Mount Rushmore II
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Definitely Reagan and Eisenhower. Cannot disagree with your other choices of Truman and Coolidge.
Good idea Don, but just for fun, wouldn’t it be delightful to see the names the Godless left would have up there? Oh so many to degrade the South Dakota ecosystem.
Reagan, Ike, Grant, and John Adams.
I recall a poll of historians taken ca. 1981 which listed Warren Harding, Richard Nixon, and Calvin Coolidge as the three worst presidents in American history. Rule number 1: you need perspective, which means you need time. Rule number 2: people in occupations which attract a lot of poseurs shouldn’t be trusted.
Monroe, Polk, Grant, Arthur, Coolidge, FD Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower. Pick any four.
No love for James Madison or Andrew Jackson? I’ll take Old Hickory, Silent Cal, Ike and the Gipper.
IIRC, Madison’s time in office was a mess, but you might put him on there for his work in 1787-88. Jackson’s certainly an engaging character, but there were many disagreeable things about federal policy during those years. It’s too soon to consider Reagan. You can say several things about Reagan. One is that he was in electoral politics for fairly disinterested reasons. He had other things to do with his life and would have been happier doing them. From FDR to BO, there are just two or three occupants of that office of which you could say that. Another is that he was a natural at public administration. Compare him to Johnson, Nixon, or Carter. He was a man who knew how to run things. Another is that he was among the least intelligent men to hold the office in the last four generations, but seemed to make good decisions more reliably than most. As time goes on, it gets clearer that he knew how to make good calls. The contrast with Carter and Nixon is especially stark.
Coolidge presented the success of the axiom of “governing best by governing least”. One need only look at the government messes of the past four decades to see the folly of trying to insert government into every aspect of our lives. This being done under the guise of what is best for us from government’s view.
The Rogue’s Gallery would be easier: Wilson, FDR, LBJ and Obama. (Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking . . .)
The Rogue’s Gallery would be easier: Wilson, FDR, LBJ and Obama. (Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking . . .)
Too soon in re Obama. In any case, Clinton is facially more plausible for a rogues gallery than either Wilson or FDR. You could make a case for JFK as well. Wilson had a number of policy failures, maintained the doughface views of his mother and father, had an interest in unaccountable technocracy (Philip Dru: Administrator was a favored volume) and (in a double act with his wife) insisted on remaining in office even though too ill to work (a decision fueled in part by his dislike of his VP, whom he considered a rube). You could absolutely do worse than Wilson, however.
I say put Jefferson Davis on it and watch the mob herniate themselves trying to topple it! 😀
I would add James Monroe. Born in Westmoreland Chounty VA. He was a soldier in War for Indepence as a teenager. Probably best known for the Monroe Doctrine. His birthplace replica is now open to visitors.
Another vote for Davis here, please.
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