Originally Posted by SarahUK

I heard that Hilary Clinton tried to get a bill passed through congress pushing for reform changes in the healthcare system to make it more similar to the NHS but was, of course, defeated. If she does run in 2008 I would like to see her running the country with Bill as advisor and first husband I think they'd be a great team.

I also have great hopes for Barack Obama after watching his closing speech at the democratic convention I felt like somebody was finally saying all the things that needed to be said. Plus I like the fact that he wa the only non-millionaire running for senate.

Originally Posted by edwords

Calvin Coolidge

The political genius of President Coolidge, columnist Walter Lippmann pointed out in 1926, was his talent for effectively doing nothing: "This active inactivity suits the mood and certain of the needs of the country admirably. It suits all the business interests which want to be let alone.... And it suits all those who have become convinced that government in this country has become dangerously complicated and top-heavy...."

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At his innauguration ball, a woman approached him and said, "My husband bet me that I couldn't get you to say three words."
Coolidge replied, "You lose."

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Biography--http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/cc30.html

Originally Posted by elfman

Lets say some positive things about US presidents for a change!

So who's your favourite US President? Doesn't necessarily have to be the best, but which one do you admire or simply like the most? Whether for achievements during his presidency (or other times), his background, character, or simply for personal reasons, I'm interested to know which one's y'all's (as my MIL says) fave.

Mine's Harry Truman - a man of humble background who rose to the top unexpectedly, after many years as a farmer, businessman, WW1 artillery officer and small town judge. He was supported by dodgy Kansas City businessmen/gangsters but never corrupted by them, and as a rookie senator in Washington he made his name and a reputation for integrity by chairing a commission that rooted out corruption and inefficiency in the arms industry in the first years of WW2.

As president he had to deal with the end of WW2, the atom bomb and recalcitrant soviets. He recognised the state of Israel, supported the creation of the UN and NATO, and was ultimately responsible for the Berlin airlift and the Marshall plan. He ended segregation in the US military and didn't take any crap from General MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to start WW3 in Korea. He also wanted universal health insurance but never got it past congress. Not a perfect man or president, but admirable as both, and when he spoke in folksy/earthy midwest rural aphorisms it was the real deal.

FDR comes a close second.

Originally Posted by UKintheUSA

He was a really GOOD man.

Debs

Originally Posted by UKintheUSA

My Favorite was Ronald Reagan. Boy were those Reaganomic years good for this countries economy! Things were flying back then. I used to love watching him giving a speech or talking to people etc. My ex always said I liked him and everyone else did because he was an actor and that's why he did a great job with people because he was "acting." I don't believe this. I actually saw him in person and I didn't think it was an act. I also liked President Bush. Not the chimp that's there now, but the REAL President Bush. He was a really GOOD man. I also loved his wife and have tons of respect for her. If you want to read a good book sometime, read Barbara Bush's autobiography. She did not lead a charmed life nor did he by any means. They endured quite a bit of hardship and came out shining. That's my two cents or ten pence as you lot call it!


Debs


EXCELLENT THREAD By the way! Nice to see someone starting something POSITIVE to talk about.
Good JOB elfman!

Originally Posted by Big Vern

I'm for Bill - he may have had an unfortunate habit of getting his c*ck out at every opportunity,

Originally Posted by Franklin

Who would have thought Reagan who many believed wanted war in fact would save countless millions and millions of undead people around the world

Originally Posted by Big Vern

I'm for Bill - he may have had an unfortunate habit of getting his c*ck out at every opportunity, but I thought it made him all the more human.

Originally Posted by Franklin

Reagan is my second favorite President.

Originally Posted by fatbrit

The 8 years Reagan was in office represented one of the most bloody eras in the history of the Western hemisphere, as Washington funneled money, weapons and other supplies to right wing death squads. And the death toll was staggering - more than 70,000 political killings in El Salvador, more than 100,000 in Guatemala, 30,000 killed in the contra war in Nicaragua. In Washington, the forces carrying out the violence were called "freedom fighters." This is how Ronald Reagan described the Contras in Nicaragua: "They are our brothers, these freedom fighters and we owe them our help. They are the moral equal of our founding fathers."


Fr. Miguel D'Escoto, a Catholic priest based in Managua, Nicaragua.