text: how many presidents have been in office in your lifetime? i was born in march of '76 so johnson, carter, reagan, bush sr., clinton, and dubya i have seen twelve people serve in this capacity, eleven of whom were elected, one appointed.  that was gerald ford.  six of these individuals were democrats, and six were republican.  seven were president during a wartime situation, five were not.  four of our wartime presidents were democrats and three were republicans.  a few skirmishes that ocurred, such as 'the bay of pigs', the 'ghana rescue mission', are not identified here as wartime situations.  it is difficult to rate these men in order of effectiveness except to say that franklin delano roosevelt stands out as an accomplish leader. he brought this nation out of a depression, he  was in office when social security began, and he guided this nation through wwii.  he showed courage and leadership when others cowered, and he did all this from a wheelchair.