# Best Presidents

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidents/17076>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [December 21, 1999, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidents/17076 "1999-12-21T14:39:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [December 27, 1999, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidents/17076/41 "1999-12-27T19:17:00Z")

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> [@](#):
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> The Democrats stayed home because that is what they always do. It’s in the stats, man, the stats.

Well, yeah, but more in some years, less in others. Why more in 1994 than in 1990 or 1998? That’s the question.

> [@](#):
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> By the time 94 came around, gays in the military was a dead issue to most, true some Christian Coalition people would remember it

Trust me: in Nov. 94, they remembered it as if it had been last week.

> [@](#):
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> the American people make up their minds with their pocketbook. End of story.

Certainly true - but for all but a handful of very well-off Americans who were going to vote Republican anyway, the tax increase didn’t affect said pocketbooks. Now maybe in certain districts (up your way, for instance), ads were run which made voters _think_ the tax increase would hit them, but that’s another story. Again, judging by the letters in the Bristol Herald-Courier, such ads didn’t run in SW VA/NE TN.

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> Nixon ran the country in the black and got us out of Vietnam, two things that to me are very important.

Again, you come on back to Nixon running the country in the black. Again, he only did so for one year, and that his administration, overall, ran in the red.

Sorry you put so much faith in Clinton in '92. I must admit I was pretty skeptical at the time, and have voted for him only as being preferable to Bush or Dole. I don’t think history will be kind to him. Of course, I haven’t seen many candidates get very far in presidential politics that I wish had become president. RFK in '68, Bradley this year, and maybe Dole in '88 (but not in '96). That’s my list in the post-JFK era.

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**Author:** ![Phaedrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@Phaedrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phaedrus)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidents/17076/42 "1999-12-28T07:02:00Z")

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Good points and some good posts! It has been fun trading insights with you. Thank you for taking the time and thought to answer.

Sincerely Yours,

Phaedrus

* * *

For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes.

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**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 1999, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-presidents/17076/43 "1999-12-28T17:39:00Z")

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Hey, it’s been fun for me too, Phaedrus, and I’ve learned a few things from you in this discussion. Would it be out of line to ask what sort of office you held?

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