Best President Ever

[snuffbox]

It's the inverse of that other thread. Hopefully it creates as much excitement as that!

 

I say:

1) Abraham Lincoln

2) FDR

3) George Washington

4) James Madison

5) Teddy Roosevelt

[CBright7831]

In my lifetime? Clinton (I've only lived through four presidents)

 

In history? Probably Lincoln or FDR.

[At Home]

Taft

[Timmy8271]

Harding

Coolidge

Pierce

Wilson

[BUTT]

Reagan

Bush Jr.

Bush Sr.

Jefferson Davis

[SamoaRowe]

In my lifetime, Clinton. Oh, those were good times. And I took them for granted.

 

 

[snuffbox]

This turned out quite well!

[Perfxion]

Teddy gets my nod for best president. He done more in his time than the last 4 presidents combined. Plus he caused and fought in a war that was for imperial power and admitting it in the process.

[Big Ol' Smitty]

Lincoln. Close thread.

[snuffbox]

Hey, Frank is a very close second.

 

It gets really dificult to make a list beyond a top3 or 5.

[CanadianChris]

Teddy gets my nod for best president. He done more in his time than the last 4 presidents combined.

 

[Corkscrew_Senton]

Dick Cheney

[Jingus]

Despite his various fuckups, Jefferson single-handedly changed the course of world history when he bought half our current country from France. I know he didn't originally set out to do that, but even if you argue it's a complete accident he still fell ass-backwards into the absolute best business deal of all time, gaining such a massive amount of land and natural resources that it led directly to the eventual American supremacy over the world economy.

 

That's just looking at things from a results standpoint, however. If you're also counting good intentions, Lincoln is the obvious choice, with probably either Washington or FDR in second place.

[snuffbox]

I'm sure I would fit Jefferson into my top 10.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I'd vote:

1) FDR - Helped the country out of The Great Depression and won (most of) WWII. Did it all despite being crippled from polio. Just a simply amazing man who took America from one of its worst times to one of it s

2) Teddy - The Quintessential American. Self-made man, great respect for the outdoors and a true patriot. Helped win a war and establish American supremacy in the Americas, while also keeping the military intact for the future.

3) Lincoln - The reason why we say "The United States is.." rather than "The United States are..". Black folk oughta like him, although he was reportedly apathetic to their cause anyways.

4) Washington - First President, helped lead the Army that founded our country. Has a freakin' state named after him, and god knows how many oter things as well.

5) Clinton - I know it's a bit high, but that's all I can remember. So sue me.

[snuffbox]

Lincoln's singular purpose of mind was the preservation of the Union. He had said he would free all or none of the slaves depending on how it would effect the Union. Personally, he was very strongly opposed to slavery and pre-presidential statements/speeches attest to that. He was not, however, of the mind that blacks & whites were equal.

[Nightwing]

1) Lincoln: He probably faced the darkest time of all and managed to hold the North in the war, despite its early losses. Had he survived for a second term, I'm dead sure that this would be indisputable as you'd miss out on a lot of failures of Reconstruction with his 'Forgiveness First' policy.

 

2) Washington: Setting precedent definitely counts for something. Washington, basically from scratch, started creating the precedents for this office. The man could have been a King, but he settled for just the Presidency.

 

3) T. Roosevelt: The final president that is almost universally loved. He was honest, stubborn, a brilliant speaker and a great leader in general. His investment in the United States Navy along with essentially kicking Europe out of the Americas established the US as a World Power and also gained us a bit of prestige (That would be squandered later on).

 

4) Jefferson: Along with getting Louisiana, he didn't follow Adams by being harsh on Federalists. If he had passed vicious revenge laws for the Alien and Sedition Act, we would have a very different political system.

 

5) FDR: He didn't end the Depression, but he helped us survive until WWII. Most of all, he was a fantastic speaker and someone who could truly inspire people, which is what we needed first in the Depression and then in World War II. You can disagree with his programs, but you can't disagree that he held the United States together in a critical time in our history.

 

Honorable Mention - Harry Truman: This is more because I personally agree with a lot of things he did. Kicking MacArthur out because he was getting too high in the britches, his unwavering (if blunt) honesty, his role in helping create the UN, and his post-war performance, to me, were excellent.

[Big Ol' Smitty]

2) Teddy...Helped win a war and establish American supremacy in the Americas...

 

Wait, aren't you Cuban?

[snuffbox]

I would put Grover Cleveland in my top 10.

 

 

[Corkscrew_Senton]

I would put Grover Cleveland in my top 10.

 

First or second tenure?

[EricMM]

Gore

[snuffbox]

I would put Grover Cleveland in my top 10.

 

First or second tenure?

 

Both terms, as with any other multi-term president.

 

I give Cleveland points for doing something rare in American politics- coming back from a controversial loss (and Cleveland was the incumbent, no less) to win the office.

 

President Grover was pretty interesting. Not an 'all-time' president, but 'good'.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

Gore

You're such a fucking pussy and I hate it when you're you.

[snuffbox]

That was pretty rough.

[Corkscrew_Senton]

I would put Grover Cleveland in my top 10.

 

First or second tenure?

 

 

 

I give Cleveland points for doing something rare in American politics- coming back from a controversial loss (and Cleveland was the incumbent, no less) to win the office.

 

President Grover was pretty interesting. Not an 'all-time' president, but 'good'.

 

That's what I was referring to in my initial post. I meant that tongue-in-cheek.

[Big Ol' Smitty]

Gore

You're such a fucking pussy and I hate it when you're you.

 

Let's hear your legal analysis of Bush vs. Gore, Czech.

[Guest Vitamin X]

2) Teddy...Helped win a war and establish American supremacy in the Americas...

 

Wait, aren't you Cuban?

Yep. Doesn't mean I don't recognize what he did for Americans though, regardless of how little this country has historically cared for Latin American countries.

[Big Ol' Smitty]

I just think it's ironic that you lauded TR for "win[ning] a war and establish[ing] American supremacy in the Americas" when that war was an imperialistic one that turned Cuba into an American protectorate.

 

For me TR is kinda like LBJ. I like their domestic policy and loathe their foreign policy.

[snuffbox]

I really don't think you can compare TR's wars to what happened in Vietnam.

[Big Ol' Smitty]

I'm just saying that I don't like imperialism, not equating early 20th century US imperialism with Vietnam.

 

However, the Filipino insurgency precipitated by the Spanish-American War does have some similarities with Vietnam & Iraq.