Most UNDERrated President of the 20th Century?

[elperromagico]

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

A companion poll, if you will.

[JohnKleeb]

1. Truman easily

[WLKjr]

2. I would have to say both HST and Wilson

[On the Road]

8. Hunter S Thompson Was President?

:smoke:

[elperromagico]

10. I'd like to see his drug policy.

I'd be a very happy citizen. :hippie:

[On the Road]

66. Well, When HST Ran for Sherrif of Aspen, CO

His drug platform was that he would set up stocks in front of the courthouse to humiliate drug dealers who had cheated their clients.

I really wish he had won.

[WLKjr]

17. no no not him dude

Im talkin' Harry S. Truman man.

[On the Road]

65. Jus' Kidding

:) :smoke:

[WLKjr]

67. I know

:D

[Doctor_J]

3. clinton

though immensely popular among us and the entire rest of the world, the 8-year onslaught by Limpballs and the rest of Big Media overshadowed an amazing record.

[stevebreeze]

4. James Earl Carter

By far the most honest and wisest foreign policy of this past century.

[ilovenicepeople]

42. JIMMY CARTER

foriegn policy:hi: :hi: :grouphug: :hi: :hi:

[Mz Pip]

5. Carter

He was a truly moral president. Unlike the one we have now who gives endless lip service to his morality.

MzPip
:dem:

[rucky]

6. Nixon or Carter n/t

[Shoeempress]

7. Clinton. The repukes hate him and continue to trash him, after destroying

the booming economy he built, destroying the respect and prestige we enjoyed in the world, bringing an end to Peace he created, AND IMPEACHING HIM FOR A F!*%! HUMMER!

[gottaB]

9. Carter n/t

[DemWitch]

11. President Bill Clinton

without a doubt, if for nothing other than being able to get seriuos changes made while battling the Repuglicans and thier impeach Clinton war machine from day one.

[DaveSZ]

15. Nixon

:)

The man was pretty awesome on the enviornment and the war on poverty despite his paranoia and deviousness you must admit.

[DemWitch]

18. But Nixon didn't have to deal with the daily barrage of shit

thrown at him from the left... Clinton did, daily... And I do mean daily... I can't think of a single day from Election Eve 1991 until today that somewhere, some rightwingnut wasn't blaming Clinton for something...

Nixon had pretty much smooth sailing until his hand got caught in the cookie jar...

[RFKHumphreyObama]

63. He also attempted to end the Cold War, pursued engagement with China

signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) and provided the foundations for the Middle East peace process.

Compared to Dubya -who attempted to re-start the Cold War (this time with China), withdrew from the ABM Treaty and pussyfooted around on the Middle East peace process until the situation was beyond control

[nono]

12. Carter

.

[kayell]

13. Carter nt

[keopeli]

14. Clinton, obviously. He will move up the list historically in time.

Let me give you some big picture historical facts:

Internet
Prosperity
Global Economy
Surplus
Growth

Lesser:
Racial Relations
International Relations

Those notions stick forever.

Why would you leave him off of the poll?

[pacalo]

16. Clinton: The best president in modern history.

[AmericansFirst]

19. The two most "controversial" presidents in recent memory....

Clinton and Nixon.

Clinton had the best economy out of the post war presidents according to Forbes and considering the right wing attacks he got its a wonder he passed anything in Congress. He did not let the country get attacked and got us out of the 12 years of Reaganomics and balanced the stupid budget which Dubya has ruined in these four years of his presidency.

Even though Nixon did things wrong, I think he was the second best republican president of the 20th Century behind TR. He worked for the environment, made an effort to help the poor, and inherited a crappy situation from LBJ(even though Eisenhower sent the first advisors). He also isolated the Soviet Union and played the China card well. Ronnie got the credit for ending the Cold War but Truman and Nixon each had better foreign policies in regards to setting up and finishing the Cold War.

I recently seen a web article that compared Clinton and Nixon and the comparisons were almost like the JFK/Lincoln ones of a while back.

