Which of these candidates ...

[Tender Branson]

Discuss.

[King]

Herman I guess.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

The one candidate Reagan actually endorsed for any political office. Dr. Paul

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

The one candidate Reagan actually endorsed for any political office. Dr. Paul

[Phony Moderate]

The one candidate Reagan actually endorsed for any political office. Dr. Paul

So Ron Paul is a warmongering police statist?

[specific_name]

None of them are even close. Isn't that the whole problem? The Right wants another Regan to paint Obama as another Carter, but it hasn't worked. Not one person in this field has anywhere near the charisma possessed by Regan or Obama for that matter.

If we are trying to identify which living Republican might most resemble Regan, we'd have to choose a few criteria. One, he should be something of a throwback to an older era with connections to an earlier contender who was "before his time." Being sympathetic to Goldwater here. Two, charisma and speaking ability. Three, an ideologue who can successfully hide how extreme his positions are through sheer likability and enough flexibility to govern to the left when necessary, not showing all his cards. Oddly enough, Obama is shaping up to be a center left version of Regan or Nixon (maybe). No one on the right has the formula down. The best they can hope for is to win because Obama losses, none of these guys is going to win in their own right.

[feeblepizza]

The one candidate Reagan actually endorsed for any political office. Dr. Paul

I believe that Reagan endorsed Paul because Paul was the Republican candidate.

[Yelnoc]

Most likely Barack Obama.

I'm just thinking about electoral maps, btw.

[TheGlobalizer]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

[tpfkaw]

Like a cross between Cain and Huntsman, if that makes sense.

[Paul Kemp]

Obama, in terms of style.

[The Professor]

Why are you guys voting for Obama? You do realize he is black, right? Ronald Reagan was white. Anyways, I voted for Herman Cain

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

[Yelnoc]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Ron Paul.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

Washington wasn't too bad, though he pushed his authority at times. Jefferson was pretty good. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lincoln were war mongering idiots. Eisenhower did a lot of crooked things in his time, but wasn't too bad for the 50s I guess. Truman was responsible first for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese, then for dragging the US into a war with North Korea on unconstitutional pretenses leading to thousands of more deaths. Polk was acceptable.

[Yelnoc]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

Washington wasn't too bad, though he pushed his authority at times. Jefferson was pretty good. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lincoln were war mongering idiots. Eisenhower did a lot of crooked things in his time, but wasn't too bad for the 50s I guess. Truman was responsible first for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese, then for dragging the US into a war with North Korea on unconstitutional pretenses leading to thousands of more deaths. Polk was acceptable.

But what makes Cleveland and Coolidge better than those eight presidents?

[feeblepizza]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

Washington wasn't too bad, though he pushed his authority at times. Jefferson was pretty good. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lincoln were war mongering idiots. Eisenhower did a lot of crooked things in his time, but wasn't too bad for the 50s I guess. Truman was responsible first for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese, then for dragging the US into a war with North Korea on unconstitutional pretenses leading to thousands of more deaths. Polk was acceptable.

But what makes Cleveland and Coolidge better than those eight presidents?

Two words: fiscal restraint

[Yelnoc]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

Washington wasn't too bad, though he pushed his authority at times. Jefferson was pretty good. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lincoln were war mongering idiots. Eisenhower did a lot of crooked things in his time, but wasn't too bad for the 50s I guess. Truman was responsible first for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese, then for dragging the US into a war with North Korea on unconstitutional pretenses leading to thousands of more deaths. Polk was acceptable.

But what makes Cleveland and Coolidge better than those eight presidents?

Two words: fiscal restraint

And this is better than, for example, instituting the precedent of two terms rather than becoming President-for-Life?  Or holding the nation together during its civil war?  Or doubling the size of the United States while keeping the slavery question from becoming divisive?  I can go on and on and on. 

Heck, Coolidge's "fiscal restraint" is largely responsibility for the Great Depression.  He also let organized crime flourish by doing nothing about Prohibition once it became obvious it wasn't working.  All he was good for was being in the right place at the right time.  Cleveland can at least claim to be a good president, though calling him the "greatest" doesn't make it so.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Coolidge limited himself to killing American citizens.

[TheGlobalizer]

I'll just say that I think it's a bit foolhardy and myopic for people in 2011 to speculate on the quality of presidents 100+ years ago, at least to any level of detail.

Times were different, America was different.  I'd be personally reluctant to go beyond Nixon in evaluating the quality of a president.  (And, notwithstanding Watergate, he's probably the best of the lot, with Reagan second and Clinton third.)

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

Washington wasn't too bad, though he pushed his authority at times. Jefferson was pretty good. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lincoln were war mongering idiots. Eisenhower did a lot of crooked things in his time, but wasn't too bad for the 50s I guess. Truman was responsible first for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese, then for dragging the US into a war with North Korea on unconstitutional pretenses leading to thousands of more deaths. Polk was acceptable.

