Lots of disturbing and fascinating, to me, details.
George HW Bush - Operation Desert Storm 45SHOLE - At least 30,000 lies on multiple topics George W Bush - 2nd Gulf War Lyndon Baines Johnson - Vietnam War +
JFK's brother, Robert Kennedy, once said of LBJ: "He just lies continually about everything. He lies even when he doesn't have to lie.
Richard Nixon - Watergate, "No-one in the White House staff, no-one in this Administration, presently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident" George Washington - "I can't tell a lie, Pa," was entirely invented by the president's first biographer. Yorktown Thomas Jefferson - woolly mammoths
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan claimed he had filmed the atrocities of the Nazi death camps while serving as a US Army Signal Corps photographer in Europe.
He told this story to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir at the White House.
Reagan never left America during World War Two. Few remember this mind-boggling lie.
Many of Trump's comments in the Washington Post catalogue will no doubt prove equally forgettable.
However, one historian argues that the recent tenant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, by the sheer volume of his mendacity, has destroyed the very idea of shared truth in American politics.
"We've tolerated presidential lies ever since the beginning of the republic," says Professor Eric Alterman, author of Lying In State: Why Presidents Lie - And Why Trump Is Worse.
"But Donald Trump is the Frankenstein's monster of a political system that has not merely tolerated lies from our leaders, but has come to demand them."
Prof Alterman says the Capitol rioters, radicalised by conspiracy theories about stolen elections and satanic cabals, underscore the extent to which Trump inspired the "creation of an entire world of unreality".
William Jefferson Clinton - Monica Lewinsky
When presidents misspeak
James Polk - Mexico "has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil" Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1940 - "Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars"
"The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base" - Harry Truman in 1945, but the target was actually a city and most of the 140,000 or so people who died were civilians
Dwight Eisenhower - U-2 spy plane Ronald Reagan - Iran-Contra scandal Barack Obama - "If you like your healthcare plan, you'll keep your healthcare plan, period"
As mentioned briefly in the article, some "lies" matter more than others. But it's clear that if the worst they have on Obama is an out of context statement that turned out to be mostly true for most people, then we at least know who the least dishonest President was.
Millions were cancelled and millions more had their plans changed to meet the new requirements. The bigger dishonest whine by the right was over whether we'd keep our doctors. The vast majority of us did.
And if the worst they have on Clinton is Monica, he must have been pretty honest too, although I used to think his worst lie was "I am not a Republican."
I wouldn't count Ike's U-2 denial as a real lie at all, although technically it is.
FTA:
Dwight Eisenhower approved statements claiming an American U-2 spy plane shot down by the Soviets in 1960 was just a weather research aircraft, later acknowledging this was a lie and his "greatest regret"
I also think there's a difference in a fundamentally honest person who might occasionally tell a lie and a fundamentally dishonest person who lies as a way of life.
Agreed. I think the article could have been a little more clear that Dolt .45 is the worst by far. More than half a million Americans have died as a result.
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
Millions were cancelled and millions more had their plans changed to meet the new requirements. The bigger dishonest whine by the right was over whether we'd keep our doctors. The vast majority of us did.
Well, yeah, but most of the cancellations were the el cheapo plans with no real coverage that everybody had said would no longer be allowed. Insurance companies change plan design and benefits and adjust rates all the time. It's not really reasonable that anyone would expect that Obama or anyone else could guarantee no plans would change. But hey, if that's the worst they can do, then Obama did a good job.
Well, yeah, but most of the cancellations were the el cheapo plans with no real coverage that everybody had said would no longer be allowed. Insurance companies change plan design and benefits and adjust rates all the time. It's not really reasonable that anyone would expect that Obama or anyone else could guarantee no plans would change. But hey, if that's the worst they can do, then Obama did a good job.
Agreed. I don't object to the ACA result other than it not going far enough. However, it would have been more honest if Obama had said: "The insurance companies are parasitic slime and we're going to partially end that."
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
Imagine drawing up a list of Republican presidents to admire that doesn't have Grant or TR but *does* have Coolidge, Nixon, and Trump.
Interesting that Coolidge and Nixon are the GOP hall of fame and, say, TR and Ford aren’t
Cheri Jacobus
@CheriJacobus
I was once an RNC spokesperson. There was no way in hell we would EVER have put something out this disgusting, anti-American, and stupid. @GOPChairwoman is absolute MAGA garbage. Utter filth. A cockroach in lipstick.