I would say Truman but most historians are finally giving him due. It took awhile and I think the same treatment will be given to Clinton in the near years by historians.

[Darranar]

20. Jimmy Carter. No question. n/t

[Chili]

21. couldn't decide between Carter and Clinton...

...decided on Carter, because Carter's presidency is unfairly deemed a "failure" due to circumstances beyond his control (hostages in Iran, the energy crisis). I believe he would've been re-elected if the hostages had been released before the election - and how different the world would be if they had. Clinton, on the other hand, will be - and IS, by a large segment of the population - remembered as a great president in spite of personal scandal, and not because of any policy failings.

[Radical Activist]

22. You couldn't even put Carter on the list? n/t

[fob]

68. I second that emotion.

Carter is not only the most underrated, he's the most denigrated through sheer ignorance.

[Zynx]

23. Eisenhower.

[dumpster_baby]

24. NONE are underrated. They all sucked.

All of them used the military for purposes other than self defense. They all used tax dollars and American influence abroad in order to fatten corporate coffers.

And all recent American presidents FAILED to give us universal healthcare even while almost all the other Western nations were doing that.

And the all recent American presidents FAILED to give us strong welfare states. Even most of the Canadian provinces provide unemployment for more than 3 times as many months as "rich" America does.

Our college costs are outrageous while students in ostensibly poorer countries such as Denmark go to school without making a single payment.

Underrated presidents? No such thing, when you compare the piss-poor jobs they have done for their citizens to the GREAT jobs the politicians of other countries have done, and with far less resources.

I say, "Cheney them", each and every one of them.

[dumpster_baby]

29. I exempt FDR from the above judgements, but he is not underrated.

He is rated as the best president by many, and he was. But that aint saying much, considering the competition.

[neverborn]

54. No socialism = good socialism.

[dumpster_baby]

57. then cut your own road to work tomorrow, cuz common roads is socialist!

and when your house catches on fire, put it out yourself, cuz fire departments is COMMIE stuff, dontcha know

[bear425]

25. Carter. n/t

[Yupster]

26. Hoover

and I'm serious.

Though it's pretty easy to be underrated when you're rated about last.

[Cybergata]

27. Jimmy Carter...Hands down!

...but I believe that he will fare well in History. :hippie:

[Raiden]

28. Truman or Carter...

I can't decide.

[baldguy]

30. Carter

[UdoKier]

31. Nixon.

Widely despised, but competent executive. Out of thise: Kennedy for saving our asses in the Cuban Missile Crisis and FDR, because he cannot be praised enough.

Teddy Roosevelt is one of the most OVERrated, IMO.

[Toronto Ron]

32. William Jefferson Clinton n/t

[okTracer]

33. Carter

[newyawker99]

59. Hi okTracer!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Jane Austin]

34. Jimmy Carter

He brought human rights back to the international vocabulary.

I was proud to be an American during his presidency.

[The Straight Story]

36. Carter - carter vs clinton or kerry, who would be better?

I was a teen during his presidency (born 1965). I remember liking him but I was not in tune with all the side noise we now see via the internet (ie, what I saw on the news was all the information I had).

For those my age the advances are amazing. I was into computers since the trs-80 days and remember BBS'es well. In today's world we have things like http://www.google.com/unclesam searches to get more info than we will ever see on the news (try going there and doing searches on voting, federal reserve, and so forth). People today can be more informed, and for those who don't have time for such things they can link to those who do and read their information.

It is good to see so many voices and varied opinions (even those we disagree with). More people have more access than ever before to information. We are getting to a point where it is much easier for folks to hold their officials accountable. We can make more informed choices.

Perhaps we give too much credit at times to the President and ignore the other things which are relevant. * is one thing, but the local level cannot be ignored and local politics are just as important. the more power we give the federal goverment the less control we will have. Myself I favor less government (federal) and more government locally. I don't want someone in Georgia telling me what I should do in Ohio.

