Who would you want as President

[randallscott35]

Top 5 Presidents

1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. FDR
4. Jefferson
5. T- Roos

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Top 5 Presidents

1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. FDR
4. Jefferson
5. T- Roos

I do not like FDR. He gets way more credit than he deserves. He knew about Pearl Harbor. He knew that was the only way he could get the American people on board to join WWII. Also, we are still paying for his "big gov't" philosophy. In addition, the man married his cousin.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

I do not like FDR. He gets way more credit than he deserves. He knew about Pearl Harbor. He knew that was the only way he could get the American people on board to join WWII. Also, we are still paying for his "big gov't" philosophy. In addition, the man married his cousin.

that's ridiculous. the only war really going on at that point was in europe. japan blindsided us, and then germany declared war to support japan against us. i'd imagine hitler bargained japan would keep us busy in the pacific, but FDR agreed with churchill to focus much of our forces on europe, as hitler was considered the bigger threat...


and of the four, i suppose truman. second choice would be wilson.

and randall, flip flop washington and lincoln. people forget how fragile our brand new 'united' states was in those early days.

Originally Posted by Danzig188

that's ridiculous. the only war really going on at that point was in europe. japan blindsided us, and then germany declared war to support japan against us. i'd imagine hitler bargained japan would keep us busy in the pacific, but FDR agreed with churchill to focus much of our forces on europe, as hitler was considered the bigger threat...


and of the four, i suppose truman. second choice would be wilson.

and randall, flip flop washington and lincoln. people forget how fragile our brand new 'united' states was in those early days.

No it is not ridiculous. You mean to tell me that Japan can move their navy within miles from Hawaii without FDR knowing? Come on.....it is widely accepted by WWII historians that FDR knew about the attack on Peral Harbor. What he didn't know was when. FDR was struggling to pull the US out of the depression. He also wanted the US to play more of a global role than being an isolationist country (which is what we were up until WWII). You have to remember that the US was neutral up until WWII.

What is neat about Washington is that he was tall. I believe he was like 6'1. Back then that was very tall. Washington was the brightest of man, but he physical stature was very respected and that is one of the reasons why they selected him as President. But I agree, he should be #1.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

What is neat about Washington is that he was tall. I believe he was like 6'1. Back then that was very tall. Washington was the brightest of man, but he physical stature was very respected and that is one of the reasons why they selected him as President. But I agree, he should be #1.

i have read several books about washington, as well as the other founding fathers. amazing we had so many right men for the job, they were all around when we needed them most. he was imposing-and very standoffish. matter of fact, a man was dared to go up to washington at a social gathering and pat him on the back when he said hello. he said the look he got made him very, VERY sorry for doing so! lol it's funny how many places you can visit up and down the east coast and see signs saying 'washington slept here'.

[GenuineRisk]

Of course, Truman's approval ratings were in the toilet at more than one point, and he had his own scandals to deal with. History has been kinder to him than his contemporaries were. I like Truman (LOVED McCullough's biography of him), but it's interesting how history shapes things.

Famous Truman quote, on the firing of McArthur: "I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail."

Man did not pull punches, which got him in trouble a lot.

In fact, here's a link to a TIME article from 1973, full of Truman quotes:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...romoid=googlep

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

No it is not ridiculous. You mean to tell me that Japan can move their navy within miles from Hawaii without FDR knowing? Come on.....it is widely accepted by WWII historians that FDR knew about the attack on Peral Harbor. What he didn't know was when. FDR was struggling to pull the US out of the depression. He also wanted the US to play more of a global role than being an isolationist country (which is what we were up until WWII). You have to remember that the US was neutral up until WWII.

i disagree that this is widely accepted. i know there has been some who suggested there is more to the pearl harbor story, just like some believe oswald didn't act alone.

there were those who believed we should pander to hitler (charles lindbergh leaps to mind) as well as those who were isolationists. but how letting japan attack was going to send us to europe, i don't know.....
the u.s. wasn't necessarily neutral, not with our lend-lease program. we hadn't achieved superpower status, that came with the war.
but in all my readings about the war, and all the shows i've seen on history and discovery, i have not seen anything that tells me FDR allowed us to be hit like that and not be prepared.

after all, if he knew--we wouldn't have gotten our navy destroyed, we'd have been ready for this attack. japan would still have been the bad guy--and we still would have had people in an uproar that they tried to attack.

as for japan moving their navy without us knowing--you are aware how old radar is, and what it really came into wide use? you also know how huge the pacific ocean is....not hard to imagine them moving that close.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

I do not like FDR. He gets way more credit than he deserves. He knew about Pearl Harbor. He knew that was the only way he could get the American people on board to join WWII. Also, we are still paying for his "big gov't" philosophy. In addition, the man married his cousin.

To each his own, I don't know where you get the Pearl Harbor info b/c its wrong.

Originally Posted by randallscott35

To each his own, I don't know where you get the Pearl Harbor info b/c its wrong.

You can get that information in any WWII history book. Or get it in any conspiracy book, or in any FDR biography.

And if you want a source, read Churchill's "The Grand Alliance." This series on WWII actually won a Nobel Peace Prize.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

You can get that information in any WWII history book. Or get it in any conspiracy book, or in any FDR biography.

LOL!!!! A conspiracy book? Great way to back yourself up.

Originally Posted by Sightseek

LOL!!!! A conspiracy book? Great way to back yourself up.

Consirpacy books are some of the best books about what really happened. But it is up to the reader to decide what is real and what isn't. It is hard to ignore when FDR's "friend" admits that FDR knew about Pearl Harbor .

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by eurobounce

Consirpacy books are some of the best books about what really happened. But it is up to the reader to decide what is real and what isn't. It is hard to ignore when FDR's "friend" admits that FDR knew about Pearl Harbor .

Please scroll to "Disillusionment" :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory

and "rumors":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor