Rigth now I am really liking James Madison. IIRC, the last commander in chief to actually be on the field of battle as the British sacked the White House. At the start of the war, the state militias wouldn't leave their own territories, but he was able to rally the nation and eventually win the battle.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
I know his choices divided the nation, but Lincoln will always be the best in my mind. He made the hard choice, the morally and ethically right choice, to put people over politics and status quo. Was it for certain political reasons, perhaps. But what he did was a giant leap forward in our progress as a decent species and the result made our country a shining example of what a true nation of freedom looked like.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
I guess I'll go with Lincoln and Washington as favorites. Lincoln went through hell and did the right thing, while Washington risked his life for the nation and didn't try to become King. Yes, there were unacceptable things 200 yrs ago by today's standards, though.
FDR used to be near my top, and he certainly was successful in many ways. But the internment camps for American citizens of Japanese descent makes the Patriot Act look like nothing in comparison. How could one be outraged over the Patriot Act but overlook internment camps? And it's not like it is "ancient" history. In addition to that, FDR tried to take over the Supreme Court by packing it with as many as six additional kangaroo justices. Does the end really justify the means?
Theodore Roosevelt the first Green President
"TR" consistently lobbied Congress for wilderness protection, used the Forest Reserve Act of 1891 to set aside 150 million acres of timberland as public domains, and oversaw creation of the U.S. Forest Service. Roosevelt also created 50 wildlife refuges and five national parks.
Beyond those accomplishments, TR is well remembered as popularizing the ideas of good resource stewardship and respect for nature. That's not to say everything was idyllic in those years of heavy logging, mining, urbanization and rapid human expansion, but seeds of consciousness were sown.
I really like TR too. Preserved many places I love to visit.
And Washington started the super-valuable precedent of stepping down when his terms were done instead of making himself a president for life. Peaceful transistions of power are a valuable American tradition.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Whohoo! 
