Ronald Reagan Voted 'Greatest American Of All Time"

[Gold9472]

Reagan voted 'greatest American'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4631421.stm

June 28th, 2005

Former US President Ronald Reagan has been voted the "greatest American" of all time by his fellow citizens.

Mr Reagan, who died last year aged 93, topped a list of 10 contenders, which featured six former presidents.

He edged out Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Some of the most notable names of US history such as Albert Einstein and Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, did not make the top 10.

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is the highest ranked female contender at ninth place, making her the greatest American woman.

George Washington, the first US president who is considered the father of the nation, comes in at fourth place.

Current US President George W Bush and his predecessor Bill Clinton, whose presidency was tarnished by the Monica Lewinski sex scandal, are both in the top 10.

More than 2.4 million Americans cast their vote by phone, text or e-mail in the poll, organised by the Discovery Channel and AOL.

Some observers suggest the image of Mr Reagan, who was criticised as an intellectual lightweight during his presidency, has been enhanced following his death as millions of Americans cast a rose-tinted look back at his presidency.

His two terms in office (1981-1989) coincided with a period of economic prosperity, the crumbling of the Soviet bloc and a renewed sense of pride among Americans still reeling from the Vietnam War.

Other greats
In a similar exercise held in the UK in 2002, wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was voted the greatest Briton.

More than one million votes were cast to select the final 10 which included inventor Brunel and scientists Darwin and Newton.

In France, where former President Charles de Gaulle finished first in April 2005, the final list also contained two scientists, Louis Pasteur and Marie Curie.

In a poll held in Germany in 2003, former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer beat Reformation monk Martin Luther and political thinker Karl Marx into second and third place in a top 10 that included Albert Einstein and the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg.

Top 10 greatest Americans
1 Ronald Reagan
2 Abraham Lincoln
3 Martin Luther King
4 George Washington
5 Benjamin Franklin
6 George W Bush
7 Bill Clinton
8 Elvis Presley
9 Oprah Winfrey
10 Franklin D Roosevelt

[Gold9472]

I'm a better American than 1, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Meaning, this list is a joke.

[beltman713]

Yes, a joke.

[Gold9472]

Yes, a joke.

It just shows how stupid we are.

[dz]

i wasnt into politics during the reagan era, but i do know that bush sr had alot of power during his term after he was shot..

ive also heard razzings of reagan about denying the aids plague, and being the father of crack babies.. anyone got any choice words to say about reagan, or was he a saint compared to bush?

[Gold9472]

He was complicit in the Iran/Contra Affair, he bankrupted the Soviet Union, he gave us a $3 Trillion deficit, he gave WMD to Saddam Hussein, and on and on and on...

[Gold9472]

My favorite was the "War On Drugs"...

[Skitch76]

Don't be so quick to knock Oprah. She's done a lot of good for a lot of people w/all that money she's got. In my book, she does deserve to be on that list.

[Gold9472]

Don't be so quick to knock Oprah. She's done a lot of good for a lot of people w/all that money she's got. In my book, she does deserve to be on that list.

She reaches an audience of a kabillion. She could easily tell people what's going on in the world.