BF2S Forums Who was the best American president...

GATOR591957 wrote:

starman7 wrote:

You forget, Clinton was helped by the economic policies of his predecessors.

No I didn't forget, however the country was still in a deficit when he entered office and the surplus grew his entire stay in the Whitehouse.  Two years afte BushII enters we are in a deficit again and it continues to grow.

You also forget that the economy takes a bit longer than a presidential term to accelerate either way due to the current office-holder's policies. But to tell the truth, Clinton did accept many Republican propositions, much to the dismay of his party.

Thomas Jefferson for the win, kids. The fact that all the Americans here on the forums today are able to say what they want are directly attributable to his insistence on an addendum to the US Constitution called the Bill of Rights.

Not to mention, all the folks that live in states that were part of the Louisiana Purchase (namely Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and New Mexico)

Additionally, the Federalist party (including such notables as Washington, Adams, and Burr) sought to block the purchase, as they were worried that their voting block in the northeast would become diluted by the new territories. They were, in retrospect, right on this account, though I personally don't find it to be a bad thing.

Next is Washington. The fact that both he and Jefferson were heads of state not out of personal ambition or a power grab, but out of genuine love of their newly created country gave them both credibility and adoration that will be forever unmatched. If either of them had decided to become a monarch, he  most likely would have pulled it off.

Following in the footsteps of these giants are Lincoln and Reagan. Both were personally strong leaders who did what they believed had to be done for the best interests of the country as a whole. While not as selfless and humble as the big 2, they both did what they did for the improvement of the country. They both faced down crises that threatened to change America as we know it, and came out winners. And let's face it, Americans love a winner.

Next is Teddy Roosevelt. I love that guy. Even if he did nothing else, the National Park system is an achievement that will carry his legacy forever.

Then we get to the bottom of the barrel. FDR threatened the Supreme Court with expansion if they didn't start ruling his social programs Constitutional (they still aren't, but there's not a judge with balls big enough to invalidate Social Security or Medicare). JFK was a fucking idiot, playing God with other people's lives. Clinton fucked over the military, and his little debacles get overlooked (Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Columbia, the bullshit in Sudan, etc.) in favor of chest-beating over the whole Monica thing. Side note: I live right outside of Little Rock, and you really should go and see his museum if you get the chance. It looks like a double wide stacked on top of another double wide, and the treatment of the Monica thing and the subsequent impeachment trial is interesting to say the least. Also, I hated the Brady Bill, and was so happy the day it expired I went out and bought a new Bushmaster AR-15, and a bunch of High-Cap mags for all the mag-fed weapons I already owned. Bush II invaded Iraq, it was a mistake, but had positive outcomes both in the short term, and will most likely have others in the long.

And I have to comment on the Whiskey Rebellion thing from much earlier in the topic. Dude, the rebellion wasn't about paying taxes in whiskey as opposed to in cash, it was about a tax on the sale of whiskey that the rural farmers saw as an affront on their way of life. Some also look at is as the way Americans were conditioned to the existence of a standing army.