Best. President. In my Lifetime.

[JoePhilly]

impik posted this thread ... with the title "Best.President.Ever." impik picks Obama.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=575075&mesg_id=575075

I responded ... "In my lifetime". Meaning that in my lifetime, Obama has been the best, in my opinion.

After responding, I started to think ... "Who would DU folks pick as the Best President of their own lifetime."

So that's my question to DU ... "Who do you think is the best President of YOUR lifetime?"

I was born in January 1964 ... and my choice, again, hands down, is Obama.

When were you born ... and which President do you think was/is the "best"?

[nmbluesky]

1. Bill Clinton was great president too

only three president are democrat in my lifetime!!!

[JoePhilly]

2. Me too ... can you pick one ... ??

[nmbluesky]

11. Well

Clinton was best president in my childhood...
Obama is a best president ever in my adulthood..

[JoePhilly]

17. thanks.

[tridim]

3. Obama, by a lot.

Though I did like Clinton, I barely remember Carter.

[Uben]

4. Clinton, hands down

...but Obama is closing in.

[JoePhilly]

7. I hear you ...

Today, there is lots of "anti-Bill" stuff from the left, but if you go back, and think about Reagan and Bush #1 ... I think Clinton, even with his many flaws, slowed the right wing onslaught. He did not stop it, and he made some mistakes ...

If I were asking this same question in 2007, Clinton would be my "hands down pick".

[Uben]

47. Going strictly by the numbers........

.....no modern president can touch Clinton's accomplishments. About the only thing he did not do was lower the trade deficit, and he did reduce the amount it was rising.

Employment
Crime
Savings
wages
stock market gains
economy
peacetime
deficit spending
number of law enforcement
and on and on and on!

Despite what one might think about what he did in his personal life, he was truly one of the greatest presidents this nation has ever had. He did it all while battling the vast right-wing conspiracy trying to take him down.

Obama doesn't have a Tom Delay to deal with, thank god. Even so, he too is poised to be one of the greatest presidents of all time!

[JoePhilly]

58. Yup ... won't get me to argue on those ...

In many ways I loved how Bill played the GOP.

And I think that on the situation for the middle class, you are SPOT ON. Under Clinton, most of the middle class saw large gains. He did a lot.

And yes, he made some mistakes, personal mistakes, but I don't really care about those.

I think NAFTA and his signing the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act hurt him (and us) ... but I understand the NAFTA error more. Opening more markets for US goods is a "good thing", but ... not getting and "even playing field" with the other countries is a mistake. The disparity across the global makes trying to do the "right thing" harder to do because it ends up being American workers who have to pay. More needed to be done there.

DADT, was a defensive move by Clinton, and while the law was stupid, it did block worse outcomes that the GOP wanted.

HCR ... no progress.

But overall ... I'm glad I voted for Bill twice. He helped slow the GOP ... I only wish we on the left had stayed unified and put Gore in the White House in 2000. The battle we fight is not one that will be won in 2 years, or 4 years, or even 8 years ... we need to keep the GOP out of power at every chance we get.

[RoadRage]

23. I was born during the Carter years..

So I only have 2 choices: Obama & Clinton. So far, I stick with Obama.. frankly, he's had a much worse economy to deal with, along with things like 24 hour cable pundits, and internet blogs.... and yet with all of that he's accomplished more in 2 years then many presidents do in 8.

So, I give the award to him for now!

[racaulk]

5. I was born in September 1975, and Ford was President.

Fun fact: I was born in the 17-day period between the two assassination attempts on President Ford. After Squeaky Fromme, but before Sara Jane Moore.

Of the seven Presidents that have served since I was born, President Obama is by far the best of the bunch. Although there is room for improvement (as with anyone), I don't doubt this for a second.

:hi:

[JoePhilly]

53. thanks

[lamp_shade]

6. 12 Presidents in my lifetime. Obama is by far the best.

