Best post Eisenhower Republican President.

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In summary, Reagan was the best Republican President after Eisenhower. He was successful while facing many difficulties, and he was good at foreign affairs.

Who was the best post-Eisenhower Republican President?


  • Total voters
    23
  • #1
wasteofo2
478
2
In your opinion, who's been the best Republican President after Eisenhower? I excluded Eisenhower because he's really not comprable to and Republican that came after him; the party changed so much, and so did America. Of course Republicans and America are constantly in flux, but it just seems that it's easier to compare the 70's to now than it is to compare the 50's to now.

In my opinion, Nixon was the best.

People always kinda write off Nixon because of watergate, but that's a kinda ridiculous reason. Watergate was just political dirty tricks, stuff tons of politicians do. Sure it was bad, and he certainly shouldn't have done it, but it wasn't nearly as bad as things Reagan and Bush have done. I mean, Reagan sold weapons to terrorists to fund other terrorists in Nicaragua, and Bush totally fabricated an entire war. The only reason Nixon was forced to resign and Bush and Reagan weren't was because Nixon had to deal with a large Democratic majority in Congress, while under Reagan, Republicans had the majority in the Senate for most of his term, as has been the case with Bush.

Besides Nixon not being the worst Republican, there are also lots of good things that come to mind about him. He got China and the U.S. to become valuable trade partners. If you look at how China has done since they've become trade partners with the U.S., and how the former USSR has done since it collapsed, I think you'll find China's doing a hell of a lot better comparatively, and is on a definate upward trend, while Russia and the rest of the USSR are in very indefinate places right now.

Anyway, what do you think?
 
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  • #2
Nixon was a slimebag even without watergate. I vote for Bush Sr.
 
  • #3
rachmaninoff said:
Nixon was a slimebag even without watergate.
So was every president though, every single one.
rachmaninoff said:
I vote for Bush Sr.
What was so good about him?
 
  • #4
wasteofo2 said:
What was so good about him?
He wasn't Nixon, Reagan, or W.

(also, he did pretty well with Gorbachev, diplomatically).
 
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  • #5
rachmaninoff said:
He wasn't Nixon, Reagan, or W.

(also, he did pretty well with Gorbachev, diplomatically).
If you're going on which president was least like Nixon/Reagan/W, why not choose Ford? He seemed pretty decent...
 
  • #6
My mom liked Nixon, and I'm really not sure why...

...anyway, I voted for Reagan.
 
  • #7
I'd vote for Bush senior. His "voodoo economics" quip gets him points with me.

I also liked that he seemed to have a clue about how things have to work together, in order to work for a society as diverse as the US or more broadly the global society. I liked that he didn't try to over-reach himself.

Reagan was an ex-hollywood rancher type, Nixon had watergate, Bush junior is an idiot.

But I haven't voted because I'm feeling lazy.I'm curious what other people say first - maybe I'll change my mind.
 
  • #8
When you see the line-up like that it makes one realize the Republican Presidents haven’t been that great overall. Nixon's foreign policy (with Kissinger) was very good, but Watergate can’t be forgiven. Ford didn’t do much of anything. Reagan had more popularity overall. Bush Sr. was too out-of-touch with the common American. Bush Jr. is a complete embarrassment and the worst president of either party in modern history.

So I vote for Reagan.
 
  • #9
Reagan was probibaly one of the best presidents of history, being the most successful while facing the most difficulties. Firstly getting America out of the worst depression since the great one, and secondly almost singlehandedly destroying the utmost dangers of communism

btw if you want to talk about embarrasment, think about the president who lied under oath about cheating on the first lady.
 
  • #10
Wishbone said:
Reagan was probibaly one of the best presidents of history, being the most successful while facing the most difficulties. Firstly getting America out of the worst depression since the great one, and secondly almost singlehandedly destroying the utmost dangers of communism

btw if you want to talk about embarrasment, think about the president who lied under oath about cheating on the first lady.
We both agree about Reagan in comparison to others on the list...

However, we've already debated that Reagan "helped" to "expedite" the fall of an already ailing Soviet Union -- not quite "single handed" -- I wish people would stop exaggerating this.

And there is an entire thread that Clinton lied but no one died -- I also wish people would stop exaggerating this, and quit pointing a finger at Clinton when he isn't of discussion.
 
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  • #11
Nixon did a good job with foreign affairs, reached out to China, ended the Vietnam war etc, but he broke the law and violated the constitution. He also took us off the gold standard which had a ripple effect on the economy.

Ford didn't do anything, so he gets my vote.

Reagan was the reason I left the republican party. His pro-business, anti-labor, deficit spending, and redistribution of wealth to the wealthy policies, not to mention his illegal arms deals were enough to convince me that the Grand Old Party was anything but grand anymore.

George H. Bush I believe wanted to be a good President he just wasn't capable enough. His policy of non-involvement in Arab Arab affairs was the reason Saddam Hussein thought he could invade Kuwait in the first place. That failure of diplomacy has further destabilized the region.

