The President Elimination Game

The Game Room
901

Morning vote count:
Clinton 10
Cleveland 8
Monroe 4
Polk 1

Voting closes at 2 PM today (central time).

902

It’s time.

Clinton

903

He was - and perhaps remains - a deeply flawed man, but Bill Clinton did more for America than Grover Cleveland. Grover Cleveland was, on balance, a good president, but do the naysayers really think that Clinton was not a little bit better?

904

Well said, STHG.

Should’ve added: Both also endured controversies about their lack of military service: Cleveland hired a substitute during the Civil War; Clinton wrote a notorious letter to his draft board.

On the off-chance that it’ll save Clinton (who was a slightly better, more effective and more accomplished President), I change my vote to Cleveland.

905

Vote count
Clinton 11
Cleveland 8
Monroe 4
Polk 1

906

With Bill Clinton eliminated, we now have our top ten:

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)
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)

Still James Monroe.

Voting closes next Monday at 2 PM. I’m thinking the future schedule will include elections on Monday and Wednesday of next week, three elections the following week, then slowing to a Monday/Thursday schedule to eliminate the last four over the following two weeks before bringing this exercise to a close.

907

Swinging back to Monroe. Cleveland loses points in public perception due to the Panic/Depression of 1893 which 1) was not his fault, and 2) which he navigated, albeit bumped and bruised.

That, and Dale Carnegie liked him.

908

Sticking with Grover until he’s shown the door. I’ll vote for Monroe once Cleveland’s eliminated.

909

Whew, down to the Doper Top Ten.

For the record, my personal Top Ten would be:

  1. Washington (virtually invented the Presidency, and did it magnificently)
  2. Lincoln (a very close second for Civil War leadership, Emancipation Proclamation, and his wit and wordsmithing)
  3. FDR (Depression and WW2 leadership)
  4. Harry Truman (Cold War leadership, Marshall Plan, fired MacArthur, desegregated the military)
  5. TR (national parks, conservationism, Big Stick diplomacy, Great White Fleet)
  6. Clinton (domestic reforms, economic boom, Kosovo, budget surpluses)
  7. JFK (civil rights, Cuban Missile Crisis, Apollo missions, Peace Corps, Test Ban Treaty, emphasis on public service)
  8. Polk (did all he set out to do: Treasury and tariff reform, territory increase)
  9. Reagan (much as I disagreed with him, he largely did what he set out to do, and restored American pride and confidence)
  10. Jackson (ditto, plus he shut down Nullification)

Who gets the boot next? Hmmm. At least Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase (rank hypocrisy though it was for him to do so - “enumerated powers,” indeed!) and sent out Lewis & Clark. So…

Monroe.

910

It looks like this one will come down to Cleveland or Monroe. I have read stuthehistoryguy’s write-up in post 882. Would anyone else like to weigh in to defend either of these guys?

911

Cleveland.

912

Cleveland, a good and decent politician but ultimately can not compare to the other nine men standing.

913

Cleveland definitely looks the most out of place on our remaining top 10.

Therefore, I vote for…Monroe!

(rocks out to the Drew Carey Show theme song)

914

Monroe.

915

Grover Cleveland.

Easy as choosing Clinton last time. Next one should be tough.

916

Grover Cleveland.

First, 'cause he’s next on my list, second, because I don’t like the way he spells his last name.

917

Monroe

918

Monroe.

919

Sticking with Monroe.

920

Preliminary vote count:

Monroe: 8
Cleveland: 5