The Greatest American

[woaface]

This show ran on Discovery Channel for a while hosted by Matt Lower (sic?) It was called "The Greatest American." and votes were finally tallied on Sunday night. They were taken by phone, text message, and online vote.

They had loads of votes and nominees, but in the end they only posted the top 25.

Here's the list!



Ronald Reagan<o:p></o:p>
Abraham Lincoln<o:p></o:p>
Martin Luther King, JR.<o:p></o:p>
George Washington<o:p></o:p>
Benjamin Franklin<o:p></o:p>
George W. Bush<o:p></o:p>
Bill Clinton<o:p></o:p>
Elvis Presley<o:p></o:p>
Oprah Winfrey<o:p></o:p>
Franklin D. Roosevelt<o:p></o:p>
Billy Graham<o:p></o:p>
Thomas Jefferson<o:p></o:p>
Walt Disney<o:p></o:p>
Albert Einstein<o:p></o:p>
Thomas Alva Edison<o:p></o:p>
John F. Kennedy<o:p></o:p>
Bob Hope<o:p></o:p>
Bill Gates<o:p></o:p>
Eleanor Roosevelt<o:p></o:p>
Lance Armstrong<o:p></o:p>
Muhammad Ali<o:p></o:p>
Rosa Parks<o:p></o:p>
The Wright Brothers<o:p></o:p>
Henry Ford<o:p></o:p>
Neil Alden Armstrong<o:p></o:p>

[Rick-n-Miami]

That's an interesting list. For the most part, I agree but I don't think these should be on it:

- George W. Bush
- Bill Clinton
- Oprah Winfrey
- John F. Kennedy
- Lance Armstrong
- Muhammed Ali
- Neil Armstrong

In my opinion, these are just "known figures," but not exceptional. I can think of a few more deserving persons such as:

- James Polk -- he doubled the size of the USA.
- Desi Arnaz/Lucille Ball -- invented the "re-run" and revolutionized modern TV
- J.P. Morgan -- Put US industry on the global map, bankrolled the government through rough times.
- Sam Walton -- Walmart, the most powerful non-government entity known to man. (although it's not even a fraction of what it once was)
- and of course every soldier who ever fought for our rights to have this country and subsequently, this list.

[duhtroll]

I agree with Rick, but what do you expect with a text message/online poll?

I'm surprised Britney Spears didn't make it!

-A

[Breadfan]

I kept seeing the ads for this, and I thought they already had the show that declared the winner. In risk of this becoming a spoiler thread, if they did decide, out of curiousity, who won?

[Fourth Horseman]

I'm going with General Washington from that list.
:flag:

[texasvic]

out of curiousity, who won?
That list is in order.

[Fourth Horseman]

That list is in order.

Ronald Reagan is a greater American than George Washington? Elvis is a greater American than Franklin D. Roosevelt? :shake:
Boy, we really get the mass media that we deserve, don't we? Way to go America. :down:

[BruteForce]

What? No cartoon characters? :D

[Petrograde]

Ronald Reagan is a greater American than George Washington? Elvis is a greater American than Franklin D. Roosevelt? :shake:
Boy, we really get the mass media that we deserve, don't we? Way to go America. :down:

amen brother!

...Clinton? :mad: Oprah F*****g Winfrey! :argue:

damn it that's it!

OK Fellow Texans let's secede (sp?) from the Union.

Long live the Republic!





:P... I'm half kidding.

[woaface]

That IS the final list, as I stated.

It's true that many of the people on the list shoudn't have made it and for Ronald Reagan to have defeated Communisim, he needed a capitalistic country and world to start with, which he would have with out George Washington and Co. He should have come directly behind them IMO.

Either way, notice how many presidents are on the list.

[David Morton]

The greatest American isn't even on this list!

It's John Lennon! :D

Just kidding, I saw Bob Hope on the list and had to laugh. A second time after I stopped guffawing how an idiot actor won the dumbass contest. :rolleyes:

Seriously though, my vote would have gone for Theodore Roosevelt. That man was the first to actually do his job and enforce the anti-trust laws designed to keep this once great nation from becoming the worlds first fascist country, the title went to Italy. This after the corporate elite had thought to pidgeon hole him in the office of the vice-presidency to get him out of the New York Governors mansion where he was putting the robber-barons in their place. But the fat-cat McKinley was assasinated, an act of God in my opinion, and he became the trusted servant of the people, made it illegal for corporations to sell poison and call it medicine and protected some of the peoples' best land from those corporations by making the parks system what it is today.

Hee-haw! But he wasn't the last good republican politician, there's been four. Three of them would top my list of "The Greatest Americans" in this order...

Teddy Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln
Dwight David Eisenhower (tied with Washington, a Whig)

God bless David for warning us about the "military-industrial complex", alas, even if it was too late to stop his prediction that it would strip us of our hard won freedoms. We wound up following Mussolinis' design after 9-11-2001. (I wonder what Bin Laden's up to these days? Hmmm.)

In case you're curious the other good republican politician was Grant, comes in sixth.

Last good democratic party politician (and only one I know of) was Jefferson, comes in at fifth.

[MAD-3R]

Ronnie Raygun beating out George and Ben... tis a sad, sad day...

[David Morton]

What? No cartoon characters? :DWell, the winner was close enough!

[Mike Poore]

Well, but by the measuring stick used by 50% +,- of our population I'd have to say it would be John (the wad) Holmes. :rofl:

[mcb26]

No John Wayne? but R. Reagan?
No Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan but Elvis?
No Johnny Carson but Opray?

[prchrman]

Abraham Lincoln should have won...he kept the country together and fought to do the right thing in freeing people from slavery...I do not believe any other president had it so hard and watched so many of our own die to keep this country united...he had a heart for the down trodden and had the fortitude to stand in the midst of war and do the right thing...no opinions swayed him, no bad newspaper reviews stopped him, he did what he thought was right and it cost him his life...(also us big eared guys got to stick together)...after him it would be the original GW...George Washington...willie

[Fourth Horseman]

Abraham Lincoln should have won...he kept the country together and fought to do the right thing in freeing people from slavery...I do not believe any other president had it so hard and watched so many of our own die to keep this country united...he had a heart for the down trodden and had the fortitude to stand in the midst of war and do the right thing...no opinions swayed him, no bad newspaper reviews stopped him, he did what he thought was right and it cost him his life...(also us big eared guys got to stick together)...after him it would be the original GW...George Washington...willie

Good call, man. I can get behind that. :stupid:

[PJR]

Abraham Lincoln should have won...he kept the country together and fought to do the right thing in freeing people from slavery...I do not believe any other president had it so hard and watched so many of our own die to keep this country united...he had a heart for the down trodden and had the fortitude to stand in the midst of war and do the right thing...no opinions swayed him, no bad newspaper reviews stopped him, he did what he thought was right and it cost him his life...(also us big eared guys got to stick together)...after him it would be the original GW...George Washington...willie
DITTO!! At least he saw the war to it's end. Although he didn't get to enjoy the peace for long.

[David Morton]

Abe comes in second in my book because he suspended habeas corpus, a violation of a principle right, namely to have the government say why they have arrested somebody. This is the first move of the dictator but Abe did have a good motive and didn't become a despot, so he comes in second because of his other good deeds.

[spyderman213]

I think President Truman should be on the list as well, especially after having to make all of those difficult decisions during WWII after the death of President Roosevelt.

my $0.02

[StevenJ]

I remeber that. I voted for FDR for taking us through WWII, one of our nation's hardest times and one of the world's most climatic theaters in history! But saddly, he didn't make it. Still ended up in the upper teens but still didn't make number one!