# 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:** 48
**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 28, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/941 "2009-12-28T21:12:07Z")
Although Cleveland was a far more honest and admirable person, and although (as I’ve noted) the Lousiana Purchase was contrary to Jefferson’s often- and piously-expressed principles of limited government, it was a whopper of an accomplishment that far surpassed anything Cleveland did. With some reluctance… Cleveland. ---
**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 28, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/942 "2009-12-28T21:43:47Z")
Cleveland, for the last time. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/943 "2009-12-28T22:06:18Z")
Grover Cleveland. Pleasantly surprised to see he made it this far. I only wish I could be voting for Zachary Taylor at this juncture. ---
**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 28, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/944 "2009-12-28T23:25:10Z")
Cleveland ---
**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:** [December 29, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/945 "2009-12-29T00:54:58Z")
I’ll put up a vote for Jefferson though I know it is hopeless. Can’t like a President that wanted to see the country stay in the hands of rich farmers and was against expansion and banking. ---
**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:** [December 29, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/946 "2009-12-29T01:05:52Z")
Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/947 "2009-12-29T01:11:27Z")
Cleveland! ---
**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:** [December 29, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/948 "2009-12-29T01:29:49Z")
Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/949 "2009-12-29T01:47:21Z")
Polk. ---
**Author:** ![Stowed\_Bob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stowed_bob/32/3312_2.png) [@Stowed\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stowed_Bob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/950 "2009-12-29T02:21:33Z")
Jefferson. ---
**Author:** ![Makeitstop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@Makeitstop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Makeitstop)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/951 "2009-12-29T02:30:30Z")
Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Cullain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cullain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cullain)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/952 "2009-12-29T06:30:31Z")
Cleveland ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/953 "2009-12-29T11:33:37Z")
Cleveland. Can we call this one early and get onto the next round? ---
**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 29, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/954 "2009-12-29T13:36:10Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Cleveland. Can we call this one early and get onto the next round? I count 13 Clevelands, 3 Jeffersons, and a Polk, so yeah. ---
**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 29, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/955 "2009-12-29T13:37:41Z")
Cleveland is voted out for the first (consecutive) time. George Washington (None, 1789-1797) Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican, 1801-1809) James Polk (Democrat, 1845-1849) Abraham Lincoln (Republican, 1861-1865) Theodore Roosevelt (Republican, 1901-1909) Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Democrat, 1933-1945) Harry S. Truman (Democrat, 1945-1953) Dwight Eisenhower (Republican, 1953-1961) 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) 27. William Howard Taft (Republican, 1909-1913) 28. Lyndon Baines Johnson (Democrat, 1963-1969) 29. William Jefferson Clinton (Democrat, 1993-2001) 30. James Monroe (Democratic-Republican, 1817-1825) 31. Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1885-1889, 1893-1897) Jefferson. Voting closes Thursday at 2 PM. ---
**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:** [December 29, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/956 "2009-12-29T13:49:20Z")
Jefferson! ---
**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 29, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/957 "2009-12-29T13:51:45Z")
Jefferson. A great man, but far more for his time out of office than in. BTW, I note that the final eight comprise three Democrats, three Republicans, and two Other. Fair and balanced, we are. 😉 ---
**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 29, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/958 "2009-12-29T14:05:56Z")
Jefferson, absolutely. ---
**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 29, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/959 "2009-12-29T14:41:16Z")
Yeah, my first pick from this group is Jefferson. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317/960 "2009-12-29T14:46:00Z")
It’s close between Jefferson and Polk. Jefferson did pull off the Louisiana Purchase, but that largely fell into his lap as Napoleon was cash-poor and just didn’t care about North America anymore. Giving TJ full credit for Louisiana is like giving Bill Clinton credit for protease inhibitors. Polk, on the other hand, reacted to a threat (Mexico attacked the US, not the other way around), set an agenda, followed through, stood up to the Brits (eh, who needs Vancouver) and got out. Granted, his actions may have precipitated the crisis over slavery, but as we’ve shown, that could have been–and should have been–averted. I vote Jefferson. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-president-elimination-game/511317.md?page=49)