Most Overrated President of the 20th Century?

[elperromagico]

Poll question: Most Overrated President of the 20th Century?

I'm basing the listing on the C-SPAN poll of historians done a few years back (http://www.americanpresidents.org/survey/historians/overall.asp). The listing seems pretty consistent with others I've seen, but I'll include an "other" option anyway.

Which of these Presidents is the most overrated?

[Deja Q]

1. Loaded question!

:D :D :D

You know how I voted! O8)

[elperromagico]

4. Jesus, it's a landslide.

lol

[jeff30997]

2. Ronnie,of course! And ...

Saying he's overrated is an understatement.Damn the guy is a God for all those idiots.

[Gman]

3. This could be the first unanimous poll in DU history

but for the trolls.

[elperromagico]

7. I am nothing if not a consensus builder.

:D

[WLKjr]

5. Why did this one seem like a no brainer?

[Shoeempress]

6. He was not a good president, but he played one on TV

[EstimatedProphet]

8. You really should have Bush on the list

because there are still enough people that rate him so highly, it makes up for all the people that know he's the second coming of Nero.

[elperromagico]

9. Not 20th Century.

Sorry.

[EstimatedProphet]

18. Well...OK

He was installed in 2001, but the election (and it's theft by the Supremes) was in 2000-part of the 20th Century, which is what I was going by. Oh well.

[elperromagico]

20. I go by when the person took office.

And what does Diana Ross have to do with this? ;)

[EstimatedProphet]

22. Not Diana Ross...The Supremes!

After they split up and all, and became the governing backup group for the US

[elperromagico]

26. I see, I see.

Man, Mary Wilson has really let herself go:

[Tight_rope]

36. We are being nice and letting him finsh his term before we rate him

The worse President in US history without a doubt!

[Placebo]

10. Is there any question about it? REAGAN BY A LANDSLIDE.

The messiah of the right, their god, the object of their total devotion and worship.

There's so much reagan propaganda out there, it's piled so wide and so deep we will NEVER pierce through it. He'll go down as one of the 'greatest' presidents of all time, and that's just sad.

[IronLionZion]

11. landslide for the Gipper

the most under-stated president was Truman. Nuking Japan aside, that guy was awesome!

[elperromagico]

12. I think I'll do a Most Underrated poll using the same names.

At least the choices would have a little variety.

[Yupster]

30. "Nuke Japan aside"

LOL

Other than the fact that your husband fell out of the emergency exit, how was your flight Mrs. Jones.

[Lefty48197]

13. Reagan taught a whole generation of American children to hate

Now the Reagan youth have taught others to hate. We must stomp out the scourge of Reagan-Hate.

[dumpster_baby]

14. Why is Clinton NOT on the list?

Reagan is the most overrated, but Clinton has to be number 2. Friggin' Republicrat, after all....

[elperromagico]

16. Clinton didn't make the top 10 for the 20th century

in the C-SPAN poll I cited. I thought I explained this. :P

[K-W]

33. For someone to be overrated, they have to be highly rated.

Clinton isnt by historians and isnt by the general public.

[Jack Rabbit]

15. Reagan, hands down

JFK isn't as good as his reputation, either. He got less of his legislative program through Congress than did Eisenhower, and Ike wasn't trying that hard. Nevertheless, Kennedy he deserves some credit for his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. He certainly didn't preside over anything like Iran-Contra.

Reagan gets credit in some circles for winning the Cold War. That's a lot of hooey. The Soviet Union imploded and would have done so regardless of who was in the White House or what policies he was pursuing.

[AmericansFirst]

23. I agree with Ike....

I agree with you on Ike. If Reagan wasn't in this era I would have voted for Eisenhower. He seemed like more of a figure head leader and he let Nixon and the businessmen run the country. He was a good president but not great and he really didn't have any great ideas that came from him. Great, great general and leader though.

[stevebreeze]

17. it's a no-brainer...both the poll and the president

:kick:

[DaveSZ]

19. Raygun

He made racism, misogyny, and small-mindedness hip again.

[Zynx]

21. Teddy Roosevelt is HORRIBLY overrated. He doesn't deserve to be in the top

10, much less the top 5. When you look at his administration, he did relatively little.

[0007]

25. Teddy shot many animals in Africa -

Is it true that he led the San Juan Hill charge? His mother and wife died on the same day.

[Zynx]

29. He wasn't President when he did so I don't count that.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

24. Reagan made H.L. Mencken a prophet.

"The men American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try and tell them the truth."

"No one ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the American public."

"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under."

"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for. As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican."

Too bad he's not around anymore, though his thoughts are equally applicable to the current Reaganite soiling the White House.

[union_maid]

27. It's the Gipper

No doubt about it.

[Raiden]

28. Reagan without a fuckin' doubt

His personality cult is completely shameless. Like the California Congressman who has introduced legislation to carve his face onto Mt. Rushmore, or those who advocate replacing FDR with Reagan on the dime. It's fuckin' disgusting. Let's take a look at some of his real accomplishments...

-Creating the largest national debt in American history at that point.
-Creating 'voodoo economics' and implementing supply-side economics.
-Two words... Iran-Contra.
-Giving Iraq WMDs.
-Inadvertidly created Al-Qaeda by funding Afghani Mujahedeen fighters.
-Pulled out of Lebanon, showing terrorists that the US will back down if attacked.
-Showed that the US Government would be hostile to Labor Unions during the Air Traffic Controller Strike.
-Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
-Declared war on the Environment.
-Completely ignored the growing AIDS epidemic, setting us back decades.
-Supreme King and God of the Neo-Con Movement.


What a guy!

[Tight_rope]

32. Welcome to DU Raiden!

[Raiden]

35. Thanks, Tight-rope!

:) :toast:

[Tight_rope]

31. Reagan was a mass murderer among other things!

The best thing that happened to Reagan was that he died!

[Geo55]

34. Yep

The gippster was a gipster

[AntiCoup2K4]

37. Anybody got Satan's phone number?

He could pass on the good news to Ronnie that he won another landslide vote :evilgrin:

[comradebillyboy]

38. george w bush

makes ronnie look brilliant and principled by comparison.

[Darranar]

39. Ronald Reagan. n/t