Who is your favorite politician ever and why?

[JVS]

[Justitia]

1. Guv Howard Dean - 'cuz he speaks for me. -eom

[upi402]

2. Wellstone, for the departed... and

for the living; Kucinich

[anonymous171]

3. Huey Long and FDR are tied for my favorite.

Long for his populist ideas, especially his "Soak the Rich" tax and FDR for making some of those ideas a reality.

[MajorChode]

4. George W. Bush

He did more to destroy the GOP than any single human, and yes that includes Nixon.

[Arugula Latte]

20. Heh heh. Good point.

:thumbsup:

[lame54]

50. .

[BlooInBloo]

5. Despite the current-events bias of it all, I'm pretty sure it's Obama...

If ya gotta ask why...

[flvegan]

6. Dennis Kucinich.

Closest to my political tendencies, lack of fear, honest, vegan with a hot wife.

[Cronus Protagonist]

22. Seconded

But not because of his dietary inclinations.

[Baby Snooks]

63. Thirded...

I just posted something about Eisenhower. Kucinich would be my idea of a modern Eisenhower. Not afraid of truth. Not afraid of speaking truth. And not afraid of doing the right thing.

[valerief]

7. When I first read that question, all I could think of was what was my favorite cold sore.

:rofl:

[AllieB]

8. Wellstone, Bernie Sanders, Ted Kennedy

because they speak for the average person.

[valerief]

13. Nice list. nt

[BuyingThyme]

9. Ted Kennedy I think.

He's just been there forever and has usually been on my side.

[Baby Snooks]

65. Certainly a voice of the people...

But there has always been a little hesitancy about him as if he held back for fear of not measuring up somehow to his brothers.

[underpants]

10. Nader

:hide::scared:

I AM JUST KIDDING!!!

[HooptieWagon]

11. No favorite...

... but I'm pretty fond of Bob Graham. He's not charismatic - some might even call him a bit eccentric - but he knows government and how it should work, inside and out. He was a great Florida Gov., and served the state well as Senator. I wish Obama had appointed him to his Cabinet - Homeland Security, Transportation, Labor, Interior, are just some of the Secretary roles that Graham would have performed admirably in.

[EFerrari]

12. So many but Mike Gravel read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional record.

I adore this man. lol :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S2zkh6ZOGE

[BuyingThyme]

19. Yes.

The height of nonconformity in face of the highest personal risk at the highest level of government.

Read Daniel Ellsberg's SECRETS for a first-hand account. (I think it's SECRETS.)

[EFerrari]

23. Sometimes it's not the most famous people, just the best people.

I can't buy any books until Michelle hocks her shoes and sends me the money but will put the ref away for another day. :hi:

[virgogal]

14. Leverett Saltonstall---A WASPy man of the people.

Yes,I'm old. :-)

[AllieB]

16. An old Republican.

interesting.

[virgogal]

18. A man who is the only Republican that my Irish immigrant

father-in-law ever voted for. (He probably went to confession afterwards)

[hyphenate]

15. can't answer that

It seems to me that while I might initially have the right of free speech to name someone, the next 15 responses would be from people vilifying MY choice, and argue that they are right and I am wrong. As a net result, my choice would then be negated by these people and I would find myself helplessly shamed into admitting that he/she is never going to be as good as their selection. :sarcasm:

I close with a quote from Samual Clemens, aka Mark Twain:

In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.
- Autobiography of Mark Twain


Sorry about that--knee-jerk reaction to another thread, if you have to ask.

I think that there are many excellent politicians out there that deserve praise and exhultations. chief among those who "do" it for me are:

FDR
Henry Waxman (for bring the first politician in the new bush administration as a member of congress and the GAO who questioned the new admin on claims made about the Clinton administration)
John Kerry (who was a hero in Vietnam, and an even bigger hero when he returned to the states to question our involvement in Vietnam.)
Teddy Roosevelt, for changing his mind so completely about animals and the ecology of the planet, and became an ardent defender of both
Tip O'Neil, just for being Tip O'Neil

[Texasgal]

17. Ann Richards

She truly was the "people's Governor". She was tough, didn't take shit off of anybody as well as soft and sentimental.

