Truman & Eisenhower between them built and cemented the policies and institutions that made containment of the USSR possible. They deserve to be in the top 10.
As for Wilson, frankly I think a lot of historians like him because he was an academic himself. How they overlook his malignant racism, his deliberate persecution of suspected Reds, pacifists, German-Americans and anyone else he found objectionable, let alone his enthusiasm for eugenics, is beyond me.
But how they can rank him as “great” given the eventual failure of all his major policy initiatives (other than his decision to introduce formal segregation to the federal work force) is a mystery.
Wilson was just awful. It’s hard to find anything especially redeeming about his time in office unless you happen to share his sympathy for the Confederacy, or believe successfully backing an 8 hour work day for railroad workers is a sign of greatness.
