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[Phoenix]

Today I was listening to some people talking about Ronald Reagan and how they loved him and such and it got me wondering, who is the president (or notable politician) that you would consider your favorite and why do you say so?

When I tried to answer this question myself I kept coming back to John F. Kennedy. Why? Primarily for his role in kickstarting the space program in the US, for maintaining containment during the Cold War during the Cuban Missile Crisis (which has probably allowed most of us to be alive to day), and finally for the most gangster quote of all

Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country

The funniest (and most gangster) part of this is that it is the equivalent of saying "Don't ask what I can do for YOU, as what you can do for ME"! And people applauded and celebrated him for it But seriously, he was one of the last presidents that I can recall who actually CHALLENGED the populace to do something.

 

[borghe]

George W

Spoiler

ashington. How can you not get behind the man who started it all?

 

[Tamanon]

I'd say Washington definitely, historically speaking.

Now if we're talking about during my lifetime, I'd go with Reagan.

 

[Lucky Forward]

Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/books/10kenn.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The words hark back at least to Kennedy's years at Choate, the Connecticut prep school, where the headmaster regularly reminded his charges that what mattered most was "not what Choate does for you, but what you can do for Choate."

 

[beelzebozo]

history will look very kindly on bill clinton, and i do, too.

 

[rollingstart]

Bill Clinton

Chester A Arthur (only because of Die Hard)

 

[Instigator]

I don't have a favorite president.

The least worst would be more appropriate.

 

[Souldriver]

Ha, what a coincidence this thread is made today.

I'm taking classes in American History now, and was looking at the list of the American presidents and their achievements, and also searched for some "top 10" lists of presidents. Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt are always the top 3.
Wikipedia entry on the popularity of Presidents: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_United_States_Presidents

I'll wait till my course of American History is over (january) before saying a presidents name in this thread.

 

[BocoDragon]

Clinton

Straight Pimp

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I'd say Lincoln and FDR. They held the country together during the worst periods in U.S. history.

 

[krypt0nian]

"Hey Sexy"

 

[JayDubya]

Washington is the only one consistently ranked high that deserves to be there.

He's better than any other President we've ever had by leaps and bounds.

 

[Calcaneus]

Clinton.

And you can't deny what George W Bush has done for the world's perception of the US.

 

[Phoenix]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/books/10kenn.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I don't disagree, but at the end of the day - Kennedy had to get up and say it and in his delivery and presence he was actually the one who hooked America. Its much the same way that Reagan's speech post-Challenger tragedy could have been authored in part of whole by someone else, but it was in his delivery and sincerity that we remember it. IMO the deliverer of the message is just as important if not moreso than the message itself.

 

[reggieandTFE]

Historically, my vote goes to Eugene Debs.


Presently, I don't respect too many politicians, but I think Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, has many redeeming qualities.

 

[Skiptastic]

George Washington's pretty cool, but I'm a Jefferson fan. Declaration of Independence, Louisiana Purchase. Actually, Jefferson, Madison (for writing the Constitution) and Monroe (for his doctrine) were all pretty awesome. Andrew Jackson for the Battle of New Orleans is a great story too (my dad sings that "In 1814 we took a little trip" song whenever we play ping-pong and we get to the score 18-14). Teddy Roosevelt's all right, too.

I have some liked politicians in my lifetime, mainly Mike Pence since I'm from Indiana and conservative, but president wise, I haven't ever had a favorite. GWB blew it with his spending, Clinton blew it by getting blown, and frankly, before that I was too young to care.

 

[borghe]

Washington is the only one consistently ranked high that deserves to be there.

The reason for this is that he was actually a leader before he became a politician. Almost every politician since him has been a politician who strove to be a leader.

I've said it before.. what this country needs to fix itself are leaders, not politicians, who want to fix things from inside the government. Unfortunately all of the truly great business leaders out there want nothing to do with our broken bureaucratic system.

 

[Livin_Lovin]

Clinton.

And you can't deny what George W Bush has done for the world's perception of the US.

/joke post?

Anyway, yeah, history will be very kind to Clinton.

 

[Phoenix]

Clinton.

And you can't deny what George W Bush has done for the world's perception of the US.

Yeah, but it hasn't been in a good way.

 

[JayDubya]

George Washington's pretty cool, but I'm a Jefferson fan.

Yeah, favorite general public figure, politician, philosopher? Jefferson all the way.

President? Washington. Jefferson didn't drop the ball in a major way like so many others, but he did abandon a lot of his principled positions when he got executive power. He did a good job undoing the damage of the Adams administration though.

 

[Tamanon]

/joke post?

Anyway, yeah, history will be very kind to Clinton.

Er, he didn't say he improved the perception.

 

[Calcaneus]

/joke post?

Anyway, yeah, history will be very kind to Clinton.

Exactly.

 

[chaostrophy]

I'd say Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi. On a more recent time frame, Michelle Bachelet's achievements have been very impressive. As for Americans, there hasn't been a really impressive president since FDR and I don't think we'll see one anytime soon.

 

[JayDubya]

People saying Clinton = best / Bush = worst have very short memories or a very small perspective on American history. But then again, it doesn't say best, it says favorite, and it's easier to hate or love someone that's alive and on TV all the time, I guess.

 

[Skiptastic]

Yeah, favorite general public figure, politician, philosopher? Jefferson all the way.

President? Washington. Jefferson didn't drop the ball in a major way like so many others, but he did abandon a lot of his principled positions when he got executive power. He did a good job undoing the damage of the Adams administration though.

