Ronald Reagan...Picked in the final five for Greatest American

[chelsea0011]

in Discovery Channel poll. Abe Lincoln, George Washington, Martin Luther King, and Ben Franklin are the other four. All these four have history on their sides for smarts, bravery, and vision. What in the name does Reagan have going for him? If not for the clueless padding of votes by the Reagan crowd this guy is a nobody who began the hate mongering in this country that reached a head in the Clinton years. He didn't end Communism. He didn't reign in government spending. He didn't bring pride back to America.

[Nite Owl]

1. Until the boy king

I always thought he was the worse president we ever had.

[dajoki]

21. ditto

:dunce:

[lpbk2713]

22. Don't ever put it past the repuker party to outdo themselves

when it comes to stupidity and ineptitude. I hate to think of who is on deck after Shit-for-Brains.

[Massacure]

2. The only reason he is there is because he would make a good grandpa

He wasn't exactly the brightest politician though. In fact, didn't Bush Snr. call his economic policy 'vodoo economics'?

[Seabiscuit]

16. I sure wouldn't let him be my son's grandpa!

[lancdem]

3. All the conservatives voted for him

As another DUer said, progressives/Dems spread their votes around.

[Jara sang]

4. Before the 1980 Reagan campaign

Nobody ran negative campaign ads. What a great precedent for the Reaganites.

[Hippo_Tron]

30. Bullshit

The 1964 anti Goldwater ad with the girl picking flowers then a nuclear bomb explodes is one of the MANY negative ads that were used before 1980.

[Jara sang]

43. You are so wrong

The birth of the negative ad was the campaign against Carter by Reagan in which they took a sound bite of Carter claiming that the nation was in a "malaise". This painted Carter in a less than favorable light. They basically played this in a loop ad.nauseum and it is one of the contributing factors to Carter not being elected. Your example was not a direct personal attack.

[rinsd]

50. Sure....

...insinuating someone is going to start a nuclear war isn't personal?

I think being referred to as a lunatic who could end human civilization is alot more personal and powerful than playing a sound bite of the negative ad's target's own words.

[Jara sang]

69. That sound bite is what got Reagan the Whitehouse

[rinsd]

73. That is neither here nor there....

Your contention was that it was the first appearance of negative ads.

You were wrong.

[mark414]

64. have we forgotten grover cleveland?

"Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Going to the White House! Ha Ha Ha!"

[unblock]

63. that ad was aired ONCE and immediately pulled

due to overwhelming public backlash.

[lenidog]

5. It seems we have a movement to not split the vote and to give all of them

to Ben Franklin.

[Deja Q]

6. See my sig line, that's what he's got going for him... pity none of it is

good...

www.liberalslikechrist.org/reagan (just in case of a level 1 or 2 event)

The truth has got to be spread; reagan's actions were not that of a hero... more of an anti-hero... to the moral, hard-working people anyway.

[Left Is Write]

7. I'd have put him in the list of worst Americans.

[chelsea0011]

8. He chose not to serve in WWII, so he could make propaganda films

I think.

[Felix Mala]

44. He was too old to serve, but he was in the Battle of Laurel Canyon.

[JohnKleeb]

48. He was two years older than my dad's dad

my dad's dad according to my dad attempted to enlist but wasnt allowed because of his back but I think another part of it had to do with the fact that he was a high ranking NLRB official.

[chelsea0011]

55. My grandfather was older than him when he went to WWII

He and his sons(my dad and his brothers) all met up in France at one time.

[Zomby Woof]

9. Saddam's favorite president

I shit on Reagan's filthy worm-ridden corpse.

[RetroLounge]

10. Greatest American Asshat

I would say...

RL

[Liberalynn]

11. The ReThugs

sure know how to fix a vote. ;)

I would pick him as one of the worst as well.

[-..__...]

12. Because while I have nothing but contempt for Regan as a President,..

I will admit that he had the gift of gab and was masterful at playing the crowd (the only thing that separated Regan and Hitler was a different sense of humor).

That alone can get a person far ahead in politics and personal opinion polls more than integrity and honesty can.

[Left Is Write]

14. After he was elected president...

my mother said he was apparently a better actor than she'd ever given him credit for. Playing the role of president was probably the greatest role of his life. Too bad for the rest of us.

[redqueen]

45. Well... that and the killing millions of people thing.

[Norbert]

13. At least monkey butt isn't in the top five.

That's not to say there isn't a long, long list of people I would put ahead of Reagan.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. So just for kicks, I cast my vote for Franklin twice...

and I received a message that said I'd reached my 3-vote limit for this week. I've not voted in this poll this week. Want to bet where my "third" vote went?

