• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!
  • Welcome to our archives. No new posts are allowed here.

Which President of the last century was your favorite speaker

Which President of the last century was your favorite speaker

  • William Jefferson Clinton

    Votes: 3 8.8%
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Lyndon B. Johnson

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • John F. Kennedy

    Votes: 15 44.1%
  • Richard M. Nixon

    Votes: 1 2.9%
  • Ronald Reagan

    Votes: 9 26.5%
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Votes: 2 5.9%
  • Theodore Roosevelt

    Votes: 3 8.8%
  • Harry S. Truman

    Votes: 1 2.9%

  • Total voters
    34

ALiberalModerate

Pragmatist
DP Veteran
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
32,339
Reaction score
22,562
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Moderate
This is not a question of which president of the twentieth century that you liked the best, but rather, which one you feel was the best and most inciteful speaker.

Also, post your favorite quote from them.
 
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John Kennedy
 
Theodore Rosevelt. We need another president like him.

"Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far

"Be honest, and remember that honesty counts for nothing unless back of it lie courage and efficiency."

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life."

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
 
This is a very hard choice. For example, I man not agree with many of Reagan’s policies, but undoubtedly, he was a good public speaker. I may really agree with FDR’s vision for America, but even though he was a great speaker, I don’t know that he was the absolute best of the last century. Of course, Clinton was a great speaker, and he may well have been the best unscripted speaker of the last century (in 1994, during his state of the union address, the teleprompter went out for more than 8 minutes and no one ever even knew), but I don’t think that Clinton delivered the most insightful quotes of the last century.

My choice is Harry S. Truman with FDR as a close second.

My favorite Truman quotes are:

“A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants.”

“A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years.”

“A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it.”

“Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it.”

“I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.”

“I never gave anybody hell! I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”

“If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

“It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours.”

“The buck stops here!”

“The White House is the finest prison in the world.”

“To hell with them. When history is written they will be the sons of bitches - not I.”

“When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship.”

“You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.”

My favorite FDR quotes are:
C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CFDICKI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C11%5Cclip_image002.jpg

”A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.”

“Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.”

“I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”

“I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.”

“It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.”

“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.”

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

Some of my favorite Reagan quotes are:

“Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.”

“But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret”

“Facts are stubborn things.”

“I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.”

“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.”

“It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?”

“Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”
 
I agree with Old and Wise on JFK.......I am puzzled that he/she picked JFK for his statement but did not vote for him in the poll:confused:

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John Kennedy
 
Full quote...

And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. - JFK
 
By far Clinton was the best speaker so far as the english language and debates go.

City of Hartford Conn. 1996 presidental debate, President Clinton, Senator Dole.

President Clinton:
" In February Senator Dole acknowledged that the American economy was in the best shape its been in in 30 years."

BTW: Why isn't Bushs name in the poll???

OK! Never mind! I know why.
 
Last edited:
Reagan...

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting.

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.
Said during a radio microphone test, 1984

They say hard work never hurt anybody, but I figure why take the chance?

Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.

What does an actor know about politics? –criticizing Ed Asner for opposing American foreign policy

Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.

I've never been able to understand why a Republican contributor is a 'fat cat' and a Democratic contributor of the same amount of money is a 'public-spirited philanthropist'.

And the best one...rings true moreso today...

“They call their policy "accommodation." And they say if we only avoid any direct confrontation with the enemy, he will forget his evil ways and learn to love us. All who oppose them are indicted as warmongers. They say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer - not an easy answer - but simple... [The spectre] our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face is that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and appeasement does not give you a choice between peace and war, only between fight or surrender. We are told that the problem is too complex for a simple answer. They are wrong. There is no easy answer, but there is a simple answer: We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. And this policy of accommodation asks us to accept the greatest possible immorality.”
 
cnredd said:
Reagan...

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting.

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.
Said during a radio microphone test, 1984

They say hard work never hurt anybody, but I figure why take the chance?

Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.

What does an actor know about politics? –criticizing Ed Asner for opposing American foreign policy

Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.

I've never been able to understand why a Republican contributor is a 'fat cat' and a Democratic contributor of the same amount of money is a 'public-spirited philanthropist'.

And the best one...rings true moreso today...

“They call their policy "accommodation." And they say if we only avoid any direct confrontation with the enemy, he will forget his evil ways and learn to love us. All who oppose them are indicted as warmongers. They say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer - not an easy answer - but simple... [The spectre] our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face is that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and appeasement does not give you a choice between peace and war, only between fight or surrender. We are told that the problem is too complex for a simple answer. They are wrong. There is no easy answer, but there is a simple answer: We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. And this policy of accommodation asks us to accept the greatest possible immorality.”

That last quote from Reagan rings true in a different way than you might have realized. Notice how he says:

"our well-meaning liberal friends"

Back then, before Coulter, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Moore, people on both sides believed that even though someone held a different viewpoint, that still did not mean they were not well intentioned. Reagan would refer to those who disagreed with him as "well meaning" or "missinformed". He didnt try to make Liberalism a derogatory term or make it out to be evil.

Limbaugh and his clones could definately take an ethics and morality lesson from Reagan.
 
JFK

"I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant, nor Jewish -- where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source -- where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials -- and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all."

But who doesn't enjoy Bushisms??

"I'm conservative, but I'm not a nut about it."

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"

"Will the highways on the Internet become more few?"

