It's not an easy task. We have become so numb after two years of Trumpian politics that we tend to forget what the office can be about in the best of times.
To be sure, ranking presidents is a fool's errand. Such lists don't tell us much since these measures are always subjective and the rankings tend to change over time.
But it is possible to see in our history some of the key contributions that our leaders have made at turning points in their presidency.
One contribution that presidents have made is to establish precedents and norms that define the institution over time. Most famously, Washington decided against running for re-election after his second term in an act that helped to distinguish America's political system as one with finite terms in office. The presidency would not be another monarchy.
In a very different way, Theodore Roosevelt refashioned the presidency at the turn of the 20th century into an instrument capable of shaping national debate and playing a visible role as the top public representative of the country. In the 19th century, most presidents were more obscure figures in the public eye.
One huge exception to that was Abraham Lincoln, who confronted the total collapse of our republic during the Civil War but figured out how to undertake a military plan that crushed the Confederacy, to restore the union and to move to end the cancer at the heart of the conflict: slavery.
In the 20th century, Franklin D. Roosevelt would lead the country through a Great Depression, which left 25% of the workforce unemployed, and then a world war against totalitarianism. Not only was the United States victorious on both fronts, but in the process, Roosevelt also vastly expanded the role of government in American life. The federal government became a source of stability to the economy and provided a social safety net to most citizens.
Durable legislative achievements are also an important mark that presidents leave behind for history. While not at the same level as his predecessor, Harry Truman was notable on this front. Between 1947 and 1949 he was able to work with a Republican Congress -- even as the politics of the Cold War heated up -- and find legislative support for the policies that were the foundation for America's battle against communism.
Presidents are also great when they provide moral clarity in moments of domestic turmoil. In March 1965, much of the country was shaken by the brutal violence they saw when police cracked down on peaceful civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama.
Although Lyndon Johnson had resisted moving forward with voting rights legislation in early 1965, fearing that another bill would stimulate a backlash after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Johnson decided to take a stand. He spoke to a joint session of Congress and called on both parties to pass voting rights legislation. "We Shall Overcome," he said, using words from the anthem of a movement much of the country still considered to be radical.
We have also seen presidential greatness when our leaders embrace a position that contradicts previously held beliefs or the majority sentiment of their own party. When opportunities for breakthroughs arise and presidents realize that older orthodoxies are wrong, they can show what the office is capable of.
Ronald Reagan, who had been the nation's most prominent Cold War hawk, entered into negotiations over a major arms agreement with Mikhail Gorbachev starting in 1985. Even as Republicans criticized him for being duped by the Soviets, Reagan continued moving forward in a series of landmark meetings. The result was a historic arms agreement in 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which began the process of ending the Cold War. (President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are now dismantling that agreement.)
Sometimes presidents can achieve greatness by what they represent. Barack Obama's election in November 2008 was a great night for the nation despite all the opposition that he would encounter and the disappointments that some Democrats expressed once he was in office. His ability to figure out how, as an African-American, to make the case for his election in a nation still haunted by the legacy of slavery and the continued reality of racism, permanently changed the expectations of what was possible in elections.
From the moment of his victory, the arguments that some people could or could never be president in this country suffered a major blow. The long-term impact is visible in the composition of the Democratic primary field for 2020, the most diverse the nation has seen.
Yes, presidents do have the capacity to inspire, to lead in difficult times and to make the nation a better place. Without being overly nostalgic and with clear eyes about the great disappointments and hardships they have caused, we can also remember on Presidents Day weekend that it is possible for the holder of this awesome power to use it toward great ends.
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