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February 16, 2009
Rating the Presidents
An interesting symposium at NRO. There are some surprising choices on the list.
I've always had a soft spot for Harry S. Truman, a decent man who assumed the office at a trying time. After making the hard decisions that led to the end of World War II, Truman quickly recognized Russia's intentions and made it clear that America would stand against Soviet expansionism and with European democracies.
Truman was the first Cold War president, and the actions he took during his presidency set the tone for America's role in that quiet conflict. His domestic policies may have been awful, but he started this country on the path that eventually led to our 'defeating' the Soviets.
My least-favorite president? Truman's boss, Franklin Delano Roosevelt - the closest America has come to electing a tyrant.
Posted by slublog at February 16, 2009 11:00 PM
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Comments
hating FDR? ouch, he didn't really help but at least you can say a tyrant helped us against a bigger tyrant Stalin.
We won't mention how the "New Deal" got us in this mess. but the worst? the historians don't agree. Andrew Johnson is the worst I guess http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/02/16/daily7.html
can we agree that Kennedy was the most over hyped president? factually he was horrible, and messed everything up.
Posted by: coldmexican at February 16, 2009 11:40 PM
FDR - and right behind him Abe Lincoln.
As someone raised in the South during the 50's, the image of Lincoln we had of him was a ruthless, criminal man hell-bent on keeping his Union together.
People who blindly worship Lincoln don't understand that nearly everything he did was illegal or unconstitutional. The South had every right to leave the Union - and like FDR and the Japanese, Lincoln maneuvered the South into attacking first to legitimize his war. May the bastard rot in hell - forever.
Posted by: Murph at February 17, 2009 11:12 PM
Not to be an 'ends justifies the means' sort of guy, but Lincoln's actions did enable the US to become an eventual superpower.
Posted by: Slublog at February 17, 2009 11:16 PM
Then there is that 800lb gorilla in the room called slavery, but I digress. Lincoln had major faults, but hindsite is 20/20. Many, many, factors lead up to the Civil War and it wasn't all Lincoln's fault. Your right Slu, Roosevelt was the closest we had to a fascist since, well, now.
Posted by: nuthinhere at February 18, 2009 03:01 AM
FDR fought against Stalin? That's news to me; it seemed more like he helped out the Soviets even more than he did the Brits.
Posted by: steveegg at February 18, 2009 08:18 PM
"can we agree that Kennedy was the most over hyped president?"
ABSOLUTELY NOT ! Obama has now been outed as the most over hyped bullshit thrower in the history of the world. He is so full of his own...he floats.
Posted by: Frank J Witt at February 19, 2009 12:41 PM
Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.
Posted by: Link Building at December 4, 2010 07:06 PM