"I believe the results of focusing our attention and energy on teaching children to read and having an education system that's responsive to the child and to the parents, as opposed to mired in a system that refuses to change, will make America what we want it to be — a more literate country and a hopefuller country."

and my favorite... and most profound:

"People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history."

BAHAHA
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
That last quote from Reagan rings true in a different way than you might have realized. Notice how he says:

"our well-meaning liberal friends"

Back then, before Coulter, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Moore, people on both sides believed that even though someone held a different viewpoint, that still did not mean they were not well intentioned. Reagan would refer to those who disagreed with him as "well meaning" or "missinformed". He didnt try to make Liberalism a derogatory term or make it out to be evil.

Limbaugh and his clones could definately take an ethics and morality lesson from Reagan.
Nope...It is EXACTLY how I "realize"...

As per a previous post of mine...the generalizations were done on purpose for the sake of the thread...

Conservatives believe that Liberals, while good intentioned, are ill informed and don't realize the hatred and lack of logic they portray...

Liberals believe that Conservatives are VERY informed and know EXACTLY what they're doing BECAUSE of evil intentions...

Conservatives believe Liberals have no plan and are working purely on emotional platforms...

Liberals believe that Conservatives have an all-encompassing plan and are working with no heart...

Nobody accuses Kennedy or Dean of being evil....just warped and clueless...

Nobody accuses Bush or Rove of being warped and clueless...just evil...


http://www.debatepolitics.com/showthread.php?t=2953&highlight=evil

What I've posted is in direct contention with the trite Conservative mouthpieces you've mentioned...

But your groupthink mentality has you believing that they speak for all...or even a majority and anyone who says they are Conservative MUST adhere to some sort of strict standards that they publicly spew....

I am a Conservative...I am a Republican...

I hate Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity & Savage...They do not represent the Conservative voice...just the extremist version of it...and I am not alone...

To use them as a fair representation of all is shallow...keep the blinders on and continue to think what you want...

If you are going to reply that that is what some Conservatives do to the Liberals like Al Franken and Howard Dean, don't bother...it is equally shallow.
 
cnredd said:
Nope...It is EXACTLY how I "realize"...

As per a previous post of mine...the generalizations were done on purpose for the sake of the thread...

Conservatives believe that Liberals, while good intentioned, are ill informed and don't realize the hatred and lack of logic they portray...

Liberals believe that Conservatives are VERY informed and know EXACTLY what they're doing BECAUSE of evil intentions...

Conservatives believe Liberals have no plan and are working purely on emotional platforms...

Liberals believe that Conservatives have an all-encompassing plan and are working with no heart...

Nobody accuses Kennedy or Dean of being evil....just warped and clueless...

Nobody accuses Bush or Rove of being warped and clueless...just evil...


http://www.debatepolitics.com/showthread.php?t=2953&highlight=evil

What I've posted is in direct contention with the trite Conservative mouthpieces you've mentioned...

But your groupthink mentality has you believing that they speak for all...or even a majority and anyone who says they are Conservative MUST adhere to some sort of strict standards that they publicly spew....

I am a Conservative...I am a Republican...

I hate Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity & Savage...They do not represent the Conservative voice...just the extremist version of it...and I am not alone...

To use them as a fair representation of all is shallow...keep the blinders on and continue to think what you want...

If you are going to reply that that is what some Conservatives do to the Liberals like Al Franken and Howard Dean, don't bother...it is equally shallow.

Not to be off topic, but used to be, the conservatives had the intellectual ideology and the liberals had the pragmatic and compassionate ideology. Now, almost all conservative ideals are based in emotional appeals to the relgious right, and many liberal ideals are based in intellectual appeals.

Like former Wyoming Republican Senator Alan Simpson used to say:

"We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party."
 
3 LETTERS




JFK


I think we all know what his best quote is. cnredd put the whole thing up
 
Toss up between Theodore Roosevelt and JFK.
 
I voted for JFK. I really like the way that he speaks. I am suprised, however, that FDR didnt get more votes!
 
t125eagle said:
I voted for JFK. I really like the way that he speaks. I am suprised, however, that FDR didnt get more votes!

I voted for Truman over FDR, but only because I think Truman had some better one liners. The truth is, without a doubt, FDR was probably the best speaker of any President, probably in American history and he may well have been the smartest man to ever hold that office too. Anyone who lived durring that time will tell you (I am only 29) that FDR was just one notch below Jesus in their book.
 
lol.

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." (Douglas Adams)
good quote cnredd. Hitchikers guide. funny movie.
 
JFK all the way!

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." -Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You speech
Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy - January 20th 1961

http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/John_F_Kennedy/5.htm
 
No the best orator of all time was hitler.

Mabe William bradford as well. Ben franaklin was intrigued by this man.
 
Trajan Octavian Titus said:
you forgot the options of Bush Jr., Bush Sen., Carter, Hoover, and unbelievably one of the best orators of all time Woodrow Wilson.

Bush Jr, was not a president of the last century. Even if he were, by anyone's standards, he is a terrible public speaker.

As far as the rest go, you can only have 10 options on a poll on here. So I had to limit the choices to those presidents who are generally considered to have been good speakers. However, in hindsight, I do wish I would have included Woodrow Wilson.
 
Reagan and Clinton were, by far, the best speakers. They both knew how to mix humor with serious topics and keep the listener engrossed.

and not to burst any bubbles, but JFK is not the originator of "Ask not what your country....etc." That is not his original quote.
 
Back
Top Bottom