Posted on 06/27/2005 6:42:03 AM PDT by gopwinsin04
He certainly wasn't a "do nothing" general. The contest was not "the greatest president" it was the "greatest american."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1241441/posts
Reagan lives on...............as do the people he worked to inspire!
Really, it was almost as if the TODAY crew wanted folks to know Ronald Reagan wasn't really the greatest.
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Elvis Presley and Oprah Winfrey are #8 and #9, respectively? If I had to pick a popular entertainer, I would have chosen Paul Whiteman, the King of Jazz, whose influence on the music scene was felt from the ragtime era to the rock era.
Im sure Katie had all kinds of 'explanations' of why RWR won!
Reagan won because he was considered the greatest president.
I was actually called by the staff of this show to ask if I would speak on behalf of Kennedy if he won. I like JFK -- certainly a lot more than most on this site -- but had to say that I couldn't see him as one of the ten greatest Americans. The results -- if you count only the top few, not Bill, Elvis and Oprah -- are gratifying.
Yes, the results are ridiculous because they didn't follow Britannica's example when compiling the Great Books of Western Civilization.
The example to follow would be to exclude anyone who hasn't been dead for more than 50 years. Then you get rid of all the contemporary fluff and actually have to consider enduring value.
Ronald Reagon was a "Great", but I still say the greatest are George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Did you know that Benjamin Franklin sign all of the significant documents that founded the United States and was our ambassador to France during the war for independence - a very important role.
I'm just surprised that Elvis and Oprah were in the top 10, and John F. Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson weren't. And although I would NOT have voted for him, I'm surprised that Franklin Roosevelt didn't make the top 10. How sad.
What's next?? Should we add Brad Pitt to the list??
Maybe I just have a different definition of the phrase "Greatest American".
One thing for sure. My list wouldn't contain anyone from Hollywood, EXCEPT for Jimmy Stewart, Bob Hope and John Wayne.
And Ohrah beat out Thomas Edison-who had 1083 patents under his belt. What about Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers.
Of course they had to have a token black woman in the mix. But what about some famous black women like Harriett Tubman etc etc that actually did somehting.
My vote would go to any military person who has paid the ultimate price for freedom...............his/her life. They are the greatest, IMO.
I don't know much about Eisenhower, but I was always bothered by the speech he gave at the end of his presidency, to beward the "military industrial complex".
On one hand, he would know. On the other, well, we all know who freaks over that.
By the way , I voted totally for Washington.
When asked to run, he said he didn't know if he was a Republican or a democrat. So the repubs got to him first.
He didn't do too much harm,but yes that ignorant comment was fodder for our military hating left.
Pat Tillman perhaps?
As another poster mentioned, Thomas Edison desrves a spot in the top 10.
My vote would go to any military person who has paid the ultimate price for freedom...............his/her life. They are the greatest, IMO.
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Pat Tillman comes to mind.
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