# Greatest American elimination game (game thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423 "2010-02-10T15:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/482 "2010-03-12T01:34:23Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > To be fair, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Winfrey weren’t eligible for this contest; of the six who were eligible only one isn’t in our top ten.😉 Good point. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/483 "2010-03-12T03:00:39Z")
I would like to change my vote from Edison to the Wrights. so [del]Edison[/del] **Wrights** ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/484 "2010-03-12T14:39:46Z")
Morning standings: Wrights 6 Anthony 3 Edison 2 King, Washington, FDR, Douglass 1 each I think I’m going to keep doing a final-morning standings update but stop doing the day-before one, since there’s now an order of magnitude fewer votes to keep track of. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/485 "2010-03-12T16:33:53Z")
That’s fine, **Tom**. Many thanks for your help so far. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/486 "2010-03-12T19:01:15Z")
Looks like the Wrights are out. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/487 "2010-03-12T19:36:54Z")
Wright, er, right you are, though as an Ohioan I’m pained to admit it. That leaves: Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman George Washington: President, general, statesman Still one vote each, with one person eliminated each round. The current round will end at noon EST on Mon. March 15. Don’t forget Daylight Savings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/488 "2010-03-12T19:40:03Z")
Well, at least the Wrights made it to the top 10. New vote: I’m sticking with Washington. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/489 "2010-03-12T19:40:50Z")
Edison gets more credit in American History than he deserves–for the most part, he’s the guy who ran the lab, not the guy who did the inventing. Nevertheless, he did run one hell of a lab. I’m still voting for Martin Luther King, who, like Edison, has been given credit for a lot more than he actually accomplished. Granted, that’s not because of outright thievery like Edison was often guilty of, but hey. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/490 "2010-03-12T19:47:10Z")
Still Edison for me, although Anthony and Douglass are tempting. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/491 "2010-03-12T19:48:49Z")
I’ll vote Teddy Roosevelt for the moment; may have second thoughts later. I still (despite the results of the previous game) think he’s the least of the four remaining Presidents, and I think including the rest of his life diminishes rather than enhances him; in particular, his inability to find a way to contribute from some place other than center stage after his presidency was over. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/492 "2010-03-12T20:03:07Z")
Thomas Edison ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/493 "2010-03-12T21:00:45Z")
I still have to nominate Frederick Douglass. There’s a huge amount to admire in the man, but he has considerably fewer concrete accomplishments than anyone else on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/494 "2010-03-12T21:58:22Z")
Towards the end of the President Elimination Game, I found myself musing that perhaps one reason I favored Lincoln and Washington over the Roosevelts was that the fact Teddy and Franklin served during the twentieth century made them seem more human, and thus, less mythic than Abe and George. However, as it comes down to the two remaining black leaders, I’m taking the opposite approach. Certainly Martin Luther King stood on the shoulders of giants, and perhaps Frederick Douglass would have accomplished more had he been born later and thus not had to shake off the yoke of slavery. However, my maternal grandfather knew Andrew Young well, and consequently had a nodding acquaintance with MLK. Thus, the fact that I have only two degrees of separation from King tilts the balance in his favor. Frederick Douglass ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/495 "2010-03-13T04:54:50Z")
Susan B. Anthony. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/496 "2010-03-14T22:55:45Z")
I’ve gotta go with Susan B Anthony as well. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/497 "2010-03-14T23:28:37Z")
Teddy Roosevelt. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/498 "2010-03-15T10:07:34Z")
I was going to vote for FDR but given the momentum that Teddy and Freddy are getting, both of whom I’d like to save, I’ll vote for **Thomas Edison** instead, the big animal-electrocuting jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/499 "2010-03-15T13:59:21Z")
While I agree about keeping Douglass around, I’d also like to keep Edison; I’ll remove my vote from [del]Teddy Roosevelt[/del] and vote for Susan B. Anthony instead. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/500 "2010-03-15T14:01:21Z")
And that makes the current vote count Edison 3 Anthony 3 Douglass 2 King 1 Roosevelt (T) 1 Washington 1 ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423/501 "2010-03-15T14:02:14Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Well, at least the Wrights made it to the top 10. > New vote: > > I’m sticking with Washington. I’m changing my vote. New vote: **Susan B. Anthony** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-american-elimination-game-game-thread/528423.md?page=26)