And Dubya is the worst president in history. At least Harding admitted that he was in over his head and used the office ceremonially
 
  • #12
I voted Ford because it makes me laugh when I say his name.
 
  • #13
Nixon was the most versatile Republican president - so much so that he rates as the best Republican president and the worst Republican president.

Being the only president to be forced to resign pretty much cements his spot as the worst president, ever.

If you're weighing what was accomplished during a president's term, Nixon would be the most effective.

He started diplomatic relations with both the Soviet Union and China. His Soviet diplomacy resulted in the first nuclear arms treaty.

When it comes to civil rights, Kennedy usually gets the accolades, but it was Johnson, using Kennedy's name as a hammer, that actually got civil rights laws passed, and it was Nixon that actually got them implemented. The 1964 Civil Rights Bill really didn't have much practical effect in the South until Nixon did some low key work with the southern states to desegregate schools as a part of his 'New Federalism' policies.

He unsuccessfully pushed for the Equal Rights Amendment, but behind the scenes, he had sexual discrimination added and included into Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and added sexual discrimination provisions to the guidelines for its Office of Federal Contract Compliance (i.e. - sexual discrimination became a money issue vs. a political issue).

He founded the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department for Natural Resources.

His proposed welfare reforms, the Family Assistance Program, failed but perhaps his policies were just ahead of their time. Clinton got nearly identical reforms passed about 20 years later.

The downside was how Nixon's New Federalism evolved. Nixon's New Federalism made the federal government responsible for collecting money (via income taxes, etc), but redistributing that money back to the states, who would be empowered to spend it as they saw fit. In practice, conditions have tended to be attached to the money, forcing states to conform to national standards and norms - something that turned out to be much more effective than trying to get national legislation. While it was touted as empowering states, I think the net effect is pull more power back to the folks distributing the money.

All in all, Nixon benefited minorities and women, helped create a cleaner environment, and established serious diplomatic relations with the US's two most formidable military competitors.

Hmm, :uhh: maybe I should change that and call him the best Democratic president. :rofl: Actually, both Nixon and Johnson would be my type of Democrat - excluding how they dealt with the Viet Nam war, both were very pragmatic and were able to get practical results behind the headlines even if the headline issue didn't meet with total success.
 
  • #14
I agree with waste and BobG that watergate overshadows Nixon’s accomplishments. Reagan's policies remain controversial in my mind, but at least he did not embarrass Americans the way Dubya has. Bush Sr. tried to promote a "kinder, gentler nation," which I believe is needed domestically. Yet it seemed to be just lip service, as he did nothing in regard to issues such as health care. Since Ford neither accomplished anything in particular nor caused damage, I guess there is something to be said for that.
 
  • #15
Wishbone said:
btw if you want to talk about embarrasment, think about the president who lied under oath about cheating on the first lady.
Or perhaps we could stay on the topic of post-Eisenhower Republicans.

You want to talk about embarrasment, talk about the President who sold weapons to terrorists to fund other terrorists, then "forgot" about it.
 
  • #16
SOS2008 said:
We both agree about Reagan in comparison to others on the list...
However, we've already debated that Reagan "helped" to "expedite" the fall of an already ailing Soviet Union -- not quite "single handed" -- I wish people would stop exaggerating this.
Thats why I said almost singlehandedly, do not misquote me. And it was ailing becuase of Regans actions, try to downplay it as you wish, I'm not going to get into a semantic argument here.

And there is an entire thread that Clinton lied but no one died -- I also wish people would stop exaggerating this, and quit pointing a finger at Clinton when he isn't of discussion.

Cheezy catch phrases aside, You brought up embarrasments, so I simply alluded to a greater embarrassment. You don't have to listen, or in fact, respond to anything you don't want to.
 
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  • #17
Nixon was probably the best of a bad bunch.

Illegal wiretaps led to his downfall so hopefully history will repeat itself.
 
  • #18
wasteofo2 said:
Or perhaps we could stay on the topic of post-Eisenhower Republicans.
You want to talk about embarrasment, talk about the President who sold weapons to terrorists to fund other terrorists, then "forgot" about it.
Well in all fairness he did have Alzheimers disease.:rofl:

I agree with you BobG about Nixon. I used to consider him as one of the best presidents of the 20th century, until I learned more about his domestic spying policies. I am quite a Libertarian when it comes to the government using it's powers against the people.
 
  • #19
Skyhunter said:
Well in all fairness he did have Alzheimers disease.:rofl:
Either way, great president :rolleyes:
Skyhunter said:
I agree with you BobG about Nixon. I used to consider him as one of the best presidents of the 20th century, until I learned more about his domestic spying policies. I am quite a Libertarian when it comes to the government using it's powers against the people.
Well in all fairness, he was a crazy paranoid motherfuker.
 
  • #20
Wishbone said:
Thats why I said almost singlehandedly, do not misquote me. And it was ailing becuase of Regans actions, try to downplay it as you wish, I'm not going to get into a semantic argument here.
I did not misquote you, however I extend my apology for not quoting your statement in entirety. And by all means I too would like to avoid a semantic argument. Still, even adding "almost" is an exaggeration IMO. The arms race existed throughout the Cold War.