She was awesome. *sniff*

[Patsy Stone]

34. I second that.

Here's to you, Ann! :toast:

[Baby Snooks]

67. Loved her but...

When the Texas legislature rewrote the sodomy statute and made sodomy illegal only for homosexuals she should have taken her pen and vetoed it. I always questioned her positions on equality because she didn't.

It wouldn't have mattered if the legislature had overriden her. She would have stood up and done the right thing. I think she regretted not having done so. The point was she didn't.

[Zomby Woof]

21. Harry S Truman

And Barbara Jordan.

Throw in John Quincy Adams. Make it three.

[Sherman A1]

26. HST

All the way

[emilyg]

28. You bet!

A no nonsense guy who made hard decisions.

[Sherman A1]

39. Recently I was able to attend

a local production of Give'em Hell Harry and just loved it.

[liberalmuse]

24. Abraham Lincoln.

I've loved the guy since I was just a kid.

[JVS]

31. I'm a big fan of Lincoln.

[femmocrat]

25. I loved Hubert Humphrey. He was a grand old-time liberal and ...

very forward thinking. He was a man ahead of his times on civil rights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Humphrey

Although I originally supported McCarthy in 1968, I was crushed when HHH lost to Nixon.

[Speck Tater]

27. None of the above.

Because people who crave power can't be trusted with it.

[anonymous171]

36. That's why Demarchy is greatest system known to man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demarchy

[jhrobbins]

79. And this is the reason for my choice, which hopefully doesn't seem a bit simplistic...

At any rate my choice is George Washington, because, not just once, but twice, he went against obvious self interest (and a huge dollop of avaricious human nature) and turned down the offer to make him King George Washington.

[havocmom]

29. Ben Franklin

cuz he got it done.

[etherealtruth]

30. For good or bad ---- Tip O'Neill

He was a larger than life character that understood people and politics.

[Inspired]

32. Iowa's own, Ed Fallon. Although right now he is out of office.

Hopefully, for our country, Ed will consider another run for the House of Representatives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Fallon

**edited to put link for more information on Ed.

[blue_onyx]

33. If I had to pick one, I would go with MI Gov. Granholm

She super smart, has done a great job managing MI during one of the most difficult times in our state's history, and actually cares about the people she represents. I'm very proud to have her as my governor.

[TahitiNut]

35. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

d'uh :eyes:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

41. He convinced people that human decency could be "pragmatic".

And, that principles need not be hollow slogans designed to bamboozle the people.

"In matters of conscience the law of majority has no place." - Gandhi

[TahitiNut]

45. "I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills" (Gandhi)

"Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." (Albert Einstein)


I was four years old when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. I remember the sadness. My grandfather had enormous respect for Gandhi, and my grandfather was not at all prone to 'hero-worship.'

[AllentownJake]

37. Robert Kennedy

There was no better fighter for us than Bobby.

[Creena]

46. Seconded.

He died a little less than 20 years before my birth, but everything I watch or read about him prove the he was indeed a fighter for the people. One could say I'm a bit biased I come from a large Irish-American family where all but one (my father) and are/were liberal Catholics and highly revered the entire Kennedy family.

[mtowngman]

38. Jimmy Carter-more for philanthropy than politics

Represents to me the best living example of what being an American should be about.

[MajorChode]

57. I think Jimmy Carter deserves praise for politics and philanthropy

Few American presidents had the vision that Carter had. He got blamed for driving up interest rates and inflation (which was actually Nixon's fault) and he made some unpopular decisions, but we still enjoy the peace and prosperity given to us by Carter. After his departure from the presidency, he became the epitome of what a statesman should be.

[mtowngman]

73. No argument here, I guess I'm just more impressed with him as a

decent human being than as a politician or president.

[MajorChode]

74. That he is, and we all should strive to be even half as noble

[Hippo_Tron]

75. We are just now starting to listen to Jimmy Carter on renewable energy

We could've started solving this problem 30 years ago if Raygun hadn't come along and told us that there's a magical oil fairy and we don't need to lift a finger.

