By the Maui Curmudgeon (15th in a 43-part series)

How do the U.S. Presidents stack up? I thought I’d find out by reading biographies of all 43 presidents, in the order of their administrations. Here are briefly the pros and cons of my discoveries, the interesting bits, and how I’d rank him. For comparison, I give you the 1982 Murrary-Blessing ranking, a survey of hundreds of leading historians who ranked each president by number. This survey is the gold standard of presidential rankings and is most cited when this kind of thing needs bringing up in media.

JAMES BUCHANAN: 1857-1861 ~ 15th U.S. President

The long train wreck of presidencies in this century culminates with a disaster - James Buchanan. Legend has it that when Buchanan picked up Abraham Lincoln from his hotel on Lincoln’s inauguration day, he said something like, “If you’re as happy entering the White House as I am leaving it, you are a very happy man.” Federal troops lined the streets, federal marshals were stationed with guns on rooftops. The Civil War was moments away.

As a young attorney, Buchanan made a fortune.  A good public speaker, he entered politics in 1820 as a member of the House, and soon went to the US Senate, where he was re-elected twice. He was Secretary of State for James Polk. Franklin Pierce beat him for the Democratic nomination, and Buchanan left the country, spending several years in Europe, which, somewhat strangely, was why he was nominated.

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