Out of all history: Who would you most like to see as president of the United States?

[JackRiddler]

Poll question: Out of all history: Who would you most like to see as president of the United States?

If you would prefer a parliamentary democracy with proportional representation, a decentral federation of socialist collectives, a libertarian market-only paradise with a CEO answerable only to shareholders, the return of the First Nations, a Christian theocracy, the Shire of the Hobbits, a dictatorship of the proletariat, or a benevolent takeover by the Andromeda Galaxy empire, title your post "Other" and say so.

If you want to whine that the list doesn't include the current president - well, what are you complaining about? Congratulations, you've already got perfection. Title your post "Other" and say so.

List includes only people who at some point ran for president, and who might conceivably win the support of more than 5 percent of people who post frequently on DU. If you prefer one who isn't on the list, pick the one you feel is nearest and let us know you real avatar below.


---


Disclaimer: Entertainment & debate purposes only, the poll-maker bears no liability, etc. etc.

[historian]

1. john cleese

[JackRiddler]

3. Never ran, sorry.

Ve must follow ze rules!

[ashling]

33. Is your subject line merely flawed, or purposely misleading?

It doesn't say anything about people who have run for president.

:shrug:

[JackRiddler]

50. Sarcastic answer deleted.

The rule here is anyone who actually ran - it's sort of a history thread - but you know what? Post whatever you like.

[ashling]

59. I'm just saying you could have easily put that in your subject line

No big deal really. Sorry if you are offended.

[Ex Lurker]

74. Benjamin Franklin. he'd have figured out how to stop the spill by now n/t

[Captain Hilts]

2. Eleanor Roosevelt. nt

[defendandprotect]

76. That's a winner -- !!

Loved her -- love reading about her --

one of the first biographies I ever read --

and subsequent one have been even better!!

:)

[jesus_of_suburbia]

106. Yes.

[Unvanguard]

4. Eugene Debs, of course, an old favorite of mine

though we'd probably have to get him up to speed on socially-progressive issues like same-sex marriage and affirmative action.

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. out of those you listed, Gary Hart in 84

I think he could have beaten Reagan if not for all the "Monkey Business".

But even more so, Howard Dean in 2004. Damn the DLC for that sickening ad they ran against him in December 2003, playing on the same fear culture the Bush Crime Family used.

Imagine where this country could be right now, 6 years into a Dean administration. :evilfrown:

[BuelahWitch]

7. I agree, Howard Dean!

[AsahinaKimi]

62. Howard Dean would have gotten my vote

I worked on his campaign

[Gaedel]

48. Monkey Business was before the 88 race, not the 84 race.

Gary Hart flamed out in the summer of 1987, I believe.

Democratic Candidate Diet: No Rice on weekends

[proteus_lives]

6. TR! TR!

He's bully!

[Kievan Rus]

8. Al Gore 2000 -- if he'd have won, Dubya wouldn't have been President

[Ardent15]

10. Well he did win

But of course, that didn't matter. :(

[Jamastiene]

47. He did win. He was robbed. We were too. n/t

[JI7]

9. delete

[hlthe2b]

11. Of those listed, it is a no brainer for me-- of course RFK

that said, wouldn't Eleanor Roosevelt have made a wonderful President? Sadly, she was before her time.

[JI7]

12. John Kerry, Hubert Humphrey

[depakid]

13. Howard Dean is missing from the list...

He calls it like it is- and doesn't pander and pretend that Republicans can be reasoned with or trusted. Much more suitable characteristics for the times than those we come to expect from the current President.

[JackRiddler]

17. You're right. I should have remembered to list him.

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. To the person who voted for Gary Hart...

He was an alduterer, a liar, and challenged the world to prove that he was either. It didn't take but a couple of days.

That's not the kind of person I want in charge of the world's largest nuclear arsenal. Forget all the other stuff, that alone is enough for me.

[Sebastian Doyle]

20. Uh, that's the kind of person you HAD in charge of the nuclear arsenal from 1993-2001.

And let's not forget the only time this country really was at a serious risk of a nuclear war, in 1962.

Does the fact that JFK was fucking Marilyn Monroe (and God knows who else) really have anything to do with how he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis?

[cherokeeprogressive]

24. No.

I submit that the reason for the negative answer to your question is the lack of objective reporting, and the lack of the 24 hour news cycle we have today. Had JFK been exposed for the cad he was, he might had not even been elected. Period.

Back in the day though... no one who had the scoop was willing to expose JFK for his dishonesty.

[hobbit709]

32. i don't care who the CIC is screwing as long as he's not screwing the country.