But what makes Cleveland and Coolidge better than those eight presidents?

Two words: fiscal restraint

And this is better than, for example, instituting the precedent of two terms rather than becoming President-for-Life?  Or holding the nation together during its civil war?  Or doubling the size of the United States while keeping the slavery question from becoming divisive?  I can go on and on and on. 

Heck, Coolidge's "fiscal restraint" is largely responsibility for the Great Depression.  He also let organized crime flourish by doing nothing about Prohibition once it became obvious it wasn't working.  All he was good for was being in the right place at the right time.  Cleveland can at least claim to be a good president, though calling him the "greatest" doesn't make it so.

I didn't say he was perfect, I said he was good. He wasn't responsible for the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve was responsible for setting things in motion while Herbert Hoover was responsible for making the broadest attempts by the American government to "rescue" a falling economy and managed to fail miserably. He cut taxes and cut government size sufficiently to create the Roaring Twenties (though the Fed was part of it, it certainly wasn't the larger factor) and presided through one of the most prosperous times of the US. He didn't end prohibition despite opposing it, but that was on constitutional grounds. He supported the civil rights movement of the time (unlike KKK supporting Woodrow Wilson) and attempted to end lynching.

Really, things went bad once Herbert Hoover, a certified moron, took the helm, hit a small bump in the form of a stock market crash similar to one that had rocked 1920, and proceeded to utterly cock things up through everything a government shouldn't do during a recession. Coolidge did some bad things, but unlike four of those "best presidents" he didn't go in for mass murder.

[Yelnoc]

Politically: Palin.

Talks a tough game about the size and influence of government, but ultimately is just a conservative statist and wants to redesign government to their liking.

Reagan is so profoundly overrated, it's ridiculous.  But then, there hasn't been many decent presidents of note in the past 50 years, so he's a big fish in a small pond.

Reagan is probably one of the best presidents in the past 50 years, but that isn't saying much. I think many of his advisers forced him to tone down a lot of his more radical ideas. He still wasn't that great.

The best president the US has had is Grover Cleveland, followed by Calvin Coolidge. Severely underrated by historians making lists of "best president", since going by them the "best president" is the one who acts the most like a king and flaunts his power.

Better than Washington, Jefferson, Polk, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman?

Washington wasn't too bad, though he pushed his authority at times. Jefferson was pretty good. Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lincoln were war mongering idiots. Eisenhower did a lot of crooked things in his time, but wasn't too bad for the 50s I guess. Truman was responsible first for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese, then for dragging the US into a war with North Korea on unconstitutional pretenses leading to thousands of more deaths. Polk was acceptable.

But what makes Cleveland and Coolidge better than those eight presidents?

Two words: fiscal restraint

And this is better than, for example, instituting the precedent of two terms rather than becoming President-for-Life?  Or holding the nation together during its civil war?  Or doubling the size of the United States while keeping the slavery question from becoming divisive?  I can go on and on and on. 

Heck, Coolidge's "fiscal restraint" is largely responsibility for the Great Depression.  He also let organized crime flourish by doing nothing about Prohibition once it became obvious it wasn't working.  All he was good for was being in the right place at the right time.  Cleveland can at least claim to be a good president, though calling him the "greatest" doesn't make it so.

I didn't say he was perfect, I said he was good. He wasn't responsible for the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve was responsible for setting things in motion while Herbert Hoover was responsible for making the broadest attempts by the American government to "rescue" a falling economy and managed to fail miserably. He cut taxes and cut government size sufficiently to create the Roaring Twenties (though the Fed was part of it, it certainly wasn't the larger factor) and presided through one of the most prosperous times of the US. He didn't end prohibition despite opposing it, but that was on constitutional grounds. He supported the civil rights movement of the time (unlike KKK supporting Woodrow Wilson) and attempted to end lynching.

Really, things went bad once Herbert Hoover, a certified moron, took the helm, hit a small bump in the form of a stock market crash similar to one that had rocked 1920, and proceeded to utterly cock things up through everything a government shouldn't do during a recession. Coolidge did some bad things, but unlike four of those "best presidents" he didn't go in for mass murder.

Oh come on.  Are you seriously calling Lincoln, Truman, and the Roosevelts "mass murders"?  Really?  REALLY?  The man who held the union together, the leader of the progressive movement, the savior of Europe (face it, Germany could have established the Reich if it had been in a straight up fight with the Soviets) or the man who saved millions of Americans lives by dropping the bombs (which I note killed less than the firebombing campaign that had been underway). 

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Face it, Libertarians have no problem with nazism as long as it isn't inside America.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

He's a libertarian. Libertarians are only allowed to like Cleavland and Coolidge, if any president.