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
oh, I forgot to tell you that they allow three votes. I cast all three for Ronald Reagan.
Agreed... I got my freep on.
WHAT A CROCK!
Clinton receiving a copy of the Koran presented by Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza City, Gaza, December 14.
Bill Clinton may have not been the worst President. It would be almost impossible to be worse than Jimmy Carter. I do think Clinton was the most immoral man to be president.
Some one needs to run this as a "Poll Question" once this thread runs out as this poll is ongoing. (timeframe on voting site).
The ultimate stupidity of this is that the poll can even include sports and entertainment figures. What in the world defines them as great americans. Great boxer, cyclist, comic, talk show host has ZERO relationship with greatness as an American.
One who has taken no risks, who did not lead the country through perilous times and did not stand for any great American values should not even be considered. Although that would tend to narrow the list down to Presidents, some have lead by greatness in other fields. Washington may have earned the greater part of his American greatness on the battlefield. Although not a favorite of mine, MLK might have achieved a measure of American greatness by championing greater freedom, that ultimate American value, and by doing so with his ideas and not with violence.
My top three: Lincoln, Washington, Reagan.
Washington made the country, Lincoln saved the country and Ronald Reagan saved the world. Not bad. Not bad at all.
My wife asked a friend of hers who she thought was the greatest American. Her answer (drum roll please) Princess Diana. These are the people who vote to put Michael Jackson and Ellen Degenerate on the list of top 100.
what I want to know is...why wasn't Nixon on this list???? He only RESIGNED..he was not IMPEACHED like Clinton!
CAST YOUR VOTE!
Voting is now open for Greatest American, and this stage of the voting lasts through Monday, June 13.
Vote for your favorite from the top 25 finalists on the Web at AOL, via a toll-free phone call, or by text messaging.
TOLL-FREE NUMBERS (free of charge from land lines)Muhammed Ali
1-866-669-3101
Lance Armstrong
1-866-669-3102
Neil Armstrong
1-866-669-3103
George W. Bush
1-866-669-3104
Bill Clinton
1-866-669-3105
Walt Disney
1-866-669-3106
Thomas Alva Edison
1-866-669-3107
Albert Einstein
1-866-669-3108
Henry Ford
1-866-669-3109
Benjamin Franklin
1-866-669-3110
Bill Gates
1-866-669-3111
Billy Graham
1-866-669-3112
Bob Hope
1-866-669-3113
Thomas Jefferson
1-866-669-3114
John F. Kennedy (JFK)
1-866-669-3115
Martin Luther King Jr.
1-866-669-3116
Abraham Lincoln
1-866-669-3117
Rosa Parks
1-866-669-3118
Elvis Presley
1-866-669-3119
Ronald Reagan
1-866-669-3120
Eleanor Roosevelt
1-866-669-3121
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR)
1-866-669-3122
George Washington
1-866-669-3123
Oprah Winfrey
1-866-669-3124
Wright Brothers
1-866
The final voting starts on the 19th.
Until then everyone can vote for three people.
Easy choices
Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Reagan
Georoge W. Bush
The final voting starts on the 19th.
Until then everyone can vote for three people each week.
Easy choices
Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Reagan
Georoge W. Bush
3 ways to vote...toll free phone, website and text message
Apparently, you can vote for Ronald Reagan by phone (up to 3 times per week, per phone number) at:
866-669-3120
AND you can text the work REAGAN to 66931 (up to 3 times/wk)
Also, you can visit the website and vote for a candidate up to 3 times per week per IP address:
http://tv.channel.aol.com/greatestamerican
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.