Originally Posted By RoadTrip Do you think Dubya is one of our greatest presidents? According to Polls, many people do. Just goes to show polls aren't worth much. Think about that the next time you present poll results as proof of anything. Gallup poll A Gallup poll about presidential greatness, taken February 9-11, 2007, asked 1006 adults nationwide, "Who do you regard as the greatest United States president?" [10] 1. Abraham Lincoln (18%) 2. Ronald Reagan (16%) 3. John F. Kennedy (14%) 4. Bill Clinton (13%) 5. Franklin Roosevelt (9%) 6. Other/None/No opinion (8%) 7. George Washington (7%) 8. Harry Truman (3%) 9. George W. Bush (2%) 10. Theodore Roosevelt (2%) 11. Dwight Eisenhower (2%) 12. Thomas Jefferson (2%) 13. Jimmy Carter (2%) 14. Gerald Ford (1%) 15. George H.W. Bush (1%) 16. Richard Nixon (-%) Washington College poll A Washington College poll about presidential greatness, taken 11 February 2005, asked 800 adults nationwide, "Thinking about all the presidents of the United States throughout history to the present, who would you say was America's greatest president?"[9] 1. Abraham Lincoln (20%) 2. Ronald Reagan (15%) 3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (12%) 4. John F. Kennedy (11%) 5. Bill Clinton (10%) 6. Other/Don't Know (9%) 7. George W. Bush (8%) 8. George Washington (6%) 9. Theodore Roosevelt (3%) 10. Dwight Eisenhower (3%) 11. Jimmy Carter (2%) 12. Thomas Jefferson (2%) 13. Richard Nixon (1%) 14. John Adams (<1%) 15. Andrew Jackson (<1%) 16. Lyndon Johnson (<1%)
Originally Posted By DAR Any poll that doesn't put Theodore Roosevelt in the top five should be questioned.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 This goes to show how woeful the state of knowledge is about our own history among too many Americans. Reagan and Kennedy above Washington, FDR, or Jefferson? Please.
Originally Posted By alexbook I can't believe Millard Fillmore didn't make the top 10! ;-P Seriously, though: Bill Clinton?! Richard Nixon?!?!?!?! Gotta figure some people just picked a name at random.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 They picked among the relatively few names they actually knew, sadly. Basically the last 50 years and people who appear on money.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA The average American is going to have about a 3% knowledge about which U.S. President served when, let alone who might be the best in history. And try going back beyond Nixon -- forget about it. Thank goodness for 'Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln' at Disneyland, or I'd have never known about Private Cunningham and the impact that the Great Emancipator had on his life. That great story where Pvt Cunningham met with Lincoln and the President gave Cunningham a haircut -- wonderful and heart warming.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Many Americans at the time wanted to elect George Washington as king, something he staunchly was against, and thereby ensured that America would always be of, by and for the people, not a monarchy. I am not convinced our current president would make that same choice, given the opportunity.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Lets just see if he gets through his term without declaring martial law.<< George Washington? He declared martial law in western Pennsylvania during his second term.
Originally Posted By jonvn That lowlife. Do you think the current George will do it, too? There are a lot of people who are starting to think he just might.
Originally Posted By jonvn Declare martial law, suspend elections, stay in power. He's already shown a complete disrespect for the laws of this nation, and he has the power to do it via the patriot act. So, why not?
Originally Posted By WorldDisney LOL, even though I'm certainly not a fan of the guy, I don't really see him trying to declare MARSHAL LAW!!! I mean, the outrage alone would tear the entire country apart and frankly, I'm guessing he knows its over and probably can't WAIT to get out of office . He can't get one bill passed, Iraq is just as bad a year ago as it was the year before that and the year before that one, he now has a democratic Congress who LOATHES him and at the the rate he's going, his popularity will be hovering in the mid teens by the time its over . Honestly, why would he *want* to stay in power? I think the whole, 'oh I'll just declare marshal law' will firmly plant him as one of the most corrupt Presidents ever although most seem to think he got there a long time ago . Man, I don't read these boards much anymore, but I went over to the Scooter sentence commuted board recently and surprised even the people who use to back the man has nothing but vile for him now it seems. Beaumandy COME BACK!!!! ;D
Originally Posted By jonvn "Honestly, why would he *want* to stay in power?" Who knows. But people all over the world do this sort of thing and have done it throughout history. People crave power. Maybe he'll do it because in his head he (or his minion) thinks he's the only one who can do the right thing. Maybe he thinks god had chosen him to run the planet. That's how these things generally happen. Democracies fall to dictatorships all the time. Eventually it will happen here, too. Is it going to be now, though?
Originally Posted By WorldDisney ^^I don't think he got enough votes in Congress to do that. They already feel soured after they voted for that Iraq thing, so ruling the world just couldn't muster the support he needed(although McCain voted for it). ;D
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Why is there never a military coup when you need one? The military could take over the executive branch of our government. They could throw Dubya and his cronies in the brig and let Gen. Peter Pace (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) assume the duties of president until the 2008 election is held. I frankly would have a whole lot more confidence in Pace than I do in Bush.
