11. Richard Nixon
SRI Ranking: 30
Brookings Ranking: 34
To this day, Richard Nixon, the next one in our list of least successful presidents of all time, remains one of the most controversial presidents in history. His legacy was perhaps best described by James MacGregor Burns’ remark: ”How can one evaluate such an idiosyncratic president, so brilliant and so morally lacking?” Nixon accomplished much during his presidency, in both domestic and foreign policy, but at the end, he is most remembered by Watergate, the scandal that was ultimately his undoing.
