Warp Daddy
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Interesting commentary-----------So given that scenario who are your TOP 7 Presidents and more importantly what makes them standout IYO ?
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RIP Ted Kennedy (No Politics)
- Thread starter thetrailboss
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Interesting commentary-----------So given that scenario who are your TOP 7 Presidents and more importantly what makes them standout IYO ?
Marc
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Well, it's like Churchill said... democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried.
dmc
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SkiDork
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mondeo
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I can never get the Gilded Age presidents right, none count.
Jefferson - expansion of the presidency's power, especially with the Louisiana Purchase
Monroe - foreign policy, Monroe Doctrine
Lincoln - Handling of the Civil War, militarily, socially, economically
TR - Top president in my book. Unlike presidents who are ranked highly for their handling of a crisis, TR actually acted before monopolies and corruption reached a crisis point.
Hoover - didn't overreact to the Great Depression, but gets unfairly blamed for economic conditions that were in place well before he was elected. Upon a little more research, however, didn't have the policies that I remebered him having. Take him off the list.
LBJ - Most of JFK's positive legacy should probably be attributed to LBJ. More important to civil rights than even Lincoln, and did more than needed to simply placate those in the civil rights movement.
Nixon - Not going to argue at all that he was a good person, but he was a brutally effective president. Probably the smartest president in the last century, which explains some of the difficulties he had politically (Army studies show difficulty in leading when the leader has an IQ more than 30 points higher than those being led, Nixon was at least in the 140s.)
It's not that that the rest sucked, they just weren't anything special. In order for me to pay tribute to someone I don't know, they need to have done something really important. Most presidents just keep the ship afloat, which is repectable, but not enough to out them in high regard relative to the general population
dmc
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I'd go live in the woods. I'd be a combo of Bear Grylls and Les Stroud. I may even talk to myself and pretend I was talking to the cameras. "Using pinecones as TP hurts at first...but you get used to it...The natives around here used birchbark...until the great birch die off of 1845."
mondeo
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All I'm saying is that other professions, such as IT, engineering, carpentry, whatever, are just as honorable as ones that get the spotlight.
Presidents' Day is just an excuse to have sales and give kids a day off from school, maybe instill civic pride under false pretenses. No particular problem with that.
dmc
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Sure.
Anybody that lives a good life and makes a difference is pretty honorable...
But - some people mean a lot to some people... just not you but to millions... It's honorable to do your thing... put food on the table... clothe your kids...
But some people do more for more people and that makes them honored by more people... I personally like to do good things anonymously - because I think there's honor in just doing something without expect accolades.. In the public eye things are different... Especially when your dealing with constitutes that you've done a lot for and love you...
ctenidae
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Or as Jefferson said, "Democracy is the best way to ensure the People get the government the People deserve."
Dr Skimeister
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It seems that it's an honor to Ted Kennedy that even his political opponents admire his ability to get the necessary deals made to get legislation he supported passed.
The following was posted on another forum I participate in and it echos my feelings:
"...he lost so many relatives in his life, and so
many at very young ages. But he kept on fighting what I thought of as the good
fight. I hope that his fight for good health care for all Americans will be won
someday. I cannot think of a single issue on which I disagreed with him,
although I'm sure there must have been some. And the fact that even his
staunchest opponenents held him in very high regard and both liked and respected
him really says a lot.
I think his loss, expected as it may have been, is a loss for all of the USA."
RIP
The following was posted on another forum I participate in and it echos my feelings:
"...he lost so many relatives in his life, and so
many at very young ages. But he kept on fighting what I thought of as the good
fight. I hope that his fight for good health care for all Americans will be won
someday. I cannot think of a single issue on which I disagreed with him,
although I'm sure there must have been some. And the fact that even his
staunchest opponenents held him in very high regard and both liked and respected
him really says a lot.
I think his loss, expected as it may have been, is a loss for all of the USA."
RIP
HollyCarter
New member
Every person on Earth has dirt, he did a lot for the country and will be missed.
Orrin Hatch was his best friend in the Senate. There don't seem to be many Senators left that can reach out to the other (either) side anymore.
My big thing is that I don't care who he was, what he did, etc... I looked at the paper this morning and besides the 1st family sucking up my hard earned money on their vacation it was all about Teddy. Sure he was a political figure, maybe did some stuff for people, but as Andy Zee said, I will tip my hat for those who are not recognized by the public at time of loss. It is just more media crap for people to sponge off of like MJ.
dmc
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So the President should not take a vacation with his family? Is he just supposed to work? Our last president took more vacation then any other president - by some accounts 1/3 of his total term. I'd love for a president to vacation in the Catskills... All the $$ that it would bring in would be a windfall...
He is a prominent American figure... Loved by more then just a handful of people on AZ and media freaks... So you better hunker down and shut of the tube and not get the paper because there's going to be an outpouring of stuff that annoys you..
Maybe go out and buy some milk, eggs and tp because I'm sure magazines at the checkout counter will have it on the front page as well...Or you read Al Jezeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/
or the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
there's always Pravda...
http://english.pravda.ru/
bigbog
Active member
...a NYS guy too...!!
It was in the 50s in places last night and in the 60s here this morning....Severe Ski-Jonesing... today...
STeveD
..and not even a VT guy..! ROTFL....freakin commie...
It was in the 50s in places last night and in the 60s here this morning....Severe Ski-Jonesing... today...
STeveD
dmc
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GrilledSteezeSandwich
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RIP Helen Keller
Geoff
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The US constitution was carefully constructed to prevent royalty from happening in the US. The result was a system of government designed to work terribly most of the time. Unless it's a time if crisis, most presidents suck since they have Congress controling the way the money is spent and the court system to tell them they can't do things. Therefore, the country can survive some very poor presidents since they're not empowered to truly screw things up. You're seeing that now as change in government is quickly grinding to a halt after the first 6 months of Obama honeymoon. I'm not expecting much in the next 3 1/2 years. The congressmen have to stand for election in a little more than a year. They're not going to vote for anything polarizing or unpopular or the gravy train ends. That's how we have achieved 200-odd years of political stability. It's really ugly but it prevents a Hitler, Stalin, or Mao.
To make this ski-related. RIP Sonny Bono.
andyzee
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OK, let's make it ski and Kennedy death related in one. RIP Michael Kennedy
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