[depakid]

29. +1

Hart was also far more principled where it counted- on policy matters.

[JackRiddler]

51. & probably at most times in US history, from Jefferson forward.

[defendandprotect]

77. Agree . . .

[Nye Bevan]

65. But he did have "new ideas" (nt)

[csziggy]

15. Jimmy Carter 1980-84 for his energy policy if nothing else.

If he had gotten a chance to get his energy policy through we would not be in the situation we are today. Ronald Reagan would never have been president. Iran-Contra would not have happened and the neo-cons would not have been empowered. There would not have been a Gulf War I and we would not have put bases in Saudi Arabia so Bin Laden would not have had an excuse to form Al Qaeda and attack the US. Maybe Carter's diplomatic skills would have lead to a world where the US was not as hated as we became during the Reagan and Bush I administrations.

I admired Carter for his intellect and ability to foster international relationships. I think he is the only president to really understand the reality of what our dependence on oil was going to lead to for our country and the world. If we had followed his plan we would have alternative energy sources and be a world leader in alternative energy technology.

[sandnsea]

16. Have to agree, or even Teddy in 1980

Whichever so we wouldn't have gotten Reagan. Although really, I think Jimmy Carter has turned out to be more in tune with the needs of regular people all over the world. It's a tragedy the way this country treats him.

[csziggy]

19. I get pissed everytime I hear someone call him a "failed president"

He achieved a lot while in office. And oddly enough, his initiatives were pretty successful until he introduced his energy proposal. Suddenly everyone turned against him and his programs were blocked. Looking back, I believe that Big Oil and TPTB maneuvered to make sure Carter could not get those energy programs any traction.

Of all the people who have been in the White House in my lifetime, Carter is the only one I would like to meet. Maybe I would like to meet Obama someday, but I truly admire Jimmy Carter.

[jmowreader]

101. I've met Jimmy Carter. He is an amazing guy.

The night before the 1996 election, Jimmy Carter was in Fayetteville to tell us the reasons to get rid of his cousin Jesse--yes, Jesse Helms is Jimmy Carter's cousin, or at least he was--I kinda figured if "only the good die young" was true, Jesse Helms would live forever. I shook Jimmy Carter's hand. I was proud to do that.

[Angry Dragon]

18. I am going to go with you.....

it was either with you or
it was going to be with god.........then we could have a nation under god

[cherokeeprogressive]

21. Other: WILL ROGERS

[krispos42]

22. RFK Sr., I think.

Or Thom Hartmann.

[TheKentuckian]

23. Other: Carl Sagan

He had both the processing power and the broad perspective that would be a wonderful asset to the country.

[Historic NY]

25. My hopes & dreams for a better society & world laid with RFK...

we were young and perhaps foolish but the ideals he came too instill & inspire and are still worthy. I deeply miss him he would have been a great President.

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

I have grown old, older than he at his death. I can still dream, I can still wish, I can still hope that some day, someday his visions shall be fulfilled.

[defendandprotect]

78. +1000%

[MrScorpio]

26. Bobby. He was the right man for the right time. n/t

[Ter]

27. This won't be popular, but Stephen A. Douglas

Civil War possibly prevented, 600,000+ lives saved.

[Gaedel]

49. and fifty or so more years of slavery.... nt

[Ter]

53. I doubt that long

600,000 dead is what I'm opposed to at any cost.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

83. Yep. Even at the cost of the lives of thousands of slaves.

[Ter]

85. 600,000+ eclipses "thousands"

The war was wrong.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

88. Yeah, if only the slaves would have shut up and kept being beaten and murdered for another century.

WHY ARE SLAVES SO SELFISH!

[Ter]

93. Wow, saying you oppose a war means you support the opposition?

That as crazy as the neo-cons who say those who opposed the War in Iraq support Saddam Hussein. I don't support any war unless we are attacked or in imminent danger of being attacked. 600,000 dead a million wounded with no painkillers was the wrong way to go.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

94. Slaves were constantly attacked and free men were in danger of being attacked.

But since that wasn't you, I guess it's ok.

The declarations of secession list slavery as the reason for the war. They did not want recompense, they wanted slaves.

[Ter]

95. We didn't eactly go to war because of slavery

The South succeeded, and we decided that wasn't going to happen. By any means necessary we would preserve the Union. That's the part I oppose. There had to have been a better way. You get shot back then in the leg, you get held down while it's sawed off, no painkillers. War is almost always wrong.

[Sherman A1]

28. I would have to go with DK in the poll, but

Harry Truman could have run for another term, so I like him for this discussion.

