Forum Game President's Day: Best and Worst Presidents

[yankeesince59]

Some of LBJ's credited "accomplishments" were initiated by Kennedy.

Also, Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System should not be overlooked.

 

[Lanny]

Some of LBJ's credited "accomplishments" were initiated by Kennedy.

Also, Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System should not be overlooked.

The difference was that Kennedy had a go slow approach because he was afraid of losing the Southern vote. He was convinced by others to pust for the legislation.
However Kennedy could not push the legislation through and this was where Johnson shown. It was a President Johnson that did convinced enough Senators to vote for his legislation.
Now, I love the Kennedy administration and absolutely revere his name but he couldn't swing any Civil Rights legislation.

 

[ABM]

FWIW...

• James and Dolley Madison were known to serve bowls of oyster ice cream at official government functions.
  
  
• George Washington actually has two birthdays: Feb. 11, 1731 and Feb. 22, 1732. The reason? Due to Protestant foot-dragging, the British Empire waited a couple hundred years to replace the Julian calendar with the more accurate Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory). In 1752, September 2 was followed by September 14 (no doubt creating havoc for financial arrangements like wages and rents). To accurately reflect his age, Washington used the ‘new style’ calendar to determine his birthday: February 22, 1732.
  
  
• Harry Truman was the last president to not have a college degree. Ronald Reagan is the most recent president to not have an Ivy League degree.
  
  
• John Tyler, the 10th president of the U.S., had grandsons living in 2018.
  
  
• Dwight D. Eisenhower lobbied to have a tree cut down on the 17th at Augusta National. They told him to buzz off, kept the tree, and it was mockingly named after him. Just in case you were wondering if it’s harder to defeat Germany or get Augusta to change its layout.
  
  
• Lincoln was the first president with facial hair; Taft was the last. Every president with facial hair served in the 52 year period (1861-1913) spanning their presidencies. (This does ignore the fact that Truman occasionally grew a beard on vacation while president.)
  
  
• John Quincy Adams approved a trip to the North Pole because he was convinced that the Earth was hollow and there was a hole at the North Pole which lead to the center of the Earth.
  
  
• Martin Van Buren was the only U.S. president whose native tongue was not English (he was raised in a Dutch speaking household in upstate New York).” And from reader Alex: “Martin Van Buren was technically the first president to be a natural born citizen, as he was the first born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
  
  
• Richard Nixon is the only VP-turned-POTUS not to succeed the president he served under as VP.
  

 

[crandc]

Best: Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Washington, Jefferson, Obama, although tempered by knowledge three were slave owners.

Worst: Trump, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, George W Bush, Nixon.

 

[yankeesince59]

The difference was that Kennedy had a go slow approach because he was afraid of losing the Southern vote. He was convinced by others to pust for the legislation.
However Kennedy could not push the legislation through and this was where Johnson shown. It was a President Johnson that did convinced enough Senators to vote for his legislation.
Now, I love the Kennedy administration and absolutely revere his name but he couldn't swing any Civil Rights legislation.

Agreed, but like I said, if JFK had not at least planted the seeds LBJ may never have even got it passed...course, we'll never know for sure how things might have unfolded.
FWIW, LBJ wasn't always pro-civil rights, anything but. In fact he was known by many as a racist, especially depending in whose company he was in. For example, among other things, he had on occasion referred the Civil Rights Bill as the "N_____ Bill".

 

[Hoopguru]

Agreed, but like I said, if JFK had not at least planted the seeds LBJ may never have even got it passed...course, we'll never know for sure how things might have unfolded.
FWIW, LBJ wasn't always pro-civil rights, anything but. In fact he was known by many as a racist, especially depending in whose company he was in. For example, among other things, he had on occasion referred the Civil Rights Bill as the "N_____ Bill".

