Most "presidential" President of the last 50 years?

[elperromagico]

Poll question: Most "presidential" President of the last 50 years?

We hear a great deal about how some candidates are "presidential" and some are not; it seems that the definition of "presidential" is purely subjective.

So let's get your view. Which President from 1953-present was/is the most "presidential"?

[swag]

1. I cannot believe the Great Golfer is winning, but

at least he had the decency to warn us of the Military Industrial Complex, which we now serve today in a master-slave relationship.

[patdem]

2. I LOVE Kennedy, but Clinton has survived!

I love the Clinton book because it pisses off the Reight Wing. I never hated Reagan...I never was glad when Reagan had a problem...lowered taxed then raised them. I have never hated republicans until Clinton was president and saw how how absolutely they did not care about America, only about the reight wing!

[Burma Jones]

3. Uncle Ronnie came right out of Central Casting

and that's what I think you refer to when placing quotation marks around presidential...

[elperromagico]

5. What I really mean is...

I don't know what the hell "presidential" means in reference to personal attributes. We've had such a variety of men in that office over the years that I don't see how there could possibly be a single standard for what makes a President.

[Burma Jones]

6. It would mean different things to different people then

To many people, Reagan was both the kindly grandfather as well as strong optimistic leader.

To a lot of people, JFK symbolized energy and intelligence merged into what they would want as the symbol of their country.

Personally, working on image only, I am a JFK kind of guy.

[Warpy]

4. Poor old Carter!

He didn't look presidential until after he left the office, but he has more than redeemed himself on the international scene.

He is definitely the most presidential ex-president we have ever seen.

I've often thought it a pity he inherited the rotten economy from Nixon/Ford/OPEC. He might have been one of the country's all time greats had he gotten another 4 years.

Oh, and I was an Anderson voter. I didn't think people would fall for the transparently inane Reagan and his funny math. Silly me.

[grasswire]

7. why exclude Truman?

He would have been my first choice.

[elperromagico]

8. Give me 11 poll options, and I'll gladly include him.

Give me 12, and FDR will win the poll.

[leyton]

9. I voted for Bush.

George H. W. Bush, that is. I don't really know much about his policies but from pictures of him, he seems to fit the bill in terms of image. I've looked at some of his campaign ads (http://www.ammi.org/cgi-bin/video/years.cgi?1992,,ss,,,mac) and for some reason they do the trick for me. (I'm gonna piss off Clark supporters with this, but Bush pere projects to me the same earnestness, the same calm honesty that Clark does.) Reagan has an authoritative look to him and is a close second in my book. If I had seen a little more of anybody before Carter, I might pick one of them (perhaps LBJ).

For me, Clinton is... I don't know. Something about his appearance is a little off for me, perhaps it's his accent, perhaps its that he seems too polished. Does anyone else here get this impression?

Before I get flamed, let me reemphasize that I am only going on the manner in which these Presidents present themselves on TV footage that I've seen.

[blackcat77]

10. I voted Reagan

He deserved an Oscar for the job he did portraying a president. Not that he REALLY had a clue, but he sure did sell it to the public. JFK was more like a prince than a president, and of course the Big Dog was just the Big Dog...

[lanparty]

11. But I'd put ...

... FDR on the top of the list for this century. Harry Truman would come out on top of JFK in my book. For the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln.

Who was the most "moral". Jimmy Carter.

Who was the "smartest". Bill Clinton.