# 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:** 40
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/781 "2009-12-15T07:53:42Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Absolutely. like the Onion said, “thank the era of peace and prosperity is finally over”. Yeah, that article was oddly prescient. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/782 "2009-12-15T08:22:06Z")
LBJ Where’s RoOsh, anyways? ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/783 "2009-12-15T08:23:10Z")
> [@Cullain](#): > > Maybe it’s naive, but I am much more a fan of American exceptionalism than American imperialism. I don’t have an issue with a president bringing us to war, but I do have an issue with a president bringing us to a war with no real benefit to us, and a substantial cost to the country we attempt to subjugate. No benefit? What do you call Guantanamo Bay? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/784 "2009-12-15T08:42:26Z")
We’re down to a list of 14 great men; not all of them great presidents, and all with their weaknesses, but they stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries. McKinley was surely a warmonger and an imperialist, among other faults, but he kept Bryan out of the White House, and that counts for something. Polk’s expansionism and compromise with slavery are distasteful, but hey – I live in California! Taft was somewhat ineffective as president, but a brilliant member of the McKinley and Roosevelt administrations, and a pretty decent Chief Justice. Eisenhower has always struck me as dithering and uninspired during some crises, but he also had moments of true vision – plus there’s that WWII thing. LBJ – god, LBJ, with his Great Society and his abysmal war. Clinton, a brilliant politician with a tendency to overreach (heh). there are things to dislike about every one of these men – yeah, even Washington and Lincoln. So what we’re left with is the question of who is least great? What is greatness, again? Most of the presidents we’ve voted off thus far have been judged for some disastrous decision, some failure of nerve, or stubborn adherence to a policy turned wrong. On all of these fronts, Lyndon Baynes Johnson stands on top of the podium and gets the gold medal. If James Madison, the father of the freakin’ Constitution, gets the boot for the War of 1812, then Johnson gets the boot for expanding American involvement in the Vietnam War. LBJ – so long, and thanks for all the civil rights. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/785 "2009-12-15T08:52:05Z")
Clinton ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/786 "2009-12-15T08:53:02Z")
Damn, I missed voting out Kennedy. FDR, you’re next! …but not quite yet… LBJ ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/787 "2009-12-15T10:48:04Z")
Hey hey ho ho, \*\*LBJ \*\* has got to go! ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/788 "2009-12-15T11:55:36Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Taft was somewhat ineffective as president, but a brilliant member of the McKinley and Roosevelt administrations, and a pretty decent Chief Justice. Eisenhower has always struck me as dithering and uninspired during some crises, but he also had moments of true vision – plus there’s that WWII thing. To date we have focused on what they have done while president, not at other times. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/789 "2009-12-15T14:41:39Z")
LBJ intrigues me, but I’m casting my ballot for McKinley. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/790 "2009-12-15T14:50:07Z")
I’ve already voted for Taft in this round, but McKinley was not the bloodthirsty imperialist some have made him out to be. For a long time, he resisted Congressional pressure and yellow press sensationalism to go to war over Spanish atrocities in Cuba (the bellicose T.R. complained, “McKinley has all the backbone of a chocolate eclair”). It was only after the USS _Maine_ exploded and sank - for reasons still in dispute - that McKinley decided enough was enough. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/791 "2009-12-15T17:37:00Z")
Still have to push for Polk; I don’t like California anyway. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/792 "2009-12-15T18:35:40Z")
I’ll vote for LBJ. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/793 "2009-12-15T18:42:44Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > To date we have focused on what they have done while president, not at other times. For the most part, although a number of voters have cited extra-presidential accomplishments for, eg. Madison or Grant. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/794 "2009-12-16T15:39:20Z")
