One more thing...

If "malaise" is the disease that FDR needed to cure prior to Dec 1941 to qualify as a "successful" President, then why did he get elected THREE times before then? FDR's unprecedented THREE terms earns him a degree of respect when it comes to understanding his popularity with the people of the US prior to WWII. He won overwhelming victories at the booths each and every election he was involved in... and that must mean something, right?

I'd say it means that the American people had lost a degree of confidence in the manner in which the Government conducted its business prior to 1932, but they liked the direction that FDR was going... otherwise, he'd have lost after the obvious unpopularity of the "stacking the Court" fiasco late in his 2nd term. I'm not saying the people wanted a welfare state, but they wanted guaranties and protection from the same disaster happening again, and if THAT is the measure of success, then I'd say FDR was successful. There hasn't been another "Great Depression", and no recession has lasted even five consecutive fiscal quarters (otherwise, we would see a depression).

You don't like the direction that FDR took the Federal Government... we all know that perfectly well... but you weren't alive then, and you can't simply dismiss the fact that the man was POPULAR in a way that we didn't see again until Reagan came to office, and that is SAYING SOMETHING, isn't it? Reagan promised hope and security, and he was seen as a man bent on securing both for the American people throughout his Presidency. I contend that FDR did the same thing, and it got him elected FOUR TIMES.

I'm sorry, Ryan, but that kind of trust and confidence has to count for something when we look back through nearly 80 years of history and try to measure the man's success and failure.