I would still have to list Lincoln as Number One - he brought the country through a civil war! But RWR is in the Top Five: Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, FDR (gasp!), and Ronald Reagan.
Time for choosing
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/rendezvous.asp
Of course FDR began the socialism that has brought America to our present decadence. His only claim to greatness is the war against Nazism and Japan, but even that is sullied (in not a small way) by the way he betrayed the Eastern European countries to the Soviet Monster. FDR (and Churchill I might add) was way too accommodating to Stalin and much too complicit with Soviet Communism. Likewise, as I understand it, China was betrayed to the Communist Conspiracy by the Democratic administrations.
No matter how much conservatives might want to admire FDR; the man was indisputably a pure socialist.
I started stacking up the top five too, after reading Ann's outstanding column. I'd put them: Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt.
I keep re-assessing FDR. In my youth, I bought the popular image of him leading us through the depression and WWII. After learning he started Social Security and had many socialists in his government, he went way down. Since then, I've learned SS was originally intended to be self funding like an insurance plan and he really had prescience about WWII. We would have been in a lot worse shape if he hadn't been preparing for it for a couple of years. He's still a mixed bag, but I don't think I know enough to rate him.
Normally I like Mark Steyn's columns better than Ann's, but this she equals or surpasses his. Compare for yourself: Tear down this wall!
Not a bad list - except for FDR. But why does everyone forget/overlook James Madison?!? Who btw just happened to author the U.S. Constitution.
Some might say he dragged us into that war.