....
 

Bush Sr. and George W. Bush! I love daddy Bush a little more though! :D

Wouldn't you assume, though, that if prosperity was due to the previous president, that a one-term president followed by a two-term president would start to see a decrease in prosperity starting in the second term? How does econ play into that? Not that I'm claiming that prosperity is necessarily due to the current president, either, but it seems like it's easy to see the flawed logic in the idea that current prosperity is entirely due to the efforts of the previous government.

I also don't see how Lincoln, Washington or even JFK are "overrated." Perhaps you could argue that if we were discussing "great" presidents but we're not. All three of them were pretty charismatic presidents with a decent amount of interesting mythology that has sprung up around them, so it's not surprising that people choose them as their favorites.

John Adams, because he doesn't get enough recognition, and because he had some great numbers in "1776." ;)

Chairman Mao.

-Rudey
--I love him.

I have quite a bit of interest in the presidency and have tried to read up as much as possible on the subject. Here are the best, in my opinion:

Washington (created the presidency for all intensive purposes)

Truman (followed FDR and did a great, if underrated job. I'd go so far as to say FDR himself was overrated, hell he wouldn't have been re-elected if not for WWII)

Lincoln (kept the country together, made his choices based on what would be best for the Union)

Teddy Roosevelt (a strong leader when the country was coming off a run of extremely weak presidents - returned power to the White House)

Woodrow Wilson doesn't make the list because he kept the Presidency well past when he should have. FDR doesn't for the reasons mentioned above; as I said, I feel he's slightly overrated. As far as recent presidents - time will tell.

Collin

I agree. Despite the "MONICAGATE", He was very effective during his term.

The current issue of Smithsonian Magazine has the obligatory "what were you doing when you heard that JFK was killed?" article. I am amazed how many people who I would consider very left of center who had nothing wonderful to say about JFK.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I sometimes wonder if his presidency would have been any big deal if it hadn't ended so tragically. After all, he was in Dallas because he thought he would lose Texas in the next election.

Actually, I agree. We in this country tend to romanticize tragic events. People have this weird obsession with the Kennedy's. I don't know if its the boo-koos of money, high political power, style, or what. I mean, don't get me wrong, its interesting to dive into all the conspiracy theories and try and sort through what happened that day - thats about it though. Don't worry I'll probably get ripped apart too honeychile.

Just something to think about - if Reagan had ACTUALLY been assasinated, do you think his term would have been glorified like JFK's was?

James K. Polk. He did everything he said he was going to do in his campaign, and left gracefully when all of it was done...in four years.

I'm a Texan and I'm not a big fan of JFK
So, click click BOOM

I am a big fan of

FDR-The New Deal created the middle class citizen in 100 days. . .he rocks

Lincoln-He freed the slaves, supposedly but not really. I just like the fact that the Union beat the crap out of the Confederacy.

And why do people say Clinton?
Our SS funds were cut. Need I say more?

You people are all so stupid.

-Rudey
--Everyone knows Walter Mondale was the best.

Wow.

That's pretty damn hateful right there. Most on GC know my political leanings, but JFK, right or wrong was still President of the USA.

I wonder how much isht would get stirred up if someone posted, "I'm Baptist and i'm not a big fan of MLK, So click click BOOM"

Kitso
KS 361 times i'm gonna turn this into a race war if i get the chance

Damn! This thread is turning mean. Click, click, boom! I'm not a Clinton fan... but I'd never click, click, boom. Maybe snip, snip, cut.

LMAO! Thats great! :)

Agreed. Let's show a little bit of restraint, people.

Quote:

I wonder how much isht would get stirred up if someone posted, "I'm Baptist and i'm not a big fan of MLK, So click click BOOM" Kitso KS 361 times i'm gonna turn this into a race war if i get the chance

MLK was a Baptist minister - not really a great analogy. Besides, not all Baptists are racists.

This thread is beyond f*cked up.

Washington because he wasn't a member of a politcal party.

fine, i'm a Catholic and i don't like MLK, So click, click BOOM.

I merely was illustrating that its insensitive to talk that way about a leader who was assasinated(sp?) I wasn't bringing race into the equation.

Kitso
KS 361 times my sig line meant that i knew that someone else would

i'm gonna have to say william henry harrison.

JFK is overrated for the reasons you've said - tragedy makes us lionize him, when really he didn't get much done as president.

