I find, and this may be my own personal opinion and nothing more, that John Adams was an amazing President. Why then, is he so overlooked?
He was overshadowed by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison who were the Holy Trinity of the Revolution. It's like how Eisenhower is overshadowed by Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon because his presidency was deliciously uneventful (as presidential terms should be).
Ironically, I was talking at work the other day about how Eisenhower is underestimated as a president. He was great because he was so successful, and that during the tensest part of the Cold War. It says a lot that Khrushchev waited until Kennedy was in office to get froggy doesn't it?
Ike had experience on the world stage… Kennedy was without portfolio here. Khrushchev had to wing it because he had no real clue how Kenedy would react; push the button or not was the question. Nikki didn't want to find out.