Aseahawkfan wrote:I generally obtain my information by reading. A few hour shows on the history channel aren't as informative as biographies and longer written works on individuals.
I do not put presidents on the pedestal most seem to except for Lincoln, who I believe is our greatest president and one of the greatest leaders in history. Presidents are just men and I tire of the foolish, vain moniker of "Most powerful man in the world" for the United States President. A ridiculous attribution and one Americans should never support. The president should be as handcuffed and limited as much as possible and nowhere near, "The most powerful man in the world" rubbish some vain people like to toss out. The amount of angst generated in people because of the president on both sides of the political spectrum is pathetic and irrational. It shows a lack of understanding of who the president is in our system and what he can and cannot do. So many act as though we vote in a dictator every four years, when we really vote in more of a chairman or arbitrator to oversee the bureaucratic aspects of our nation. He does not operate with anywhere near absolute power. This belief that he does is what allows so many to foolishly associate a particular party with particular actions rather than realizing that both parties are often culpable for the vast majority of changes.
I like the three presidents I like or rather admire for different reasons. Grant I liked as a man even though he wasn't a very good president. FDR's charisma I find fascinating. His ability to win four terms and likely more had his health not deteriorated is astounding. Lincoln I found to be an extraordinary individual and the greatest statesman this country has ever produced. What he accomplished is hard to even put into words. He took a nation raised on slavery to war with itself, holding together for future generations, as he tried to force the poisonous addiction to a vile institution from its system. It is as though he fought for the soul of this nation, dark versus light, and somehow saved that soul from shattering to pieces, pulling the dark side of our nation's soul back towards the light away. Such an evil institution America inculcated into a land with such an extraordinary ruling philosophy. Had he not preserved this nation during this time, we would not currently have a Constitution, perhaps not even a nation, to live in. We would rather be a collection of nations much like Latin America or Europe. I'm not still not sure how he managed it given the attitude of the times.
Most other presidents don't interest me the way those three do. We became more interested in the accumulation of power after World War 2. Power we didn't need and should have never allowed our nation to pursue.
I made the History Channel remark somewhat in jest, although they've had some very good, objective short summaries of past Presidents. I, too, have garnered most of my knowledge by reading biographies of past Presidents, and have read about most of the 20th century POTUS's. Nearly all but Nixon had likeable personalities. If that were your only criteria for 'liking' a President, then I honestly would question how much reading you've actually done about them. In the 20th century alone, I found that Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover, Truman, Kennedy, and Carter all had remarkable personal characteristics that very few could object to. Taft, for example, before he joined Teddy's cabinet, was the governor of the Philippines, and was looked to almost as a God by the local people. Truman had balls, not only in firing McArthur, insisted on attending the funeral of the man that made him (Pendergast) even though he knew that his attendance would touch off a firestorm amongst his critics. Even though he was from one of the richest families in the country, Kennedy would jump in with his crew to help perform such mundane tasks as scrape barnacles off their PT boat, and personally saved the life of one of his crew members by towing him several miles to shore. I could go on and on.
FDR is not the only POTUS that would have won more terms had he been able to. Eisenhower was extremely popular during his day, and had he been permitted to constitutionally and had his health permitted it, could have served indefinitely. Same goes with Washington, of whom many wanted to make king of the young country. FDR had his flaws, both as a functioning POTUS and in his family life. FDR issued the executive order that not only relocated bona fide American citizens, they took their property away from them, and he was unfaithful to his wife, and even though he promised not to see her again, was with his mistress when he passed away.
I know that you're well read, but I still find it remarkable that you can find just 3 POTUS's that you like. But I'm with you on Lincoln. He's at the top of my list, too.