Now we are going to get rolling with Number 7:
 |
| John Kennedy. 35th President. |
Alright, so I'll be honest, the reason Kennedy is so low (compared to where he normally shows up on these things anyways) is because most of the things he pledged to do....he didnt, he was killed first.
And I have to be honest, in my "first draft" while preparing this list, Kennedy didnt make it.
All things considered I believe he is overrated as President. Consider he basically started the Vietnam War and launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.
Of course on the flip side, he did expand NASA, and fund/start the Apollo program, and continued the integration of the South started under his predecessor our #9 entry, President Eisenhower. He also started the Peace corp.
Problem is, on balance I'm not sure those 3 things make up for those 2 bad one.
What does make up for it though, and what gets Kennedy on this list, is the Cuban Missile Crisis. At a time when pretty much everyone was advocating to bomb the shit out of cuba, and maybe russia, and anyone else they could find.....or to at least invade Cuba, Kennedy refused, and found another less violent way to end what had the potential to be a world ending disaster. Especially in light of recent findings (that Kennedy didnt have) that the Russians in Cuba had functional short and mid range nuclear weapons and the ability to fire them on their own authority without needed prior approval from the Kremlin.
And I have to be honest, in my "first draft" while preparing this list, Kennedy didnt make it.
All things considered I believe he is overrated as President. Consider he basically started the Vietnam War and launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.
Of course on the flip side, he did expand NASA, and fund/start the Apollo program, and continued the integration of the South started under his predecessor our #9 entry, President Eisenhower. He also started the Peace corp.
Problem is, on balance I'm not sure those 3 things make up for those 2 bad one.
What does make up for it though, and what gets Kennedy on this list, is the Cuban Missile Crisis. At a time when pretty much everyone was advocating to bomb the shit out of cuba, and maybe russia, and anyone else they could find.....or to at least invade Cuba, Kennedy refused, and found another less violent way to end what had the potential to be a world ending disaster. Especially in light of recent findings (that Kennedy didnt have) that the Russians in Cuba had functional short and mid range nuclear weapons and the ability to fire them on their own authority without needed prior approval from the Kremlin.
So in hindsight Kennedy's decision looks even smarter, however my rule of "only the time as president" prevents him from getting the extra credit for the information uncovered later.
Number 6:
 |
| Thomas Jefferson. 3rd President. |
By far the BIGGEST beneficiary of my "only the time as president" rule, Jefferson actually did a great deal to heal the divide in the country......a divide he created as Vice President, when he effectively broke the government. The 12th amendment changing the way President and Vice President were chosen was passed in part because of a desire to avoid the kind of chaos he and President Adams created.
But like I said, none of that counts. As President Jefferson did pretty well. He doubled the size of the county with the Louisiana Purchase, and in doing so set the stage for almost a century of westward growth and over a dozen new states. He also oversaw America's first declared war since the Revolution (John Adams oversaw the actual first war, the Quasi war, but no declaration ever passed congress) and because of America winning that war, started America on the path to being a recognized power. He also led the call to ban the slave trade and signed the law doing so. He also signed the legislation creating West Point
On the flip side he signed the Embargo act, trying to keep America neutral in the war between the UK and France, and that didnt work as well as he had hoped, although if nothing else it prevented American entry into the war for a few years.
He also started the policy that would later be known as
Indian removal trying to force native americans who hadnt adopted European customs farther west to shittier and shitter land as the country grew.But like I said, none of that counts. As President Jefferson did pretty well. He doubled the size of the county with the Louisiana Purchase, and in doing so set the stage for almost a century of westward growth and over a dozen new states. He also oversaw America's first declared war since the Revolution (John Adams oversaw the actual first war, the Quasi war, but no declaration ever passed congress) and because of America winning that war, started America on the path to being a recognized power. He also led the call to ban the slave trade and signed the law doing so. He also signed the legislation creating West Point
On the flip side he signed the Embargo act, trying to keep America neutral in the war between the UK and France, and that didnt work as well as he had hoped, although if nothing else it prevented American entry into the war for a few years.
He also started the policy that would later be known as
One final note. he ran for office and won partly on a platform of refusing to enforce (and later repealing) the Alien and Sedition acts, which is one of the first (if not the first) examples of a President using his discretion when it comes to enforcing a law, setting a precedent (good and bad) for every man who followed him.
His negatives are a comparatively short list.....the problem is, they overshadow (and somewhat rightly so) many of his accomplishment. Those shortcomings are Vietnam. Not only did he reverse an attempt by Kennedy to maybe drawdown, he massively expanded US presence there, and managed to get the Gulf of Token resolution passed so he could expand even more. Although the groundwork for Vietnam was arguably laid by his two predecessors and the war would continue under his two successors, based on his actions it does seem fair to lay most of its legacy at his feet. Oh and I should probably mention he came extremely close to starting another war with Syria during the Israeli Egyptian "6 days war"
Given all he did, if he could have gotten out from under the shadow of Vietnam, he'd be much higher on this list.
Number 5:
 |
| Lyndon Johnson. 36th President |
So remember how I said one of the reasons Kennedy is overrated in my opinion is because he didnt really do most of the things the talked about doing? Here's the guy who actually got them done and expanded on them.....but tends not to always get the credit.
Johnson's accomplishments are VERY VERY long. He created Medicare and Medicaid. He passed the 1964 Civil Rights act outlawing racial discrimination, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ensuring minorities the right to vote. He appointed the first minority supreme court justice in history, and also the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 making it easier for legal immigration into the US.
His negatives are a comparatively short list.....the problem is, they overshadow (and somewhat rightly so) many of his accomplishment. Those shortcomings are Vietnam. Not only did he reverse an attempt by Kennedy to maybe drawdown, he massively expanded US presence there, and managed to get the Gulf of Token resolution passed so he could expand even more. Although the groundwork for Vietnam was arguably laid by his two predecessors and the war would continue under his two successors, based on his actions it does seem fair to lay most of its legacy at his feet. Oh and I should probably mention he came extremely close to starting another war with Syria during the Israeli Egyptian "6 days war"
Given all he did, if he could have gotten out from under the shadow of Vietnam, he'd be much higher on this list.
Number 4:
 |
| George Washington. 1st President. |
And here is where I'm going to take the heat........
Seriously though, no presidents administration could be summed up on a t-shirt as succulently as Washington's:
Seriously though, no presidents administration could be summed up on a t-shirt as succulently as Washington's:
Arrive
Serve 2 terms
Leave
By far the greatest thing Washington ever did, and the thing he's most remember for is voluntarily leaving the Presidency. (and deciding the President would be addressed as "Mr")
Now to be fair, in a government that was theoretically based on the peaceful transfer of power, Washington's act made that theory fact, and likely made complete the American system of government. Its important enough to catapult him to the #4 spot based just on that.
Still when your only real act of note is leaving, that kinda means you had a bland term of office.
Still when your only real act of note is leaving, that kinda means you had a bland term of office.
Which might actually be for the best given that the other major action Washington did was put down the Whiskey Rebellion. At the time it was viewed as a great thing, and proof the federal government had teeth and therefore the government could last and was stable. In hindsight though I dont think the image of the American President personally leading the army to possibly attack american citizens who refused to pay a tax is one most people would see sympathetically. And its somewhat ironic too, given what Washington was known for before being President.....
I think I will stop with that for now......mostly to give people time to express their outrage and anger that I didnt make George Washington number 1. Once the flames die down, I'll be back with part 3, and America's 3 greatest presidents (spoiler alert its not David Atchison)
No comments:
Post a Comment