Runoff: Greatest U. S. President (1789-Present)?

[elperromagico]

Poll question: Runoff: Greatest U. S. President (1789-Present)?

The options in this poll are based on the results of five polls I posted yesterday (here is the first poll).

Any President receiving 50% or more in his group has advanced to this runoff. In the one poll where no President received 50% (Clinton missed it by one vote as of this writing), the top two votegetters have advanced to the runoff. Here are the percentages received by each of the winners.

1789-1841: Thomas Jefferson - 72/113 Votes, 62%
1841-1869: Abraham Lincoln - 104/116 Votes, 90%
1869-1909: Theodore Roosevelt - 94/103 Votes, 91%
1909-1961: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - 127/140 Votes, 91%
1961-Present: William Jefferson Clinton - 99/200 Votes, 49.5%, John Fitzgerald Kennedy - 56/200 Votes, 28%

As always, Happy Voting! :hi:

[Kilroy003]

1. Mount Rushmore has had this same poll

for, like, 15 years or something. Last time I checked, RR was in a slight lead over FDR and then Lincoln. GW was number one for the last two years, sadly enough. I may be totally wrong though, I was kinda drunk during my last visit.

[boxster]

15. That's in part because MR is in South Dakota.

And South Dakota, particularly western South Dakota, is very conservative.

MR brings in a lot of out-of-staters, but it's also visited pretty heavily by South Dakotans, so the numbers are likely skewed by that.

[freetobegay]

2. i had to go with Thomas Jefferson.

[Leprechan29]

12. I was leaning that way for a bit

I definitely think he was one of the most important men in the founding of the US, but I don't know much about his exploits as President. Because of that, I'll have to go with FDR

[underpants]

3. Scholars tend to say Lincoln but I think it was FDR

Stupid liberal academics

[Neoplatonist]

5. I think F.D.R.

However, the whole presidency as we know it today is defined in large part by George Washington. Lincoln was certainly one of the greats, as well as perhaps Jefferson, Clinton, Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt, Cleveland, Truman, Wilson, Ike, Monroe, and Jackson.

How Harry Truman didn't make it on the poll is beyond my understanding--he was F.D.R.'s amazing legacy.

[elperromagico]

6. He didn't make this poll because he was swamped by FDR.

He placed a distant (VERY distant) second to FDR in the 1909-1961 poll.

[Jose Diablo]

7. FDR no doubt IMO

FDR brought many progressive plans into existence. His rules forcing regulation on businesses brought stability to the economy, only to be dismantled by Raygun and here we are now.

He brought the country through the worst times economically. Gave people hope for a better future.

And led the country through one of the most horrific wars of all times.

FDR was da man.

[AJ BENDER]

4. Mr. Bill is My Heroe !

He got a hummer in the Oval office....finally put the place to good use.


NOBODY DIED WHEN CLINTON LIED !:hi:

[ArkDem]

13. And he knew how to spell potatoe!

[evil_orange_cat]

8. I think Kennedy is overrated...

His assassination definitely puts him in a higher category where I'm not sure he belongs. I've been very critical of the cult of personality surrounding Reagan... well Kennedy has the same kind of cult surrounding his presidency. I think Kennedy was a good president, but not great... and perhaps not in the top ten. But he certainly wasn't bad as Reagan was. I just wish Kennedy had been able to build a legacy, because I think he had the potential for greatness, which was cut short.

But all in all, I think FDR must be hailed as the greatest. THe New Deal saved America from the Depression, and FDR also helped curtail a Communist Revolution, which was very probable in the days of the Depression. Not to mention FDR being a key component in the defeat of Fascism. And his handling of Stalin (who was worse than Hitler IMO) laid the groundwork for a peaceful solution to the Cold War.

FDR's policies lead to the creation of the middle class in America, and he helped save the world from destruction (from the Nazis and the Soviets). While Jefferson's accomplishments are noted, FDR lead America during a much darker period.

[ermoore]

10. Well said . . .

Kennedy was good, but didn't have the opportunity to become great. His greatest accomplishment was saving our asses during the Cuban Missile Crisis but the Bay of Pigs was a pretty awful failure and he didn't do anyone any favors in 'Nam. Other than that I can't really say much that he did as President.

