# Biggest Collapse of Relevance/Importance/Respect? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568 "2010-10-09T02:53:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/41 "2010-10-14T16:58:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Wishful thinking. Oh, it’s true. Before the election and just after it, all the rhetoric about hope and change was overblown to an almost comical degree. Now, even most Democrats only sorta approve of him. He’s gone from being the next JFK to being the next Jimmy Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/42 "2010-10-14T17:11:11Z")
Richard Nixon. Went from being a two term President to a criminal in two years. ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/43 "2010-10-14T17:13:47Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > Wishful thinking. > > Oh, it’s true. Before the election and just after it, all the rhetoric about hope and change was overblown to an almost comical degree. Now, even most Democrats only sorta approve of him. He’s gone from being the next JFK to being the next Jimmy Carter. His approval rating is exactly where Clinton’s and Reagan’s ratings were at similar points in their presidencies. So, he’s clearly doomed to irrelevancy. Actually, Reagan is a good answer to this question: He didn’t have a big cause that drove him post-presidency, and then he was hit with Alzheimer’s. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/44 "2010-10-14T17:14:11Z")
Gary Glitter. Everyone wanted to be in his gang untill they found out that it involved fucking children. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/45 "2010-10-14T18:43:08Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > > [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > > > The OP is looking for people who have “cratered.” I would say being one of the three major world powers at the end of WWII, arguably ending Hitler’s war machine, to being erased from history is pretty spectacular. For a fairly closed society that doesn’t like to admit to mistakes, that was huge. Dissidents in the Soviet Union were dealt with harshly up until the end of the empire, so for a group of such tough actors to say, “Hey, that guy was really off the reservation,” that’s pretty huge. > > The OP specified people, but, as you alluded, it could be successfully argued that the largest collapse of relevance/respect in the past 100 years was that of the USSR (or, to go wider, the entire European Communist bloc) from 1989-1992. In 1988 nobody expected European Communism to be peacefully swept away in a tide of indifference and exhaustion, but that’s pretty much what happened. Maybe it’s _irrelevant_ now, but there are plenty of people in Eastern Europe who still respect the communist leaders. Maybe not in Romania, where they suffered a lot under Ceausescu, but I’ve heard a lot of nostalgic moaning for the communist days. Everything was cheaper and more secure and the children respected their parents, etc., etc. A woman in my village in Bulgaria once went on an extended rant to me about how things were better when “our Todor” was in charge (referring to Bulgarian communist-era dictator Todor Zhivkov.) I’ve heard pretty much every bad thing ever blamed on democracy. I’ve even met some communist _Albanians_, which shocked me. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/46 "2010-10-14T18:44:16Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > Wishful thinking. > > Oh, it’s true. Before the election and just after it, all the rhetoric about hope and change was overblown to an almost comical degree. No, that was just an exaggeration by the Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/47 "2010-10-14T20:56:33Z")
I think Ross Perot may hold the land speed record for this. He went from common-sense savior of the American middle to demagogic joke almost overnight. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/48 "2010-10-14T21:06:37Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Further thinking about it, how about Stalin? At one time, dude was either the most, or second most powerful man in the world… he was considered a monster even by Politburo standards. Imagine if FDR or Churchill were “erased” from our cultural memory… that’s what happened to Stalin ten years after his death. Not just erased - Khrushchev himself (not exactly the nicest guy) commissioned a report on Stalin’s excesses, which was notable for being pretty darned complete and honest. Part of it, of course, was that de-Stalinization was how Khruschev consolidated power for himself - but I think there really was an honest desire to make sure that nothing like Stalin ever happened again. And, to the USSR’s credit, it never did. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/49 "2010-10-14T21:21:43Z")
> [@boilercake](#): > > Frankly, not sure where to put this so I imagine it will be put in its place shortly by the mods. > > What person in the last century in your opinion has cratered the most spectacularly/substantially? > > Mao? > > Paul McCartney? I guess the OP can’t respond, but how in the world would Paul McCartney be in this discussion? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/50 "2010-10-14T21:38:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@Diceman](#): > > > > Oh, it’s true. Before the election and just after it, all the rhetoric about hope and change was overblown to an almost comical degree. > > No, that was just an exaggeration by the Republicans. The quotes provided aren’t from Republicans. Not to mention that he got the Nobel Prize for - something or other. I’d nominate Mike Tyson - from the greatest boxer since Ali to convicted rapist and tattoo-faced joke in a few years. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/51 "2010-10-15T00:09:35Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I think Ross Perot may hold the land speed record for this. He went from common-sense savior of the American middle to demagogic joke almost overnight. And back to respected prophet for what he said about NAFTA. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/52 "2010-10-15T06:06:14Z")
> [@Clark\_Cello](#): > > > [@boilercake](#): > > > > Frankly, not sure where to put this so I imagine it will be put in its place shortly by the mods. > > > > What person in the last century in your opinion has cratered the most spectacularly/substantially? > > > > Mao? > > > > Paul McCartney? > > I guess the OP can’t respond, but how in the world would Paul McCartney be in this discussion? Member of the Beatles -\> member of Wings I’d rather kill myself in a bunker. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/53 "2010-10-15T11:40:27Z")
Look, rhetoric aside (and what presidency has lived up to the wildest partisan rhetoric said about it in the first heady days?), being president is hardly “cratering.” It’s not like he’s face-down drunk in an alleyway or something. If you took random people and said to them, “I’m sorry to say, my crystal ball says you’ll wind up as president of the United States,” many of them might be unhappy with the fate, but few would describe it as hitting rock bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568/54 "2010-10-15T12:41:06Z")
English footballer [Paul Gascoigne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_gascoigne)is an example. He was a mercurially talented player in the early 1990s, but a combination of injury, alcoholism and mental illness have turned him into a shambolic clown figure in the english media who’s regularly in court on drink-related charges. It takes a special effort to go from being the hero of the 1990 World Cup semi-final to turning up pissed at the scene of a tense armed siege, offering to negotiate with a crazed gunman by offering “a can of lager and some chicken”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-collapse-of-relevance-importance-respect/556568.md?page=2)