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Discussion » Questions » History » Challenge: Name which US president (only ONE) was the most loved or most liked or most respected by the highest majority of people.
Randy D

Challenge: Name which US president (only ONE) was the most loved or most liked or most respected by the highest majority of people.

It’s extremely easy to vilify, degrade, badmouth or insult when it comes to discussions about presidents of the United States.  How about if it went a different direction?  Could you name the ONE US president who either by evidence or merely in your opinion was the most loved or most liked or most respected by the highest majority of US citizens?  You might be surprised to learn that even those presidents most remembered fondly in hindsight actually had high percentages of detractors, to include people who hated them vehemently. Some of that negativity had to do with concrete issues and some of it had to do with the man himself.  The passage of time and the information that is chosen to be put in history books or recalled by the media has a strange way of being picked and chosen by people who seem to be suffering amnesia.
  The reason you’re being asked to name only one of them is that there may have been good qualities and bad qualities about many of them, and this would become a question of a ranking system that compares many former presidents on a variety of unending factors.  If instead you just name one person, it’s easier to evaluate whether or not he fits the bill  

 

Inspired by this question that was posted by another member: https://answermug.com/forums/topic/118342/how-many-presidents-have-served-since-you-were-born-thirteen-fo/view/post_id/844960
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Posted - October 28, 2020
Tags : None

Responses


  • 44608
    I'll go with Eisenhower. Being a WWII general helped a lot.
      October 28, 2020 10:09 AM MDT
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  • 53509

     

      There was a whole swath of anti-Dwight people from the time he announced his plan to run for president and continuing until after he had long left the office. Most of them decried that he was not even remotely qualified for the task, while others predicted World War III was the only possible outcome of having him lead the US.  Once he was elected, he was faced with stifling opposition to his efforts; his memoirs outline the fights he endured and the venom he had to face because of those who were against him.  While he never assumed that being president of the US would be an easy job, he both spoke and wrote of how he had been caught off guard by how strongly people turned on him when he won the election. 
    ~

      October 28, 2020 10:55 AM MDT
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  • 44608
    It was just a guess. Thanks, though. I don't study much history.
      October 29, 2020 11:14 AM MDT
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  • 1953
    Abraham Lincoln
      October 28, 2020 10:15 AM MDT
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  • 53509

     

      Abraham Lincoln was deeply hated for many years of his political career by thousands of people (keep in mind that the population was much smaller in the 1830s and 1860s), something that even followed his legacy after his death. 

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      October 28, 2020 10:27 AM MDT
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  • Yep, Lincoln was the most hated man in America at the time of his death. Even his political allies found an exceptional number of faults with him. His death by assassination made a martyr of him and created the iconic myth of today.
      October 28, 2020 1:35 PM MDT
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  • 53509

      That's not what I was saying at all.  Nice twist.

    :|
      October 28, 2020 9:22 PM MDT
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  • 6477
    For me it's Obama. Yes, I hear that a fair few of certain types didn't like him and have lots to say on the subject. But he was well liked. Had be been able to stand for election again, I do believe he would have won. He was doing a good job and that's evidenced by the fact that his programmes were paying off at the time Trump came in and took credit for them. 

    I remember when he was elected, my friends seemed to think the man could walk on water - I knew that their hopes were too high, he's just one man -what they expected was impossible - but he sure did make a lot of progress.. 

    Obama did improve America's rep internationally.. 

    He wasn't the biggest fan of Brit-land.. and he said so honestly. But we respected him. 

    For me, what I admire more than anything is his ability to speak intelligently, informatively, reasoningly, and with humour. The man is inspiring and amazing to listen to. He has class!
      October 28, 2020 4:00 PM MDT
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  • 19937
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
      October 29, 2020 9:48 AM MDT
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  • 5451
    My guess would be John F. Kennedy.  Gallup began approval ratings in 1937, so out of the presidents that had approval ratings, John F. Kennedy had the highest lowest approval rating and the lowest highest disapproval rating.  His approval rating was never below 56% and his disapproval rating was never above 30%.  He also has the highest approval average of 70.1%.
      October 29, 2020 7:48 PM MDT
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  • 53509

      Detractors for years had attacked the Kennedy family for their Irish roots and their Catholicism, and when the probability of the US presidency came into play, they stepped up their fear and distrust ten-fold.  I cannot speak to the supposed "logic" to their argument as to why Irish heritage  or Catholic faith signaled the downfall of the country if a president had that pedigree, but then again, this was the same mentality that abhorred ethnicity, race, national origin, 'wrong' religion, etc. etc. etc.  The way his father was connected to and had been enriched by nefarious individuals in less-than-legal enterprises was hushed up, but not completely unknown to large numbers of people.  His slow march toward appeasing the push for civil rights didn't earn him a lot of fans among the Deep South. Also, JFK was an early proponent of US involvement in Southeast Asia and its escalation as military advisors were being sent over there openly, and the CIA clandestinely.  Over all, the Kennedy legacy with its Camelot façade relied heavily on spin that resembled the media remaining silent about previous president Franklin D. Roosevelt's polio-mangled legs, and turning a blind eye to the bedroom antics with Hollywood "royalty".  As such, not many people remember, or not many people ever knew, all of the dirt surrounding Kennedy, resulting in the idol-like status he has with pie-eyed worshippers and approval ratings that didn't take into account all factors of his actions and non-actions.
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      October 30, 2020 6:32 PM MDT
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  • 34270
    George Washington.
      October 29, 2020 7:51 PM MDT
    2

  • 5835
    FDR was so loved that they had to amend the constitution to get him out of office.
      October 29, 2020 10:18 PM MDT
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  • 34270
    FDR died in office in 1945 one year into his forth term. The 22nd amendment was passed 1947....two years after his death.  The limit was not to apply to Truman. (FDR's VP)


      October 30, 2020 3:28 AM MDT
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