Greatest American

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Czech Republic:

So he screwed up the New Deal

 

How do you think FDR screwed up the New Deal? His Keynesian economic policies seemed to work a lot better than Hoover's conservative policies in alleviating the depression. They may not have been perfect, but they were better than the status quo and they did a lot more to address the suffering caused by the depression.

 

And the escape from strict laissez-faire capitalism has kept us out of another depression of that magnitude for about six decades.

[SuperJerk 0]

And the escape from strict laissez-faire capitalism has kept us out of another depression of that magnitude for about six decades.

That line should be burned into Rush Limbaugh's retinas.

 

 

Has anybody mentioned Edison?

[Guest Crazy Dan]

Dan, I said what I said b/c you're putting those people up as dishonorable up against people we're holding up as greatest American, namely making them the worst American.

 

No. Not even close. Byrd, Limbaugh, Savage, even Fat Mikey, none of them compare.

Yeah, you are right. It was early in the morning and I got off topic. The dishonarable mentioned list should have gone in a different folder all together, but definately not this one. So I will admit my error and fault and appologize for getting off topic. I should have just left my post on the Americans I think are great, which there are many and they should be getting the attention here and admiration.

 

My dishonarable mention list does not even compare... maybe we should start a new thread where we can put the biggest American Putz's or something like that... that could be fun.

[iggymcfly 0]

And the escape from strict laissez-faire capitalism has kept us out of another depression of that magnitude for about six decades.

That line should be burned into Rush Limbaugh's retinas.

There's a HUGE difference between Hoover's policy of complete inaction by the government under the most extreme circumstances, and the modern conservatives of today.

 

Saying that we don't want the country to be completely socialist seems to be enough to be labeled a crazy conservative nowadays.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Czech Republic:

So he screwed up the New Deal

 

How do you think FDR screwed up the New Deal? His Keynesian economic policies seemed to work a lot better than Hoover's conservative policies in alleviating the depression. They may not have been perfect, but they were better than the status quo and they did a lot more to address the suffering caused by the depression.

The New Deal was meant to end the Depression.

 

It didn't.

 

Entering World War II was meant to end the Depression.

 

It did.

 

-=Czech

(Can I assume the -= in Mike's absence?)

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

The economy continually shrank throughout Hoover's entire term. Under Roosevelt's New Deal, it grew five out of seven years.

 

It's hard to know whether the New Deal would have been successful in totally ending the depression since it was interrupted by WWII. However, the first nations to come out of the depression pre-WWII did so by adopting similar Keynesian deficit-spending economic policies (e.g. Sweden).

 

Roosevelt lived in a time when the only options in world politics seemed to be fascism (hard right) or communism (hard left). He took a much more moderate and effective route--many workers of the period considered his policies toward labor too conservative. Likening him to a dictator is silly, in my opinion.

[Stephen Joseph 0]

The economy continually shrank throughout Hoover's entire term. Under Roosevelt's New Deal, it grew five out of seven years.

 

It's hard to know whether the New Deal would have been successful in totally ending the depression since it was interrupted by WWII. However, the first nations to come out of the depression pre-WWII did so by adopting similar Keynesian deficit-spending economic policies (e.g. Sweden).

 

Roosevelt lived in a time when the only options in world politics seemed to be fascism (hard right) or communism (hard left). He took a much more moderate and effective route--many workers of the period considered his policies toward labor too conservative. Likening him to a dictator is silly, in my opinion.

Wrong...Wrong...

 

The economy was in shambles throughout Roose's first term. His new deal policies did nothing economically of any worth. What Roose contributed was his charisma, he convinced the public they would work, and expectations matter, which allowed things to be not as bad as they were.

 

The ramping up of the war engine was the only thing that pulled the US out of it. Central planning (aka the queue system) never is an efficient or good solution to any problem.

[The Czech Republic 0]

The economy continually shrank throughout Hoover's entire term. Under Roosevelt's New Deal, it grew five out of seven years.

 

It's hard to know whether the New Deal would have been successful in totally ending the depression since it was interrupted by WWII. However, the first nations to come out of the depression pre-WWII did so by adopting similar Keynesian deficit-spending economic policies (e.g. Sweden).

 

Roosevelt lived in a time when the only options in world politics seemed to be fascism (hard right) or communism (hard left). He took a much more moderate and effective route--many workers of the period considered his policies toward labor too conservative. Likening him to a dictator is silly, in my opinion.

"FDR the moderate" does NOT hold up 60 years later. Wow.

 

And when he breached the de facto two-term limit, I can sense shades of dictatorship.

[Guest Cerebus]

Poppick to the rescue. I told you that you'd learn stuff here Bigol.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

The economy continually shrank throughout Hoover's entire term. Under Roosevelt's New Deal, it grew five out of seven years.

 

It's hard to know whether the New Deal would have been successful in totally ending the depression since it was interrupted by WWII.  However, the first nations to come out of the depression pre-WWII did so by adopting similar Keynesian deficit-spending economic policies (e.g. Sweden).

 

Roosevelt lived in a time when the only options in world politics seemed to be fascism (hard right) or communism (hard left).  He took a much more moderate and effective route--many workers of the period considered his policies toward labor too conservative.  Likening him to a dictator is silly, in my opinion.

Wrong...Wrong...

 

The economy was in shambles throughout Roose's first term. His new deal policies did nothing economically of any worth. What Roose contributed was his charisma, he convinced the public they would work, and expectations matter, which allowed things to be not as bad as they were.

