Actually, we probably should have an ULTRA ELITE group of two: Washington and F. D. Roosevelt because, for different reasons, they stand alone at the top.

Washington MADE the presidency. Without his personality, his leadership, his core makeup, the new nation would have failed because there was no unanimity among the states. The slave question was front-and-center but the founders finessed an agreement for a constitution and Washington set the tone to make it work. As a direct result of Washington's efforts a confrontation was delayed for 70 years. Had the dispute over states rights boiled to the surface before there was a national resolve to make it work, the United States as we know it would not exist.

Had the delegates of the Constitutional Convention held out for an anti-slavery constitution the results AT BEST would have been an agreement which excluded the states of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. In other words, there would have been an eight state union. With this division, Britain would have had her nose back under the tent, making deals with unaffiliated states and completely altering the course of history. Additionally, had an eight state union survived for 60 years it would have been deprived of the services of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, and James K. Polk. The overriding question is, -- how long would slavery have lasted under such an arrangement?

Historians love to praise Franklin D. Roosevelt for CCC camps, WPA programs, Social Security, ending the recession, and fireside chats. Had he failed to do any of those things he would still rank on Washington's tier. The historians NEVER discuss his REAL achievement: The advanced preparations for World War II. Soon after taking office Roosevelt set a course to defend the nation and to help Europe fend off Hitler. The nation was firmly against ANY involvement in Europe but Roosevelt did not allow that to detract him. Working within a very small group he accepted secret envoys from Churchill and others, he caused plans to be made, and he established a central intelligence organization to keep informed on the events in Europe. When the attack on Pearl Harbor came he was ready with plans and personnel to spring into action for the conversion of shipyards, airplane factories, and automobile plants. In short, FDR did exactly what every President is supposed to do: Save the nation FIRST.

ALL other presidents fall below that level but there were still some great ones. Tier one includes Lincoln because he saved the Union. Many of his actions were illegal, i.e., suspension of habeas corpus while there was no external threat, -- but he did save the union.

Jefferson is there because he worked to implement his concept of a limited central government while purchasing the Louisiana Territory and doubling the size of the nation. Jefferson thought that the federal government did not have the authority to make such a deal but decided that it was too good to pass up, so he did it anyway.

Coolidge, because of his superior understanding of the Constitution: If it's not in the document, the federal government can't do it.

Reagan because he took office with a single idea in mind; ignored all around him, especially the press, and forged ahead to beat the Soviets and end the Cold War.

Teddy Roosevelt for being Teddy, for the Panama Canal, and for establishing national parks. Without the Panama Canal, the history of WWII might be very different.

James K. Polk ranks high because he avoided a war with Britain while extending the nation to the Pacific Ocean.

Truman because he quickly ended the war with Japan, set the proper course for peace, and implemented the Marshall Plan. He nearly drops from the top group for calling the Korean War a "Police Action."

Madison, because this brilliant, compassionate, gentle man refused to back down from any fight. He took on the Brits in the War of 1812 and beat them again.

The last six in the first tier are there because they are the best of the rest.

The second tier lists those who did OK but nothing special. Clinton is there for one reason: He kept Alan Greenspan on at the Federal Reserve.

George Herbert Walker Bush was in the second tier in an earlier version of this analysis but as world events come into sharper focus he moves down to where he belongs. He was a terrible president because of his close association with anti-American countries like Saudi Arabia. Even with that anchor around his neck he had a chance to move up but chose to make history by calling off the fight in the middle of a war.

But his son, George W. Bush (43) will make the history books in a big way. He invaded Iraq and caused the deaths of thousands of American troops on the pretext that Saddam Hussein was an intimate threat to America after 9/11. Someday it will be revealed that his primary motivation was to erase his daddy's failures. However, he will have an even greater legacy... History will record that he was the first President to openly refuse to enforce his commander-in-chief powers to protect and defend the borders of the U.S. For that he should have been impeached and tried for treason.

Then there's the third tier. These are presidents that just served time. None did anything especially good, with the possible exception of Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, but some did a lot of harm like George H. W. Bush (41) and his coddling and support for anti-Americism in the Muslim world.