As a president, I'd agree that Jefferson didn't do all that much, but hey, Louisiana Purchase baby. Plus, it said favorite president/notable politician, so I took the entirety that was Jefferson.

 

[worldrunover]

From a historical perspective, I'd say the top 5 presidents are:

1. Lincoln (preserved the union, emancipated the slaves)
2. Franklin Roosevelt (got out of the depression, WWII, social security, etc)
3. Washington (for obvious reasons)
4. Jefferson (Declaration, LA Purchase, Lewis and Clark, Republicanism)
5. Teddy Roosevelt (lots of environmental help, panama canal, Square Deal, trustbusting)

Most underrated president: Woodrow Wilson (look him up)

 

[ToxicAdam]

In my lifetime, Reagan.


Overall: Teddy Roosevelt

 

[Skiptastic]

2. Franklin Roosevelt (got out of the depression, WWII, social security, etc)

Most underrated president: Woodrow Wilson (look him up)

I love FDR for WWII and getting out of the Depression, but what he started with the New Deal is still fucking us over today.

Wilson is pretty underrated, but that's mostly because people focus so much on WWII that WWI gets pushed to the backburner.

 

[JayDubya]

People saying Wilson and FDR make me hate. Hate what? Yes.

I love FDR for WWII and getting out of the Depression, but what he started with the New Deal is still fucking us over today.

ORLY?

*insert picture of Uncle Miltie here*

 

[LordMaji]

Nixon was amazing....
..
..

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

People saying Wilson and FDR make me hate. Hate what? Yes.



ORLY?

*insert picture of Uncle Miltie here*

Say what you will, FDR did a lot to guide the country through some of it's worst periods. Yes, Friedman's economic policies helped chart the path, but FDR still had to implement them and stay the course. You can also argue that it was WWII itself that pulled us out of the Great Depression more so than anything else.

Nixon was amazing....
..
..

Nixon takes a bad rap over Watergate, and rightfully so, but he did a lot of good things as President as well. You could make a case for him being the best foreign policy president post WWII.

 

[reggieandTFE]

Say what you will, FDR did a lot to guide the country through some of it's worst periods. Yes, Friedman's economic policies helped chart the path, but FDR still had to implement them and stay the course. You can also argue that it was WWII itself that pulled us out of the Great Depression more so than anything else.

Umm, you need to go back into your history books and look up the connection between Friedman and Roosevelt.

 

[JayDubya]

Umm, you need to go back into your history books and look up the connection between Friedman and Roosevelt.

Indeed. My point was about Friedman's assertion that Roosevelt's policies and the Federal Reserve were guilty of creating and worsening the Depression, which I, as I am wont to do, take as gospel truth.

You may be confusing Friedman with Keynes, which is a huge mistake to make... although, Friedman was initially a Keynesian and he did work in the federal economic bureaucracy for some time during all that mess.

 

[beelzebozo]

maybe my appreciation for clinton is weighted. he was eloquent and charming, which are qualities that this country has lived without in its president for years now. plus, clinton appreciated mcdonalds' food, and any man who likes egg mcmuffins is a man i like

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

Bill Clinton

Chester A Arthur (only because of Die Hard)

I was about to say the same thing.

 

[krypt0nian]

Everyone has their faves for different reasons but in my mind, Reagan should rot in hell for his blatant disregard for the AIDS crisis during his reign.

Bastard never even mentioned it by name.

 

[LordMaji]

Jesus was the best.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Umm, you need to go back into your history books and look up the connection between Friedman and Roosevelt.

You're right. I mis-spoke. Friedman was against FDR's policies, although wasn't really in a position to do anything about them in the Great Depression, and was later more critical of the approach.

But my earlier statement still stands. FDR had to guide the country through the Depression, something that no other President has really had to deal with, and WWII was really the engine that kickstarted the turn around.

 

[Odrion]

maybe my appreciation for clinton is weighted. he was eloquent and charming, which are qualities that this country has lived without in its president for years now. plus, clinton appreciated mcdonalds' food, and any man who likes egg mcmuffins is a man i like

There was also that recent paparazzi footage of him ordering food from some chicken joint, it's so very hard not to like him.

But still, this "Bill Clinton was a fucking awesome president!" usually only comes out of young people who were only twelve back then and had to now experience eight years of having a illiterate fuckwit for president.

We'll have to see in several years if George W. Bush was the worst.

 

[Archer]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

 

[borghe]

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

Nice. and definitely. He was a pretty amazing man. So amazing he needed a fourth name just to contain the amazingness.

 

[Gruco]

RFK

The gross national product includes air pollution and advertising for cigarettes and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. GNP includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm, and missiles and nuclear warheads... it does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, or the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.

 

[Cheebs]

 

[PhoenixDark]

meh

 

[Triumph]

I like Evo Morales.

 

[Enron]

Cynthia McKinney

 

[Learn2read]

I think Bill Clinton is probably one of the best Presidents in the sense of absolutely being one the mosted gifted people to ever hold the office. On the other hand, there weren't many genuine crisis he managed during his tenure that will to vault him into the top.

Unless you count the whole impeachment farce which is really ultimately be more of a knock against the Republicans. I'm not sure how much historical import it's going to have in the longrun other than being a curious footnote.

 

[TemplaerDude]

what whattttt

word up in the houseizzle!

 

[davepoobond]

i'll go with Bill Clinton.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Caligula