Carter was an interesting president, as a kid I like him and supported him but wished he would have done more. Back then we were in a 'cold war' and fear was evident in people I knew of the USSR (though I respected them and liked them as I played chess and read their chess magazines, played people from there, and so forth). The soviet people we my friends, I did not understand the whole cold war thing back then. While carter had his high points (and I think very highly of him now, more so than then) back in the day I think the deck was stacked against him in some ways. Perhaps the simplest way to explain it is that he was ahead of his time.

If he ran today I would vote for him over Kerry or Clinton. Jimmy was more genuine than either of them (not totally dissing them, but I see Carter as closer to the average guy than either of them). In a world of ABB I often wonder if we have come to a point of choosing second best just to get Bush out in hopes that someday we may have the best person in office, instead of holding the person we choose to represent us to the fire and demanding more.

Carter versus Kerry or Clinton - who would you vote for?

[Jane Austin]

37. Clinton. :)

Of the three - - all of whom are brilliant fellows - - Clinton is the best politician.

You can have the best ideas and platform in the world, but it won't do you any good unless you have the political skills to get it passed.

Clinton has 'the skills, and he didn't need the media, both houses of Congress and a shadow cabinet to get his stuff passed, either.

[The Straight Story]

47. Clinton

Clinton was a politician, but perhaps that was more a liability than a plus. Carter I saw as genuine, Clinton was excellent at his profession. Winning is important (you can't have power to do things as president if you don't) but when all is said and done character is important (in a historical sense, which can translate into future votes).

I liked Clinton in some ways, in others I just felt he was not genuine. Carter seemed more real, imperfections and all. He was an anomaly in the presidency, not perfect of course but a different breed of person.

Clinton seems overated to me, and I try to be impartial in my viewings of the different adminstrations over the years. Enron was a mess while he was president (I worked there), but I don't blame him for it any more than I overly credit him for the tech boom of the 90's (which was doomed to failure). We often give too much credit (or apply too much blame) to a president for things which do not (or should not) have an application to their office.

Democrats can say Carter had a role in ending the cold war, but Ronnie gets the credit because he was president at the time. Repubs could say Bush 1 made policies which led to the boom of the 90's but Clinton gets credit for it, and so on. In the end we need to look past the singular person in office and to the deeper parts of it all. the people do not get enough credit.

Kerry is, for at least some part, another politician. Same shit different day. The real heroes are the people I see here who are active and working hard to further the (or 'a') cause. Kerry is a part of that yes, and while some work to get the man in office I have seen many here working hard to promote the ideals they hold dear (and which sometimes get snubbed or politely passed over by those seeking power so that they can focus on the politics of winning more so than the issues). We need to celebrate more the little guy/gal who has done so much for the betterment of our country. From BBV to healthcare, the homeless, et al.

Kerry could lose, but that does not mean our ideals have to lose. If we put all our money on that horse, shame on us. We need to be active and working on the local level and state level, making informative web pages, talking to people, and so forth. I used to be involved more in such efforts and hope to be so again soon (divorce, moving many times, et al. I just bought a house and am settling in). When I lived in Whitehall I went to all the city council meetings, read over things, and voiced my opinion on matters. I held my officials accountable and showed them my view on issues.

Kerry might be the choice of the democratic party, but that does not mean he covers all our ideals and desires. His work could mean little if we only hope for a national change of some issues. It is up to the little people (as it were) to effect local changes. Again I go back to Enron (which was an interesing place to work I might add). One can blame * or Clinton for it, but how much can a president keep track of all this stuff? We need US to be there doing our part, regardless of who is elected (or selected). Power to the people, and not the politicians. The more stock some put into their candidate the less it seems they put into themselves (and note I said seems, candidate getting elected is certainly an integral part in furthering an idea as the lawmakers need to be people who will listen to you).

We cannot rely on clinton, kerry, or whoever to fully represent us. We must see that there is way more than they can handle and give our input. The good thing is many more people are more informed than used to be. From a broader understanding of environmental issues, park services, and so on, we can pool our knowledge and present that to those in power who might otherwise not fully see our point of view. But then there is politics.

