The Babble List: Fathers-in-Chief
We rank the parenting of every single U.S. President, from worst to best.
by Madeline Holler
November 3, 2008
THE GOOD
Dwight D. Eisenhower (34th - Republican)
Ike and Mamie's only son to survive to adulthood (the other died at age three) turned out an awful lot like Dad (minus the elected offices). Career military, eventually an ambassador to Belgium under Nixon (his daughter's eventual father-in-law . . . small world!).
George Washington (1st - Federalist)
While he and Martha didn't have children of their own, he did help raise her son from a first marriage. Sadly, said stepson ripped him off at the end of his life. We'll overlook that in favor of the big picture: as father of this nation, warts and all, we're saying he did just fine.
Ulysses S. Grant (18th - Republican)
All four Grant kids turned out well — lots of military service and even a real estate developer all the way out west in California. His only daughter Nellie was his fave but she went ahead and pissed him off and married the son of an opera singer (then divorced him). Such independence means Daddy did something right.
Woodrow Wilson (28th - Democrat)
Before the Beatles' White Album, Deepak Chopra, and hot, sweaty Bikram Yoga studios on every corner, Wilson's daughter Margaret, a career woman and women's advocate, went east to live in India when Gandhi was advocating peaceful resistance. She stayed unmarried and independent until her death in India when she was 57.
Warren G. Harding (29th - Republican)
Not a successful president, but a role-model for philanderers everywhere. This non-deadbeat made child-care payments to his mistress until his death in 1923. Harding fun fact: the "G." stands for Gamaliel. (Think that'll make a baby name comeback?)
John F. Kennedy (35th - Democrat)
Awkward. JFK's kids were very, very young when he died. So how could we possibly say anything bad? Anyway, all those home movies from the beach looked fun. And surely letting John-John play under the desk in the Oval Office wasn't just a photo op.
Richard Nixon (37th - Republican)
Awful, awful president. But as a father, he seems to have done alright. His daughters circled the wagons during the most humiliating parts of his failed presidential career and thereafter. Not every father earns that kind of loyalty.
Gerald Ford (38th - Republican)
Ford had a wacky early start in childhood with an abusive father, whom his mother left, taking little Gerry with her. His own kids are notable for their lack of drama, service to country and notable success.We think it takes a lot to break the cycle and all that.
©2008 Babble
About the Author
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Madeline Holler is a writer and mother of two. She lives in Long Beach, California. |
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