Five Worst Presidents Ever Elected

I hate top ten lists but love bottom fives. I'm requiring my president to have been elected to office to eliminate the "accidental presidents" like Andrew Johnson and Millard Filmore.

1. James Buchanan 

Caused a civil war which is reason enough to top the list. Nominated by Democrats in 1856 as a compromise candidate - a Northerner who sympathized with Southerners. Fought to purge slavery squishes like Steven Douglas from the party. Did not lift a finger to stop the brutal fighting between pro and anti slavery factions in Kansas. By the time his one term was ending the Democratic Party had splintered and ran three candidates for President, leading to the election of Lincoln. Buchanan is rumored to have been the United States' first gay president.

2. Warren Harding

A good old boy who loved to drink whiskey (during Prohibition) and play poker (he once gambled away a set of White House china). Like any good old boy he liked putting his drinking buddies into positions of power and those buddies were all about selling favors and other forms of blatant corruption. Speculation is that Harding was poisoned by his wife because of his continuous whoring around.

3. Richard Nixon

The only president to resign from office. The only president to receive a presidential pardon from his successor. Nixon's Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, was the only vice-president to resign from office and the only vice-president ever convicted (by pleading no contest) of felony charges. Add to that his criminal expansion of the Vietnam War and his general sociopathy and you have one fucked up presidency.

4. George W. Bush

Generally regarded as the dumbest man ever to be elected president (although Warren Harding may disagree). Started the Iraq War mostly as revenge for Saddam Hussein insulting his daddy. His economic policies led to the second worst economic collapse in US history.

5. Calvin Coolidge

Warren Harding's Veep but elected president in his own right in 1924. His laissez faire economic policies led directly to the greatest economic collapse in world history. Rather than learn the lesson of history, modern Republicans embrace Coolidge as an icon (he was Ronald Reagan's favorite president). His anti-union, anti-welfare, anti-tax policies of enhancing the wealthiest at the expense of the middle-class is a cornerstone of Republican philosophy.