Re: gothgirl...
washington, and then lincoln, a close second. in third place, it would be a split between jefferson and franklin roosevelt. but you have to understand that is an apples and oranges kind of question. their times and their problems were so different that comparisons are difficult. to a very great extent, events made these men, not the other way round. we have no way of knowing how millard fillmore or franklin pierce might have risen to the occasion (or not) if they had been in their shoes.