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25 Greatest Americans
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Posted on 06/06/2005 11:13:29 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
In summarizing the lives of the 25 finalists in the Discovery Channel's "Greatest American" contest, NBC's Matt Lauer on Sunday night labeled Bill Clinton as "brilliant" before trumpeting: "Under Clinton the economy boomed -- deficits turned into surplus -- and more than 22 million jobs were created. Along with the character flaws and the subpoenas came peace and prosperity." The brief segment did not feature any explicit criticisms of Clinton's presidency, but when it came to George W. Bush, whom Lauer described as "our tough-talking, language-mangling Commander-in-Chief who most Americans just want to hang our with," Discovery put on musician "Moby," who declared over flag-draped coffins: "From my perspective, you cannot call yourself a Christian, talk about the sanctity of life, and then support the death penalty, and support a war."
To launch its series of Sunday night shows in which the public can vote to select the "greatest American," Discovery on Sunday night aired a three-hour program (8-11pm EDT) hosted by Lauer. For the first two hours, Lauer ran through those ranked from #100 down to #26 as nominated by AOL members over the past few weeks. Amongst those in the bottom 75, some ridiculous nominations, including Phil McGraw, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Tom Cruise. Micheal Moore made it too, a couple of spots ahead of Rush Limbaugh who came in at #59. Lauer asserted: "His ultra-conservative show has transformed talk radio into a powerful political force."
Discovery devoted the third and final hour to the top 25, for whom the public can now vote -- via phone, text messaging or AOL's Web site -- in the "Greatest American" short-run series on Discovery over the next few weeks (two-hours this Sunday, an hour each on the next two Sunday nights.)
In addition to Bush and Clinton, the final 25, as presented by Lauer in alphabetical order:
Muhammad Ali Lance Armstrong Neil Armstrong Walt Disney Thomas Edison Albert Einstein Henry Ford Benjamin Franlkin Bill Gates Bill Graham Bob Hope Thomas Jefferson John Kennedy Martin Luther King Abraham Lincoln Rosa Parks Elvis Presley Ronald Reagan Eleanor Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt George Washington Oprah Winfrey Wright Brothers
Discovery's format interwove narration from Lauer with clips or pictures of the subject and with comments from a variety of public figures. In the top 25, each person got about 90 seconds.
For George W. Bush, his segment began with a clip of him at Ground Zero in 2001: "And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."
Lauer: "He's our tough-talking-"
Bush: "And you're working hard to put food on your family."
Lauer: "-language-mangling Commander-in-Chief who most Americans just want to hang out with."
Tom Brokaw: "People look at George Bush and however else they may feel about him, they think, 'you know, that's probably a guy I'd like to have a beer with.'"
Ann Curry on Today, December 2001: "The U.S. Supreme Court effectively handed George W. Bush the presidency last night."
Lauer: "After conquering dangling chads in 2000, George Bush took over the family business. And like father like son tied his political fortunes to Iraq."
Senator John McCain: "If the people of Iraq are able to achieve a free and democratic society, history will show that those young Americans died in the service of a noble cause."
Moby, musician, over shot of flag-draped coffins: "From my perspective, you cannot call yourself a Christian, talk about the sanctity of life, and then support the death penalty, and support a war."
Bush: "Even though we haven't found the stockpiles of weapons, we thought were there, I still would have made the same decision."
Rudy Giuliani: "Sometimes events force greatness or the lack of it, and in his particular case, it showed greatness. And I think that is gonna give President Bush a very important place in our history."
On Clinton, Lauer began with: "Brilliant."
Clinton before Congress: "Let this Congress be the Congress that finally balances the budget."
Lauer: "Skilled and surprisingly self-destructive."
Clinton: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
Howie Mandel, comedian: "It's not sex!"
Wendy Williams, syndicated radio personality: "It was sex, Bill."
Clinton: "It depends upon what the meaning of the word is."
Lauer: "Despite the scandals and investigations, Bill Clinton was an incredibly popular President who connected with the American people."
Clinton: "The best is yet to come. The best days of America."
Howie Mandel: "Phenomenal politician, phenomenal speaker."
Clinton: "Thank you and God bless you all."
Tiki Barber, New York Giants: "He could talk on any level to anyone and make them feel comfortable."
Lauer: "Under Clinton the economy boomed -- deficits turned into surplus -- and more than 22 million jobs were created. Along with the character flaws and the subpoenas came peace and prosperity."
Jesse Jackson: "He was a good President and the facts speak for themselves."
Unidentified woman: "I do think that he's one of the smartest Americans. The things he wanted to do for our country were positive."
Brokaw: "My guess is that he'll be judged as an exceptionally skilled politician with some grave personal flaws."
For the Web site for the show, where you can cast your vote or watch the brief biographies of each nominee:
greatestamericantv.channel.aol.com
TOLL-FREE NUMBERS for each candidate (free of charge from land lines)
25 Greatest Americans
Elvis made the list, Babe Ruth did not.
Are the Clintons in? Find out.
Vote for the Top 5
On the Web Just Click on Norminee of Your Choice
Voting starts June 19th..(little incidental information that flew up at me as I went to vote to save you some time)
Lauer: "Under Clinton the economy boomed -- deficits turned into surplus -- and more than 22 million jobs were created. Along with the character flaws and the subpoenas came peace and prosperity."
WTC-1993
USS Cole
Somalia (Getting serviced while our brave D's are fighting off attack waves).
Lauer is an imbecile
The list doesn't include many people of importance, just celebrity. It does have RR, but does anybody think that a boxer, a singer, or a female talk show hostess, should even be considered, no matter how good...?
You forgot Oklahoma City and Waco here, plus Somalia and Kossovo too!
On June 6th, the Greatest American is 9000 at Normandy.
Barf Alert--Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and John F. Kennedy made the list. Yuck!
Matt Lauer has the integrity of a Washington state election. The deficits turned to surpluses because the Republians took control of Congress in 1995. And under the guise of "peace," the worst attack on America was being planned, while Clinton did nothing.
Bill Clinton got 42 and 49 percent of the vote for president; never a majority. How do you call that "incredibly popular". I looked at the description of Reagan on this idiot's website: he's described as the oldest president, author of Reagonomics and a union president. Not a word about smashing world communism and the Soviet Union. Sick, but it comes from a channel that has minimal viewership and a failing host in Matt Lauer.
Hillary has "tremendous accomplishments" (no need to mention any)
Hillary is one of the most "effective sentors" (no need to list legislation)
Hillary is "brilliant" (no evidence required)
Bush? Well, let's lead off with a quote that shows what kind of an idiot we're dealing with, OK?
When you highlight a person, it asks for vote, or get info...
There's two GWs on there. Can I get confused if my GW doesn't win and claim the ballot was too hard to understand?
To only say President Bush "is someone you would want to have a beer with" as strong point of a nominee is beyond the rediculous.
The contest is boring! Lauer is boring too..now I think about it. :(
well here's one thing Clinton got right. Regarding the end of his presidency...
Clinton: "The best is yet to come. The best days of America."
YOU LEFT OUT A WAR OR TWO...
Iraq, the cold war version with bombing missions, etc.
KOSOVO... and where else in Yugoslavia was it?
This whole concept is imbicilic. What is the purpose of running "American Idol" for historical figures? Anybody who could put Bill Clinton and George Washington in the same league is just beyond stupid, but there are a lot of stupid people out there.
Maybe as a measurement of how stupid people are, it may have some utility. But I don't think that is what people will get out of this one-handed exersize.
OH! I was confused. Thanks.
Don Imus once referred to the Discovery Channell as a place where "freaks can watch bugs having sex"..I wish it were true..
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