I’ve been voting for Truman for the last several rounds, and see no reason to change. As scrappy as his run has been (and his personality was), he’s just not Final Four material in my mind.
Truman, again. It’d be Ike, though, if Harry had gone down last time.
Truman
Got to stay with Truman having voted for him the last few rounds, although the arguments for FDR have merit - he will be next.
Truman.
Truman.
Truman.
This is getting very tough, now that we’re left with the cream of the crop. It comes down to FDR or Truman this round for me, too. I like and respect Truman more, and think he was a better human being, all in all. His Cold War leadership and courage in desegregating the U.S. military count for a lot, as does his diplomatic recognition of Israel. The Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift, response to North Korean aggression and containment of the USSR were important accomplishments. I agree with his very difficult decision to use atomic bombs against Japan.
FDR was just a bit too slippery and scheming for my taste, and his longtime deception of the public about his health doesn’t sit well with me. Ditto cheating on Eleanor, and keeping Truman out of the loop on so many things during his brief Vice Presidency. Nevertheless, Roosevelt’s inspirational leadership in the darkest days of the Great Depression and World War II was tremendously important. The New Deal, for all its mistakes, was a staggering accomplishment, and its legacy is still with us. All in all, he was the more important President.
Thus Truman, reluctantly.
Truman.
Truman.
Truman it is, only because as cynical as I am about FDR, no one can deny his charisma, which was a pretty important intangible, particularly for the difficult times during his presidency.
I don’t think Truman’s destined for Mount Rushmore, but would feel bad voting him out after defending him strongly for the last few rounds.
So … I think I’ll just drop out of this game. Thanks for letting me play! It’s been a huge delight seeing Dopers make choices that [DEL]agree with mine[/DEL] seem very intelligent and balanced.
If “mainstream” America had infiltrated the Dopers, FDR would be long gone and the battle for #1 would be between Washington and Reagan! 
:smack:
Truman should be a no brainer this time. I would hope FDR is next.
Truman.
I make it 11 Trumans to 1 each for the two Roosevelts, for a 10-vote lead. If this stays the same (or Truman’s lead expands) I’ll mercy-rule him this afternoon and let the battle of the Roosevelts begin.
As promised, final vote count is
Truman 11
F. Roosevelt 1
T. Roosevelt 1
Truman gave 'em hell, but he couldn’t compete with the final four:
George Washington (None, 1789-1797)
Abraham Lincoln (Republican, 1861-1865)
Theodore Roosevelt (Republican, 1901-1909)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Democrat, 1933-1945)
Eliminated Presidents:
- James Buchanan (Democrat, 1857-1861)
- Franklin Pierce (Democrat, 1853-1857)
- Andrew Johnson (National Union, 1865-1869)
- Warren Harding (Republican, 1921-1923)
- Millard Fillmore (Whig, 1850-1853)
- Richard Milhous Nixon (Republican, 1969-1974)
- Herbert Hoover (Republican, 1929-1933)
- Ronald Reagan (Republican, 1981-1989)
- Andrew Jackson (Democrat, 1829-1837)
- Rutherford Hayes (Republican, 1877-1881)
- Ulysses Grant (Republican, 1869-1877)
- John Tyler (Whig, 1841-1845)
- James Earl Carter (Democrat, 1977-1981)
- James Madison (Democratic-Republican, 1809-1817)
- Martin Van Buren (Democrat, 1837-1841)
- Woodrow Wilson (Democrat, 1913-1921)
- Calvin Coolidge (Republican, 1923-1929)
- John Adams (Federalist, 1797-1801)
- Benjamin Harrison (Republican, 1889-1893)
- Gerald Ford (Republican, 1974-1977)
- Zachary Taylor (Whig, 1849-1850)
- George Herbert Walker Bush (Republican, 1989-1993)
- John Quincy Adams (Democratic-Republican, 1825-1829)
- Chester Arthur (Republican, 1881-1885)
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Democrat, 1961-1963)
- William McKinley (Republican, 1897-1901)
- William Howard Taft (Republican, 1909-1913)
- Lyndon Baines Johnson (Democrat, 1963-1969)
- William Jefferson Clinton (Democrat, 1993-2001)
- James Monroe (Democratic-Republican, 1817-1825)
- Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1885-1889, 1893-1897)
- Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican, 1801-1809)
- James K. Polk (Democrat, 1845-1849)
- Dwight Eisenhower (Republican, 1953-1961)
- Harry S. Truman (Democrat, 1945-1953)
In the matchup of Roosevelts, I will stick with FDR for guiding the country through much more difficult circumstances than Teddy faced.
Thus, I vote Theodore Roosevelt for the second time.
Voting closes Monday at 2 PM.
FDR, for his attempt at court-packing – and because his cousin Teddy was such an outstanding mixed martial artist.
Serioiusly. He was the highest-ranked American in judo at one point, boxed since he was a kid, and had a serious amateur wrestling pedagree. Teddy was badass.
Not terribly relevant, but I thought I’d throw that in.
It’s a tossup between FDR and Washington for me.
I’ll go with the junior Roosevelt for now.
Well, I’m planning on citing Brad Neely when arguing about Washington, so I can’t exactly fault you for lowering the tone.
FDR, for reasons given last round. And I had forgotten about the court-packing too.