Was FDR the best President in American history?

[Charles Stucker]

FDR didn't make sure that we were bankrupt.

Actually he did just that. Socialist Security and the entire entitlement mentality can be laid squarely at the feet of FDR. Remove the cost of those monstrous infringements on our personal liberty and business profitability and you would see the US with both a far stronger economy and lower prospects of going bankrupt.

 

[rightwinger]

harding was a great president for he undid a lot of what wilson did in his "return to normalcy" presidency. But his greatest achievement was choosing "silent cal" coolidge as his veep, who went on to be the reagan of the roaring 20's.

omg!

I can't believe someone seriously posted this. Are the Conservatives really that dense? Harding and Coolidge Great Presidents?

Got Depression?

We got out of a deep depression in 1920-1921 and it only took TWO years because the Harding Administration didn't do any ham handed intervention and Coolidge presided over a little period of economic prosperity you might have heard of .. it was called "The Roaring Twenties".

Any more distortions of history you'd like to share with the rest of the class rightwinger?

Got Teapot Dome?

 

[LibocalypseNow]

No.

 

[MIPS]

omg!

I can't believe someone seriously posted this. Are the Conservatives really that dense? Harding and Coolidge Great Presidents?

Got Depression?

We got out of a deep depression in 1920-1921 and it only took TWO years because the Harding Administration didn't do any ham handed intervention and Coolidge presided over a little period of economic prosperity you might have heard of .. it was called "The Roaring Twenties".

Any more distortions of history you'd like to share with the rest of the class rightwinger?

Got Teapot Dome?

LOL, nice attempt at deflection.. hate to be the one to break it to you, but .....

 

[Contumacious]

or how does he rank?

One of the worst.

Top 3

Ape Lincoln

FDR

Bush

.

 

[rightwinger]

We got out of a deep depression in 1920-1921 and it only took TWO years because the Harding Administration didn't do any ham handed intervention and Coolidge presided over a little period of economic prosperity you might have heard of .. it was called "The Roaring Twenties".

Any more distortions of history you'd like to share with the rest of the class rightwinger?

Got Teapot Dome?

LOL, nice attempt at deflection.. hate to be the one to break it to you, but .....

Harding, Coolidge and Hoover did such a fine job of driving the country into the Great Depression that America refused to elect another Republican President for 20 years.

The only President who can rival this destruction of the GOP is George Bush

 

[MIPS]

Got Teapot Dome?

LOL, nice attempt at deflection.. hate to be the one to break it to you, but .....

Harding, Coolidge and Hoover did such a fine job of driving the country into the Great Depression that America refused to elect another Republican President for 20 years.

Explain exactly how the policies of either Harding or Coolidge caused or exacerbated the great depression, was it perchance the tea pot dome scandal that caused it? I don't know about anybody else but I for one can't wait to hear this.

 

[JimH52]

Well, I am a moderate and have listened to people who lived through the Hoover and FDR years and most of the people who lived during that period though he was GOLD. He was handed a disaster, in some ways what we had in 2009, and he made the most of it.

 

[Mr Natural]

My parents and in-laws were of the so called "Greatest Generation" and they loved Roosevelt.

 

[Kex]

Tough call, either him or Lincoln. Personally I'd say FDR was the greatest president for shaping America in what it is- richest and most powerful nation under the sun.

 

[rightwinger]

LOL, nice attempt at deflection.. hate to be the one to break it to you, but .....

Harding, Coolidge and Hoover did such a fine job of driving the country into the Great Depression that America refused to elect another Republican President for 20 years.

Explain exactly how the policies of either Harding or Coolidge caused or exacerbated the great depression, was it perchance the tea pot dome scandal that caused it? I don't know about anybody else but I for one can't wait to hear this.

First off...I refuse to even discuss Harding. He was an embarassment to the office and one of the most corrupt presidents in history

Coolidge did benefit initially from the prosperity of the roaring 20's. His hands off policy and deregulation of the financial sector and big business did lead to some boom years. His Secretary of Commerce, one Herbert Hoover assisted in turning a blind eye to business excesses which included widespread margin investments.

Hoover suffered from the stock market collapse nine months into his presidency. His initial reaction of allowing the market to self correct turned a major recession into a full blown Depression. He also pulled back spending which exacerbated the economic panic

All of which lead to the emergence of FDR and 20 straight years of Democratic leadership

 

[Charles Stucker]

Well, I am a moderate and have listened to people who lived through the Hoover and FDR years and most of the people who lived during that period though he was GOLD. He was handed a disaster, in some ways what we had in 2009, and he made the most of it.

For his party yes. For the nation no.
FDR was a top notch snake oil salesman, but the final analysis comes down hard on him. His policies made the depression worse than before, but his smooth PR kept him in the White House because he succeeded in being convincing over the radio.
Frankly I would prefer a president who actually made things better than one who talked a good game.
Obama seems set to try and follow FDR's footsteps, but it seems enough of the people are more savvy about how the media gets manipulated so he is apt to go down in disaster, though he does have a great deal of skill at "Blame Booooosh

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

It was the creation of massive Industry for the war dumb ass.

