Which politicians do you admire, and why?

Great Debates
1

I am not sure if this is the right forum, but it’s politics, so I figure this is a good place to start.

I am currently very uninspired by most politicians - not that they are required to be inspiring, but its a very good plus when they are. I think that a important part of being a citizen (and not just a consumer) is being politically active, yet most of what I see now is not so much ‘activist’ but merely ‘protest.’ And I think this is a reflection from those in office. Most politicians tend to turn off voters rather than turn them on.

To start off, I admire Barack Obama and Russ Feingold from the left side of the aisle. I like their passion and idealism. From the conservative side, I liked the moderate Republicans such as Daniel Evans , former Governor of Washington state, and Guiliani - strong caretakers that did not have a strong agenda to change things, so much as to strengthen what was already working, which IMHO caused a good measure of their success.

So what politicians do you admire or inspired you to be more politically active? Why?

2

Nye Bevan

Self educated, overcame great adversity, fired by a passionate sense of justice, unafraid to hold unpopular positions, great orator, never gave up fighting…

Made mistakes of course, but went into politics to fight what he saw as evil, rather than to line his own pockets.

3

Alan Clarke - utterly outragious, but essentially honest - he resigned on principle.

Tony Benn - at Uni I heard that when he was a Cabinet Minister he would make sure that his Opposition Shadow had a copy of everything that went across his desk, so that they could see how he arrived at his decisions. Also, while he is generally wrong, he seems a genuinely nice guy.

Bill Clinton - he just had that knack for keeping things under control.

Ronald Reagan - anyone who comes up with ‘mini memos’ just has to be smart, also he had that ‘leadership’ knack.

Arnie Schwartzneger - the guy just has to be smart.

Maggie Thatcher - she was a conviction politician, while I understood what she was trying to do and could understand the reasons, she got things wrong, very wrong - but she tried.

Enoch Powell - he was right, seriously misrepresented, also he understood the UK Constitution - another conviction politician.

Vlad Putin - a thoroughly nasty piece of work, but Russia is better off with him than a load of crooks raping the place. Personally I’ve seen no signs that he is corrupt, and I fully agree with his policy of re-nationalization - Russia has had a hard time, and now they are going to be very rich, I would prefer that the locals benefit rather than it all get shuffled offshore. Also while he looks a pretty nasty piece of work, he has actually been pretty gentle.

Lt Jerry Rawlings Ghana Jerry Rawlings - Wikipedia
Without his interventions the place would be a total basket case.

Ken Livingstone - the guy amuses me - and he is not a clown.

Hugo Chavez - the guy is a bit of a clown, but does not seem a kleptocrat, I suspect that a lot of people in Venezuela are a lot better off due to his policies.

Unknown Chinese guys - they are playing a seriously smart game.

It would be a lot easier collating a list of politicians that I despise.

Heath, Blair, Bush, Wilson, Jowell, Brown, Cheyney, Yeltsin, Begin …

4

I have to say FRDE you’ll never be accused of being one sided.

Benn and Livingston => Thatcher. There’s a spread and a half :slight_smile:

Good list BTW.

5

It was an interesting question, it got me wondering what it was that I admire in a politician - it is easy to list what I despise.

I’m not entirely sure, but I think it is people who ‘stick by their principles’ even if I think that the principles are a bit misguided or that they are going about things in the wrong way.

Another thing is that politicians need to be ‘leaders’, they need a degree of charisma and good communication skills - the same goes in other areas, I’ve seen both good and bad ‘leaders’ in the business world.

6

Jim Webb, newly elected senator from VA (D)
John Warner, very old senator from VA ®
(What do you want, I grew up in VA?)

I like Webb because I think his foreign policy writings have real depth to them, and because he isn’t afraid to be talk about social inequality.

I like Warner even though I don’t always agree with him. I truly feel that he approaches issues with what he believes are the best interests of the nation at heart, and importantly he operates under the assumption that members of the opposite party are doing the same. He also has put aside party loyalty when he felt a principal was at stake, most famously, when he refused to endorse Oliver North for senator of VA after North got the Republican nomination.

One VA politician I admire for less noble reasons is Jim Moran rep. for VA’s 8th district for being a scrappy, drunk, old -chool politician who once made Duke Cunningham cry in the House of Representatives (before his Duke’s tearful confession), even though Moran craps on the District my current home whenever he can.

I also admire Jimmy Carter for being the greatest ex-president in US history. While I certainly can find plenty of fault in Carter’s presidency, he has set a new standard for post-presidency public life and has done more for the public good out of office than most administrations (including his own).

7

None.

The inherent desire to order the lives of others is the driving force behind the desire to be politician, and I find it unadmirable in it’s least pernicious manifestation.

Sad thing.

Tris

8

Funny that, I would put Jimmy Carter down as one of the lousiest presidents the USA ever had - I blame him for the fall in Iran - also to some extent the start of the Afghan problem.

