# Greatest living American elimination game (game thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [June 16, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715 "2025-06-16T19:12:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/61 "2025-06-23T18:16:15Z")
Bernie Sanders I generally like his policies, but I think his on again off again relationship with the Democratic Party is selfish, and his public anger about not being the presidential candidate was actively harmful. ---
**Author:** ![Bicycle\_Bill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bicycle_bill/32/6208_2.png) [@Bicycle\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bicycle_Bill)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/62 "2025-06-23T18:20:01Z")
Changing it up here … Out goes Stephen King. So he’s a prolific writer. So are John Grisham and John Irving, just to name a couple others. Sorry, the Greatest Living American should have more in their c.v. than “wrote a bunch of books”. _ **-“BB”-** _ ---
**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:** [June 23, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/63 "2025-06-23T18:27:24Z")
Buzz Aldrin again. He supports American fascism. To hell with him. You simply cannot be considered a great American if you actively support the authoritarian who is governing the country as a racist, homophobic, transphobic PoS, and is dismantling our Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/64 "2025-06-23T18:34:18Z")
Buzz Aldrin ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/65 "2025-06-23T18:39:36Z")
I’m sticking with Buzz till he’s out. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/66 "2025-06-23T18:44:46Z")
Stephen King basically defined the horror genre for the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Saying that he only “wrote a bunch of books” is like saying Dickens “only wrote a bunch of books”. Long after John Grisham is forgotten, people will be learning about Stephen King in literature classes. (If universities and/or literature still exists) ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/67 "2025-06-23T18:49:44Z")
Tim Walz hasn’t done anything to change my mind in the last few days, so, still him. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/68 "2025-06-23T19:02:06Z")
The last I had heard of Aldrin was when he punched that moon landing denier, which - while punching strangers is generally bad - slightly tipped to the positive side of the ledger for me. I was unaware of his Trump support, so I went and did some reading, and this sealed it for me: > “At the same time, I have been enthused and excited by the great advancements in the private sector space economy, led by visionaries like Elon Musk,” he continued. Idiot and puppet. A vote from me. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/69 "2025-06-23T19:06:14Z")
In defense of Buzz Aldrin’s nomination, the “Greatest” is not “The Best”, Napoleon, for example was a “Great Man”, he was not, under any interpretation a “good man”. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/70 "2025-06-23T19:21:48Z")
Guy wasn’t even the first to walk on the moon, Frodo. ‘Greatest’ isn’t defined here, as far as I know. You have your definition, I have mine. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/71 "2025-06-23T19:25:00Z")
Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/72 "2025-06-23T19:32:01Z")
Upon further review, I’m not going to vote for Simone Biles for a few more rounds. She set a good example of self-care and helped to destigmatize mental illness by withdrawing from some Olympic events due to psychological symptoms, she courageously went public as a victim of sexual abuse by disgraced Olympic physician Larry Nasser, and she’s been supportive of trans women in athletics. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/73 "2025-06-23T20:00:54Z")
Thank you for saying this more eloquently (and more tersely!) than I was going to. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/74 "2025-06-23T20:51:16Z")
I’m going to pick on **Amory Lovins** , who I’d never heard of before. If we’re going for a climate activist, seems like Bill McKibben or Al Gore are more prominent. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/75 "2025-06-23T20:56:02Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Stephen King basically defined the horror genre for the late 20th and early 21st centuries. > Saying that he only “wrote a bunch of books” is like saying Dickens “only wrote a bunch of books”. > Long after John Grisham is forgotten, people will be learning about Stephen King in literature classes. (If universities and/or literature still exists) Agreed. He’s not only a great writer, but a brilliant observer of American society. Also, he’s outspokenly anti-Trump. I don’t think he’s a contender to go all the way, but there are several names I would cross off the list first. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/76 "2025-06-23T22:40:24Z")
I am still trying to thunk out what my criteria of “Great Living American” means from the prospective of a non-American, so my nominations will likely lack a certain consistency. Simon Biles ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/77 "2025-06-24T01:00:32Z")
I’ll go with Tim Walz for this round, mostly because there are several others still on the list in his area who IMHO are greater. I don’t see how he would qualify as greater than Obama, Bernie, Biden, and Elizabeth Warren. Since those are his competitors in his particular area, I’ll go with him. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/78 "2025-06-24T14:45:49Z")
Once again, Jose Andres. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/79 "2025-06-24T15:29:42Z")
I’m gonna go ahead and vote down Buzz Aldrin this round. Not because he’s a MAGA, but because he’s simply a representative of greatness. Aldrin got to where he was because of the single-minded efforts of thousands of anonymous people to put him (and Armstrong) in that particular spot at that particular moment. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715/80 "2025-06-25T20:08:15Z")
Our votes this round: Buzz Aldrin: Second on Moon - 6 votes José Andrés: Humanitarian, chef - 1 vote Joe Biden: President, uniter, overcomer - 1 vote Simon Biles: GOAT gymnast - 1 vote Stephen King: Great American writer - 1 vote Amory Lovins: Physicist, energy activist - 1 vote Bernie Sanders: Democratic Socialist leader - 1 vote Taylor Swift: Musician, songwriter, icon - 1 vote Tim Walz: Honorable political messenger - 2 votes Say goodbye to Buzz Aldrin, second on the Moon but fourth out on the Dope. Our remaining nominees: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Athlete, writer, activist José Andrés: Humanitarian, chef Joe Biden: President, uniter, overcomer Simon Biles: GOAT gymnast Judy Blume: Children’s literature icon Warren Buffett: Level-headed billionaire Bob Dylan: Poet of generation Anthony Fauci: Physician, immunologist, scientist Bill Gates: Futurist, philanthropist, billionaire Amanda Gorman: Poet, activist, prodigy Jesse Jackson: Civil rights leader Magic Johnson: Superstar, survivor, inspiration Mark Kelly: Senator, astronaut, aviator Stephen King: Great American writer Spike Lee: Filmmaker, Knicks fan Jim Lovell: Apollo 13 astronaut Amory Lovins: Physicist, energy activist Barack Obama: President, statesman, lawyer Dolly Parton: Artist, humanitarian Bernie Sanders: Democratic Socialist leader MacKenzie Scott: Philanthropist, prize-winning novelist Steven Spielberg: Director, writer, entertainer Bruce Springsteen: Singer, songwriter, activist Taylor Swift: Musician, songwriter, icon Tim Walz: Honorable political messenger Elizabeth Warren: Fighting political foes Janet Yellen: Economist, Treasury secretary **Eliminated** 1. Jim Gaffigan: Comedian, author, commentator 2. Craig Ferguson: Polymath, director-writer, comedian 3. Mitt Romney: Senator, impeachment juror 4. Buzz Aldrin: Second on Moon Voting for our second round will end at noon EST on Fri. June 27 (I may be a bit late tallying the votes that day, as I’ll be on the road). I will again vote for Taylor Swift, for the reasons I earlier stated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-living-american-elimination-game-game-thread/1019715.md?page=5)