# The President Elimination Game **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 24, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317 "2009-09-24T01:36:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/421 "2009-11-10T00:00:59Z")
John Adams. Adams actively encouraged via direct participation in partisan politics while in office. He failed to unite the Federalists in the wake of Washington’s retirement, drawing opposition from his own party when seeking re-election. Failing to defeat Jefferson in a re-match in 1800, he ironically performed his most influential (and [proudest](http://www.supremecourthistory.org/history/supremecourthistory_history_history_marshall.htm)) act in a ridiculous, lame-duck, “fuck you” to Jeffersonian Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Makeitstop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@Makeitstop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Makeitstop)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/422 "2009-11-10T02:08:48Z")
Zachary Taylor, agian. I’d vote for John Adams if this guy wasn’t still around. At least Adams got something done during his time in office. Alien and Sedition Acts notwithstanding, the fact that Adams resisted the call to war over the XYZ affair is the only reason Madison had a country to lose in 1812. Madison’s failure was Adams’ triumph. But Zachary Taylor? Is there anything that man did in office that had any lasting effect? I mean, besides dying and passing the presidency over to Millard Fillmore, who has already been voted out in this game? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/423 "2009-11-10T02:27:19Z")
I don’t understand the Adams hate. [Presidential ranking polls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_rankings) usually put him in the top 15 all time. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/424 "2009-11-10T03:36:31Z")
Look, I thought we all agreed to lynch Wilson. Vote Wilson ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/425 "2009-11-10T03:41:04Z")
> [@Makeitstop](#): > > At least Adams got something done during his time in office. To be fair, Adams was in office three times as long as Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/426 "2009-11-10T03:51:04Z")
Taylor. Short tenure and ineffectual. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/427 "2009-11-10T03:55:35Z")
This time I actually did the math instead of just glancing at the ranking polls that **Skammer** linked above, and it looks like I was wrong last round. Zachary Taylor is the worst ranked, on average, that remains. So there’s my vote. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/428 "2009-11-10T04:21:48Z")
I’m willing to switch my vote for adams or Taylor. I see the adams hate. So why Taylor again? ---
**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:** [November 10, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/429 "2009-11-10T11:38:37Z")
Wilson ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/430 "2009-11-10T12:02:43Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I don’t understand the Adams hate. [Presidential ranking polls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_rankings) usually put him in the top 15 all time. And Wilson was never worse than 11th, yet people here are trying to get him out. Coolidge. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/431 "2009-11-10T12:58:15Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I don’t understand the Adams hate. That’d be for throwing dissenters in jail. Tim LaHaye aside, this isn’t Russia. And I’ve spoken my case for Taylor. In 16 months, he made the greatest free-soil strides of any antebellum president. Then he died, and Fillmore promptly undid them. Voting against him at this stage just because he died…that’s just not fair. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/432 "2009-11-10T14:23:57Z")
Noticed Coolidge is still on there, so following my own precedent from about 3 pages back, he’s my vote this time (even tho I read and pondered the post which played him up). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/433 "2009-11-10T15:05:20Z")
I’ll back the “Dump Coolidge” bandwagon. “Keep cool with Cal,” indeed! When the weather gets bad, you can always heat with worthless stock certificates. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/434 "2009-11-10T16:21:29Z")
You do know that Adams opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts (although he did ultimately sign them) and that there are only 10 recorded convictions, and no deportations, recorded under those acts? His biggest mistake was not getting rid of Alexander Hamilton. Adams also successfully avoided war with both the French _and_ the English despite heavy provocation from both sides. Heck, he pretty much sacrificed his party for peace with Napoleon. He oversaw the buildup of the army and navy which enabled us to beat the British in 1812. And he should also get credit for putting John Marshall on the Supreme Court. I’m not voting for Adams until we get rid of several more losers and less-than-one-termers like Taylor or Kennedy. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/435 "2009-11-10T16:35:49Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > You do know that Adams opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts (although he did ultimately sign them) Is this not contradictory? > [@](#): > > and that there are only 10 recorded convictions, and no deportations, recorded under those acts? Try telling that to Matthew Lyon. Thankfully, Adams was thrown out of office (and Lyon re-elected _while in prison_) before the count got higher. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/436 "2009-11-10T16:39:24Z")
Unlike Wilson, Adams really did keep us out of war. The A&S Acts were bad, but on the balance, he accomplished a lot more in one term than many others did in eight years. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/437 "2009-11-10T17:04:58Z")
Gerald Ford ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/438 "2009-11-10T17:24:27Z")
To boost the Wilson-hate, you all know that he had a stroke his last year in office? And he and his wife concealed it, and his wife acted as president? In clear violation of the constitution? The vice-president is supposed to take over, not the woman the president happens to be sleeping with. That’s monarchical feudalist crap, and completely un-American. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/439 "2009-11-10T17:36:53Z")
Damn. I’m torn between Wilson and Teddy R. I guess Wilson has a slight edge on suckage. Off with his head! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/440 "2009-11-10T17:38:20Z")
I’ll switch my vote from Kennedy to Wilson in order to save Adams. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317.md?page=23)