QotD: Presidents' Day

In honor of Presidents' Day, tell us: Who was your favorite U.S. President and why?

Holy cow, I sure don't know.  Honestly, presidential history has never been that interesting to me, so I do not know nearly enough to make an educated response to this question.  I can name a few who would NOT be on the list, but even they have a couple of good points.  How's that for a lukewarm answer?

I guess here is where I should mourn my public education- something about not even being able to list the presidents, much less assess their major contributions and spheres of influence.  But, uh...I really don't care.  There are better things for my brain, I think.  Do I really need to know Taft's major decisions?  Oh wait--he ended up on the Supreme Court, so yeah.  Maybe.  Don't want to be a Palin, with that not being able to name a non abortion Supreme Court case.  SCARY.

Anyway, the president is largely a public figurehead.  Yes, it's good if he can get along with others and commands some international respect.  But one man does not a country make.  (If he did, um, that would be SCARY.  scary scary dictator monarch something.)

Of course, we could also get into the holiday being kept because merchandisers need another sale day.  MLK would be too political (tee hee) and who's going to buy a vacuum on Valentine's?  Really, Presidents Day is a conspiracy against trees.  All those ads in all of our mailboxes.  As long as they get here before the weekend--no mail today.  Of course, soon there be no mail at all on Tuesdays they claim.  Whatever.  AS long as I don't end up with my biulls coming late.

I wonder if these questions could be more personal--would they be easier or harder to write?  I mean, for more than three minutes.  This is way too shallow a question for ten minutes, unless I was going to write a biography of the president in my assessment.  Hmm.  My choice was President X.  He was born.  He had some schooling, but not as much as the average suburbanite does these days.  He did a bunch of shmoozing to get nominated.  Probably raised some money, too.  These days it is lots and lots of money.  Hopefully he had SOME sort of experience, but what can really get a person ready for a job like this one?  Can you predict what four years might entail?  Much less eight?  A lot of grey hair, apparently.  And then the speaker circuit and a special arrangement with the secret service.  I wonder how much that costs every year.  Seemed pretty posh in Guarding Tess, but can I really trust some Nicolas Cage movie?  Would I want to?