[xmas74]

18. that same thing happened to me a week ago.

I voted for FDR twice and it said that I had reached my three vote limit.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. I wonder how many others...

We should call them on it.

[xmas74]

41. others said that they also had the same thing happen.

Read around on the message forum for it. They were complaining about it from the very beginning.

[lpbk2713]

17. Raygun was a "B" grade actor and a "C" grade prez.

He was so bad his old lady had her astrologer pinch hit for him.

[Ikonoklast]

19. Raygun taught the Repugs

that they could run anyone for president. He was a figurehead for the real powers-that-be; the man never had an original thought in his life. He was a liberal Democrat before he ran into Nancy and her rich Repug father; he changed his allegiance soon after that. Even Nixon didn't have as many criminals working for him as Capt. Senile. He was a disaster for the working class of this country.

[caty]

20. I was disapointed that

Bob Hope didn't do better in the poll. Here was a man who came here from another country, became a good citizen, gave up his time and holidays with his family to entertain our troops all over the world, and won many awards because of his great citizenship. He was a great roll model for all Americans. He tops Reagan any day.:applause:

[chelsea0011]

56. Bob Hope does fit into the category as Great American

As condervative as he was his jokes in Vietnam had bite.

[caty]

57. If Reagan ends up

winning this "Greatest American" poll, I'm sure we will all know the votes were padded in his favor and the result will be meaningless.

[ironflange]

23. No doubt the repugs stuffed the ballot box

But, hey, how else are they going to stay in shape for the important ones?

[tarkus]

24. I'm not a big George Washington fan, but people seem to like him. NM

[Bucky]

31. What? WHAT?! Are you crazy? George was da MAN!

Not a George Washington fan, sheesh. You can't see me, but know that I'm right now swinging my head back and forth in disbelief like one of those bouncy head baseball player statuettes.

[Hippo_Tron]

33. He and Hamilton started the Whisky rebellion and then crushed it

Washington also owned slaves. That being said, we probably wouldn't have a United States of America without Washington, so all and all he did alright.

[Bucky]

36. The Whisky rebellion was a bunch of anti-tax fruitcakes.

Washington & Hamilton sure didn't have anything to do with starting it up. Congress passed a legal tax and a bunch of neer-do-wells did some rabble rousing to try and obstruct it -- even taking up arms and laying seige to a tax collector's home at one point.

The same people who rebelled against paying the tax also wanted to have the army come out and clear out the Indians from Ohio for them. But they just didn't want to pay the taxes required to support an army or build the roads and canals required to make farming that far inland a profitable venture.

Sounds like a bunch of whiny Republicans to me. I just wish we hade a Washington around to smack down those low-tax-all-gripe freeloaders today.

[tarkus]

37. I see it as western farmers vs. wealthy eastern politicians

The farmers were rebelling against a burdensome tax imposed on the poor by the rich to pay for things that didn't really benefit the farmers as much as it would eastern business interests.

[Hippo_Tron]

53. Hamilton and Washington passed the whisky tax to provoke the rebellion

That way he could crush them and send a message that the federal government was serious.

[Bucky]

59. Not much of a rebellion. Troops showed up and "rebels" scattered.

I'd say their hearts weren't really in it. The idea that Washington could have predicted that there'd be an uprising is silly, especially when support for it was apparently so featherweight.

[SaveElmer]

60. Lack of education

Alot of people, particularly young people have no frame of reference other than Reagan becasue of the apalling state of education in history. Frankly, I'm surprised Shrub didn't appear.

[friesianrider]

25. Compared to *, he looks like a visionary...

of freedom and hope.

[Emops]

26. D'oh!

[leftofthedial]

27. that is the height of absurdity

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

28. vote Benjamin Franklin by calling 1-866-669-3101

the others have their own numbers

reagan makes this list, but no Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, or FDR?

[Hippo_Tron]

32. I'm not 100% sure Washington and Lincoln should be on there

This poll is incredibly biased towards people that the masses have actually heard of, I think Jon Stewart mentioned this as being the "Q Factor".

[Nailzberg]

34. Lincoln should be there.

Saved the union. Shitload more than Reagan ever did.

And since I hail from the Land of Lincoln, I gotta give my boy props.

I am terribly dissappointed at this list. Reagan is gonna win. MLK, Franklin, and Lincoln are gonna split a lot of votes, and that asshat B-movie schmuck is gonna coast in.