Clinton . . . I dunno. He certainly presided over a great time of prosperity, but I don't know how much of that can be attributed to him. He did the right thing in Kosovo, though we waited too long to do it, but Somalia is a stain. Pretending nothing was wrong in Rwanda too was terrible (but pretty much business as usual when it comes to administrations and genocide). Welfare reform? I could be wrong, but I feel like most of Clinton's success came because of the Dot.com bubble. I think he had opportunities to do so much good (Rwanda, Kosovo, Somalia), but largely squandered them because he played it safe and followed what was popular with the most people. On edit: I also feel like people think Clinton is so great because he's the only Democratic president in such a long, long time. He's the only one there is for which to cheer.

Jefferson was a great man, I don't think you can argue that, but he probably wasn't a very good man, if you can catch the distinction. Still, without the Louisiana Purchase life as we know would be dramatically different.

FDR was another great man. Definitely one of the greatest US presidents primarily due to his outstanding wartime leadership. I mean, he did a real bang-up job with WWII and dealing with Stalin and fascism and all that jazz.

But you wanna talk about leading America through a dark period? Wasn't no darker period than the War Between States. Abraham Lincoln is the single greatest president in our history. Both a great and a good man, without him the world today would be a very different place (and not for the better). Aside from pulling the Union back together he set the groundwork for what happened after the war that has allowed the US to stay together and become the nation that it is today. That's leadership Kyle.

Abraham Lincoln greatest American president.

[Yupster]

9. Voted FDR, but my # 1

was George Washington and I guess he lost to Jefferson.

No offense, but Clinton will not be listed with these others 25 or 100 years from now.

[Leprechan29]

11. Agreed

Clinton, while nice to have in office, will disappear from the radar, just like most of the presidents of the past 50 years. One thing I noticed in each of those polls however, is that, with the notable exception of the first time period, there was one president who stood out as the obvious choice.

All that said, its hard voting for just one of those guys. This is quite a difficult poll here...

[ermoore]

14. This is true.

Really, George Washington ought to be on this list (and maybe even Truman) instead of Clinton, but that's the nature of the runoff.

[elperromagico]

16. Kick

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. Really, only three names belong on this list.

Washington, Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt are America's only three Presidents whose stature may be considered indisputably "great".

Washington defined the Presidency and set many important and long-lasting precedents for everyone who followed.

Lincoln remade America into a nation where the authority of the federal government was pre-eminent over the states, and suppressed the rebellion of the Southern states, ensuring that the United States remained united.

FDR remade America again, rebuilding its economy and government in the wake of the Great Depression, and leading the country through the greatest war in human history.

Of the others on the list, Jefferson (Louisiana Purchase, westward expansion, etc) and Theodore Roosevelt (establishment of the US as a world power, limitation of the power of corporations) may be considered "near-great", but not in the same class as the first three.

Clinton and Kennedy are above average, certainly, and Kennedy might have been more (or less) than that, had he lived and served a second term.

[elperromagico]

20. I didn't make the list.

The list was made based on the votes of DUers in five polls. These are the Presidents who won in their chronological groupings.

I may not necessarily agree with every name on this list, but there is a very distinct method behind it.

[Zynx]

18. Lincoln's very election caused the Civil War, so FDR is the greatest.

Also, Lincoln wasn't that good of a war manager for the first two years of the war. FDR managed the US war effort in WWII superbly.

[theboss]

19. I'm surprised Jefferson is on that list

Aside from the Louisiana Purchase, he had few accomplishments in office. He was a greater statesman than President.

[WI_DEM]

21. JFK is getting the vote he deserves

He was an inspirational leader who motivated people but due to dying while in his first term his accomplishments are limited. I consider him an above average president but not a great president.

[CRK7376]

22. Damn tough to choose

I ended up going with Jefferson
followed by Lincoln and FDR....All fantastic presidents not to mention Clinton and Kennedy......

[ermoore]

23. kick

n/t