Hi, Joe. Good to see you. :hi:

[impik]

9. Wow, that's big. 12 presidents? Bless you. :)

[JimGinPA]

10. Damn, You're OLD!!!

Only 11 Presidents for me, and I agree Obama has been the best.

[lamp_shade]

26. Gee thanks, Jim. ; ) I like your sig. I want that bumpersticker.

[JimGinPA]

30. LOL!

To be honest, I only missed Truman by four months.


I "borrowed" that graphic from someone here a long time ago (with permission). I'm still driving around with the "Obama '08" bumper sticker on my car.

[lamp_shade]

34. I replaced my Obama/Biden '08 sticker a few months ago with "Re-elect Obama

in 2012" but I like yours better. I may borrow it from you when you're not looking.

[JimGinPA]

76. Absolutely...

Right-click away...

[Lugnut]

75. I missed FDR by five months.

Dayum, I'm old. :)

[vaberella]

15. Wow L_S---you're definitely NOT Young! ^_^

:pals: :hug:

[lamp_shade]

24. Tsk.... my friend vaberella...

:hi: :pals:

[JoePhilly]

16. 12 ... wow ... I have to ask, if you are willing ... please rank them ...

I'd love to see that.

:bounce:

[lamp_shade]

25. See below

[lamp_shade]

21. Born in 46 (Truman). Loved JFK (who didn't) but never really cared until 76 when I voted for Carter.

I voted Dem every time thereafter. So among only 3 Dem Presidents that I voted for (Carter, Clinton and Obama), I pick Obama as the best.

[Sherman A1]

27. Truman

hands down.

[JoePhilly]

40. thanks

[Scruffy1]

99. 12 in my lefetime-had to use my fingers

To me its a tossup between HST and LBJ. The rest have really not accomplished much in the way of progress unless you include the Republican Richard Nixon who created the EPA, revenue sharing and generally cooperated with unions. He even helped unionize and modernize the US Postal Service. I think we have to separate domestic and foreign policies to get any real consensus. They have all been involved in duplicity and criminality when it comes to foreign policy. My father loved Harry for integrating the armed services at a time when most of the military was opposed and he was a white infantry officer. LBJ stand on civil rights was a milestone not to mention food stamps that too many of us depend on. I also have a lot of info about Eisenhower because he was raised and friends with many of my relatives. Like so many from the military he was a good man but really didn't understand many of the social issues of the time because the military is its own world.

I respect Eisenhower, but he had no firm grasp of the issues of minorities and poor people in general. Back when I was young I had too many friends living below poverty in the "Golden fifties". Most of the old people were living in abject poverty also. We had no subsidized housing then so many lived in shacks with no running water.

Clinton and Carter were pretty much conservatives and certainly had no voice for working people-at least while they were in office.

After putting this down I have to Go all the way with LBJ, in spite of the war I opposed.Sad ain't it that the best we can do in fifty years is LBJ

[impik]

8. I don't really think that he's the best ever.

Not yet, anyway. These kind of things are for history to decide. I was just celebrating a little bit....

But, i do think that he's already very high up there and if given 6 more years - he will become the greatest ever.

[JoePhilly]

13. Me too ... that's what caused me to pose my question after seeing your post ...

I could not say "best ever" ... but is he on that track, yes.

So I responded "in my lifetime" ... and after I sent it thought ... that actually matters. In my lifetime, no President has accomplished as much "progressive" legislation as Obama has. Sure, lots of compromises I don't like.

But even with that ... no GOP President has come close. And Obama is making progress on things Clinton could not. And in only 2 years.

[vaberella]

12. I'm a 1980 baby. Obama wins, no contest. n/t

[tabbycat31]

37. same

Clinton would come in 2nd.

[AtomicKitten]

14. Too many presidents in my lifetime, Pres Obama tips the scales as the best to date.

[jobycom]

18. Clinton. So far.

Obama hasn't done anything to challenge that yet, but he's got two to six years to work on it.

Born in 1965.