We compromise to appease, deals are made so that later favors can be called in. It is not always pretty. We work to make all happy and sacrifice the overall good at times. This is where we the people come in. Informed and ready to roll we can be the weight that shifts the balance. Behind the hype and dis-info commercials we can make a local difference which can have broader impact.

Political skills, as you noted, are important to get things accomplished. Clinton was excellent in this regard. But behind Clinton there were a lot of people working hard together, it was a team effort. I fear our effort has been more to replace * at times than to replace the mentality overall. We need both, so I understand the effort, but I hope in the future we spend as much energy in a civil manner to effect changes of the people.

ABB moves us one step closer, the other steps I feel need to be in talking to people and propgating the ideals we hold in a way they can understand and embrace. Name calling (from fundies to rethugs) only seems to cause people to shut down and not listen as they get into defense mode, and in your face tactics seem to do the same. Attacking 'their' candidate seems to cause the same thing. Give people ideals and tools and they will figure out the truth, but when presented in a biased manner (even if we see that bias as right) can flip a switch with some people (politics can be like religion in this regards where those of one belief will not listen to another because they get too stubborn).

But alas, I am off track :) Sorry about that, almost 3am and someone called and woke me up so here I am babbling on. Sorry for the blathering post and hope you have a good day and things go well for you. God Bless and take care!

[timtom]

51. Nice commentary

Welcome to DU, your Straightness. Hope you stick around for quite a while. You're obviously a thinking person, as are so many of us here.

[newyawker99]

60. Hi The Straight Story!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[The Straight Story]

69. Thanks

Thanks to you all for the warm welcome!

[pinto]

35. Jimmy Carter. n/t

[minkyboodle]

38. Carter

with LBJ following close behind

[tjfreeman]

39. This one is easy...its JFK...here's why...

I used to think that Kennedy was overrated, but after watching Errol Morris' documentary "The Fog of War" I realized how wrong I was. It was then that I understood for the first time how incredibly lucky we all were, and I mean everyone on this planet, that we had Kennedy as President then, and not Nixon. It is quite likely that none of us would even be here now if it weren't for Kennedy. Say what you want about all his shortcommngs, his abbreviated term, and the luster of Camelot that leads people today to think he was overrated... but for one moment, and that was the moment that Kennedy pulled back from the brink of nuclear war, he will always in my book be the greatest President in the 20th century.

There was an extremely riveting moment in the "Fog of War" when McNamara relates the story of his trip to Cuba in 1995(?). He asked Castro then three questions about the Cuban missile crisis: 1) Did you know how many nuclear missiles were in Cuba? 2) What would you have done if the United States had attacked Cuba ... would you have recommended to Khrushchev to use those missiles in retialiation against a U.S. strike? 3) What do you think the consequences of that would have been.

Castro responded to the first question by saying that there were 194 nuclear missiles in Cuba at the time and he was well aware of them. To the second he said that he not only would have, but that he in fact did recommend to Khrushchev to launch those missiles in retaliation to an American airstrike against Cuba. To the third he acknowledged that he knew that it would have led to the obliteration of Cuba and most likely would have led to a nuclear war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

At the very same time that Castro was telling Khrushchev to launch 194 missiles against the U.S. in retaliation to a strike against Cuba, many in the Pentagon, Gen Curtis LeMay at the forefront, as well as many in the Cabinet were urging Kennedy to launch an airstrike against Cuba.

I ask you... what would Nixon have done? What would Truman, the one who ordered the completely unnecessary nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have done? What would LBJ (the one who once when the Vietnam war was really going badly "whipped it out" at a Cabinet meeting and said "Has Ho Chi Min got anything like that?") have done? What would Reagan have done? What would Pappa Bush have done? What would the stinking, fucking shrub have done if he were President then (I shudder to think of it).

