Carter hands down the worst in my lifetime.
Could give many reasons but will use one that effected the most u.s. citizens--its called--
"The Economic Misery Index"
I think some might find it interesting that their choice for worse is tit for tat with their king
(7.98 and 7.80 respectively)and Carter being true king of misery with whooping 16.26
Of course we have to give them some slack as they been exposed to the mediabias and Pesosi -"worse economy since great depression" for years now--and have tough time seperating fact from opinion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_Index_(economic)
Misery Index - Era by U.S president
Index = Unemployment rate + Inflation rate Rank President Time Period Index Average Low High
5 Harry Truman 1948 - 1952 7.87 1952-12 = 3.45 1948-01 = 13.63
1 Dwight Eisenhower 1953 - 1960 6.26 1953-07 = 2.97 1958-04 = 10.98
3 John F. Kennedy 1961 - 1962 7.27 1962-07 = 6.40 1961-07 = 8.38
2 Lyndon Johnson 1963 - 1968 6.78 1965-11 = 5.70 1968-07 = 8.19
7 Richard Nixon 1969 - 1973 9.98 1968-01 = 7.80 1973-12 = 13.61
10 Gerald Ford 1974 - 1976 15.93 1976-12 = 12.66 1975-01 = 19.90
11 Jimmy Carter 1977 - 1980 16.27 1978-04 = 12.60 1980-06 = 21.98
9 Ronald Reagan 1981 - 1988 12.19 1986-12 = 7.70 1981-09 = 19.33
8 George H.W. Bush 1989 - 1992 10.68 1989-09 = 9.64 1990-11 = 12.47
4 William J. Clinton 1993 - 2000 7.80 1998-04 = 5.74 1993-01 = 10.56
6 George W. Bush 2001 - 2005 7.98 2002-01 = 6.64 2005-09 = 9.97