[MajorChode]

78. The GOP is still telling them exactly that

It's amazing how many morans believe the US can drill its way out of the peak oil crisis.

[AtomicKitten]

40. Paul Wellstone: “I represent the little fellers, not the Rockefellers.”

:patriot:

[H2O Man]

42. Malcolm X.

He told the truth.

[karynnj]

43. John Kerry

and I've posted reasons nearly every week for over 4 years

[Echo In Light]

44. Ray - fucking - Gun. Here's why...

Being a teenager in the 80s I became politically aware through the fascist character of the right, their utterly bizarre worldview/propaganda, and the sad suckers who bought into and identified with their poison jive.

By the time the very dark underpinnings of Iran/Contra became known, or, info that could be sought out, it became very clear that there are very powerful, well amassed right-wing forces at work in this country (often perceived as the 'pillars of the community') that not only do not have the public's best interests in mind, but have goals and Profits Over People pursuits that are so completely divorced from humane ideals ...and much, much worse. I guess it could be said that during that formative time when I became politically aware, it was an acknowledgment of the evil in our species.

Hence Reagan, in my estimation, became a defining symbol of that astounding degree of deception and "family values" hypocrisy ...and sadness that so many were and are unable to see what people like that actually stand for and represent. And for me, that unfortunately has always been the defining quality of politics in our phony democracy.

[Aristus]

47. Jimmy Carter.

Like me, a Christian and a liberal.

Yes, one can be both! I admire his calm, his quiet humility, his unshakeable faith, and love for humanity. His sense of humor. His believe that American government can be a good thing and can offer the greatest good for the greatest number of people. I love his Georgia accent. As a Southerner born-and-raised, I love the way he embodies the best of Southern progressivism. His unglamorous but exceptional intelligence. His devotion to family and community.

You're the best, Mr. President! :patriot:

[NightWatcher]

53. he wasnt a politician, He is a Statesman

he would be here to receive your thanks in person, but he's helping provide shelter for the homeless. Where's the rest of the ex-Prezs?- the golf course

[KittyWampus]

48. Ben Franklin. He played the English and French against one another beautifully.

He was even smart enough to use the English spies that were planted around him.

He was a lot more than just a politician.

[dugaresa]

49. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Although I was born well after his presidency, it has had the most direct influence on my life.

My father was in the Civil Conservation Corp and it helped feed his family.
He served in WWII and later used the GI Bill to help buy our home.
Through Social Security, I was able to live when he died prematurely.
My mother now receives Social Security.

I would have to say the work of the Labor Movement also improved my life.

[lame54]

51. I'm still waiting

[La Lioness Priyanka]

52. milk

[saltpoint]

54. I'll pick that guy who stood in front of the advancing tanks in Tiananmen Square.

That's politics at its most personal, IMO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man

Harriet Tubman also deserves consideration.

[Hippo_Tron]

76. The thing is, you don't really know what he stood for

What the Chinese government did at Tiananmen was horrid and all of those deaths and imprisonments were tragic. But the protests probably couldn't have achieved anything because the protesters all wanted different things and there was no cohesive leadership.

[saltpoint]

81. I think that man's intent was clear enough.

One doesn't stand in front of a line of tanks for sport.

[JonLP24]

55. I have to say Kucinich or Leo Ryan

In regards to Leo Ryan he was the see-for-himself type of politician for example when it came to prison reform, he actually spent time in prison to form an honest opinion. How many politicians you know today that will do that?

[RFKHumphreyObama]

56. My username almost says it all

Actually it should also say Wellstone but that deemed too long to be acceptable by the server when I tried to put it in

[DutchLiberal]

58. Here's my list of my favorite (U.S.) politicians:

- Jimmy Carter

I have tremendous respect for this man. From what I have read about this man and his presidency, he was the best president since FDR. But sadly, also the most underrated, overshadowed by JFK (who didn't really accomplish anything) and Reagan (whose good reputation relies on a major whitewash). Never was there a president so concerned with human rights, equality and the environment. Sadly, that's what got him sidetracked.

