txa1265 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 There's a new poll out from Gallup, asking about the Greatest US President ever. Ronald Reagan was first, followed by Bill Clinton. Lincoln, FDR and JFK come next, but then GWBush ties with George Washington for 6th ... This is pretty sad. I heard that the demographics slant such that the president who was in office when one was young leads in that age group. In other words, Clinton wins for 18 - 29, Reagan for 30 - 49, JFK for older folks ... Reagan was a great president, but I wouldn't put him in the top five. Clinton? Not sure about top 20, let alone 2! GWB ... maybe people intended to vote for Benjamin Harrison but were disenfranchised by bad tabulating machines ... or maybe they are just like him ... I can't link to the full results (subscription required) but the top results are shown here. Comments? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wassup Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Most people remember presidents by the amount of controversy they incited during office (ie. Lincoln = Civil War, FDR = WWII, Clinton = ). Also, people don't get much exposure to American presidents other than from what is taught in grade school textbooks, which, coincidentally, only touch upon the presidents during America's major turning points and events. I think this is part of the reason why you don't see the likes of John Quincy Adams or James A. Garfield in these "Greatest Presidents" rankings. I wouldn't neccessarily say this proves people are stupid, but that they are largely uneducated about the history of American presidents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 these "greatest ever" polls are always completely subjective, based on age, memories, who happens to pop into your head, etc... Personally i thought clinton was a pretty good president, but with major personality flaws in his private behaviour. Reagan on the other hand seemed like a nice enough guy in private, but i hated his blinkered decisions as president. Still, there are much better polls to indicate that most americans are stupid than that one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swphreak Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 Just wow. Bush should be in like the bottom 40s :/ From what I learned in school, I think FDR was a really good president. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 I figured the MTV polls proved how stupid people are... *shrugs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swphreak Posted February 24, 2005 Share Posted February 24, 2005 And again, there should be many other presidents in the top 10 instead of the ones currently there. (Again, from what I was taught in school) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 99% of Americans voted in a recent poll: Question: "Are you stupid?" 99% Voted "Yes" .9% Voted "No" .1% Voted "Unsure" When follow-up questions were asked as to why so many people voted Yes, many replied with "Oh, I thought it meant YOU, not me!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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