Washington was a great general but, sorry, not a great president. A bit of a bonehead when it came to anything besides military strategy and land speculation. He managed to preserve the image of being above partisan politics, even politics period, but notoriously gave his ear completely to Hamilton, to the point of alienating Jefferson and Madison so much that they bolted to form their own party. His alleged distaste for partisanship was also compromised by his practice of hosting daily receptions at his home ("levees") for influence-peddlers, a practice he modeled on the routine of Louis XIV, who would assemble the nobility to watch the Sun King rise ("levee"). Despite having Hamilton at his ear, he did little to build up the powers of the national government. As dedicated a slaveowner as one would find in the early republic. But he can be credited for setting good precedents for later generations, even though they were largely empty ones which would be left to Jefferson and Lincoln to break.
