The best president for feds

So last week when I was out and about, I had a fascinating conversation among a number of former feds who started on one of questions seemingly right out of the TV show Cheers -- you know, something that can never be proven but is fascinating (and informative) to talk about.

The topic: Who was the best modern president for government workers?

Bush 43... not so great, of course.

Clinton... Better, but many of the 'reinventing' government moves essentially meant fewer feds. In fact, the words of those days were 'doing more with less' and 'better, faster, cheeper.' There seemed to be a healthy respect for Clinton's procurement reforms, his creation of CIOs, and his ability to let 1,000 flowers bloom, but... over all.. not the best.

Bush 41... He got pretty good marks, generally.

Regan... 'nuff said.

Carter... Somewhat surprisingly, these folks thought that he was generally the worst for feds. He ran as an outsider and then never treated DC like home, nor feds as allies.

Ford... didn't come up.

Nixon... Surprisingly, among the people who had experience of Nixon, he was seen as the best. These people were not professing any love for his policies or his personal issues, but they said he appreciated the federal workforce.

What say you? What's your experience?