- Dennis Kucinich

Not by far as charismatic as Obama, but far more authentic and sincere; a lot less calculating. Always speaks his mind and his consciousness, even when he gets ridiculed for it. May be the only 'real' liberal in American politics. I am forever grateful to him for at least bringing impeachment of Bush and Cheney to the House floor, even when it never had a chance of succeeding. My hat is off to this great gentleman.

- Willem Drees



Dutch prime-minister between 1948 and 1958. Drees was known as Vadertje Drees ("Little Father Drees"), and was very popular. During his office as prime minister, the Netherlands recovered from the Second World War, decolonization took place and the modern welfare state was formed, laying the basis for today's social safety net. You could say he was the Dutch equivalent of FDR.

[PufPuf23]

59. Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, & Jerry Brown nt

[BooScout]

60. Churchill or Roosevelt......n/t

[Baby Snooks]

61. Eisenhower...

I suspect Eisenhower would have become a Democrat at some point if only because he would have seen the Republican Party embrace the very thing he warned us about - the military-industrial complex - although saying that he would have then become an Independent because he would have seen the Democratic Party embrace it as well. He probably would have said both parties had left him. They left all of us. There really is only one party at this point. The blindness of partisanship does not change the reality of the picture of what has happened to his country.

Eisenhower dared to speak his mind. And he dared to do the right thing. His Justice Department stood behind the courts addressing civil rights. Few people realize that. Civil rights was not an issue that was first embraced by Kennedy and Johnson. It had already been embraced in our courts during the Eisenhower administration.

This country was being torn to shreds by Joe McCarthy. Eisenhower ended it in a way when he invited the cast of I Love Lucy to the White House at the height of the maelstrom that had erupted over the investigation of Lucille Ball. That was the end of the investigation of Lucille Ball and really was the beginning of the end of the investigations and of Joe McCarthy. No one ever did find out who named her. Most suspected it was Ronald Reagan. That was the one absolutely undeniable fact about Ronald Reagan that to this day casts a shadow upon him and always will - he named names. He destroyed careers and he destroyed lives. All in the name of patriotism. And sadly never apologized for it.

Eisenhower was a leader. We haven't really had one since him. We have had presidents who were admirable who held great ideals. But they haven't been leaders willing to simply do the right thing. We will see if we have one with Barack Obama. Who I believe Eisenhower would have voted for. Voting as an Independent of course.

[bigwillq]

62. Howard Dean speaks for me.

Followed by Dennis Kucinich.

[Stinky The Clown]

64. Mario Cuomo

What might have been.

[lpbk2713]

66. Tip O'Neill

He didn't mind telling anyone to go to hell, particularly rethuglicans.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

68. Adlai Stevenson.

Before my day, but I come from a die hard Democratic family.

Ridiculed for being smart, just like Al Gore has been ridiculed, for years.

I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.
Adlai E. Stevenson

Saskatchewan is much like Texas- except it's more friendly to the United States.
Adlai E. Stevenson

Told by a woman at a campaign stop: "Mr. Stevenson, you have the vote of every thinking American!"

Adlai: "Sorry, ma'am, I need a majority." :rofl:

[FLAprogressive]

69. Carter, Kucinich, Dean, Feingold, Sanders, DeFazio, Lincoln, Wellstone

[Skidmore]

70. The Honorable Barbara Jordan.

Woman of great integrity and intellect. She should have been both our first woman and first black president. The nation lost a treasure when she left office. It lost a great voice when she passed from us.

[ThomWV]

71. Lyndon Johnson

Next to Jimmy Carter probably our most inappropriately maligned modern President.

[mascarax]

72. Ted Kennedy, Paul Wellstone & Bernie Sanders (n/t)

[Greyhound]

77. For pure politician, I vote for The Kingfish.

"I'm just as big a crook as the other guys, I just spread it around a lot more", major honesty points for that.

Renaissance men, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. It's just too bad Thomas Paine didn't go into politics.

[Liberal_in_LA]

80. OBAMA!