The Cold War was waged by means of economic pressure, selective aid, intimidation, diplomatic maneuvering, propaganda, assassination, low-intensity military operations and full-scale proxy war from 1947 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War

Regan was president from 1981 to 1989, the last eight years of 44 years of the Cold War.

ECONOMIC COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION

Excerpts from Economics and the Arms Race: A Two-Edged Sword, David Adams, Political Affairs, September/October 1991

INTRODUCTION

The article excerpted in the following pages was written in 1991 before the final collapse of the Soviet Union, but it describes some of the economic processes that were most responsible for it. As described, these factors resulted from the arms race and the culture of war.

A similar analysis was made about the same time by the Soviet economist Otto Latsis, who says in an article in the World Marxist Review that the Soviet "war-time economic model" had been seen a "miracle." "The glitter of that miracle blinded us for decades, and the command-adminisrative methods of the extensively developing economy took firm root in the country." For years, the Soviet government was running in the red, but this was not revealed until a session of the Supreme Soviet in October 1988. By then the deficit amounted to 120 billion roubles which was almost a quarter of the entire government budget, according to the Latsis article.

Economic factors were linked to political and psychological factors. As Latsis says, "the gloomy background of the worsening market situation ... has a depressing effect on people." Also, the explosion of the Chernobyl atomic power plant and the war in Afghanistan had drained the country both economically and psychologically. Some idea of the psychological effect can be obtained from accounts of what the soldiers went through during the ten years of the war (see US military analysis <http://leav-www.army.mil/fmso/fmsopubs/issues/waraf.htm>). [Broken]

As contradictions mounted, the Soviet people became more and more cynical about the propaganda of government-controlled media. It was common to hear the Russian people say that you could find truth anywhere except in Pravda and the news anywhere except in Izvestia. This was exacerbated by the propaganda warfare carried out by the West in Radio Free Europe and by dissidents in self-published Samizdat.

In the end, however, the Soviet Union had devoted its economy to the arms race with the West, and it was a losing cause. As explained in the following pages, capitalism is able to profit from the culture of war while socialism only suffers from it.
[URL]http://www.culture-of-peace.info/soviet-collapse/introduction.html/url]

Wishbone said:
Cheezy catch phrases aside, You brought up embarrasments, so I simply alluded to a greater embarrassment. You don't have to listen, or in fact, respond to anything you don't want to.
I believe all acknowledge the title of the thread is a catch phrase from bumper stickers/anti-war slogans. Fair enough about the comment regarding embarrassment from either party. You are relatively new to PF (welcome), so don't know how often Clinton has been used to excuse Bush's poor performance as president. I'll leave it at that since this is OT.
 
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  • #21
I voted Reagan because I really liked his "small government" philosophy.

In one of his speaches he stated that "Government is NOT the solution to our problem, Government IS the problem" <---- nail on the head.

Wow, has the Republican party ever taken a turn from those days.
Now they want to regulate EVERYTHING.

PRAISE JEEEESUS!
 
  • #22
Wishbone said:
I simply alluded to a greater embarrassment.
Do you really believe Clinton was more embarrassing than Dubya? Not even close. Dubya takes first prize on every level – poor speaking ability, stupidity, dishonesty, incompetence, greed, and even delusions of grandeur (to name a few).
 
  • #23
I voted for Nixon. His domestic program was one I could respect ("We are all Keynesians now") and he got us talking to China.

What happened to him later was a tragedy (in the Aristotelian sense).
 

What is the definition of a "Best post Eisenhower Republican President?"

A "Best post Eisenhower Republican President" refers to a Republican President who served after Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency, and is considered to be one of the most successful and influential leaders of the Republican party.

Who are considered to be the top contenders for the title of "Best post Eisenhower Republican President?"

The top contenders for the title of "Best post Eisenhower Republican President" include Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. These presidents are often praised for their conservative policies and their impact on the Republican party.

What were some of the key accomplishments of the "Best post Eisenhower Republican Presidents?"

The "Best post Eisenhower Republican Presidents" are often credited with several key accomplishments, including economic growth, tax reforms, promoting conservative values, and making significant contributions to foreign policy and national security.

What were some of the major challenges faced by the "Best post Eisenhower Republican Presidents?"

The "Best post Eisenhower Republican Presidents" faced various challenges during their terms, including economic recessions, political scandals, domestic and foreign conflicts, and criticism from opposing parties. However, they were able to navigate these challenges and maintain strong leadership.

How did the "Best post Eisenhower Republican Presidents" impact the Republican party and the United States as a whole?

The "Best post Eisenhower Republican Presidents" had a significant impact on the Republican party and the United States as a whole. They helped shape the party's conservative principles, implemented policies that led to economic growth and prosperity, and played crucial roles in shaping the country's foreign and domestic policies. Their legacies continue to influence the Republican party and American politics today.

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