Greatest living American elimination game (game thread)

Sanders

Jesse Jackson

Sanders

Our votes this round:

José Andrés: Humanitarian, chef - 2 votes
Joe Biden: President, uniter, overcomer - 2 votes
Jesse Jackson: Civil rights leader - 5 votes
Bernie Sanders: Democratic Socialist leader - 3 votes
Elizabeth Warren: Fighting political foes - 1 vote

Rev. Jesse Jackson, long a giant of the Civil Rights Movement and grassroots political advocacy, is no longer on our list.

Our remaining nominees:

José Andrés: Humanitarian, chef
Joe Biden: President, uniter, overcomer
Anthony Fauci: Physician, immunologist, scientist
Barack Obama: President, statesman, lawyer
Dolly Parton: Artist, humanitarian
Bernie Sanders: Democratic Socialist leader
Elizabeth Warren: Fighting political foes

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
  5. Taylor Swift: Musician, songwriter, icon
  6. Tim Walz: Honorable political messenger
  7. Simone Biles: GOAT gymnast
  8. Judy Blume: Children’s literature icon
  9. Amanda Gorman: Poet, activist, prodigy
  10. Jim Lovell: Apollo 13 astronaut
  11. Spike Lee: Filmmaker, Knicks fan
  12. Janet Yellen: Economist, Treasury secretary
  13. Magic Johnson: Superstar, survivor, inspiration
  14. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Athlete, writer, activist
  15. Amory Lovins: Physicist, energy activist
  16. Steven Spielberg: Director, writer, entertainer
  17. MacKenzie Scott: Philanthropist, prize-winning novelist
  18. Mark Kelly: Senator, astronaut, aviator
  19. Stephen King: Great American writer
  20. Bruce Springsteen: Singer, songwriter, activist
  21. Warren Buffett: Level-headed billionaire
  22. Bill Gates: Futurist, philanthropist, billionaire
  23. Bob Dylan: Poet of generation
  24. Jesse Jackson: Civil rights leader

Voting for our next round will end at noon EST on Fri. Aug. 8.

Still voting for José Andrés. Still amazed he’s hung on this long.

Sanders out. A few good outcomes amongst the meddling and self-aggrandizement, but nah.

Biden.

Bernie Sanders.

Sanders

Jose Andres

Sanders

Sanders!

Time to get out the three-sided coin: Sorry, Bernie Sanders.

[I clearly cannot be the only one who easily imagines Bernie standing on a front porch, yelling, “Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!"]

Four political figures left among seven nominees. They can’t all be the greatest.

Sanders

Biden

Our votes this round:

José Andrés: Humanitarian, chef - 2 votes
Joe Biden: President, uniter, overcomer - 2 votes
Bernie Sanders: Democratic Socialist leader - 7 votes

Farewell, Bernie, we hardly knew ye! (Aw, who am I kidding? We know ye well.)

Our remaining nominees:

José Andrés: Humanitarian, chef
Joe Biden: President, uniter, overcomer
Anthony Fauci: Physician, immunologist, scientist
Barack Obama: President, statesman, lawyer
Dolly Parton: Artist, humanitarian
Elizabeth Warren: Fighting political foes

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
  5. Taylor Swift: Musician, songwriter, icon
  6. Tim Walz: Honorable political messenger
  7. Simone Biles: GOAT gymnast
  8. Judy Blume: Children’s literature icon
  9. Amanda Gorman: Poet, activist, prodigy
  10. Jim Lovell: Apollo 13 astronaut
  11. Spike Lee: Filmmaker, Knicks fan
  12. Janet Yellen: Economist, Treasury secretary
  13. Magic Johnson: Superstar, survivor, inspiration
  14. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Athlete, writer, activist
  15. Amory Lovins: Physicist, energy activist
  16. Steven Spielberg: Director, writer, entertainer
  17. MacKenzie Scott: Philanthropist, prize-winning novelist
  18. Mark Kelly: Senator, astronaut, aviator
  19. Stephen King: Great American writer
  20. Bruce Springsteen: Singer, songwriter, activist
  21. Warren Buffett: Level-headed billionaire
  22. Bill Gates: Futurist, philanthropist, billionaire
  23. Bob Dylan: Poet of generation
  24. Jesse Jackson: Civil rights leader
  25. Bernie Sanders: Democratic Socialist leader

Voting for our next round will end at noon EST on Mon. Aug. 11.

My vote’s for José Andrés. Still. One of these rounds I’ll get it right! To say he’s greater than Buzz Aldrin, Judy Blume, Jim Lovell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Kelly, Bruce Springsteen etc. simply boggles my mind.

And as for Jim Lovell, may he rest in peace: Apollo 13 moon mission leader James Lovell dies at 97

I’ll join you for Andres now that Sanders is gone.

I just think we’re operating from different definitions of great American. Andres is out there busting his ass to feed starving people everywhere including Gaza, and publicly trying to push people to allow that food in.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/opinion/gaza-hunger-war-israel-famine.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ck8.7q-9.Y6gdoQVPEc_I&smid=url-share

Lovell for example did some very cool things that were the apex of his career ambitions, but it’s just a very different thing, and I think we value those different things differently.

Meanwhile, my Senator is doing fuck all against the greatest dictator we may have ever had, other than tweeting and making concerned comments, so Elizabeth Warren.

Dolly Parton

We’re getting down to the point where more or less equally compelling arguments can be made for everyone left on the list.

But if Bernie goes, so should

Warren.

I give Warren a lot of credit for the CFPB. Also, she started her political activism going against the 2005 bankruptcy reform act that, among other things, put a millstone around the necks of debtors nationwide.

Of the other two political living Americans remaining in our game, one voted against it (Obama) and the other voted for it.

And that’s why I’m voting Joe Biden. IMHO, it should keep him out of the top 5.