[cali]

30. the absence of Adlai Stevenson

renders this poll pointless, imo.

[JackRiddler]

55. Fine choice. Should have thought of him. Limits of my memory and the 10 maximum...

This thread is for fun and broader historical horizons.

[Rectangle]

31. Other: President Bernie Sanders!! eom

[Mnemosyne]

34. Pat Paulson n/t

[AnArmyVeteran]

45. I sent Paulsen a dollar bill in the mail toward his presidential campaign. But he returned it :)

Can you imagine any other candidate returning even a penny given to them? I know Pat Paulsen wasn't a real candidate but I thought how honest he was to return that dollar. I thought that man was hilarious. I sent that dollar to him and received it back with his autograph on it. What a classy guy.

[Mnemosyne]

68. My friend's father knew him and said he was

a very charming and funny guy. Sounds as if he had some real class too!

Thanks for the great story! :hi:

[pinboy3niner]

91. Pat Paulson campaign resurrected for 2012!

When someone posted Pat Paulsen in another "good guy for President" thread, I replied that the poor guy had too much charisma and his speeches were too electrifying. :)

Another poster, csziggy, provided links for the new campaign for 2012. I'm still confused as to whether it's just Pat, his son, or both (and if it's both, that's gonna be a tough call in the voting booth).

Below is a link to csziggy's post, with Paulsen campaign links--I think you'll get a kick out of it. And, yes--he was classy. Thanks for the memory--I'm greenish with envy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8495198&mesg_id=8496421

[endless october]

35. Kucinich, followed closely by RFK. nt

[NorthCarolina]

44. Agreed. n/t

[gleaner]

36. I chose Bobby Kennedy as I would have in ...

1968 if he had lived. He was a crusader, passionate and his ideas and agenda grew a lot from the time he was young. I can't help but think that if he had been president we would be in a much better place. I doubt that there would have been a Nixon since he took that election for lack of real competition. People perceived Humphrey as pro war. They were looking for anything else.

Maybe there would have been no Ronald Reagan either. An idle dream perhaps, but he started the great slide downward we are enjoying now.

[rug]

37. Eugene McCarthy.

His election would have moved this country off the path it's followed for the past 40 years.

[TheFarseer]

38. Ross Perot 1992

Although Clinton did alot of good things, he didn't do us any favors on outsourcing.

from that list, I'll take TR 1912.

[icnorth]

39. Other...

I'm a tea bagger, I don't play by the rules and I'd pick Attila the Hun... :D

[Major Hogwash]

40. Wha?!!? I can't believe you didn't include me in that list!! Sheesh, what does a guy have to do

around here to make the list?

At least with me, you'll know what you're voting for!!
Shuzbot!
I can't believe I'm not included.
Nanoo nanoo, what the hell?

We all have our el guapos, but this is just wrong!
With a capital "W".
I mean, I'm almost insulted this time.

"the poll-maker bears no liability" ~ yeah, well, tell it to the judge, bub!
I'm suing your azz!!!

Where's my attorney? Where's F. Lee Bailey when you need him?
Oh, the humanity . . . the humanity of it all.

The spoon doesn't bend -- there is no such thing as a Duzy!

Mein gott in Himmel!
And the governor of Arizona is not a racist POS either!!
Oh, f**k me, she is too!!

If I were king of the fore-e-e-est, not queen, not duke, not prince . .
I would spend all day in the White House writing executive orders overturning every other executive order Boy George wrote.
Then I would spend all evening watching the cable news programs bitch about me doing that!!

I would outlaw Glenn Beck -- by executive order first!!!
Just plain outlaw him.
Just tell Faux Snooze to replace him with a big-titted blonde like they did the rest of their news reporters.

I'd ask Larry King to come to the White House to be my press corps Chief of Staff.
Phoenix, you're on the line.
Up next, why we hunt for Easter eggs.

Then I would order a nation-wide tv trial for Boy "Now watch this drive" George, Dick "Shotgun" Cheney, Don "they aren't using guerrilla tactics, I have a dictionary" Rumsfeld, Condoleeza "I believe the title of it was 'Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States'" Rice just to see what the political fallout would be.

That would be better than never trying, simply hoping to get reelected to a 2nd term thinking that they will put an old geezer with Alzeheimers paired with the stupidest half-term governor the country has ever witnessed up against me again in 2012!!!

Oh, where is the outrage!

Oh, and I would outlaw any Mayan calendars for 2012 that don't have swimsuit models for each month.
Hey, if we have to go, let's at least have something to look forward to, know what I mean?