If it wasnt for MLK neither Kennedy or Johnson would have pushed for it at that time. It was all political.
Kennedy had a silver spoon provided throughout much of his life. He wasn't Joe's selection amongst his son's to become Pres.
I was in 7th grade when he has assassinated, it shook the whole world. It was baseball, hot dogs and Chevrolet back then and the media was a different animal. It didn't matter what party you belonged to the country grieved at the loss of our President.
How would the progressive liberals today accept the Kennedy empire?
He totally blew the Blew of Pigs and leaned on Ike afterwards for anything conflict concerns including the CMC. His confidence was shaken from the Bay of Pigs.
He was the one that also ramped up Vietnam in a huge huge way.
Overall a decent president that like all, had baggage, and strengths and weakness's.

 

[yankeesince59]

If it wasnt for MLK neither Kennedy or Johnson would have pushed for it at that time. It was all political.
Kennedy had a silver spoon provided throughout much of his life. He wasn't Joe's selection amongst his son's to become Pres.
I was in 7th grade when he has assassinated, it shook the whole world. It was baseball, hot dogs and Chevrolet back then and the media was a different animal. It didn't matter what party you belonged to the country grieved at the loss of our President.
How would the progressive liberals today accept the Kennedy empire?
He totally blew the Blew of Pigs and leaned on Ike afterwards for anything conflict concerns including the CMC. His confidence was shaken from the Bay of Pigs.
He was the one that also ramped up Vietnam in a huge huge way.
Overall a decent president that like all, had baggage, and strengths and weakness's.

Sorry, but I don't agree with the context. I don't see the relevance of MLK, that's the same as me saying "MLK would not have happened if his parents had not had sex." And of course it was "political", it generally is.
Neither does JFK's family wealth have anything to do with it...as I pointed out earlier some of our very best presidents were very wealthy.
Ditto for his Father wanting Joe, who was killed, as his first choice.
As far as Viet Nam, that was mostly Eisenhower's doing...Yes, Kennedy ramped it up some but Johnson did it on a much larger scale. During Kennedy's last year US troops numbered approximately 16300....Johnson's last year the troops numbered 536100.

And I already covered the Bay of Pigs...besides, that was Eisenhower's baby as well. Was Kennedy to blame, well yes, because he was the Commander if Chief and he openly admitted that he would accept the blame. Eisenhower was the one who hooked up with the CIA to formulate a plan to oust Castro. JFK took over and voiced his apprehension about the plan presented to him by the CIA...but finally gave the go ahead...he had some VERY bad intel.

 

[Hoopguru]

Sorry, but I don't agree with the context. I don't see the relevance of MLK, that's the same as me saying "MLK would not have happened if his parents had not had sex." And of course it was "political", it generally is.
Neither does JFK's family wealth have anything to do with it...as I pointed out earlier some of our very best presidents were very wealthy.
Ditto for his Father wanting Joe, who was killed, as his first choice.
As far as Viet Nam, that was mostly Eisenhower's doing...Yes, Kennedy ramped it up some but Johnson did it on a much larger scale. During Kennedy's last year US troops numbered approximately 16300....Johnson's last year the troops numbered 536100.

And I already covered the Bay of Pigs...besides, that was Eisenhower's baby as well. Was Kennedy to blame, well yes, because he was the Commander if Chief and he openly admitted that he would accept the blame. Eisenhower was the one who hooked up with the CIA to formulate a plan to oust Castro. JFK took over and voiced his apprehension about the plan presented to him by the CIA...but finally gave the go ahead...he had some VERY bad intel.

MLK was meeting with Bobby and John putting pressure on them, my point was, if he had not been so persistent on getting an audience and results, Kennedy wouldn't have done it on his own at that point in time. MLK was 100% responsible for getting that administration to act.

 

[yankeesince59]

MLK was meeting with Bobby and John putting pressure on them, my point was, if he had not been so persistent on getting an audience and results, Kennedy wouldn't have done it on his own at that point in time. MLK was 100% responsible for getting that administration to act.

100% ?....Well, again, don't we need to give MLK's parents some kudos?

Johnson certainly would not have done it on his own either...but whatever. We can go back and forth all day as to who should receive more credit.

