Time is of the Essence

Abraham Lincoln is, in my opinion, the greatest president we've ever had. However, I've never been shy to say that John Wilkes Booth is responsible for him being so great. Lincoln's handling of the Civil War was well done and he managed to save the Union.

However, Andrew Johnson is generally considered an extremely poor president. He generally attempted to follow Abraham Lincoln's general Reconstruction plan.

Had Lincoln not been killed, his Reconstruction would have made him seem less of a great president. Yes, unlike Johnson, he would have likely had more influence over Congress to get things passed, but his plan would still be generally disliked and often fought by the men of Congress.

On the other end of the spectrum, James Buchanan is the worst president of all time. However, had he been president in place of Theodore Roosevelt, he would have been great. Had he been president in place of James Polk, he would have done fine. Had he been president in place of Woodrow Wilson, things would turn out okay.

James Buchanan's great work in international affairs is often forgotten while considering his horrid handling of the sectional conflict arising between North and South with imminent consequence clear. But if we take the Civil War out of the picture and place Buchanan in a time of more expansionism or need for allies, Buchanan would prove adept at international relations and perform admirably.

And so as a president is examined in terms of history, it is often interesting to see some of the what ifs. Maybe you place them at a different point in time. Maybe you change an event slightly, creating an alternate history, but not so vast that the Alien Space Bats have to create the timeline. The results are often not what you'd expect from examining them solely in our exact timeline.