The tier three presidents - rating as 'neutral' - were those who had mixed legacies.
John Tyler: He established that the VP would become the full-fledged president in the event of a president's death. He vetoed Henry Clay's economic plan and negotiated the annexation of Texas. However, he died during the Civil War as a member of the Confederacy.
Millard Filmore: He approved the Compromise of 1850 and opened trade with Japan. He later sullied his reputation by running as a Know-Nothing.
Rutherford Hayes: He ended Reconstruction, peacefully addressed violent labor, fought inflation, and installed the first telephone in the White House.
Grover Cleveland: Resisted the populist impulses of the Bryan era, wanted a strong dollar, but plagued by labor riots and the Panic of 1893.
Benjamin Harrison: Improved foreign relations in the Western Hemisphere and pushed out political hacks for competent personnel.
William Howard Taft: A humdrum presidency between two egomaniacs. The most distinguished ex-president by serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
John F Kennedy: He had the most inspiring rhetoric, set the US on a path to the moon, and turned the Soviets back from Cuba.
George Bush: Significant president who had successes and failures. Did not partake in the post-presidency criticism of predecessors or successors.
George W. Bush: Also a significant president who had successes and failures. Did not partake in the post-presidency criticism of predecessors or successors.
Tyler missed out on a higher ranking because of his post-presidency. It wasn't until the 25th Amendment that his action of assuming the presidency was codified. He gamed the 1844 election to assure the annexation of Texas. Filmore may have sent Perry to Japan, but he was out of office by the time Perry returned. By approving the Compromise of 1850, the Civil War was almost certainly averted for another 10 years that improved the North's chances of winning. Hayes didn't exactly agree with the end of Reconstruction. Sam Tilden - the Democrat - won the popular vote and the electoral vote was questionable. There was a lot of fraud and disenfranchisement of blacks. In order to assure Hayes as president, Reconstruction was put on the chopping block. I wouldn't give Hayes credit for that. Cleveland was a northern Democrat who wasn't so keen on civil rights. However, he was vastly better than the next Democrat president would be. Harrison and Taft are suited to the neutral tier. JFK did give some of the best speeches. Though outwardly it looked like the US won the Cuban Missile Crisis, it has since been shown to be a draw; Russia got a quid pro quo. George Bush was trained to be a foreign policy president, to continue the Cold War, and then it ended a year into his presidency! He was not meant to be a domestic president, somewhere he did not excel. Despite George W Bush getting re-elected where his father didn't, I'd rate his father as the better president. However, middle of the pack suits both father and son.
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