BS: Rate the Presidents

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Bobert
Date: 27 May 09 - 10:40 PM

No, after the Clinton impeachment, the Republicans insured that Bush would get away with anything... Impeachment is something that soured the American electorate... People saw the harrassment of Clinton as pure politics... Impeachment being the culmination... The American people wouldn't have impeached Adolph Hitler after the Ckinton impeachment... They just wouldn't have stood for another one on the heels of Clinton's...

That is the real deal... That is the way historians will see it... That is the real sory here...

Bush was not going to be impeached for anything... He could have shot his wife and escaped impeachement...

Politics and publc opinion ride together soemtimes... There won't be another impeachment for a long, long time and not another until this generation passes and the politics of the Clinton impeachment have been long fogotten...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: maple_leaf_boy
Date: 27 May 09 - 10:25 PM

I'd rate them all ahead of Clinton and Obama. Nixon being third last.
Nixon resigned before a hearing could be heard for impeachment.
According to what I've read, Clinton was the only president to ever have
an impeachment hearing, and to be impeached. (Three levels of
impeachment: warning, weakened powers, removal from office). He went
through at least the first level. He also made a pile of promises, and
didn't deliver.
Obama: the first two bills that he issued put America three times lower than the worst Bush Jr. deficit. He reversed so many campaign promises, and he can't make a decision half of the time and stick with it. The only thing that he is good for (which is what he has in common with Clinton) is that he is a public speaker, and tells the people what they want to hear. He isn't as effective in the offices, just to the public.
CNN even made a skeptical comment about the overall grade that Obama
received for his first 100 days. Considering that the people thought
that the economy was getting better at the time, when it got a lot
worse since Obama came into office. All of the banks that folded,
all of the homes that were foreclosed. It was on CNN.

One more thing......If Bush Jr. was that bad, he would have been
impeached before his first term was even over. Mainstream media
has forced anti-Bush material on the public since he decided to send
troops to the Middle East, and because he's not a public speaker;
rather than discussing the other half of the issues, and rather than reporting the good things he did in office.

Clinton is the only one to have been through the impeachment process
in part. Therefore, he is the worst in my mind, tied with Obama. Then
Nixon. The rest of my list pretty much looks like the original post.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 27 May 09 - 09:58 PM

In the short term, Reagan seems to have faired better by ducking responsiblity, rather than owning up to it. In the long term, I'm quite sure Carter will eventually take his rightful place in history.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Rapparee
Date: 27 May 09 - 09:00 AM

I believe that was reported as being so at the time, Kendall.

When the rescue attempt in the desert of Iran failed, Carter came on television and said, in effect, "I'm the Commander in Chief and I'm responsible."

When the Marine Barracks was bombed Reagan went on television and said, "Heads will roll!"

Who exhibited leadership?

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: kendall
Date: 27 May 09 - 08:12 AM

Was there any truth to the rumor that those Marines were not allowed to carry loaded weapons?

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Bobert
Date: 27 May 09 - 07:46 AM

Gotta agree with Kendall about Reagan's rating... I hhave Reagan just ahead of Bush II (mental midget and crook) and Nixon (crook) but Reagan was pushing hard for the bottom slot in the *rank*ings...

We are just now feeling the the effects of Reagan's cowardness in not standing up the the free marketeers... Reagan was all talk and no walk...

BTW, Kendall, it was under Reagan that the US suffered it largest terrorist hit since WW II... Yeah, the Repubs have made a big deal about the USS Cole attack but never talk much about the Beruit bombing which occured on Reagan's watch...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Neil D
Date: 27 May 09 - 04:38 AM

Eisenhower did at least two great things that no later Republican president would have done. He at long last, finally used his position to end Joe McCarthy's reign of terror and he warned us about the threat of the military industrial complex. Unfortunately the latter may have already been too late.


Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Bee-dubya-ell - PM
Date: 26 May 09 - 05:20 PM

John Hanson also looked remarkably like Kevin Spacey. CLICK!

More like Bob Hope.

