The Three Most Moderate US Presidents (and Two Notable Mentions)

Mark Gerzon's latest book argues for transpartisanship--an approach that emphasizes the need to work together to examine differences between us in idealogy and beliefs and engage in healthy debate to arrive at informed decisions.

Trying to hammer down the most bipartisan and moderate presidents in U.S. history is a challenge given the numerous criteria requiring examination, but according to many historians and educators (including Jonathan Cassie who has written on this issue specifically), the following three are definitely contenders:

1. Chester Arthur: Arthur's presidency ran from 1881 to 1885 and is definitely a controversial person to add to this list. However, Arthur did lead the charge responsible for the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act which is widely credited with depoliticizing bureaucracy. Imagine if every time a new administration came in, they would be responsible for staffing hundreds of thousands of government jobs? Instead, the system we have now-- where only high-level officials serve at the president's pleasure while everyone else keeps their job no matter who is in the White House--is all Arthur's doing.

2. James Monroe: Monroe served as president from 1817 to 1825 during what could be described as this nation's only real period of single-party rule. Despite his background, most of his presidential appointments crossed party lines and his decisions lead to the slow disappearance of both the Federalists and even his own party. Also, the Missouri Compromise--which was negotiated during his presidency--could well be hailed as a prime example of a moderate compromise.

3. Dwight Eisenhower: Eisenhower's presidency stretched from 1953 to 1961 and he was pretty much the sole Republican during the time of New Deal Democrats. A fine example was his setting in motion the construction of the Interstate Highway System--which at this time during the industrial age of this country was both a bipartisan and moderate victory.

And two honorable mentions:

Bill Clinton made a political strategy out of at least appearing to be a moderate--especially with his "triangulation" strategy. We now know that the Republicans didn't like him but under him, the country had a budget surplus and he helped deregulate the finance industry. He famously proclaimed the end of big government and also signed NAFTA into law--two things that irked the left.

George H. W. Bush seems an odd choice but in retrospect, he was also quite the moderate. He promised no new taxes to the glee of many conservatives but then went back on that in order to balance the budget. He encouraged immigration and also introduced the bill that prohibits discrimination based on disability. He had two Supreme Court nominees: Clarence Thomas--who always sided with conservatives, and David Souter--a liberal.