I would take the word of a Nobel Prize winning professor over that of a local journalist

PiTW's Matt Sullivan says that Herbert Hoover shouldn't be on a worst Presidents list because the Great Depression merely happened to him. Perhaps it is too much to ask to some people to remember that when it came to those left behind in economic downturn Hoover placed his faith first in relatively weak voluntary organizations rather than comprehensive government programs. Shanty towns called "Hoovervilles" didn't just emerge because of misdirected anger; they rose up because Hoover's effective responses to the Depression were late in coming and people suffered as a result of his lack of swiftness.

Professor Paul Krugman suggests that acting Hooveristically means "slashing spending in a time of recession, often at the expense both of their most vulnerable constituents and of the nation’s economic future." Each of these Hooverisms is consistent with George W. Bush's administration, which is widely acknowledged as one of the worst in history.  More Krugman on Hooverism in the GOP in the second half of this video:

Hoover may have been a victim of the Depression, but his response to it came too little, too late. He deserves to be listed among the worst Presidents ever. He earned the title.