I would keep Michelle around because she is just too cool for school.
Honestly, he can stay too, as an advisor of sorts, you know when I want to do something that goes right down the middle trying not to offend anyone because it may not be politically expedient to offend anyone and then in the process winds up offending everyone because it is just the wishy-washiest answer to a problem we have ever had and it reminds me of those nightmares I used to have thinking about what it would be like if Erkel were somehow elected president because he was always trying to please everyone and in the process all he did was piss everyone off and he never lost his virginity either.

But, her mom has to get a condo downtown, I don't need that kind of pressure.

I would also write an executive order demanding that the Brady Bunch do another sequel - with the real Jan this time!

Major Hogwash in 2012!!!
You know it!
You love it!
You can't get enough of it!

[JackRiddler]

60. Nice!

Who is Erkel?

[pinboy3niner]

90. Unrec'd for misspelling shazbot as shuzbot

Can't unrec a threadpost? Screw it, I'm doing it anyway! You can run whining and crying to the mods!

Shame--with my vote you could've been "Papa Hogwash," President for LIFE!

:evilgrin:

[L. Coyote]

41. President Al Gore would have bee a perfect substitute to the Bush Junta!

Overthrowing the Executive branch was the very worst moment in US history,
but the main $tream media had everyone under control then like now.

[joe black]

42. FDR

You listed the wrong Roosevelt, IMHO.

[WeDidIt]

43. None of the above.

Not one of them could handle the situations we are faced with today.

Most (Kucinich for example) would actually make matters worse.

[HopeHoops]

46. John Belushi

He just had that "OH YEAH, well FUCK YOU!" attitude.

[LWolf]

52. Hard to choose, since they weren't running against each other.

RFK. McGovern. Kucinich. Nader...I didn't vote for him in 2000, but he sure as hell would have been a big improvement over what we ended up with.

For the purposes of the poll, I'll go with RFK. It has seemed like 3 assassinations in that decade damaged the long-term cause beyond repair.

[-..__...]

54. Sam Kinison

For no other reason than to hear his state of the union speech...

"Ya' know... this country was looking pretty shabby for awhile, then I came along and made a promise to do my best to tidy things up a little. God knows I tried... sweating and slaving long hours into the night. Yep... I had it allll planned out, but you know what?

THE CHEAP NO GOOD FILTHY WHORES SITTING ON THEIR ASSES IN FRONT OF ME FUCKED ME OVER!!! OH YEAHHH!!! THEY FUCKED ME OVER AND OVER REEEEEAL GOOD!!! MY ASSHOLE IS SO TORN TO SHREDS BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU (pointing), AND YOU (pointing again), I CAN'T EVEN SIT DOWN AND UNWIND IN MY OWN FUCKING OFFICE!!! ARRRGHHHH.... ARGGHHH, ARGHHHHH!"

[earth mom]

56. I don't like the majority of your choices. Where's FDR? or Al Gore?

:wtf:

[GoneOffShore]

57. None of your picks.

But most of all not RFK Jr.

[JackRiddler]

58. Way to go for reading comprehension!

[GoneOffShore]

64. One too many glasses of wine tonight = whatever.

[TransitJohn]

61. Shirley Chisolm. n/t

n/t

[Lilith Velkor]

84. Word.

[newspeak]

63. Where's Paul Wellstone

I wrote to Wellstone before the 2000 election, and begged him to run for president. Wellstone's who I would have wanted for president!

[saltpoint]

66. Many good choices in your poll.

I'd add the name of Meriwether Lewis, who died under mysterious circumstances along the Nathez Trail.

There might have been a president in him.

[undeterred]

67. You forgot Russ Feingold.

[AnArmyVeteran]

69. Jesse Jackson won my district in '88 and it is 95% white.

The 1988 election was an interesting one. Jesse Jackson won a huge majority of votes in my district. It certainly surprised me.

But my overall pick is Robert F (Bobby) Kennedy. He would have done so many good things for our country and he had the guts to make real change.

[Echo In Light]

70. Jello Biafra (The Pledge of Allegiance)

I pledge defiance to the flag of the United Snakes of Captivity

And to the Republic for which it stands, I dip it in kerosene, and stick it up the ass of you know who1 and light it

One nation, under God--or else

One nation, under psychopath Pentagon gangsters, whose idea of democracy is concentration camps for the people who go and use the drugs that the government supplies themselves

One nation, under Wall Street:

If the cops and the President are all criminals, I might as well be one too, ha ha! 2

One Nation of tabloid robots who actually believe what they see on tv, but when ask about it say “I don’t care.”

