I thoroughly enjoy finding lists of top Presidents. For years I have read biographies and autobiographies of our Presidents. HW1 and I like to visit the homes, libraries, and birth places of Presidents as we travel about this beautiful country. We haven't visited all of them, but we have made a considerable dent in our list. This is my personal viewpoint with my top ten Presidents. This is a chronological list, not a list of best to worst.
(1) George Washington. George in many ways put the flesh on the bones of the newly-created Presidency job established by the Constitution. He set the tone for the next 200 years for this important job. He steered us away from a monarchy style, tried to keep us out of war, and enabled our struggling country to begin the process of inventing itself. His leadership style became one to emulate.
(2) John Adams. Many of the ideas that were the basis for our Constitution came from John. He was willing to argue and fight for ideas that he felt would become the underpinnings of our developing nation. Although he was not able to work or play well with others, he was the second man selected for the job and deservedly so. Abigail kept him in line, and their partnership was extremely strong. She was as good a politician as he.
(3) Thomas Jefferson. He was truly a Renaissance man who was extremely wide-read and interested in many things. He brought to the job his amazing intellect and ability to put on paper, in words the rest of us can understand, the exciting and futuristic notions of government. He doubled the size of this country through the Louisiana Purchase and thus gave us room for expansion, as well as removing the threat of more interference from France in our newly developing country. His notions of liberty and government are timeless and fit today's situations perfectly.
(4) Abraham Lincoln. This man struggled to hold our country together through our bloodiest war. He managed a very diverse cabinet in such a way that while he sought their input, he never gave up his leadership. He was in charge. The Civil Was aged him deeply, and yet, he never lost his humanity and care for others. Reconstruction under Lincoln would have not been a bitter pill for the South. His writing ability has never been surpassed, his best example being The Gettysburg Address. He was the right man for his time.
(5) Theodore Roosevelt. He restored the Presidency and enabled our country to take on a world-wide role. He firmly moved us into the 20th century. His trust busting bully pulpit brought the office into a new role. He also understood how to use media for his own ends. He took the environment issues seriously and also finished the Panama Canal project, which enabled our country to more easily connect East and West coast for both economics and defense.
(6) Franklin D. Roosevelt. He is the only President to win more than two terms and is the reason we have term limits now. He was able to inspire this country and try anything that might get us out from the Great Depression of the 1930's. He was a master of the media of his times. His leadership style was well-suited to the times, because although we were very unwilling to get involved in another European conflict, yet it was impossible to stay neutral. Ultimately, after the Pearl Harbor attack, we came together under his leadership and fought and won WWII.
(7) Harry Truman. He was thrust into the job by the death of Roosevelt and rose to the occasion. He completed WWII, worked on the United Nations to get that going without the pitfalls of the League of Nations. He ordered the military to drop two atomic bombs which brought the war to a close, and by establishing the Marshall Plan, saved war-torn Europe from communism. He elected to assist the UN by going to war in Korea to stop communist aggression against South Korea. He fired Douglas MacArthur for insubordination to his commander in chief. What more could you ask from a man from Missouri?
(8) Dwight D. Eisenhower. This man brought his organizational skill to the job. He got us out of Korea and kept us out of war during his eight years in office. His ability to obfuscate any issue was one of his many splendid talents. He was willing to stop Communism in any way short of all out war. He alerted us to the dangers of the military-industrial complex and their related political agendas. Not bad for a general .
(9) Ronald Reagan. This man was a master of the media of his time. He set the leadership tone for his administration and focused on a few issues rather than too many. He delegated much of the business to others and expected them to get it done and done well. He challenged the Soviet Union by building up our military might and the Star War concept to the point that the Soviets could not keep up and began to implode. His ability to get along with other world leaders enabled him to get their backing when it was needed.
(10) George W. Bush. His success will need to undergo the spotlight of time and much reflection. He brought this country together after 9/11. He led us into a war in Afghanistan and in Iraq. His decision to take the war to terrorists rather than wait for them to bring the war to us is profound and has led us into a very different world. This is a war that will go on for generations until economic changes can be brought about to prevent people from feeling so disenfranchised that they can be influenced by radical terrorists. How this will work out is left to the future. I only hope that we are strong enough to stay the course.
This is my list and I have given some of the reasons why these particular ten Presidents were selected. I am sure that there are several other Presidents that could have made the top ten list and that you will agree with some of my choices and disagree with others. I would enjoy hearing your opinion on your top ten and reasons for their selection by you the reader. Have fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment