Best Presidents

[BHAMBARONS]

Lets get it started

[greasywheels121]

This debate will definitely pick up more once the work week starts.

 

I voted for Lincoln. Who knows if this would all be the same country, if things didn't work out the way they did in the Civil War.

[Mplssoxfan]

One Sox fan's top three:

 

1) (tie) George Washington

1) (tie) Abraham Lincoln

3) James K. Polk

[Felix]

Where's George W. Bush?

 

 

I'll vote for FDR. He was a great president, and helped this country get through one of the toughest times its had.

[RibbieRubarb]

No John Adams love?!?

[Rex Kickass]

JFK, could arguably be in both polls.

[WHarris1]

Top 5

1. Lincoln

2. FDR

3. Washington

4. Jefferson

5. JFK

Edited February 12, 2006 by WHarris1

[DukeNukeEm]

Lincoln or JFK.

 

FDR nearly made this country socialist.

[WilliamTell]

Is the question about best president during his presidency, or what he did through out their life? I love George Washington, don't get me wrong, but I think almost all of his glory comes from the Revolutionary War. The person I would vote for is James Madison who isn't on the list not surprisingly. He's normally forgotten but that's how it goes. I will vote for Thomas Jefferson because Madison was his Secretary of State and Madison had a huge role in the Louisiana Purchase.

[jackie hayes]

Is the question about best president during his presidency, or what he did through out their life? I love George Washington, don't get me wrong, but I think almost all of his glory comes from the Revolutionary War. The person I would vote for is James Madison who isn't on the list not surprisingly. He's normally forgotten but that's how it goes. I will vote for Thomas Jefferson because Madison was his Secretary of State and Madison had a huge role in the Louisiana Purchase.

I believe most of Washington's reputation does come out of his presidency. He did not do much, but that's part of his greatness. He did not attempt to stretch his powers, when the exact workings of checks and balances were still being perfected. Noone was really sure what a president would do, and Washington's immense esteem made his model of a limited presidency very influential.

 

He also delivered a prescient warning on partisanship that was immediately and forever ignored.

[WilliamTell]

I believe most of Washington's reputation does come out of his presidency.  He did not do much, but that's part of his greatness.  He did not attempt to stretch his powers, when the exact workings of checks and balances were still being perfected.  Noone was really sure what a president would do, and Washington's immense esteem made his model of a limited presidency very influential.

 

He also delivered a prescient warning on partisanship that was immediately and forever ignored.

 

Yes he said we shouldn't get into parties which now looks like a very wise statement. And he also set the president for only serving 2 terms when some people wouldn't have minded him to become king. And him and John Adams both made sure they avoided any other conflicts with countries because they both knew it'd be even harder to fight another war. As for the Revolutionary War, who knows if the Colonists would've won it had there been another head general instead of Washington.

[G&T]

Have to go with Lincoln on this one, but Truman is my favorite president. Every president should have a sign that says "The Buck Stops Here" on his desk.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Dwight D. for his forewarning on the military industrial complex, not going forward with Operation Northwoods in his last years as Prez and not f***ing up too much.

 

He's a close 2nd to my favorite (Harrison -- didn't do a damn thing to hurt the country)

 

And with all this Lincoln love, how can we forget his suspending of habeas corpus? And more here: http://www.civilwarhome.com/pulito.htm

[G&T]

And with all this Lincoln love, how can we forget his suspending of habeas corpus?  And more here: http://www.civilwarhome.com/pulito.htm

 

He also did this, which the author of your article seems to find illegal. Or possibly uses to justify the other things he did. Having read the article and looked at the web site, I really can't tell what side he's on.

 

  By ignoring the rights of the judicial and legislative branches of the government, Lincoln abused the power of the presidency by giving it more power than it was allowed by the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence is simply a document, not a tool--a paper that declared this country's intentions and justification for separation from a hostile tyrant, England. The founding fathers of our country never intended for it to be held above the Constitution. During his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln tried to justify the emancipation of slaves, which until that time had been considered unconstitutional, by upholding the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration states "all men are created equal," while the Constitution is very selective in its wording of which men are in fact considered to be equal.

[farmteam]

He's a close 2nd to my favorite (Harrison -- didn't do a damn thing to hurt the country)

 

 

Hard to screw up when you're president for about a month.

 

In other news, McKinley was dead from 1901-1905. He was President from 1896-1901.