One nation, drowning in its own garbage

Indivisible from the from the fall of Rome

With liberty and justice for all who can afford it


Burn, Baby, Burn

Old Glory

The Yankee Swastika

Burn, Baby, Burn

Burn, Baby, Burn

Whenever I see you I see red

Whenever I see you I see red

If the Communists can do it, why can’t we

Throw the bastards out and try some real Democracy

Not by rich people

Not by Army people

Not by sons of senators sons of senators sons of senators sons

After all, have you noticed

The more they dole out Democracy over there

The more they take it away over here

Now, before it’s too late

Be a good boyscout

Take the Swastika

The Yankee Swastika

and let it

Burn

Burn

Burn, baby Burn

[JackRiddler]

71. runoff kick!!! Kennedy, Kucinich or TR?!

[Aristus]

72. Dr. Josiah Bartlet.

[guitar man]

73. Other

Frank Zappa :smoke:

[defendandprotect]

75. Henry Wallace -- really, any of them would do . . . FDR not on the list--!!

[amborin]

79. of those listed, Debs; he had the courage of his convictions

Debs:

"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

[me b zola]

80. I love RFK...

but I am unsure how he would have handled this crisis. Kucinich, OTOH, has been consistent in his leadership and I feel as though he would have provided the leadership necessary. So my vote--->>>Dennis Kucinch.

[Atticus]

81. Barbara Jordan nt

[burnsei sensei]

103. Either Barbara or

Shirley Chisholm.

[phasma ex machina]

82. DK, but I'm a hopeless romantic.

[tango-tee]

86. !

Ditto, my friend.

[Bert]

87. FDR?

Where the hell is FDR, the greatest president we ever had? What did Kennedy do in comparison? What the fuck is ralph even doing here? You asked for president, I am assuming you would want one who could deal with friends and adversaries since the congress could be whatever. Why the hell would you include Teddy and not motherfucking FDR for god's sake?

Didn't even bother to vote for Teddy since it is such a glaring omission. Greatest fucking president of all time, why is he not up there?

[B Calm]

92. FDR, hell yes. The OP gave us Robert Kennedy, not John. ????

[JackRiddler]

107. These guys actually did get elected, don't you know?

[DemoTex]

89. Teddy Roosevelt in '12!

Better yet, Teddy Roosevelt in 2012!

[bigwillq]

96. Dean '04 (nt)

[Uncle Joe]

97. President Al Gore. n/t

[YvonneCa]

98. ...

...absolutely. :)

[upi402]

99. you still like Republican Dems eh?

ugh

How did Gore's little NAFTA experiment work out for ya?

[Uncle Joe]

100. I like Democrats; that have the courage, integrity and vision to champion a cause/technology

which allows you and/or anyone else wishing to do so, to criticize said leader en masse for all the world to see while believing that Net Neutrality to be a critical component of the American People's First Amendment Right of free speech without corporate interference.

I like Democrats with the courage, integrity and vision to recognize and warn against existing national and global suicidal energy policies relying on fossil fuels; which threaten life as we know it, while aggressively pushing for the use of sustainable, green energy sources.

I like Democrats with enough good sense to warn against the idea of drilling for oil where our food supply is, not to mention irreplaceable sea life.

I like Democrats promoting universal single payer coverage for every American from the cradle to the grave instead of perpetuating an immoral, dysfunctional, inefficient reliance on for profit "health" insurance corporations; which contribute nothing to actual health care but do create a perpetual cash stream flow sending lobbying/bribery money back to the Congress.

I like Democrats willing to bust self-serving monopolies just as Al Gore did when he left Perot's bloody carcass on Larry King's floor in a national televised debate.

As for "Gore's little NAFTA experiment" in case you missed it Gore hasn't been in power since 2000, NAFTA was the equivalent of transportation, the keys were handed over to a drunk teenager by the Supreme Court, so your judgment is distorted in applying current conditions to Gore.

In short I like leaders with courage and vision willing to act in good conscious on behalf of the American People, so label Al Gore however you want, I believe he could have been or would be our greatest President.

[burnsei sensei]

102. I think Eugene Debs should have been

given a chance.

[MrCoffee]

104. Debs had my vote based on the subject line alone

Nice to see he was included in the poll.

[RT Atlanta]

105. Other: MLK Jr.

He was focused on civil rights and, much more broadly in his last year, the poor, neglected and impoverished in our country and fighting the machine (the military industrial complex) that was needed to re-shift this nation's priorities to its own people rather than its killing machines.