He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not.' By the end of his second term, public perception showed him to be one of the most unpopular U.S. presidents, and he was by then rejected even by most Democrats. Today, Cleveland is considered by most historians to have been a successful leader, generally ranked among the upper-mid tier of American presidents. Cleveland was age 47 when he entered the White House as a bachelor, and his sister Rose Cleveland joined him, to act as hostess for the first two years of his administration. Unlike the previous bachelor president James Buchanan, Cleveland did not remain a bachelor for long. Unlike the previous bachelor president James Buchanan, Cleveland did not remain a bachelor for long.