However, I accept that while in office he behaved with integrity (although I don’t think he had a clue what was going down), and after he left office and ceased to be a ‘politician’ he has been admirable.

In the late 1970’s the USA needed someone cynical, mainly because foreign affairs were getting out of control.

Carter strikes me a genuinely nice guy.

9

Well, that was the point of my post, that I didn’t admire his presidency, but that he has been great as an ex-president. Although, I’d say that laying all of fall of the Shah at his feet is a bit too harsh.

10

I admire Jimmy Carter for his personal morality and ethics. He is still the only president that I believe genuinely cares about human rights, unlike others who pay lip service to it and support ‘good’ dictators and oppose ‘bad’ dictators. His Panama Canal treaty was both just and overdue.

I don’t know how Carter could be blamed for the “fall in Iran”. What was he supposed to do- prop up the Shah forever? Ditto “the Afghan problem.” During his tenure the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Was he supposed to take us to war over it or what?

I also admire Bob Dole. Although I have never cast a vote for a Republican presidential candidate, only Bob Dole would have been tolerable to me among Republican candidates. He is a wounded war hero and handled his loss to Clinton with class. The Clinton-Dole race may have been the last fairly clean presidential campaign and perhaps never again will the debate be so civil.

11

1979 was my last year at Uni

One of my friends knew a lot about the Shah and Iran, putting the pieces together was not difficult

  • it was like watching someone slip up on a banana skin in slow motion

Sometimes if you know a bit about something, what is going on looks entirely different from the received view.

For example I reckon that Darfour is a bit more complicated than people think.

Often those who are perceived and portrayed as the ‘good guys’ turn out to be rather unpleasant.

12

Sorry to continue the hijack, but I think you could put a lot of the blame on Kermit Roosevelt when, as a CIA operative he undermined a democratically elected government in Iran to install the shah. I think it was only a matter of time before his illegitimate government collapsed and it happening on Carter’s watch was coincidence. Although, you could certainly lay blame for how he handled the crisis once it began to unfold (particularly the decision to both keep the embassy open AND allow the Shah into the US for medical treatment)

13

The Shah was dying of cancer, he was getting assaulted in the Western press for the atrocities that SAVAK were committing.

He just got hung out to dry.

I reckon that few people understood what the implications of rampant Islamisism were, but we certainly understood it in 1979.

14

Nelson Mandela - the dude was locked up for 27 years, and when he became president, did he have anyone rounded up and shot? Hell, no, he has a Truth & Reconciliation Commission, a State-funded tell-all&group-hug session. Then he steps down for younger blood. Man’s an unqualified hero. Plus he gets to boink the younger widow of another country’s President. Stud!

15

I admire…

…Barak Obama for being intelligent, well-spoken, polite, and well-mannered, and working to bridge the aisle in an age of extreme partisanship.

…Rudy Giuliani, because back in the early 90’s the conventional wisdom was that urban decay was unstoppable and government efforts to improve the cities were doomed to failure. He refused to listen, and reclaimed much of New York. His success was so dramatic that other American cities had to follow suit.

…John McCain, for staring down the Bush administration on torture.

…Jimmy Carter, for the reasons stated above.

16

Just a decade ago, that remark would have been perceived as condescendingly racist. However today, “intelligent” and “well-spoken” are indeed genuine differentiators between him and certain…other…politicians :slight_smile:

17

I have to say Bill Siksay (NDP Burnaby–Douglas) and Libby Davies (NDP Vancouver East). Libby was the first (and so far only) queer woman MP to come out, and Bill is the first out gay man elected to a first term. I know from working with both of them, especially Bill, that they’re just fantastic MPs – truly, deeply committed to all areas of social justice and making sure that everyone gets a fair shake, including some of those most vulnerable and with the fewest advocates in high places, such as trans people, sex workers, and non-status people. In particular I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bill a fair bit – he came to Montreal for the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights this summer and stayed for our pride parade – and he’s such an absolute sweetheart, so generous-hearted and self-effacing it makes me want to scream. They’re both such consummate public servants who truly see themselves as bound by duty and public trust, and I’ve never heard a single bad report about them from anyone.

18

Ralph Nader for telling it like it is.
Zoltan Ferrency old Michigan politician that was way ahead of his time.
Truman for recognizing the BS and addressing it.
Phil Hart old Mi pol that fought for truth in labeling etc,
Teddy Kennedy and JFK for fighting for the little man while being rich
Paul Wellestone for fighting the good fight

19

Ann Richards of Texas.

20

‘Henry Scoop’ Jackson - for showing that it was possible to be, simultaneously, conservative on some issues (foreign policy), liberal on others (economic), and green on yet others (authored first significant legislation protecting the environment - 1970). By not letting himself or his principles get pidgeon-holed by party lines and/or political philosophic labels, Scoop demonstrated to me, at least, that it was possible to have a genuinely fair-minded politician who refused to exercise blind allegiance to some arbitrary doctrine or political party.