 

The ramping up of the war engine was the only thing that pulled the US out of it. Central planning (aka the queue system) never is an efficient or good solution to any problem.

What was "wrong...wrong..." as you so condescendingly stated?

 

Did GNP not grow during Roosevelt's first term? And during 5 out of 7 pre-WWII years?

 

Did the economy grow during Hoover's term?

 

Did Sweden not begin to recover from the depression as early as '34 due to Keynesian spending?

 

I am not trying to be a smartass, I'm legitimately asking these questions.

 

Roosevelt cut spending in '37 in order to try and balance the budget and another recession began.

 

From wikipedia:

Although the New Deal did not end the depression, all in all it helped to prevent the economy from decaying further by increasing the regulatory functions of the federal government in ways that helped stabilize previous trouble areas of the economy: the stock market, the banking system, and others.

 

And when he breached the de facto two-term limit, I can sense shades of dictatorship.

 

Maybe he should have stepped down. But the two-term limit then was just that--de-facto. And he was democratically elected. If he was approaching dictatorial status it was because of the will of the people.

 

I agree though that his attempts at court packing were shameless and wrong.

[The Czech Republic 0]

He should have stepped down after the third term for sure. He was a walking corpse.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

"FDR the moderate" does NOT hold up 60 years later. Wow.

 

I wasn't really trying to argue that he was a moderate. He was definitely a liberal--but not a radical--that is what I was trying to say. The New Deal has been harshly criticized not only by conservatives but by leftists such as Howard Zinn.

[NYU 0]

Franklin Delenor Roosevelt.

Delano

 

Pet peeve.

Which is why I always say "FDR,"

I never fully understood "Delenor." My only theories are a) People kind of combine Franklin and Eleanor's names or b) People say (Especially up here in New York) "Franklin Delano Roosevelt" so quickly and in such a way that the end of Delano and the beginning of Roosevelt get mixed together. "franklindelanoroosevelt"

Oddly enough, we had a discussion about this in Poli Sci class the other day.

 

I could have sworn the spelling was "Delanor." I think I've thought that my whole life. It wasn't until I learned in class that the spelling was actually "Delano."

 

I think it has something to do with being married to Eleanor Roosevelt. People think of FDR and Eleanor as being a couple, and probably mix up the terms subconsciously. Hence: Franklin Delanor Roosevelt.

 

And I think all the basic Great Americans have been named in this thread already. However, I would also give credit to someone like Andrew Carnegie. Despite his reputation as a "robber baron", he still proved to be a revolutionary force in big business and actually contributed over $350 million dollars to different charities throughout his life. I would at least give him credit for that.

[Guest BDC]

On the FDR thing, it may just be the fact that it just kinda flows off the tongue with the R following and so you mix them together. Most folks never read their history books, so they don't know any better.

[Toshiaki Koala 0]

Winston Churchill.

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

OK, let's see...

 

1. Abraham Lincoln - Yes, "he freed the slaves" has become cliché, but his accomplishments as President are amazing no matter how you look at it.

 

2. George Washington - The Real George W, he set the standard. We can thank him for the fact that the US is still a democratic republic today.

 

3. FDR - Saved America from the Depression, a genuinely virtuous person. One of our most liberal presidents, and yet kkk endorses him; that says a lot!

 

4. Gene Snitsky - He kills babies.

 

5. Thomas A. Edison - Where would we be without his inventions?

 

Honorable Mentions go to MLK, Thomas Jefferson, Patton, and Clarence Boddicker.

[Guest Mosaicv2]

Michael Moore

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

FDR - Saved America from the Depression, a genuinely virtuous person. One of our most liberal presidents, and yet kkk endorses him; that says a lot!

Sure FDR did a bunch of things that I disagree with, but one thing I give him credit for is the fact he had the balls to try and do something about the Depression. Could you imagine what would happen now if the world, including America, got hit with such an economic disaster? Christ, we get all pissy when the unemployment rate dips to under 5.5 percent.

 

Now I happen to be in the camp that thinks WWII had more of an effect on getting out of the Depression than the New Deal, but I give FDR the benefit of the doubt. Heck, when he first created Social Security, it wasn't intended to be the sole source of retirement income for workers. In fact, the average life expectancy of an American was less than the age required for someone to collect SS.

 

So the next time one you hippies starts whining about my right-wing flame-throwing, look back on this thread and bite me -- unless you have the AIDS, then you can just hit me with a stick.

 

Here's another interesting fact: The "S" Harry S Truman stands for nothing. For some reason Big Media made it up and Harry just went along, or something like that...

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Here's another interesting fact: The "S" Harry S Truman stands for nothing. For some reason Big Media made it up and Harry just went along, or something like that...

 

Fascinating.

 

Nevertheless, I think the Democratic Party needs to look back to Truman and FDR--these two cats were ballsy and not afraid to pursue an agressive foreign policy.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I'd be happy if they looked back at JFK and RFK, or even look at Evan Bayh and John Breaux...

[Star Ocean 3 0]

George Mason.

[Guest INXS]

Surely this thread title is an oxymoron?

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Surely this thread title is an oxymoron?

You--->

[Guest Cerebus]

But he does love America

 

If this isn't troll-ish please define what is?

[KingPK 0]

Surely this thread title is an oxymoron?

You do know that for every dumb comment you make, a month is added to the time you have to have that avatar and SN, right?

 

With this one, the total is up to......uh, let's see.......carry the one, multiply by 300......crap, I suck at math.

[Guest Cerebus]

You know King, there IS a contest going on...

[Guest BDC]

Surely this thread title is an oxymoron?

Troll-tastic.