Greetings, readers. I thought this might be a fun topic to blog about today. With the next presidential election a year and half away, I started to think about all the presidents we’ve had, not only in my lifetime, but throughout history. Sometimes I like people even though they might not be called the best by experts. Let us keep that in mind for this list.
#10. Richard Nixon. [I was very young at the time when Watergate was going on. Even though he did wrong, and betrayed the American people’s trust, there was something touching about that victory salute wave he gave as he got into the helicopter to leave the White House. A little bit of style for a disgraced president.]
#9. Jimmy Carter. [Such a sweet guy. Not really a good president. When the American hostages were being held in Iran, a massive rescue attempt was mounted. As I understand it, everything that could go wrong did. President Carter had to take the blame for he was the chief of the military. Later in life, former President Carter had some major milestones including Homes for Humanity and his work in Africa.]
#8. George H. Bush. [After Ronald Reagan left office, as one of the more popular presidents of my lifetime, I really thought that President Bush could keep the country going. I thought he was well-spoken, and liked him. The economy really began to slide in his presidency. The American people were tired of Republicans after 12 years and elected my next choice, Bill Clinton.]
#7. Bill Clinton. [President Clinton did a marvelous job resurrecting our economy. For the first time I was aware of, this country was not in debt and we actually had a surplus. His extra-curricular activities left a little to be desired.]
#6. Lyndon B. Johnson. [I don’t know tons about LBJ but I heard a story about him on a documentary about Air Force One. After his presidency was over, he ordered the airplane stripped of all the “trinkets and trash” such as towels, ashtrays, and basically everything that said Air Force One on it. He also installed a hydrologic chair that he could raise above other people in a meeting, so he could sit above everyone else. To me, that is a feeling of power and authority. I like that.]
#5. Ronald Reagan. [One of the more feared presidents by other countries in the world. After he was elected, Iran, not wanting to deal with him, freed the American hostages. Instead of taking Air Force One to greet the freed hostages himself, he let former President Jimmy Carter take the flight and welcome the people back. Jimmy Carter said it was an extremely touching moment for him.]
#4. George H. W. Bush. [I felt sorry for G.W. He was a highly educated man who had a knack of looking silly and stupid much more than he should have. The day of 9-11 however, he appeared extremely strong and resilient, and vowed not to quit until the terrorists were brought to justice. Little did he know that al-Qaeda is virtually all over the world. It is much different than fighting an army of a thousand people. He had vocal quirks such as Nuc-a-ler, and his war on terra (earth) A.K.A terror. I’ll chalk that last one up to his accent.]
#3. Franklin D. Roosevelt. [This president had to resurrect a country from a depression and take us through a world war. Not wanting the country to go a different direction, he kept running for reelection every four years and kept winning. Seems that people didn’t want to change the jockey mid-race. After his death, congress passed a law limiting presidents to two terms.]
#2. John F. Kennedy. [I was not born yet when President Kennedy was assassinated. Through school and documentaries, I learned that he got our space program started. He also stood tall and prevented a nuclear incident near Cuba.]
#1. Abraham Lincoln. [He freed the slaves. He worked hard to keep the United States together. Unfortunately the north and the south fought a civil war. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.]
Honorable mention – George Washington. [The first American President, as everyone knows. Some people at the time suggested he lead the country as a king, and he turned it down. Our peaceful transfer of power at the end of elected terms started with him.]
There’s your list for today. As usual, chime in with yours in the comments if you wish to.
Take care, have a good weekend, and happy reading.
josephmkockelmans 