Rapaire said William Henry Harrison and since the premise of this thread is rating the presidents in your lifetime... 8<)

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Charley Noble
Date: 26 May 09 - 10:32 PM

Rig-

"Ike did stop the Korean War"

Yes, I'd also give him credit for finalizing the armistice (the "Korean War" still hasn't ended) but it was Truman who fired General MacArthur after he provoked China into invading North Korea, and then wanted to retaliate with nuclear bombs. I'd give Truman credit for sanity.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Rapparee
Date: 26 May 09 - 10:18 PM

Okay then Amos:

William Henry Harrison. He wasn't President long enough to screw things up very much.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 26 May 09 - 05:20 PM

John Hanson also looked remarkably like Kevin Spacey. CLICK!

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Amos
Date: 26 May 09 - 02:04 PM

The most common myth about John Hanson was that he was the first President of the United States.

The origin of the claim that Hanson is the "forgotten" first President stems from a 1932 book by Seymour Wemyss Smith titled John Hanson – Our First President. Officially Hanson was the third President of the Continental Congress, successor to the first two men to hold the office, Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean. He was the first to serve a full one-year term, and the first to formally use the title President of the United States in Congress Assembled.

The office of the President of the United States in Congress Assembled was, despite the name, not an executive post. It bears a closer resemblance to the modern Speaker of the United States House of Representatives or Vice President of the United States. The office was in existence from 1781 to 1788, under the Articles of Confederation.

It was replaced by the modern office of President of the United States when the Constitution took effect in 1789. The modern office is significantly more powerful as an executive position.

Rapaire's vote, therefore, is disqualified on the grounds of excessive cuteness.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 May 09 - 01:59 PM

Um, I only use a cuteness scale....

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Rapparee
Date: 26 May 09 - 01:59 PM

1. John Hanson

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 May 09 - 01:53 PM

He took up eight years of our lives--wasted for sure, but they still need to be accounted for...

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: kendall
Date: 26 May 09 - 12:54 PM

Would someone please tell me what Reagan did that would qualify him for even being on the list?

He promised a balanced budget, yet he never even submitted one.
He lied about Iran Contra and about Arms for hostages.
He invaded Grenada to take our minds off his lies.
He was so out of it that he didn't even know that Casper Weinburger had resigned.
He appointed losers such as that idiot, Watt, to head the Dept. of the Interior.
He started this whole de-regulation crap that we still have around our necks today.
He cut taxes for the rich making the recession worse. Trickle down is a joke...on the poor!

He never had an original thought, everything he said was written for him. I don't know what his IQ was, but it was probably higher than GW Bush, and his was probably higher than a soil sample.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 May 09 - 10:08 AM

Ike did stop the Korean War, which is what Kennedy might have done in Vietnam if he'd lived. I'd say that is the giant unanswered question.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Bobert
Date: 26 May 09 - 07:36 AM

I porbably would have ranked Kennedy lower had he lived longer... He fell for the old appease-the-right with his war in Vietnam... Seems the Dems are always falling for that same old bull... Maybe now that thr right has been reduced to Blowhard Cheney and Blowhard Limbaugh the Dems won't feel it necessary to crank up and new wars to entertain the right...

But Kennedy was headed right where LBJ ended up and that was an anguished, embattled and bitter washed up politican... Vietnam took a heavy toll on LBJ... That toll would have been Kennedy's to bare and would have eaten him up...

I do find it interesting that som many folks rank Ike so high... All he did was be at the right place at the right time... The 50's was a amgical decade of optimism and economig growth as a natural byproduct of WW II... And alot of us were paying little league in the 50's and have fond memories of those times... Ike doesn't get credit other than he didn't get in the way of a decade that purdy much fueled its ownself...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Neil D
Date: 26 May 09 - 06:02 AM

Eisenhower
Clinton
Kennedy
Carter
Ford
Reagan
Johnson
Bush the Elder
Nixon
Bush the Younger
Too soon to rate Obama but I hope and expect him to end up at the top.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 May 09 - 12:34 AM

I didn't rank Obama because I didn't think he's been in office long enough, and I agree with John, I might have ranked Kennedy higher if he'd lived longer.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:30 PM

C-Span 2009 survey ranks contemporary presidents thusly:
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
5. Harry S. Truman
6. John F. Kennedy
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
10. Ronald Reagan
11. Lyndon B. Johnson
15. Bill Clinton
18. George H. W. Bush
22. Gerald R. Ford
25. Jimmy Carter
27. Richard M. Nixon
36. George W. Bush
The number is their rank amongst all presidents.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:18 PM

