If You Could Have Any President Back. . .
- Thread starter Tecumsehsbones
- Start date
History will judge Obama as history has judged all the others
Obama will stand up well down the road he made some good
choices.
My choice is Harry Truman he never intended to be President
and he didn't really want the bloody job but it came with the
territory
Obama will stand up well down the road he made some good
choices.
My choice is Harry Truman he never intended to be President
and he didn't really want the bloody job but it came with the
territory
Obama was never able to gain the cooperation of the two houses nor was any positive connection ever offered by the Republicans, thus he was ineffectual. It's a shame in a way and it is a big piece of evidence that the United States doesn't quite work, anymore.
Acknowledged by some historians as the most underrated historical figure in USA history: worked as translator to the USA ambassador (his dad) to the Russian Tsar, wrote the Monroe Doctrine, fought against nullification, won the Amistad case, proved that third party candidates can win the White House, and was the trustee for the Smithsonian making it the grand museum it is today.
If we could have him or FDR the USA would be in great shape.
Well said Gopher. I can appreciate why JQA was considered underrated. Pretty fascinating guy. He was more global in those days than many politicians are today. Some say his best work was done outside the oval office. I like the end of what the whitehouse.gov bio says..
"Unexpectedly, in 1830, the Plymouth district elected him to the House of Representatives, and there for the remainder of his life he served as a powerful leader. Above all, he fought against circumscription of civil liberties.
In 1836 southern Congressmen passed a "gag rule" providing that the House automatically table petitions against slavery. Adams tirelessly fought the rule for eight years until finally he obtained its repeal.
In 1848, he collapsed on the floor of the House from a stroke and was carried to the Speaker's Room, where two days later he died. He was buried--as were his father, mother, and wife--at First Parish Church in Quincy. To the end, "Old Man Eloquent" had fought for what he considered right."
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/johnquincyadams
My feelings exactly, the best of the best, not politicians, but statesmen, who understood the big picture and took the long view. Have you read William Manchester's brilliant 3 volume biography of Churchill? Highly recommended, you'll want to read it more than once. I don't buy a lot of books, but I read a lot of books (libraries are one of our better inventions), but those books I just had to own, in the expensive hardcover versions. They are treasures, I've read them 3 times.
And where are the leaders like that these days? Do really first rate people not go into politics anymore?
Yes .
And this is the centre of the question :
Yesterday we elected a statesman
Today we elect a candidate .
But a good candidate is not necessary a good statesman !
Have you taken a look at who is running western democracies these days? Look at the current POTUS candidates and the last few to hold that office. Look at our PM, the failed drama teacher who cares more about a good photo than running the country. About the only one on the planet with any dignity and deserving of respect is Putin which means the bar has been set very very low.
Benjamin Harrison
Harrison was elected to the presidency in 1888, defeating the Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland. Hallmarks of his administration included unprecedented economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff, which imposed historic protective trade rates, and the Sherman Antitrust Act; Harrison facilitated the creation of the National Forests through an amendment to the Land Revision Act of 1891. He also substantially strengthened and modernized the Navy, and conducted an active foreign policy. He proposed, in vain, federal education funding as well as voting rights enforcement for African Americans during his administration.
Harrison was elected to the presidency in 1888, defeating the Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland. Hallmarks of his administration included unprecedented economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff, which imposed historic protective trade rates, and the Sherman Antitrust Act; Harrison facilitated the creation of the National Forests through an amendment to the Land Revision Act of 1891. He also substantially strengthened and modernized the Navy, and conducted an active foreign policy. He proposed, in vain, federal education funding as well as voting rights enforcement for African Americans during his administration.
Funny you should ask.
Right in the middle of the first volume of The Last Lion. I've been an admirer of Churchill for a long time, but so much I didn't know! And yeah, I got the hardcover editions.....I can't let history books go....
Now, right back at ya....have you read Edmund Morris' brilliant 3 volume biography of Theodore Roosevelt? Highly recommended, you'll want to read it more than once.
Oh, and if you read Dutch, don't let it put you off. It is hard to believe the same man wrote both biographies.I only wish I knew why we've descended to the place we are when it comes to our elected leaders.
John Quincy Adams? Yes.
FDR? Not so much.
No, I regret to say, I haven't, haven't been able to find it around here, and I'm not even sure that the first volume is still in print. I may have to go to Amazon.
Haven't read that either, and wouldn't unless somebody gave it to me, I wouldn't buy it. Reagan doesn't interest me at all, I watched him during his presidency in real time and was consistently unimpressed. I think his belligerence probably prolonged the Cold War by several years, by causing such alarm in the Kremlin that the hawks were able to retain power and influence much longer than they would have otherwise.
His Presidential Library has two books in it but only one has been completely coloured in.