Go watch "The Fog of War" if you have any doubts about this one and then get back to me on this, but I tell you that greatness is measured best by how one meets the greatest crises faced, and Kennedy faced probably the greatest crisis of any President in the 20th century, and we were all damn lucky, just pure damn lucky we had him in office then. We came at that moment as close to nuclear annihilation as we have ever come and Kennedy had the guts to listen to the one person who advised him against launching an attack (a former ambassador to the Soviet Union who had personally got to know Khrushchev). For the greatness of that one moment Kennedy will always be the most underrated President.

[newyawker99]

61. Hi tjfreeman!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[T Town Jake]

40. I always felt sorry for LBJ...

...his War on Poverty, which really did try to reach out and help people, has pretty much been forgotten thanks to that "other" War, the one in Vietnam. And don't forget both the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act he fought for and signed into law. Take Vietnam out of the equation, and he ranks right up there with FDR, IMHO.

[drdtroit]

41. President Jimmy Carter n/t

[LearnedHand]

43. Jimmy Carter!

Gawd bless 'im!

[oasis]

44. Clinton overcame the many obstacles that right wing whackos put

in his path. Five trillion surplus and 23 million jobs. B.C. was much loved in all continents of the planet.

[genius]

45. Jimmy Carter

[ButterflyBlood]

46. Carter

the most moral and honest man ever to hold the office.

[0rganism]

48. Jimmy F'in Carter, duh.

Look up "underrated" in the dictionary, and there's a picture of Jimmy Carter next to it.

[last_texas_dem]

49. LBJ

Despite helping to push through perhaps the broadest liberal social agenda since FDR, LBJ is, it seems, hated by almost as many liberals as conservatives. Certainly it's impossible to judge his Presidency without looking at Vietnam but I don't think that war should negate the positive accomplishments he made while in office. BTW, there's a very interesting article in the current issue of The American Prospect on this very subject.

[timtom]

50. Obviously, Jimmy Carter

He was seen as weak and ineffective. On the contrary, he generally made proper decisions rooted in truth and justice, regardless of popularity. (I disagree on letting the Shah into the U.S., however.)

[newdealer]

52. I thought we were advocating the most UNDERRATTED, not the best

Woodrow Wilson. Brought the country out of it's isolationist mentality, sent the U.S. forces to WWI, including Patton's first tank regiment, which helped to end the trench war standoff.

Became president of Princeton in 1902.

In his run for Governor of New Jersey in 1910 he asserted his independence of the conservatives and of the machine that had nominated him, endorsing a progressive platform, which he pursued as governor.

As president:
1)Instituted a graduated Federal income tax.

2)In 1914 he introduced antitrust legislation established a Federal
Trade Commission to prohibit unfair business practices.

3)Established a law prohibiting child labor; another limited railroad
workers to an eight-hour day.

4)Tried to establish the League of Nations-- the model for the UN.

Not a bad record.

[Swamp Rat]

53. ¡¡¡JIMMY CARTER!!!

¿Dónde está tu magico perrito? ¡Esta encuenta está gritando para el Jimmy Carter!

[Tight_rope]

55. Jimmy Carter rocked

[Piperay]

56. Jimmy Carter

people forget that when Carter promoted human rights issues it was revolutionary for it's time, now is the 'norm' (when you have a decent leader, that is). :thumbsup:

[jdonaldball]

58. Theodore Roosevelt

Environmentalist and trust-buster. If the Republican Party still represented TR's values, I'd be a Republican.

[noonwitch]

62. Nixon

He will always be judged by his two major mistakes-Watergate and the bombing of Cambodia.

On the other hand, he ended the draft, supported civil rights, opened up diplomatic relations with the USSR and China and kept the nation in one piece through some pretty turbulent times. I hope history keeps those things in mind, too.

[Piperay]

71. Yes, actually I think that Nixon

was the last truly liberal President this country ever had.

[leftofthedial]

64. Carter

Staved off disaster and was instrumental in hastening the end of the cold war

[Dob Bole]

70. Carter's so underrated that you forgot to include him on your list...