Eisenhower
Truman
Reagan
GHW Bush
Kennedy (had he lived, probably higher)
Nixon (His personal demons keep him from being #1)
Johnson (Had he been a Republican would suffer similar fate as RMN)
Clinton
Ford
GW Bush (Ignored domestic issues)
Carter (Could flip with Obama for worst)
Obama (yes! even this early in his term. He may be smart, but I don't think him wise)

I could have ranked Roosevelt, but I only personally remember his war years. Probably would put between Nixon and Clinton.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: kendall
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:07 PM

I prospered under Nixon. As a president he was very good. As a human being he was lower than snake shit in a wagon track.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Bobert
Date: 25 May 09 - 07:45 PM

1. Carter, Most honest and sincere
2. Obama, Smartest
3. Johnson, Great Society + Civil Rights
4. Eisenhower, Cars with style
5. Kennedy, Slept with Marlyn Monroe
6. Clinton, Slept with anyone with a pulse
7. Ford, Didn't kill anyone
8. Bush I, Get's credit for sleeping with Barbara Bush (yuck)
9. Reagan, Mental midget
10. Nixon, Crook
11. Bush II, Crook and mental midget

That's the way I stack 'um up... 'er down...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 May 09 - 06:05 PM

"I can't believe the high rankings you guys have given Nixon !?!?!"


                Nixon was a multifaceted character. I don't think a week goes by when I don't here some news commentator reflecting on a "Nixon to China moment." And too, some of us suspect that Nixon got caught doing things that other people did routinely and got away with.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 25 May 09 - 05:17 PM

"Ten years from now, Bush will be thought of more highly than he is today."


You mean he'll be MORE popular than rabies?

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Amos
Date: 25 May 09 - 03:00 PM

We forgive our criminals sooner or later. Ten years from now, Bush will be thought of more highly than he is today.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: number 6
Date: 25 May 09 - 02:47 PM

I can't believe the high rankings you guys have given Nixon !?!?!

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: kendall
Date: 25 May 09 - 12:04 PM

1. Truman. The Marshall plan. (Actually the Truman plan)
2. Eisenhower. Peace and prosperity, the interstate highway system and opening the St. Lawrence seaway.
3. Johnson. Medicare
4. Nixon Prosperity, opened China kept inflation under control.

5. Clinton. Balanced the budget, left a surplus.Longest period of prosperity in history.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: pdq
Date: 25 May 09 - 11:42 AM

Presidents who tried to be bi-partisan and work "across the isle":

1. Gerald Ford
2. Dwight Eisenhower
3. George Bush (41)
(tie for 4 and 5):
George W. Bush and Jonn F. Kennedy

Presidents who said "f*** the other party":

1. Bill Clinton
2. Lyndon Johnson
3. Richard Nixon
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Jimmy Carter
6. Harry Truman

{not the question asked, but something to think about}

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 May 09 - 10:18 AM

That's a good point, Amos. It's hard to place Ford, but he was a really nice guy and the only president on record to fall down the gang-plank getting off an airplane. Just that ought to win him a few points.

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Amos
Date: 25 May 09 - 09:42 AM

Interesting notion, Rig, and my list is similar to yours, although I suspect you give Ford too high a slot only because the others are taking up the bottom end of the list, Johnson's reputation was stained by the war, but his record aside from that was better than GWB; but that's a quibble.

A stimulating question.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: GUEST,Wesley S
Date: 25 May 09 - 09:36 AM

I had a chat with a crusty old newspaper reporter who met all of the presidents since FDR. And in his opinion:

Best handshake - Bill Clinton
Worst handshake - Jimmy Carter

Subject: BS: Rate the Presidents
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 May 09 - 08:37 AM

If you were rating the American presidents that you can remember in your life time (number 1 being the best) what would your list look like? This is my list:

1. Eisenhower
2. Clinton
3. Kennedy
4. Carter
5. Ford
6. G.H.W. Bush
7. Nixon
8. G.W. Bush
9. Johnson
10. Reagan

               I don't recall enough about Truman to rate him.