Morning vote count: McKinley 8 LBJ 6 Taft 5 Clinton 3 Polk 1 Voting closes at 2 PM. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/795 "2009-12-16T17:33:40Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Morning vote count: > McKinley 8 > LBJ 6 > Taft 5 > Clinton 3 > Polk 1 > > Voting closes at 2 PM. I do _not_ think McKinley is the worst among these five; I’ll switch my vote from Taft to LBJ hoping that’s the way to save McKinley for at least another round. Comments suggest McKinley is being ousted for his War. What about the Vietnam War, for heaven’s sake? The Vietnam War was _far_ deadlier and far more foolish than the Spanish-American War and, of course, had the opposite effect on American prestige and confidence. Moreover, the Spanish-American War (which had relatively little to do with McKinley anyway) was not simple imperialism: it was viewed as a moral response to oppression of the Cuban people. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/796 "2009-12-16T17:43:11Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I do _not_ think McKinley is the worst among these five; I’ll switch my vote from Taft to LBJ hoping that’s the way to save McKinley for at least another round. > > Comments suggest McKinley is being ousted for his War. What about the Vietnam War, for heaven’s sake? The Vietnam War was _far_ deadlier and far more foolish than the Spanish-American War and, of course, had the opposite effect on American prestige and confidence. Moreover, the Spanish-American War (which had relatively little to do with McKinley anyway) was not simple imperialism: it was viewed as a moral response to oppression of the Cuban people. McKinley gets his flak for the role the US subsequently played in the Philippines, mate. I don’t think anyone’s terribly upset about the Cuba thing. I can’t believe I’m about to defend US involvement in Vietnam, but: 1. It predated LBJ’s term, and 2. The US was invited by the recognized government, as opposed to the invasion of the Philippines in the wake of Spain’s collapse. Jesus, I need a shower now. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/797 "2009-12-16T17:46:05Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Comments suggest McKinley is being ousted for his War. What about the Vietnam War, for heaven’s sake? The Civil Rights Act and Medicare. McKinley has nothing remotely comparable as a domestic achievement; his foreign policy credentials ARE his credentials. Also, what stu just said about Vietnam being something LBJ inherited, while the war in the Phillipines was something McKinley chose. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/798 "2009-12-16T20:05:35Z")
Vote count: McKinley 8 LBJ 7 Taft 4 Clinton 3 Polk 1 ---
**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:** [December 16, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/799 "2009-12-16T20:10:49Z")
William McKinley becomes the second straight assassinated President to be voted out. George Washington (None, 1789-1797) Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican, 1801-1809) James Monroe (Democratic-Republican, 1817-1825) James Polk (Democrat, 1845-1849) Abraham Lincoln (Republican, 1861-1865) Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1885-1889, 1893-1897) Theodore Roosevelt (Republican, 1901-1909) William Howard Taft (Republican, 1909-1913) Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Democrat, 1933-1945) Harry S. Truman (Democrat, 1945-1953) Dwight Eisenhower (Republican, 1953-1961) Lyndon Baines Johnson (Democrat, 1963-1969) William Jefferson Clinton (Democrat, 1993-2001) Eliminated Presidents: 1. James Buchanan (Democrat, 1857-1861) 2. Franklin Pierce (Democrat, 1853-1857) 3. Andrew Johnson (National Union, 1865-1869) 4. Warren Harding (Republican, 1921-1923) 5. Millard Fillmore (Whig, 1850-1853) 6. Richard Milhous Nixon (Republican, 1969-1974) 7. Herbert Hoover (Republican, 1929-1933) 8. Ronald Reagan (Republican, 1981-1989) 9. Andrew Jackson (Democrat, 1829-1837) 10. Rutherford Hayes (Republican, 1877-1881) 11. Ulysses Grant (Republican, 1869-1877) 12. John Tyler (Whig, 1841-1845) 13. James Earl Carter (Democrat, 1977-1981) 14. James Madison (Democratic-Republican, 1809-1817) 15. Martin Van Buren (Democrat, 1837-1841) 16. Woodrow Wilson (Democrat, 1913-1921) 17. Calvin Coolidge (Republican, 1923-1929) 18. John Adams (Federalist, 1797-1801) 19. Benjamin Harrison (Republican, 1889-1893) 20. Gerald Ford (Republican, 1974-1977) 21. Zachary Taylor (Whig, 1849-1850) 22. George Herbert Walker Bush (Republican, 1989-1993) 23. John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican, 1825-1829) 24. Chester Arthur (Republican, 1881-1885) 25. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Democrat, 1961-1963) 26. William McKinley (Republican, 1897-1901) I vote for James K. Polk. Naked aggression is naked aggression, even when it profits the country. Plus, if we’re going to vote 3 of the first 5 Presidents out for failing to head off the Civil War, some lesser blame should accrue to Polk for a conflagration that erupted less than a decade and a half after his term, and which De Tocqueville saw coming more than a decade earlier. Voting closes at 2 PM on Friday, December 18. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/800 "2009-12-16T20:24:17Z")
I’m sad to see McKinley go, as my great-grandfather was playing in the band at the Temple of Music on the fateful day when Leon Czolgosz shot the 25th President of the United States. That’s my family’s most significant brush with American history. However, Ohio should now lose two sons in a row. Taft is once again my pick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317.md?page=41)