[Chisoxmatt]

The great Ronald Reagan.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Chisoxmatt

[Balta1701]

I believe most of Washington's reputation does come out of his presidency.  He did not do much, but that's part of his greatness.  He did not attempt to stretch his powers, when the exact workings of checks and balances were still being perfected.  Noone was really sure what a president would do, and Washington's immense esteem made his model of a limited presidency very influential.

 

He also delivered a prescient warning on partisanship that was immediately and forever ignored.

Washington actually I believe stretched his powers hugely, simply because there was no way for the executive branch to function as it was written in the Constitution and Bill o' Rights. Running the DOD, Treasury, etc., there's simply no way one man could do all of that. Look through the initial writing of the constitution...you'll find no mention of the formation of a "Cabinet" of any sort. He came up with the cabinet so that he could manage things somehow, and created the offices. That was a huge stretch of presidential power right there.

[Balta1701]

Harry Truman has to be somewhere up there...From the decision to drop the bomb, to the Marshall plan which rebuilt Europe and saved Western Europe from turning Communist, to the outlining or a policy of "containment" as a method of keeping the Soviets from overrunning the world but still avoiding nuclear war, to the massive reorganization of the War Dept. into something which could fight the cold war, to the dismissal of MacArthur over open defiance of the orders of the President, to the Berlin Airlift, the guy did a heck of a lot of good in a very very difficult time when the new post-war presidency was still learning its place. We may very well not have won the Cold War were it not for the way he started it.

[WilliamTell]

Washington actually I believe stretched his powers hugely, simply because there was no way for the executive branch to function as it was written in the Constitution and Bill o' Rights.  Running the DOD, Treasury, etc., there's simply no way one man could do all of that.  Look through the initial writing of the constitution...you'll find no mention of the formation of a "Cabinet" of any sort.  He came up with the cabinet so that he could manage things somehow, and created the offices.  That was a huge stretch of presidential power right there.

 

The Constitution is a brilliant piece of work, the great James Madison at his finist.

[jackie hayes]

Washington actually I believe stretched his powers hugely, simply because there was no way for the executive branch to function as it was written in the Constitution and Bill o' Rights.  Running the DOD, Treasury, etc., there's simply no way one man could do all of that.  Look through the initial writing of the constitution...you'll find no mention of the formation of a "Cabinet" of any sort.  He came up with the cabinet so that he could manage things somehow, and created the offices.  That was a huge stretch of presidential power right there.

The Constitution states of the Prez, "he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices". Okay, it doesn't say "Cabinet", but that's pretty much the same thing. It recognizes that the duties of the exec branch will have to be divied up to "Officers" in charge of "Departments".

 

Congress established the specific departments by law after the Constitution was passed. I imagine Washington asked for this, but it's not like he invented it by fiat.

Edited February 12, 2006 by jackie hayes

[Milkman delivers]

Harry Truman has to be somewhere up there...From the decision to drop the bomb, to the Marshall plan which rebuilt Europe and saved Western Europe from turning Communist, to the outlining or a policy of "containment" as a method of keeping the Soviets from overrunning the world but still avoiding nuclear war, to the massive reorganization of the War Dept. into something which could fight the cold war, to the dismissal of MacArthur over open defiance of the orders of the President, to the Berlin Airlift, the guy did a heck of a lot of good in a very very difficult time when the new post-war presidency was still learning its place.  We may very well not have won the Cold War were it not for the way he started it.

 

I was the first one to vote for him. Go me

[G&T]

Washington actually I believe stretched his powers hugely.

 

This was also the belief of Thomas Jefferson who ran his campaign on the idea of limited power to the president. Then he purchased an enormous amount of land despite not having the expressed power to do so.

[DukeNukeEm]

This was also the belief of Thomas Jefferson who ran his campaign on the idea of limited power to the president. Then he purchased an enormous amount of land despite not having the expressed power to do so.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That is in fact true..

 

but really if he wouldve wasted time running it through congress n all that, he wouldve missed the shot at the deal.

[BHAMBARONS]

No John Adams love?!?

 

 

Yeah I have a lot of respect for him, he was on my list but I figured people would be upset if Kennedy wasn't on the list so I switched them. I could have easily made 15 choices but I was limited to 10.

 

My Top 5:

 

5. Adams (sr)

4. Madison

3. Jefferson

2. Washington

1. Lincoln

[WilliamTell]

I love seeing Madison on your top 5. lol I'm a Madison lover as everyone can tell.