He had some great ideas, but never was able to go through with them. Even his actions during the Cuban Missle Crisis owe more to those around him than to his own decisions.

OK, if we are talking about favorite US presidents, not NECESSARILY about most effective, most noble, most admirable, etc, but just favorites, then I vote for:
Rutherford B. Hayes
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Gerald Ford
George H.W. Bush
George W. Bush

actually, i was making fun of the person that said that he came to Dallas because he was trying to win the state of texas in the next election

besides, are all texans black. . ? what was the point of the MLK thing? why did you have to make race an issue?:rolleyes:

please re-read the 2nd paragraph of the post of mine that you quoted.

thank you

Kitso
KS 361

I'm a fan of both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush :)

This would call for another Eiffel.


That is all.

Eiffel???? Wtf is that supposed to mean? :)

I was gonna say, PLEASE DON'T SAY HE FREED THE SLAVES...because he didn't...not even close!

100 rounds of applause to my Black Studies Professor that set everyone straight about that back in September!

I don't think you really want to know.

BUT, I somehow get the feeling that you have been part of the Eiffel before, maybe we'll discuss.

five points to you.

I've since found out what that is.........I DONT THINK SO :) hahaha but i'll still take my 5 points.

who the shat spilled the devine secret of the Eiffel?

Damn.

It was Rudey!

Not Rudey :)

I'm not a Texan, and I'm not a racist. I have read at least 20 books on the JFK administration and the assassination. Those that go into the "whys" of what happened when will tell you that, since Senator Yarborough and Governor Connelly were not on speaking terms, the Democratic party was split and probably would not be able to deliver the votes at the 1964 Convention.

"If the election were held this [1963] November, Kennedy would probably lose Texas. And he knew it. There had been talk of coming to Texas for more than a year, but the decision was finally pinned down... the President would come to Texas in late November.... Besides, not visiting Dallas, the most important city in the state, was unthinkable."
They Killed the President! by Robert Sam Anson, 1975
(closest book on hand)

edited for needed punctuation.

With all due respect to many of your comments about JFK, I can only name two or three of us who remember his presidency.

Fact is that he did some pretty good things, and managed to face Kruschev down and prevent the basing of offensive ICBM's in Cuba.

He and his wife also brought a style and excitement to the country that had gotten pretty drab following WWII and Korea.

He was also the first Catholic president -- not considered a big deal now, but a HUGE thing back then.

It's too bad that his administration was cut short and would be interesting to see how a full term or two would have affected the country.

Most certainly I would agree that it's a shame that JFK's presidency was cut short. I was simply stating that, from the classes I've taken & the books I've read, his reelection was anything but assured. And yes, being the first Catholic president was a feat, but with all due respect to Mrs. Truman & Mrs. Eisenhower, it would have been hard NOT to have been stylish in comparison - especially since Jackie Kenneday was abaout 30-40 years younger than they!

I'm not out to sling mud here, but frankly, I don't think we've had many presidents to place on a pedestal in the past 75-100 years. Each have had feet of clay at some point - and I wonder if the use of television as a campaign source is the cause. Surely, that's not an original thought!

my cat's breath smells like cat food.

Kitso
KS 361 times i've had a few and feel like quoting ralph wiggum

Possibly one of the more profound things I've seen on GC recently.

my fav. president is bill clinton. he was the best one. now before some of you lose it and tell me why my answer is apparently wrong, let me explain. i dont want to choose someone who was president when i was not alive. i want to live through his time in office so i can experience it for myself- instead of picking someone based on what i heard, seen, or read.

i keep forgetting that you guys aren't from Dallas
there's an inside joke about the whole thing
and no, transplant Texans aren't in on it
because we learned it in middle/high school

and the joke involves 'click click boom'
considering he was killed with a rifle, there wouldn't have been two clicks
just a 'clock boom'

Well,

i went to HS all 4 years and Texas and i never heard anything like this. Course, i went to HS outside of SA, it must be a Dallas thing.

Just another reason to add to my list of why I never want to live in Dallas. I'd hate my kids to learn that assasination is a joke.

Kitso
KS 361 times better Houston and SA are than big "d"

I've only lived here in Dallas for a few years, but lived in Texas most of my life and I've never heard that assasination joke either :confused: I grew up in conservative College Station though so maybe thats why.