Never good when you have to pick 8 of your party’s best presidents and two are impeached, two are one term, and one would have been a Democrat today.
Nixon resigned in disgrace after his men spied on his election opponents and he abused the power of the White House, paid hush money to cover it up. Tens of thousands needlessly died as he prolonged Vietnam for political reasons
He's only the 3rd-worst GOP president on this list
Fact is a good argument could be made that he’s fourth worst
I love a good Venn diagram...
This is the tweet of a third grader
Two wouldn't be Republicans today.
Three couldn't win a county in Iowa today.
One was a complete-and-total failure.
One was a criminal.
And the last one is going to prison.
But, other than that, great post.
Lincoln - good
Coolidge - umm
Eisenhower - okay
Nixon - WTF???
Reagan - whatever
Bush - flop
Dubya - worst president until...
Trump - GAH!!!
Interesting not to include Ulysses S. Grant. Worried about enraging the base since he kicked the Confederacy's ass?
Choosing to include Calvin Coolidge is kind of hilarious
, for all the replies.
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
TV Mini Series, HISTORY channel
2020
4h 13m, 3 episodes - as much for the man as for the series.
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
The three-part miniseries chronicles the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the thirty-second President of the United States.
History Channel, Part 2 premiering tonight. Reruns of Part 1 and Part 2 tomorrow, likely more later plus streaming.
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
... “He’s really significantly limited physically, and he is coming to the end; there’s no doubt about that,” Jason Carter said. “He is, I think, frustrated by that. But he is at home. He’s together with his wife. They’re in love. They’re at peace, and you don’t get more from that. You certainly don’t get more than they got from this life. And the end is exactly how you would hope for it to be.”
Happy birthday Oct 1, Jimmy.
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
... “He’s really significantly limited physically, and he is coming to the end; there’s no doubt about that,” Jason Carter said. “He is, I think, frustrated by that. But he is at home. He’s together with his wife. They’re in love. They’re at peace, and you don’t get more from that. You certainly don’t get more than they got from this life. And the end is exactly how you would hope for it to be.”
Happy birthday Oct 1, Jimmy.
He is da man
Who takes money directly from my bank account every month
He's the best
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has entered hospice care at home, nine months after her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, started hospice care.
Rosalynn Carter, 96, and "President Carter are spending time with each other and their family," their grandson said in a statement Friday.
In May, the Carter Center said the former first lady had been diagnosed with dementia.
"She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains, [Georgia], and visits with loved ones," the Carter Center said in a statement at the time.
Jimmy Carter, 99, is the oldest-living American president and the longest-living president in U.S. history. The Democrat served as president from 1977 to 1981, defeated in his bid for reelection by Ronald Reagan.
The Carters, who wed in 1946, are also the longest-married presidential couple in American history. The president told ABC News two years ago that marrying Rosalynn Carter was the "most important thing in my life."
The couple made a rare public appearance this September, attending the Plains Peanut Festival in their Georgia hometown.
The Carters have four children: three sons and one daughter. They are also the grandparents of 12 (one deceased) and great-grandparents to 14 children, according to the Jimmy Carter Library.
Go towards the light, Rosalynn.
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
Theirs is the only charity that I have on automatic withdrawal.
He chose “right” above politics. Besides, when was the last time we had a president who led a team into a nuclear reactor to prevent a meltdown? (in fairness, HW probably would have and possibly a very reluctant Clinton).
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”
Theirs is the only charity that I have on automatic withdrawal.
Cool.
He chose “right” above politics. Besides, when was the last time we had a president who led a team into a nuclear reactor to prevent a meltdown? (in fairness, HW probably would have
Also: Ford fought a shipboard fire, etc
JFK
Truman in WWI
Maybe Ike
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
... Tuesday's invitation-only ceremony was attended by Jimmy as well as current President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Every living U.S. first lady — including Dr. Jill Biden, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush — also attended Tuesday's tribute service for Rosalynn....
No Shrub, Barack or Dolt .45?
Also, what about the Pences, Cheneys, Gores and Quayles?
"Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!... Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction.... Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!"
-- Helen Keller, Carnegie Hall, 1916
, for all the replies.
. I hope it's happy dementia.
True, but good on her for attending despite the obvious comparisons.