 

[Lanny]

FWIW...

• James and Dolley Madison were known to serve bowls of oyster ice cream at official government functions.
  
  
• George Washington actually has two birthdays: Feb. 11, 1731 and Feb. 22, 1732. The reason? Due to Protestant foot-dragging, the British Empire waited a couple hundred years to replace the Julian calendar with the more accurate Gregorian calendar (named for Pope Gregory). In 1752, September 2 was followed by September 14 (no doubt creating havoc for financial arrangements like wages and rents). To accurately reflect his age, Washington used the ‘new style’ calendar to determine his birthday: February 22, 1732.
  
  
• Harry Truman was the last president to not have a college degree. Ronald Reagan is the most recent president to not have an Ivy League degree.
  
  
• John Tyler, the 10th president of the U.S., had grandsons living in 2018.
  
  
• Dwight D. Eisenhower lobbied to have a tree cut down on the 17th at Augusta National. They told him to buzz off, kept the tree, and it was mockingly named after him. Just in case you were wondering if it’s harder to defeat Germany or get Augusta to change its layout.
  
  
• Lincoln was the first president with facial hair; Taft was the last. Every president with facial hair served in the 52 year period (1861-1913) spanning their presidencies. (This does ignore the fact that Truman occasionally grew a beard on vacation while president.)
  
  
• John Quincy Adams approved a trip to the North Pole because he was convinced that the Earth was hollow and there was a hole at the North Pole which lead to the center of the Earth.
  
  
• Martin Van Buren was the only U.S. president whose native tongue was not English (he was raised in a Dutch speaking household in upstate New York).” And from reader Alex: “Martin Van Buren was technically the first president to be a natural born citizen, as he was the first born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
  
  
• Richard Nixon is the only VP-turned-POTUS not to succeed the president he served under as VP.

Was Marzy one of John Tyler's son's or is Marzy John Tyler's grandfather. I'm going with grandfather because it makes me look younger.

And I'm going to make a declaration - I don't eat no stinkin' oyster ice cream.

 

[Lanny]

If it wasnt for MLK neither Kennedy or Johnson would have pushed for it at that time. It was all political.
Kennedy had a silver spoon provided throughout much of his life. He wasn't Joe's selection amongst his son's to become Pres.
I was in 7th grade when he has assassinated, it shook the whole world. It was baseball, hot dogs and Chevrolet back then and the media was a different animal. It didn't matter what party you belonged to the country grieved at the loss of our President.
How would the progressive liberals today accept the Kennedy empire?
He totally blew the Blew of Pigs and leaned on Ike afterwards for anything conflict concerns including the CMC. His confidence was shaken from the Bay of Pigs.
He was the one that also ramped up Vietnam in a huge huge way.
Overall a decent president that like all, had baggage, and strengths and weakness's.

I disagree, Johnson was all in on getting Civil Rights legislation passed regardless of Dr. King. But yeah, Dr. King got JFK motivated. All of LBJ's speeches talked about the terrible injustice of racism which he witnessed as a boy in Texas.

 

[Lanny]

Agreed, but like I said, if JFK had not at least planted the seeds LBJ may never have even got it passed...course, we'll never know for sure how things might have unfolded.
FWIW, LBJ wasn't always pro-civil rights, anything but. In fact he was known by many as a racist, especially depending in whose company he was in. For example, among other things, he had on occasion referred the Civil Rights Bill as the "N_____ Bill".

Sure, Johnson had to talk the good old boy talk to get legislation passed and he got a lot of legislation passed, not all of it particularly good.

 

[Hobbesarable]

I'm surprised President James Buchanan is not on anyone's worst president list in this thread.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[Road Ratt]

Best: There have been none in my lifetime. And I won't speculate on presidents I didn't pay attention to in history...

Worst: America's latest sellouts and traitors.

Ronald Reagan
George Bush Sr.
Bill Clinton
G.W. Bush
Barrack Obama
Donald Trump

Adding Joe Biden to this list of traitors.