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I am surprised. I can't stand Truman. To me he was the worst Democratic President of the modern age. We would not have many of the problems that we have now in the middle east if not for Truman; however, the fact that you at least like Kennedy is refreshing. I agree about Nafta, although it was not his fault alone.
Interesting. I see what you're saying about the middle east, but I also think that for the cards he was dealt with, he did a pretty good job overall. The Marshall Plan to me will always be his administration's best moment. Can't comment much on Korea, since I haven't studied that era too much.
JFK espoused (nd implemented) the kind of pro-growth tax reform envisioned by centrist proposals like Simpson Bowles and the Gang of Six outline, which was good for the country. Of course, he would be drummed out of today's Democratic Party.
I disagree. I for one would love to have jfk, but he would never survive the public scrutiny because of his extracurricular activities with the opposite sex.
JFK espoused (nd implemented) the kind of pro-growth tax reform envisioned by centrist proposals like Simpson Bowles and the Gang of Six outline, which was good for the country. Of course, he would be drummed out of today's Democratic Party.
JFK may have "espoused" tax reform, but it was Congress that cut the taxes. Presidents do not raise or lower taxes, so it is rather silly to give them credit or blame.
Interesting. I see what you're saying about the middle east, but I also think that for the cards he was dealt with, he did a pretty good job overall. The Marshall Plan to me will always be his administration's best moment. Can't comment much on Korea, since I haven't studied that era too much.
The Marshall plan was good plan, although Truman admits that he knew very little about Foreign Policy. NeoCons seem to like Truman because of his support for the creation of the state of Israel, which has caused massive problems since its inception. He was warned about this by his secretary of state, but he did not listen.
I am just curious. Many liberals and democcrats can at least point to one President...Eisenhower that they liked. Can Conservatives point to a modern day (1900's to the present) Democratic President that they like. Keeping in mind that historically democrats and Republicans seemed to have switched, which is why I say modern day democratic president.
Harry Truman was the last 'Democratic' president to hold office. The rest have all been socialists or communists.
I am going to assume the gist of this thread is to get people to discuss when they looked across the aisle with a degree of respect, so I will turn the tables.
As a lifelong Democrat,I have had mixed impressions of Republicans.
Nixon-Intelligent and moderate in most political views, capable, but fatally flawed. A nasty man. We all know the story.
Reagan-The first of the new crop of ideologues. Leaving aside Iran/Contra, which if true is patently criminal, he pushed an agenda which I disagreed with (antigovernment, Reaganomics,etc.), but which might have been somewhat justified given how long the Democrats had been in power and how high tax rates were as of 1980. Although he appeared only average in intelligence, he was a very skilled communicator with tremendous personal charm. He could negotiate and cut a deal. He could lead and he could compromise, but then again, the congress was a much more amicable place back then. I still imagine Reagan and O'Neill drinking whiskey together, but perhaps that is an urban legend.
Bush I: He lacked Reagan's charisma and eloquence, but I like the fact that he was levelheaded and intelligent. He avoided bravado in Iraq and just did the job and got out. Also, a true war hero who loved his family and acted with a fair bit of class. My favorite of the bunch.
Bush II: A modest degree of charisma, but otherwise the worst president of my lifetime, by a very long shot (yes, worse than Nixon as an executive). Just spectacularly bad (launched two wars while cutting taxes twice in his first term -unbelievable).
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