The Worst President Ever?

I don't remember much of my prospective undergraduate Johns Hopkins tour, but I do remember sitting in a small auditorium while the tour guide listed JH's "best and brightest" alums. She included President Woodrow Wilson, who obtained a doctorate in history and political science there. "How can you say that and look so incredibly unashamed?" I wanted to ask. "Could your institution have possibly failed any worse here?" But I refrained, because I didn't think it would do my application any good.
Declaring one president the absolute worst is a little presumptuous; let's face it, the US has had its fair share of failures and nonentities. Does anyone even remember the presidents of the late 19th century? I know I don't. At least most of these unimpressive characters are recognized as such. What really annoys me about President Wilson is that, somehow, he has not only escaped condemnation but is frequently considered one of our more preeminent statesmen!
Wilson loved The Birth of a Nation and re-segregated the civil service, which we discussed in class. He only supported women’s suffrage after World War I; women’s service in the military (though not in combat) and on the home front forced his hand. Wilson’s greatest crime, though, was his direct culpability for World War II.

What, you say? Hitler started World War II. Everyone knows that! Hitler was no Santa Claus, I agree. He a truly awful man and a somewhat gifted pedagogic, but he was only able to gain political power because Germany’s pride and economy were in shambles. When the Germans surrendered and ended World War I, they did so thinking they would receive a peace like Wilson’s idealistic Fourteen Points. The last point was a League of Nations, so that war would never, ever, happen again. (Can you hear the world laughing?) The US Senate, led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, did not want to give up its sovereign power to declare war to the League. As long as this one provision was removed, the US would enter the League. But Lodge and Wilson were bitter enemies, so Wilson refused to compromise. The result? The US did not enter the League, completely killing the organization’s efficacy. The French and British, out for revenge, demanded reparations that ruined Germany and Austria’s economies. The Germans felt betrayed, as did the Italians and the Japanese, whose contributions to the war effort the French and British refused to recognize. A little over two decades later, these four disgruntled nations combined to form the Axis powers. When World War II was over, 60 million people were dead. That’s an awfully high price for some personal politicking.