Worst figures in American history

[Denny Crane]

From the right:

http://www.rightwingnews.com/special/worstfigures.php

Honorable Mentions: Ted Bundy (5), Jane Fonda (5), John Wayne Gacy (5), John Walker Lindh (5), Joe McCarthy (5), Michael Moore (5), Boss Tweed (5)

17) Franklin Delano Roosevelt (6)
17) John Walker (6)
17) Lee Harvey Oswald (6)
17) Robert Byrd (6)
16) Aldrich Ames (7)
14) Richard Nixon (8)
14) Aaron Burr (8)
12) Al Sharpton (9)
12) Charles Manson (9)
8) Timothy McVeigh (10)
8) Lyndon Johnson (10)
8) Hillary Clinton (10)
8) John Wilkes Booth (10)
7) Alger Hiss (12)
6) Noam Chomsky (13)
4) Jesse Jackson (14)
4) Jimmy Carter (14)
3) Bill Clinton (15)
2) Benedict Arnold (19)
1) The Rosenbergs (15) & Julius Rosenberg (5) (20 total votes)

From the left:

http://www.rightwingnews.com/blogsel/leftworst.php

Honorable Mentions: Boss Tweed (5), Roger Taney (5), James Earl Ray (5), Charles Manson (5), Rush Limbaugh (5), Jerry Falwell (5), Roy Cohn (5), Dick Cheney (5), John C. Calhoun (5)

20) The Rosenbergs (3) + Julius Rosenberg (3) (6 total votes)
20) Pat Robertson (6)
20) Oliver North (6)
20) William Randolph Hearst (6)
20) Aaron Burr (6)
20) Aldrich Ames (6)
18) George Lincoln Rockwell (7)
18) Robert McNamara (7)
14) Richard Mellon Scaife (8)
14) Lee Harvey Oswald (8)
14) Charles Coughlin (8)
14) Strom Thurmond (8)
13) Ronald Reagan (9)
12) George Wallace (10)
11) Andrew Jackson (12)
9) Jefferson Davis (13)
9) George W. Bush (13)
6) Benedict Arnold (14)
6) Henry Kissinger (14)
6) John Wilkes Booth (14)
3) Timothy McVeigh (16)
3) Nathan Bedford Forrest (16)
3) J. Edgar Hoover (16)
2) Richard Nixon (25)
1) Joseph McCarthy (26)

 

[MikeDC]

As has been chronicled in various places on the internet, these lists tend to betray a lack of history.

Also, you've got a lot of definitions of what "worst" means. I'd argue you at least need bad intent and bad effect.

 

[Denny Crane]

Maybe polling 50 left wing bloggers and 50 right wing bloggers gives some groupthink to the history part.

At least the both know who aldrich ames is.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I'm actually surprised that W wasn't higher up on that list. I had to look up Scaife and Coughlin and which John Walker.

Aside from that, I'd concur that a) most don't know their history, and tend to overaccentuate the recent events. Timothy McVeigh as a "worst American ever"? Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson? Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Guh.

 

[44Thrilla]

I think Brett Favre deserves to be on that list.

 

[NJNetz]

And I was planning on making a bad Lebron joke.

 

[Mr. J]

I think Brett Favre deserves to be on that list.

lolz

 

[Rodolfo]

The McDonald Brothers should be waaaaay up there.

 

[Denny Crane]

These are the worst figures in american history:

government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Total public debt subject to limit Aug. 19	     13,310,379
Statutory debt limit				     14,294,000
Total public debt outstanding Aug. 19		     13,363,228
Operating balance Aug. 19				230,177
Net interest fiscal year 2010 thru July 		185,248
Net interest same period 2009				167,706
Deficit fiscal year 2010 thru July		      1,169,071
Deficit same period 2009			      1,266,963
Receipts fiscal year 2010 thru July		      1,752,541
Receipts same period 2009			      1,739,949
Outlays fiscal year 2010 thru July		      2,921,612
Outlays same period 2009			      3,006,912
Gold assets in August					 11,041

$44,000 per man, woman, and child. $176,000 for a family of four.

 

[jlprk]

US debt went from 3.3T (zooming down) to 7.8T (zooming up) under Bush.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_debt

 

[Denny Crane]

US debt went from 3.3T (zooming down) to 7.8T (zooming up) under Bush.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_debt

$7.8T - $3.3T = $4.5T in 8 years.

$13.3T - $7.8T = $5.5T in less than TWO YEARS.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

As has been chronicled in various places on the internet, these lists tend to betray a lack of history.

How true, how true.

Those lists were plain stupid as well as ignorant.