Greatest US Presidents Who Never Were

[John Fredrick Parker]

Shamelessly pirating from RogueBeaver who was shamelessly pirating from Blackadder --

Oh, and RFK only gets one mention on the thread, and it's right here; just want to make room for other ideas

[RogueBeaver]

Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Jeb Bush, JFK Jr., George Allen, Scoop Jackson, Linda Lingle, Olympia Snowe.

*I know, I'm the Court Chronicler of the Bipartisan Dynastocracy. I must please my patrons.

[Orville_third]

Henry A. Wallace, Robert Taft, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, John C. Fremont, Hannibal Hamlin, Thaddeus Stevens, William Jennings Bryan, Smedley Butler.

[a Person]

Eugene V. Debs

[John Fredrick Parker]

Nice suggestions For me:

Losing Candidates: Henry Clay, Charles Evans Hughs, Al Gore
Failed to be Nominated: Leonard Wood
Never got around to running*:
Never ran for office*: William F Cody**, Henry Fonda, Clint Eastwood

*but would have been awesome if they did
**actually going to be in a TL of mine, sometime

[ah-sue]

Benedict Arnold
Belva Ann Bennet McNall Lockwood
Spiro Agnew

[John Fredrick Parker]

Um, Sue, you know we're talking about potential great presidents, right?

[Eisenhower]

Nelson Rockefeller
Mark Warner
Russ Feingold
Thomas Dewey
Colin Powell

[The Kiat]

I'm not so sure about Arnold; he had the habit of stepping on political toes.

And how come nobody has mentioned James Dean?

[robertp6165]

Gary Hart in 1984.

[Paul V McNutt]

From my Rating the Alternative Presidents



Paul V McNutt

Rating: Great

Party: Democrat

Time in Office: April 12, 1945 - September 24, 1952.

President McNutt should be given credit for ending American isolationism. The Marshall Plan Americans to rebuild Western Europe and also strengthened that part of the world to resist Communism. This was one of McNutt's efforts to position the United States as the guardian of the world's freedom. As early as 1946, McNutt's Secretary of State successfully pressured the Soviets into withdrawing from Iran. In 1947, he convinced Congress to send aid to Greece and Turkey, as part of his McNutt Doctrine that pledged support any nation whose freedom was in danger. McNutt signed the OAS and NATO treaties that committed the US to permanent alliances/. In 1950 he committed American blood and treasure to defend South Korea. Knowing the dangers of World War, McNutt pioneered the concept of limited war. His determination to keep the conflict confined to the Korean peninsula led to his highly unpopular firing of General Douglas MacArthur. McNutt paid a political price for upholding not only his geopolitical views but upholding civilian control of the military.
In domestic affairs, McNutt is not as influential. He enjoyed little success getting his Fair Deal programs through Congress. He did make a contribution in the field of civil rights. The McNutt Justice Department helped argue the case in the Supreme Court that banned the enforceability of discriminatory covenants. Most of all his executive order that integrated the armed forces stands as as one of most enduring legacy.
Ironically, when this advocate of civil rights died prematurely of cancer, segregationist Vice President Jimmy Byrnes inherited the White House. Fortunately the lame duck with a term of slightly less than four months had little time to do much damage.

[RogueBeaver]

I forgot Hart. The more DLC Dems the better.

[Paul V McNutt]

As one who worked for Gary Hart in 1984, ( Yes I am that old) I am happy to see his name here. I am wondering, however, if he could keep his pants zipped.

[Number three]

George Bush in 1981 after the assasination of Reagan and before all the trickle down BS was bought into... voodoo economics is right.

[Paul V McNutt]

A President Bush in 1981, would have to push voodoo economics as a memorial to President Reagan.

[RogueBeaver]

I really would have preferred the GOP adopted monetarism instead of supply-side. Fiscally speaking, Thatcher's UK record is much better than Reagan's.

[wilcoxchar]

Richard Lamm, as either a Democrat or a Reform candidate. He'd be a good compromise Dem IMO.

[The Kiat]

Originally Posted by Number three

George Bush in 1981 after the assasination of Reagan and before all the trickle down BS was bought into... voodoo economics is right.

Originally Posted by Paul V McNutt

A President Bush in 1981, would have to push voodoo economics as a memorial to President Reagan.

Huh? Call me crazy (and I am) but I could have sworn between 1984 and 1999, the country was on a fifteen year economic boom, or at least not a slump. Doubt the politicos had anything to do with it, but that doesn't mean the President won't take credit for it.

[robertp6165]

Originally Posted by Paul V McNutt

As one who worked for Gary Hart in 1984, ( Yes I am that old) I am happy to see his name here. I am wondering, however, if he could keep his pants zipped.

Well, that stuff didn't really come out until 1988. I've always thought that Hart was the Dem's best chance against Reagan in 1984, though. Nominating Walter Mondull was just a stupid mistake. One they repeated in 1988 when they nominated Mike Dullkakis.

[RogueBeaver]

No Democrat could beat Reagan in '84. Even Tip O'Neill said so.