[JoePhilly]

54. Gotcha ...

In 2007, I would have picked Clinton, and now give an edge to Obama because he's been able to do a number of things that Bill could not ... but I follow you.

[RichGirl]

19. I'm older than you...and YES....Obama is the best president in my lifetime.

I love Bill Clinton. In fact, unlike others, I understand that the country wasn't ready for anything more than DADT at that time.
But what prevents him from being the best is thinking about how much more he could have accomplished had he kept it in his pants. I don't think we would have had eight years of GWB...Gore would have won by a landslide.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

38. You are spot on with this post! Though I was not really a Clinton fan, I understand

the circumstances of his time. Just like LBJ. He knew that signing civil rights legislation would be the end of the "Democratic South," and the Viet Nam war ended his presidency. But he was prophetic in terms of what the Democratic Party would face, and he knew that there would be major blowback because of what he did for civil rights. He was willing to take that chance even though it cost him and the Democrats dearly. The party has been paying for it in varying degrees ever since. The Republicans have brilliant ran on a Southern Strategy-Hate Government platform for decades now.

I was born in 1971. Nixon the Crook and Bigot was president at that time, followed by Ford.

I don't think it's fair the attacks on Jimmy Carter. Had he pursued policy and politics differently, history may have treated him better.

Obama hasn't been in office long enough for me to judge fairly. And Clinton was a great president. However, one cannot deny Obama's long list of accomplishments in such a short period of time. He had to deal with a lot of unfortunate circumstances not of his own doing or fault. Yet, despite all that has gone wrong for him, I think there's still a potential for greatness. He could very well go down in history as one of the greatest presidents of all time. (Next to FDR, in my opinion, of course.)

[JoePhilly]

69. Agree on both points.

Clinton did DADT to create a road block.

And, on the night he went on TV and said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman ... ", my wife and I (both strong Democrats), said ... "oh shit" ... that phrase "sexual relations" was the tell ... maybe no intercourse, but other sexual acts were performed.

Having said that ... I think Gore screwed up. He ran away from Clinton across the board. He should have taken credit for all the GOOD things, and then said that Bill (call him Bill when doing this) had clearly made some mistakes in his personal life, but that those were issues for Bill and Hillary (again, use the familiar names) and their family to work through.

Bottom line ... I think Gore made a tactical error dropping Clinton. Bill was still very popular.

[Autumn]

20. I have very fond memories of the Eisenhour

Presidency, of course that is mainly due to my Grandfather.
(I was too young to know I was a Democrat :D ) I voted once for Nixon, because he said he would bring the troops home from Vietnam. Carter was good and Clinton was very good. Obama has been good but there have been disappointments.

[lamp_shade]

28. I remember singing along with my Dad... "Whistle while you work, Stevens is a jerk,

Eisenhour's got the power, whistle while you work".

[Autumn]

32. LOL I remember that

What a time huh? It all seemed so gentle then. I don't remember Truman but Grandma always told me when Truman or Ike were giving speeches I used to sit on Grandpas lap and get so into what they were saying on the radio, like I really understood.

[BlueGirlRedState]

22. About to hit 55.. and yes, Obama is the best

But I liked Bill alot too.

Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
Bush I
Clinton
Bush II
Obama

Yikes - that's 11 for me!

[johnaries]

29. Ike was in office when I was born. JFK had a lot of potential,

but unfortunately was cut down before he had a chance to live up to his potential.

Johnson had the Great Society, but he also had the Vietnam War. It's hard to forgive him for the Gulf of Tonkin deception.

Carter had many good ideas and we'd be better off now if we had listened - but he wasn't very effective.

Clinton had many great accomplishments in 8 years, but he also did NAFTA and signed the repeal of Glass-Steagol.

Considering how much Obama has accomplished in just 2 years - I would say he is the best of my lifetime.

[rury]

31. Obama is the best in my lifetime

I was born during Truman's full term and cast my first ballot for Carter and then every Democratic candidate since then.
I worked harder and gave more money to Barack Obama's campaign than any previous one.
And I am getting my my money's worth and having my hard work rewarded in spades.
Obama is an AWESOME PRESIDENT!!!!

[NOLALady]

33. Obama is the best

of the 12 Presidents in my lifetime.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

35. Hello there, my friend. Once again, the voice of reason. Happy to recommend! n/t

[Faygo Kid]

36. Truman baby here, and waiting to see.

Clinton had an awful lot going for him - but his affiliation with Dick Morris and his leaving us vulnerable is tough to overlook. LBJ is eliminated because of Vietnam, but his commitment to a Great Society was sincere. JFK is heartbreaking; truly incredible potential, and what might have been. Truman had a spine - a big one - and I would certainly like to see that in today's Dems. Eisenhower was a decent man who would have no place at all in today's GOP. Ditto for Gerald Ford. Reagan set us on a bad path; even he would be drummed out of today's Republican Party, however. Jimmy Carter was and is a very good man, and was right about much, but can't consider him great. W. was the worst ever. Nixon was a bizarre president - nobody's going to put him close to the "best;" I will never forgive him for much that he did.

Obama? The repercussions of his stacked Catfood Commission pretty much eliminate him, but the jury is still out.

[JoePhilly]

52. Nice post ... If I follow, Truman would be your #1 ... then its a mixed bag ...

[Whisp]

39. Obama by miles, then Carter.

[JoePhilly]

41. I am waiting for some of Obama's top DU critics to respond ...

But I will not be holding my breath.

[Exilednight]

42. In your lifetime? You must be 30 or younger. n/t

[JoePhilly]

50. I'm ~47 ... as I said in the post, I was born in Jan 1964.

So who is your pick??

Feel free to rank them if you want.

[Exilednight]

61. Jimmy Carter was by far a better President than Obama or Clinton ..........

He managed to get more of his campaign promises passed into law than any other modern president except for LBJ. Where's Obama a litle over 26% maybe 27% at best? 127 out of 501 promises according to politifact.

He'll never come anywhere close to Carter's percentage.

Clinton could of been one of the best, but he allowed his personal life turn governing into politics.

[JoePhilly]

63. Obama is also only 2 years in ... correct?

I think Carter was great ... but I find your "prediction" interesting ... Obama will "never come close" ... really?

HCR, Financial reform, Stimulus, START, DADT ... in 2 years ... not bad. Big stuff.

You claim Carter has a "higher percentage" ... I like Politifact .... but do they have an item by item view for Carter? Clinton? GW Bush?

That would make your claim MUCH stronger, yes?

[Exilednight]

64. Pick up a copy of Carter's White House Diary. His percentage is in the

high 70s.

You can also visit the Carter library, or the Library of Congress, and view the legislation yourself.

[JoePhilly]

66. So let;s see if I have this right ...

You would like to take 2 totally different models for calculating percentages of "promises kept", one by politifact (not controlled by Obama in anyway), and one from the CARTER LIBRARY, which is dedicated (as most Presidential libraries are) to proclaiming the GREATNESS of that President.

And then you want to COMPARE the the percentages AS IF they are calculated in the same way????

Really?

:rofl:

[Exilednight]

71. The study in the LIbrary of Congress and Clinton Presidential LIbrary was done by an independent

bipartisan group that measured every president since WWII.

Laugh all you want, but the facts speak for themselves.

[JoePhilly]

84. Do you have a link for this??

I am unaware of the Library of Congress collecting the data on Obama and reporting it.

You used POLTIFACT as your reference point for Obama, and some other "independent bipartisan" study (no link) for Carter.

So ... unless there is a common methodology being used, you can't make the comparison in the way you made it.

btw ... I think Carter was a very good President, but I would not put him first. I do think he's been one of our best ex-Presidents.

[ProudDad]

87. HCR is an abonimation and will HAVE to be replaced

by a single-payer type system within 10 years -- he squandered a Golden Opportunity by selling out to the corporations, just like Hill and Bill did...

Simulus? You mean the bankster and corporate payoffs? Started by Bush, continued by Obama (with many of the same Goldman Sachs personnel)

START, DADT in the last seconds after giving away the farm on taxes? Pretty shitty deal... :puke:

The gap between his potential and what little he's actually done given his implied "promise" is so large you could drive a fleet of limousines through it -- with his best friends riding in them...

[Foo Fighter]

100. Excellent post.

It's great to see someone tell it like it is. Kudos to you!

[Ter]

95. More like 10 or younger

:)

[Skittles]

97. I guessed 10 years old

[ProudDad]

43. FDR... Obama would be number 5

on a rather sorry list...

[vaberella]

46. You were around for FDR?! Wow. n/t

[JoePhilly]

51. When were you born, and which 4 come before Obama?

Just curious.

[ProudDad]

85. 1944...

I don't "remember" FDR, but I DO remember Truman, Ike and Stevenson (who would have been a much better choice than Ike!)... :hi:

The world had a HUGE celebration on my 1st birthday -- May 8, 1945... I thought that was nice of them...

My list is;

FDR
Johnson (if ONLY he hadn't had the beam in his eye about Vietnam! SOB!)
Truman
Carter
Eisenhower (in his Farewell Address -- they should have listened)
Obama

As I said, FDR is first of a rather sorry lot...

On edit: Obama slipped to number 6...

[emilyg]

44. In my lifetime - Clinton, Truman.

[JoePhilly]

83. Truman has been getting some love in this thread.

[tnvoter]

45. Bill Clinton, but Obama is looking pretty damn good and closing in

[Top Cat]

48. I was born in 1958 and President Obama hands down

[11 Bravo]

49. Truman, Ike, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama ...

Yeah, I have to go with President Obama as the best in my lifetime, (although HST was a damned fine chief executive).

[JoePhilly]

55. Truman is getting a number of votes in this thread.

[craigmatic]

56. He's the best president since LBJ.

[Beacool]

57. I beg to differ, but you are entitled to your choice.

:shrug:

[JoePhilly]

60. Fine ... who is YOUR pick?? Should be an easy question to answer.

[Beacool]

93. Bill Clinton, hands down.

;-)

[Rhiannon12866]

59. Not too many to consider, IMO.

Probably will be Obama, especially if he serves two terms. Bill Clinton is a favorite because he's the only one I've seen in person, impressive, intelligent and charismatic and the first POTUS I voted for who won! But Jimmy Carter will always have my heart, since I believe his is the biggest, and he's still working hard to make things better in this world... :)

[JoePhilly]

62. Perfectly reasonable response ...

I think Carter was all heart. And could have been great. But the shift in the GOP started then. And "nice" became "weak". Which is a shame in my opinion.

[Rhiannon12866]

65. I think you've got it exactly right.

Jimmy Carter was seen as weak, in the face of Reagan's tactics. Reagan initiated the "culture of fear," perpetuated by every Republican president since, especially the last one. x(

And people forget, especially with the Reagan eulogizing that's still going on by the RW. Does nobody remember that Carter boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan?! And that his grain embargo was instrumental in bringing down the USSR? Reagan's given credit, but his tactics didn't help. Gorbachev was working to ensure more personal freedoms in Russia, but, due to Reagan's refusal to engage or compromise, the Soviet hardliners panicked and thwarted Gorbachev's efforts... :(

I visited the USSR in 1986, as part of a peace group, with my grandmother. The Russian people we met hated Reagan, for just those reasons. His actions made things tougher for them. The mention of Jimmy Carter made them smile. :)

And then there's the unprecedented work he did, brokering a historic peace between Egypt and Israel. But it took the world decades to recognize this accomplishment, an issue that's still his passion today. But after eight years of Bush*, Middle East peace is more elusive than ever. :(

[JoePhilly]

67. Great post ... Carter gets no Credit for any ot that because even then ...

our country suffered from ADHD.

