts, he still gets credit for things like clearing the national debt and being a war hero and being the $20 bill guy and all that jazz. 8y

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Yossarian

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

Bizarre fact. King County, Washington (where Seattle is) was named for William Rufus DeVane King, Alabama Congressman, founder of Selma, Alabama, slave owner, and purported lover of James Buchanan.

After subsequent events in Selma, raising the national rep of an unrelated King, King County officially "re-named" itself "King County", after Martin Luther King, Jr.

saresmoore Neat. 8y

DyAnne I live in King County. It's wonderful to see Dr. King's face on so many official signs, posters, etc. 8y

ChasingOm Awesome piece of trivia! 8y

AStoriedSoul Love it. Win. š 8y

pitterpainter Wow, I had no idea. š™¸ 8y

95 likes5 comments

Yossarian

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

Just met Robert Strauss and had a lovely talk about James Buchanan, the eponymous Worst. President. Ever. We are both Henry Clay fans, so he is a kindred spirit.

He personally signed my copy, and I also picked up a signed copy of The Mothers for a signature-themed evening.

Karkar Interested in if you like this book. Sounds interesting. 8y

124 likes4 stack adds1 comment

Darthdad

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

I saw this on the shelf today and think that it has the type of humor that I need right about now.

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DGRachel

Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents | Robert Strauss

I met Mr. Strauss at yesterday's author event and had to confess that I came purely out of curiosity based on the title of the book, knowing absolutely nothing about James Buchanan. It sounds so interesting and I can't wait to dive in! Mr. Strauss was exceptionally nice. #signedSundays

CAGirlReading Sounds fascinating! 8y

DogMomIrene Ohhh....I love that experience of finding new books to read based off the author's enthusiasm or passion for the subject or story! I'll be curious to see your opinion on this one. 8y

KVanRead What a fabulous inscription! 8y

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