Well when you put it like that...

Eactly like that. The industry for war created jobs.

Taking money out of the private sector destroys jobs that the private sector would have created. In other words, jobs that are sustainable and actually add to the benefit of the economy by creating real wealth are destroyed.

 

[MIPS]

Harding, Coolidge and Hoover did such a fine job of driving the country into the Great Depression that America refused to elect another Republican President for 20 years.

Explain exactly how the policies of either Harding or Coolidge caused or exacerbated the great depression, was it perchance the tea pot dome scandal that caused it? I don't know about anybody else but I for one can't wait to hear this.

First off...I refuse to even discuss Harding. He was an embarassment to the office and one of the most corrupt presidents in history

LOL, when did you start "refusing to even discuss Harding"? was it before or after you were discussing him about 6 posts back in this thread? might this new found aversion to discussing Harding be rooted in the fact that you made yourself look like a fool trying to blame the Great Depression on him and then attempting to use the tea pot dome scandal (which there is no evidence that Harding WAS PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN) to deflect?

Coolidge did benefit initailly from the prosperity of the roaring 20's. His hands off policy and deregulation of the financial sector and big business did lead to some boom years.
His Secretary of Commerce, one Herbert Hoover assisted in turning a blind eye to business excesses which included widespread margin investments.

One question, how do you "turn a blind eye" to something that was perfectly legal at the time?

Hoover suffered from the stock market collapse nine months into his presidency. His initial reaction of allowing the market to self correct turned a major recession into a full blown Depression. He also pulled back spending which exacerbated the economic panic

Who the hell asked you about HOOVER ?

Still haven't heard you explain how it was that the policies of Harding and Cooldige caused or exacerbated the Great Depression...... once again rightwinger...

Care to go for a hat trick?

 

[Contumacious]

LOL, nice attempt at deflection.. hate to be the one to break it to you, but .....

Harding, Coolidge and Hoover did such a fine job of driving the country into the Great Depression that America refused to elect another Republican President for 20 years.

Explain exactly how the policies of either Harding or Coolidge caused

The Federal Reserve Board caused the depression.

or exacerbated the great depression,

:

Harding’s inchoate understanding of what was happening to the economy and why grandiose interventionist plans would only delay recovery is an extreme rarity among twentieth-century American presidents.

.

 

[Charles Stucker]

Harding’s inchoate understanding of what was happening to the economy and why grandiose interventionist plans would only delay recovery is an extreme rarity among twentieth-century American presidents.

So you agree that FDR and his grandiose interventionist plans made the great depression worse?

 

[Contumacious]

Harding’s inchoate understanding of what was happening to the economy and why grandiose interventionist plans would only delay recovery is an extreme rarity among twentieth-century American presidents.

So you agree that FDR and his grandiose interventionist plans made the great depression worse?

Abso-fucking-lutely.

By perpetrating a fraud upon the American people he got elected 4 times.

.

 

[Maple]

or how does he rank?

I read a book called the "forgotten man" about the great depression & FDR. Overall--FDR very smart man--much more so than we have today--actually spent 6 months in office, prior to cutting 100 MILLION out of the budget--something that was huge in the 1930's.

Some claim that by his spending actions he actually ended up extending the Great Depression--others or should I say liberals & this administration that he brought us out of it.

My opinion after reading this book--we had our little pops in employment gains that were not prolonged--& then we they would see unemployment rise again. In reality the only thing that brought us out of the great depression was WW2.

Could not agree more. And we can all see first hand how our new deal is working out in the 787 billion dollar stimulus bill that has not created one private sector job.

How's that hopey changey stuff workin out for ya???

 

[beowolfe]

or how does he rank?

I read a book called the "forgotten man" about the great depression & FDR. Overall--FDR very smart man--much more so than we have today--actually spent 6 months in office, prior to cutting 100 MILLION out of the budget--something that was huge in the 1930's.

Some claim that by his spending actions he actually ended up extending the Great Depression--others or should I say liberals & this administration that he brought us out of it.

My opinion after reading this book--we had our little pops in employment gains that were not prolonged--& then we they would see unemployment rise again. In reality the only thing that brought us out of the great depression was WW2.

It's been my experience that the vast majority of historians credit FDR with ending the Depression. Only recent wingnut conservatives are arguing the opposite.

 

[Contumacious]

or how does he rank?

I read a book called the "forgotten man" about the great depression & FDR. Overall--FDR very smart man--much more so than we have today--actually spent 6 months in office, prior to cutting 100 MILLION out of the budget--something that was huge in the 1930's.

Some claim that by his spending actions he actually ended up extending the Great Depression--others or should I say liberals & this administration that he brought us out of it.

My opinion after reading this book--we had our little pops in employment gains that were not prolonged--& then we they would see unemployment rise again. In reality the only thing that brought us out of the great depression was WW2.

It's been my experience that the vast majority of historians credit FDR with ending the Depression. Only recent wingnut conservatives are arguing the opposite.

Really?

How did he do it?

.