If the benefit is not immediate, it does not count.

[Pisces]

68. Definitely in my lifetime. Nixon was President when I was born.

[Vattel]

70. Carter. No wars! Support for human rights. Lots of sex and drugs.

Oops. I guess Carter can't take credit for the last item.

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mtnsnake]

73. Neil Smith

I waited all my life for that cup and finally got to see it thanks to him (and #11 of course).

[boppers]

74. In my lifetime? Isn't it a little early to ask? (Do you know something about me that I don't?)

Born in 1972, not sure when I'm checking out, so somebody better than Obama *may* come along, but right now, he's at the top.

[white_wolf]

77. Well I was born in 1989

so the best for me would probably be Clinton. Obama gives him some competition, I'm just disappointed in some of the things he has done and plus he was the first president I voted for and I'll admit I did kind of get caught up in the "Obama-mania". Still though I am so glad I voted for him over that bigoted fool McCain. Also it shows how much the Republicans have changed over the past 50 years that a lot of people in this thread have mentioned liking and respecting Eisenhower. It kind of makes you wonder what party he would belong to today.

[JoePhilly]

80. Good point.

I was pretty sure there would be ZERO mentions of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or the Bushes.

After that, I figured age would be a factor in the outcome of this. Under 40, Obama or Clinton, over 40, some split.

And yes, the GOP has gone stark raving insane.

I put Obama an edge on Clinton mainly because of three main things ... Obama stopped the collapse (a key part of which Clinton signed into law). DADT. And much of HCR, which isn't perfect, but neither were Social Security, Medicare, or medicaid when first implemented. It sets a foundation. But I'm a Clinton fan as well.

[avaistheone1]

78. Born in 1951. I choose Kennedy, LBJ and Jimmy Carter as the

best presidents of my lifetime in that order.

I do think Ike was a good president, but I need to study him more before placing him on my list.

[JoePhilly]

82. You may be the first to place JFK at #1

Why JFK?

[Laelth]

79. Lydnon Baines Johnson. n/t

-Laelth

[JoePhilly]

81. Who would you put 2nd?

[ProudDad]

86. Gee, isn't this a 'divisive thread'?

It's gotten real picky around here...

No one can defend themselves...

[Laelth]

88. THIS is a "great" Democrat?

Obama pledges more concessions to business at White House summit

By Barry Grey

16 December 2010

At a five-hour summit with top corporate executives on Wednesday, President Obama signaled his readiness to slash corporate income tax rates, weaken business regulations, cut social spending, and drive up US exports at the expense of the wages and conditions of American workers.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/dec2010/obam-d16.shtml

That's no "great" Democrat, though it sounds like a pretty-good Republican.

-Laelth

[paulk]

89. I would name Bill Clinton

it's hard to judge Obama at this point - two years isn't really enough time to gage his Presidency - even Clinton, who is my choice, had a pretty rough first two years...

[AndrewP]

90. Bill Clinton

I'm 37 and I would say by far and away the best President of my lifetime is Bill Clinton.

[Stoic]

91. Even with Nam it would still be LBJ

Kennedy's was just too short although he had his highlights. Jimmy Carter was and is an impressive man but didn't have the political skills to lead the party. And Clinton (and now Obama) was a disaster. I used to be a die-hard defender of Clinton but the years have worn that off and I think of him as a raging narcissist who sold out working men and women with NAFTA. And Obama hasn't found a Republican he doesn't want to sleep with.

[Name removed]

92. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ter]

94. Clinton by far best Dem for me

Just my opinion.

[Skittles]

96. ridiculous to say that half way through one term

[Imagevision]

98. Clinton talked his way around a WH. BJ - that was pretty good...

[WiffenPoof]

101. Best President in Your Lifetime...

I suppose that means you were born pretty recently. This would explain a few things.

-PLA