[Nailzberg]

35. "Reagan made americans feel better about themselves"

How come the dumbasses always say this is his greatest accomplishment.

By that measure, shouldn't Dr. Phil be right there with Ronny?

And he didn't make my family feel any better. He made a lot of people feel poor.

[gardenista]

38. That's what Murikkins need. To feel good about themselves

no matter what the reality.

I hope that Martin Luther King is #1.

But I don't count on it....

[Kurovski]

40. Can we start voting yet?

[mvd]

39. Residual effect of Freeper mentality

I'm sure history will look at things differently.

[cleofus1]

42. the repugs are united

i voted for bill clinton...all dems should have voted for bill..this is a propoganda war and the pugs are winning becouse they are on the same page...they want an iconic patron saint and they will re write history in order to install ronnie...at every opportunity they will promote ronnie as the uber president...

we have to unite behind our team...or leave the field...

[Felix Mala]

46. Too disgusting for words.

If it were 1776, people like Reagan would all be tories!!!

[cleofus1]

47. half of repugs

are knowingly spreading the lies...the other half are blindly swollowing the propaganda whole...

[JohnKleeb]

49. I can understand the other four but Reagan please

[RedCloud]

51. If Reagan got the hostages back, Clinton ended communism...

Just following the same "logic" those who ignore Oct. 18, 1980 Bush I meeting with Iraninan terrorists in Paris, France employ.

Power to the Clenis!

[KamaAina]

52. Reagan: The Greatest American Zero

Tell me again why Reagan belongs in the final five?

"Um... er... I can't recall."

[48pan]

54. I'm Voting for Washington...

Without him, we would be able to have this argument.

[SaveElmer]

62. Right on...

He has become so much the "marble man" few people actually realized what he did.

[GOPBasher]

58. Yeah, but he did

sell arms to our enemies!! Didn't you think of that? Oh wait, THAT'S not a good thing. Hmmm. Nevermind. :shrug:

[Burma Jones]

61. It's for his Acting, Right???? n/t

[Reverend_Smitty]

65. I'm voting for Franklin

In my opinion he embodies the American Spirit and Dream. A true Renaissance man who came to Philadelphia with no money in his pockets, became a self made man...and probably saved the revolution by charming the French. Which is enough to call him the greatest American alone, but with all of his inventions and contributions to the city of Philadelphia, he wins hands down. Not to mention, of all the founding fathers, he seems more "real". HE is a guy that I would want to sit down and have a beer with.

Oh yeah Fuck Reagan!

[Felix Mala]

66. Before there was a nation to fight for, someone had to imagine

a nation and that's what Franklin's contribution was. He had the imagination to almost will the USA into being. The others made their contributions, except for one glaring error, but there would be no list and no America if it weren't for Franklin and men like him, i.e. Jefferson, Madison... Washington was Franklin's idea, too.

Imagination is what fuels history, at least the good part. I think this attibute is key to Lincoln and King, as well.

Ronny? Well, does anyone remember a Carter-era CIA report that basically said the Soviet Union was imploding under the weight of its own mismanaged system and would could not be bolstered for more than another ten years? I swear it's out there somewhere.

[Reverend_Smitty]

67. Every American president after WWII can claim some responsibility

for the downfall of communism, thats if you want to give individuals credit. It was a system that was doomed to fail, hell Pope JPII did more to end communism. He just happened to be in charge when it happened. Other than being in the right place at the right time, what has he done? Sold illegal arms to the Contras? Funded Saddam Hussein? Tanked the economy?

And not to put Washington down, because lord knows he did a lot for this country, but Franklin didn't own slaves. He detested the practice and even opened up the first school for black children in Philadelphia and possibly the country.

[HEyHEY]

68. What, no Valerie SOlanis?

[Parche]

70. greatest american

FDR is the greatest in history

[Initech]

71. Poll invalid.

Especially when in the commercial, they named Oprah (!!!!?!) as a great American alongside Martin Luther King Jr.

[Orsino]

72. 'Cause he's one of the final five Presidents, I fear. n/t

[tsakshaug]

74. from the freepers

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1417893/posts

[WhollyHeretic]

75. My head hurts every time I see something about him on this list

Ronald Raygun as a great American? That's freakin' ridiculous, he's responsible for a lot of the crap our country is in right now. Reagan becoming president is also the start of the republican party becoming total fucking nutbags.

[AX10]

76. It would be a travesty if Reagan wins this.

Reagan, who got the support of the racists in the South would defeat MLK
as the "Greatest American"?!? :wtf:? Reagan was a vile thug.

I'll take any of the other four over Reagan. :puke: