U.S. 2008 Dream Election

[zombieharlot]

If all or any of the past presidents of America, dating all the way back to Washington, ran for office in the next election, who would you like to see win? What issues would they be good at addressing in this day and age? Who would be their Vice President (You're allowed to pick any former president or vice president for this title)?

 

[Djamila]

Bill Clinton - intelligent, eloquent, well-meaning, and instead of ****ing your whole country and the world, he just ****ed Monica.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Bill Clinton - intelligent, eloquent, well-meaning, and instead of ****ing your whole country and the world, he just ****ed Monica.

Was that intended to be clever?

 

[Feathers in Hair]

I really haven't read about his presidency enough to be sure about this, but I imagine I'd lean toward Jimmy Carter. His efforts for human rights have really impressed me.

 

[nutshell]

Bill Clinton - intelligent, eloquent, well-meaning, and instead of ****ing your whole country and the world, he just ****ed Monica.

Your knowledge of US Presidents is limited if you think he's the best ever (which is what this question is basically asking).

 

[nutshell]

President: Abe Lincoln w/ Reagan a strong second.
Vice President: I'll get back to you on that.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Hey, all! Since this is a discussion of presidents, I can see why people (including me!) might think it's a debate thread. We can create one in the debate area, if anyone wishes, but I think ZH intended it as a discussion thread.

 

[Djamila]

Your knowledge of US Presidents is limited if you think he's the best ever (which is what this question is basically asking).

And my knowledge of US Presidents is supposed to be in depth why?

I just like Bill Clinton. I like him as a man, and he did many wonderful things for my country and for the wider region. Even now, he's doing more good than the current administration with his work on Darfur, Hurricane Katrina, and other causes.

He's very eloquent also, something I greatly admire. When you listen to one of Clinton's press conferences and compare it to other politicians, you'd have to look long and hard to find anyone close to his equal - in any country. Now that's meaningless, really, but it's appreciated just the same.

I admire his Democratic ideals, certainly, as I'm politically a liberal myself. So, from my point of view, he'd be the better one to choose. It's certainly better than going back in history decades upon decades where there is no factual, literal memory of the President anyway. I'm sure Lincoln, for example, was not the man most people today assume him to be. Not saying he's worse, or better... but he's certainly not the Lincoln on that statue in Washington.

So, Bill Clinton was recent enough that we actually know him fairly well - and I admire him a lot, so there it is.

 

[zombieharlot]

Hey, all! Since this is a discussion of presidents, I can see why people (including me!) might think it's a debate thread. We can create one in the debate area, if anyone wishes, but I think ZH intended it as a discussion thread.

:yes: Otherwise, I would've put in the Political Debates section.

 

[Djamila]

Sorry, zombie. Give me a slap when I debate... I really don't understand the difference between debate and discussion in this sense... I mean, I know what the difference is but implementing it is... well, nevermind. LOL Just send me a note when you're annoyed.

 

[Mathematician]

I think Thomas Jefferson and George Washington would be interesting; of course I don't know how they would handle today's society and the issues we currently face.

Woodrow Wilson and FDR could be helpful.

 

[Buttercup]

My first choice would be George Washington. He would help our country contemporarily with his great organizational skills proven by the creation of the United States Cabinet among other firsts. He was also known as a man of integrity and carefully listened to the opinions of others.....unlike a certain president of today.

"The First US Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a large sum in 1789. Washington, already wealthy, declined the salary, since he valued his image as a selfless public servant. Washington attended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts. To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" to the more majestic names suggested.

Washington proved an able administrator. An excellent delegator and judge of talent and character, he held regular cabinet meetings, which debated issues; he then made the final decision and moved on. In handling routine tasks, he was "systematic, orderly, energetic, solicitous of the opinion of others but decisive, intent upon general goals and the consistency of particular actions with them."

Washington only reluctantly agreed to serve a second term of office as president. He refused to run for a third, establishing the precedent of a maximum of two terms for a president. From Wikipedia


Did you know George never went to college?



For Vice President, I'd select Abraham Lincoln for his leadership skills during war time, his integrity, compassion and fairness.

 

[Gentoo]

Teddy Roosevelt, I don't think another president did more for the environment than he did. We wouldn't have the Teddy Bear without him either.

Not to mention the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and Meat Inspection Act of 1906, just think of what we could be eating if this wasn't done. Ick. Source: Wikipedia

 

[Buttons*]

And my knowledge of US Presidents is supposed to be in depth why?

I just like Bill Clinton. I like him as a man, and he did many wonderful things for my country and for the wider region. Even now, he's doing more good than the current administration with his work on Darfur, Hurricane Katrina, and other causes.

He's very eloquent also, something I greatly admire. When you listen to one of Clinton's press conferences and compare it to other politicians, you'd have to look long and hard to find anyone close to his equal - in any country. Now that's meaningless, really, but it's appreciated just the same.

I admire his Democratic ideals, certainly, as I'm politically a liberal myself. So, from my point of view, he'd be the better one to choose. It's certainly better than going back in history decades upon decades where there is no factual, literal memory of the President anyway. I'm sure Lincoln, for example, was not the man most people today assume him to be. Not saying he's worse, or better... but he's certainly not the Lincoln on that statue in Washington.

So, Bill Clinton was recent enough that we actually know him fairly well - and I admire him a lot, so there it is.

....wow....

 

[Buttons*]

John Adams.... poor guy didn't get hardly any recognition.... e-props to you, buddy

 

[Crystallas]

Dream election? JFK, no doubt. If you like Bill Clinton, JFK is very similar, yet more innovative. Power back to the working class.
FDR, while completely diffrent, would be an awesome president right now. He would do more to fix the outsourcing problems than any president. Man of strong words, and highly motivating.

Vice Presidents.
George Bush Sr. He was a conservative pig for a president, but he could cover a lot of ground as a vice president. Highly intelligent man who had a lot of strength in all fields. Very strong with international relations as a VP(not to be confused with his son.) He made Reagan look better because of his versitility.
Richard Nixon has to be my favorite Vice President of all time. Hes another guy who was amazing at politics, but couldn't be president because he would abuse power. He would be a great wingman for any president.

 

[standing_alone]

Franklin D. Roosevelt.

I think he would be a great man addressing today's economic situations (loss of industrial jobs, say), probably would be great for working towards universal healthcare (just a hunch), and I just bet he wouldn't try messing with Social Security.

Also, I think he'd be a man that would actually know how to lead a nation during a war.

Granted, during his presidency he did things that I strongly disagree with and don't see as very justifiable (internment camps, for example), but then again, every president has black marks on their records. But internment camps...

Vice President is a tough one. I'm torn between many choices, but given the state of the U.S. being in a war, plus political polarization (red state v. blue state), I'd probably pick Abe Lincoln because, well hey, I think he may know a little something about divided nations and war and all that jazz.

 

[spacemonkey]

Gimmie Ike/Wilson for Pres/VP. I only give Ike the Presidancy because it carries the title of Commander-In-Chief, but I think Wilson would also be better as head of the Senate as well.

 

[lilithu]

If all or any of the past presidents of America, dating all the way back to Washington, ran for office in the next election, who would you like to see win? What issues would they be good at addressing in this day and age? Who would be their Vice President (You're allowed to pick any former president or vice president for this title)?

I don't think the OP is asking us to pick who we think is the best president ever. I think we're supposed to pick who we think would be the best president given our current situation. And in my assessment the current situation is a time of fear and uncertainty about the future. It calls for someone who can inspire us to envision a better world instead of just playing upon our fears. But also someone who can deal with the nastiness of real life instead of just thinking about ideals. The two that come to mind are FDR and JFK. Neither one of these guys are my favorite president in general. Lincoln is. Granted, Lincoln was dealing with a time of great uncertainty too. And he had inherited the office from a president who had just made the situation worse. And Lincoln kept an eye on the larger goals/principles while dealing with the brutality of war. Hmm... Oh heck, I guess I'll pick Lincoln.

Choice for VP is a lot easier. James Madison. I love James Madision! He was smart, extremely well-read, principled, idealistic, yet a brilliant political strategist when it came to getting issues passed. But he wasn't a brilliant decision maker when it came to foreign policy (War of 1812) so he wouldn't/didn't make a good president. He was self-effacing (not too much ego) so he could be a good VP, and would be an excellent resource for the president. Did I say I love James Madison?

 

[nutshell]

Gimmie Ike/Wilson for Pres/VP. I only give Ike the Presidancy because it carries the title of Commander-In-Chief, but I think Wilson would also be better as head of the Senate as well.

OOOOHHH....I didn't think of Ike. That's a great choice not only from a Commander-In-Chief perspective, but he was a great civil rights enforcer as well.