11/03/2004

"Great" President

We have witnessed another presidential election. Bush wins! But what kind of president will he be or what kind of president has he been so far? Does the outcome of Iraq effect how we view President Bush? What makes a great president? We all know the names George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln; we all consider them great presidents. What about those that are not admired? "The Great Engineer, Herbert Hoover, took the oath of office in 1929 as the most admired politician in America and left four years later at the depth of the Great Depression as its most reviled." Was this president just a victim of circumstance that perhaps was started before his administration and was beyond his control?

Who do we consider great presidents and who do we consider not so great? Is a great president determined by circumstance and what he does during that circumanstance?

4 comments:

Ernie said...

Joe, you left out any more modern Presidents like JFK or FDR. Whenever someone speaks of a great President, I think that it simply is referring to a great time in America's history. When life is good for the majority of people, there you will find a President making a name for himself.

Anonymous said...

I would have to say that the decisions that presidents make while they are in office play a huge role in whether we consider them great or not. I don't think that just because it is a "happy time" in history that makes them great. I don't think that the Civil war was a very happy time in history, but the decisions made by Abraham Lincoln at that time were great decisions. That is why Lincoln is considered great. Also take for instance Bill Clinton, he took office when the economy was doing great and people were happy, but he certainly shouldn't be considered a great president. He was a womanizer and unfaithful husband. The decsions that a president makes is what makes him great.

Ernie said...

Great American Presidents are remembered for the decisions they make in office. Many people in our country began to dislike George Bush after he took our country to war. American's have a history of getting really squeamish when it comes to seeing any of our brave service men and women dying or being injured day after day. I personally think that Bush doesn't get any sort of credit owed to him by his advesaries, for making the tough decisions that he had to make in a time of the world that was marred by ever changing conditions.

Iraq is an issue that could have lost the election for him, but in the end Americans decided that national morality was a bigger issue. I really feel good with the condition of the world and don't really care if the Europeans currently think that we are the stupidest country in the world. Also, have you all heard of the many people that are moving from this country to Candada because they don't want live under President Bush's rule? I hope that they stay there.

Dr. Tufte said...

Umm ... where's the managerial economics here?

There's a saying that I'm paraphrasing that great presidents are lucky to have served in exciting times.

BTW: Lincoln nearly lost his reelection bid in 1864.