Well, I will go with the obvious three. (in no particular order)
1. George Washington.
He led our nation to independence and could have been the first King of America, but instead he turned it down and our democracy was established.
"If he [George Washington] did that he would be the greatest person ever." ~ King George III when told by an aid that Washington intended to go back to Mount Vernon when the War of American Independence was over rather than be crowned the first King of America. (Something along those lines, I can't remember the exact quote and I am tired.)
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
FDR led our nation through two of our three most dangerous times, the Great Depression and World War II, unfortunately he died only months before the end of the war. He gave his life for his country and he did this while hiding the fact that he had been crippled by polio years before from the public. His administration built some of the first interstate system's in America and his public works projects gave people hope of a brighter tomorrow in our darkest economic times. During WWII he oversaw the best kept secret in American history (that we know of) the Manhattan Project, a secret race to build the Atomic Bomb before the Germans.
3. Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln led our nation through its darkest and most dangerous times. when the nation was falling apart around him Lincoln used some interesting and at times illegal tacrtics to hold the nation together. This included Imprisoning the members of the Maryland State Senate who were in favor of Secession to keep Maryland from joining the CSA. The Civil War brought an end to a long and shameful period in American history and helped unite the nation. The staggering loss of life ensured that America would never again suffer from another Civil War.
Honorable Mentions
Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, James Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson.
Not So Honorable Mentions(Don't want to say failures)
Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, Bill Clinton, Ulysses S. Grant, John F. Kennedy, Herbert Hoover and George H.W. Bush.
If you would like an explanation for anyone on either of my lists feel free to ask. I will say this about JFK though, he was killed one week before Congress was about to launch an investigation which probably would have led to an impeachment. If I am going to put Clinton on my list for the Monika incident I have to put JFK down for multiple affairs. There is a reason that he was been dropping in the presidential rankings every year since he died.
LeEnfield said:
Teddy Roosevalt.....was a fine President in the late 19th Century, but I can't help but wonder how he would have got on in todays world.
In today's media Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt (FDR) never would have made it into public office.
Washington had ivory teeth and the media today is a pack of jackals that would have shred him into pieces for it.
Lincoln was a candidate from a start-up party that would probably be the equivalent of today's Independent Party.
FDR was limited to a wheel chair, the media would have said shit like "How can he lead the country if he can't even walk?" and the nation likely would have gone along with it because everyone is split into two camps, liberal or conservative and the media has joined the liveral camp (obviously FOX hasn't but can anyone say CNN? or Dan Rather?).
With today's media I find it unlikely that the Monroe Doctrine would exist because the media would have attacked the President for being to "harsh" and not working together with our "allies." Well, IMO, sometimes it is necessary to get a little heavy handed with our allies just as a way to say "get off my back." No offence to our allies, but let's be honest, we all get into arguments and occasional fights with our friends and family, emotions between nations can at times be much the same, what really matters is that we stick together when the shit hits the fan.
But, with today's media it is far more likely that public opinion would have forced the allies to aknowledge what the German's were doing to the Jewish population of Europe. The Brits, Americans, Russians all knew what was happening but we did nothing to immediately stop it. Bombing the gas chambers would have killed anybody inside but given the weeks, months, etc. it would have taken to rebuild the chambers it is likely that hundreds of thousands or millions of jews could have been saved. But then when we look at the UN and genocides taking place in Africa one starts to wonder if that would have been the case. Of course there are other factors. (I will let you decide what you what about that.)
Now, I must admit that it seems like Washington would have won regardless of what the media said because he was the only president to ever receive a unanimous vote into office and he could have stayed for 20 years if he wanted too. But he stepped down after two terms, a pattern that would be followed until FDR in the 1930's-40's and would later become law.