Posted on 02/18/2005 2:23:36 PM PST by NYGOPRULEZ
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Depending on where Americans live, on Monday they'll be celebrating the birthday of the nation's first president, George Washington, or Washington's birthday and President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. A recent Gallup Poll asking Americans to name, without prompting, the "greatest United States president," finds Americans most often mentioning Ronald Reagan. Republicans and Democrats differ sharply in their views of the greatest president, with Republicans most often mentioning Reagan and Democrats most often mentioning Bill Clinton. When asked to choose the greater president between Lincoln and Washington, Americans pick Lincoln by a wide margin.
Reagan Tops List
The poll, conducted Feb. 7-10, finds that Reagan is mentioned more often than any other president in history as the greatest, at 20%. Four other presidents trail closely behind: Clinton (with 15% of the mentions), Lincoln (14%), Franklin D. Roosevelt (12%), and John F. Kennedy (also 12%). The current president, George W. Bush, and the first president, Washington, are each mentioned by 5% of Americans.
(Excerpt) Read more at gallup.com ...
In that sense, Franklin Pierce for example was a great president because he didn't do anything. Calvin Coolidge was a great president because he didn't do much of anything, and that which he did do involved cutting taxes and waste.
The worst presidents are almost always the ones who try to do everything and have a policy for everybody and every facet of life that they think they can stick government's hands into. Clinton tried to do everything. FDR tried to do everything. LBJ tried to do everything. And they were all terrible presidents for it.
I don't know if I can approve any list of great Presidents without the name William Henry Harrison near the top.
A man dies in office after only 32 days, he can't have f'ed up nearly as much as the rest of them have.
Bump to that and both of you. Your posts are refreshingly pro-Constitutional government, something less and less rarely seen here.
By the way, you really should consider putting W.H.Harrison on that list--he didn't do squat. By our evaluation methods, he's a damn fine president.
By your standard, the current President should rank right there on the bottom of your list.
Too bad, indeed. Washington's advice (Farewell Address) was truly for the ages on all its points. Everything in it, is completely sound.
As for the party establishments? I sat out the last election, which probably infuriated some people who generally back my views. But really, what was the point? The Clinton Administration and the Bush Administration were and are in agreement on 90% of the basic ideological issues that will determine or destroy the American future. Only on taxes, does Bush reject the poisonous variety of social engineering and population analysis that underpins the Socialist view of the human future. Each of the last two Presidents is in virtual 180 degree variance from the Washingtonian legacy.
William Flax
Amen! The American Revolution was fought over expanding Governmental roles. There was no problem between the Colonies and the Mother Country, until the latter, after the French and Indian Wars (1756-1763), began to actually become a factor in the daily lives of the peoples. Our very existence was premised upon a repudiation of dependence upon powerful central government.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
Did I say that doing nothing was the ONLY criterion for a great president? No. I said that I rank it highly among the different characteristics. Thus my list is a mix of presidents who did nothing or who, when they did something, it was surprisingly positive.
Well, Clinton gave the Republicans both houses of congress. I'll always be greatful to him for that. He was definitely one of the best things that ever happened to Republicans. As far as cleaning up messes, we're still trying to clean up Carter's messes (Iran, Panama, and his encore performance in Korea), so I think the Peanut was a worse President. We really should have just run more interns at Clinton. As long as he kept his hands busy, he didn't cause too many problems.
He freed "Willy."
I'm disappointed to hear you sat out the 2004 election. I wonder how many OTHER folks w/ our views did the same? Probably quite a lot--& how are we going to get what we want if we do NOTHING?
Going to the polls is easy; & voting absentee (which is what I did, 'cuz I'm legally blind & therefore unable to drive anymore) was even easier! As a matter of fact, voting absentee gave me the opportunity to go on the net & learn about an independent candidate who was running for the House against my Rep. John Boozman. I can't remember the guy's name, but I learned on his website that he was a VERY strong conservative, w/ excellent Christian values & possibly even a strict constitutionist.
If I had been able to drive to the polls, I probably would have voted for him, but I'd have no idea who he was 'cuz that was the 1st time I ever heard of him. I would have never known that, w/ his being an Independent, whether or not that he was the socialist Bernie Sanders type, or the true conservative that he was. From now on, I'm gonna vote absentee every chance I get.
Discovery channel is doing a web poll of "greatest" americans.
In their commercials they only mention leftist "heros".
Clinton will be mention as a great despite the fact that is is only one milimeter above jimmy carter on the disaster scale of presidencies.
Those words should be carved over the doors of every school in America, repeated by every father out fishing with his children, and whispered by every mother to each baby in the cradle.
I'm still awake.
You'd think the stupid Rats would at least pick someone like a JFK or FDR.
Harding all traveled deep into the heart of MS and gave a speech in favor of Civil Rights for blacks.
Clinton? I guess that just shows to go ya morons ARE capable of voting. Dubya DID win Florida the first time, the morons were just outnumbered.
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