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DavidT8899 · 22-25, M
Actually,George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were the two greatest Presidents in history;Id put Washington somewhat ahead of Lincoln,although Lincoln was certainly great in his own right.But I would certainly agree that Regan and Trump are among the greatest Presidents of modern times.
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@DavidT8899 The last major study of presidents, conducted by Siena College in 2022, had Reagan rated at 18th best president and Trump at 43rd, of our 45 presidents That sounds about right. Lincoln and Washington were 2nd and 3rd, behind FDR. I would agree with you and put FDR lower than those two.
DavidT8899 · 22-25, M
@windinhishair Well,Id agree with the latter portion of your analysis and disagree with most of the first part.As far as Washington and Lincoln go,this is how I see it: Lincoln was the gold standard of Presidents,but Washington was the PLATINUM standard.
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@DavidT8899 Washington as first president could have made the office like a kingship. He didn't. By that alone, he has to rank right at the top.
DavidT8899 · 22-25, M
@windinhishair True enough.But most people don't realize that he wouldn't have had to make the office a literal kingship in order to drastically alter the course of history.He could have pushed for-and easily gotten -much more direct authority that what the office actually has. Imagine a system that still has checks and balances,but the President has been given much greater power to directly do things than what's current there.That would have drastically altered the course of American history.
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@DavidT8899 Yes,, it would have, and that idea is still around in the notion of a unitary president that Nixon believed in, and that Bill Barr used as justification for some of Trump's actions.
DavidT8899 · 22-25, M
@windinhishair Well,that's your opinion and you are entitled to it;I see Joe Bidens actions as being far more unitary then anything Trump did.As far as I'm concerned,one of Trumps flaws as President was that,dispite his bombast,he DIDNT use all of the direct powers afforded to him as President when he should have.
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@DavidT8899 Biden is far more restrained than Trump was. AG Barr functioned as Trump's personal attorney and wingman instead of his constitutional duty to serve the nation. He saw the result of his blind support on January 6 and has been working very hard to rehabilitate his own reputation. Fortunately history will record him as a toady for Trump and a failure as AG.
What extra-constitutional powers would you have wanted Trump to institute?
What extra-constitutional powers would you have wanted Trump to institute?