Poll: Americans say Reagan the best president, favor George W. Bush to Thomas Jefferson

Either this poll is absolutely chock-o-block full of BS to the Nth degree, or americans are becoming more and more dumbed down by the day.

DUBYA ranked above THOMAS JEFFERSON?!? Are you freakin kidding me?

Nobody can be that incredibly ignorant, can they? Nevermind. lol

A recent Gallup survey found that at 19 percent, Reagan topped the list for the third time in 12 years. President Abraham Lincoln came in second at 14 percent, followed by President Bill Clinton at 13 percent.

President John F. Kennedy rounded out fourth at 11 percent, and President Barack Obama came in seventh, at five percent.

Amazingly enough, President George W. Bush was chosen by just two percent, placing him in 10th: one spot ahead of President Thomas Jefferson, an influential member of the nation's founders.

Continued:

www.rawstory.com...

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Its scary, but it wouldn't surprise me if this poll was true! Most people in America don't even know the contributions Thomas Jefferson generated, much less know that he was one of the founders.
To many people in the US are all about the " bandwagon", much like the one with Obama. Many individuals simply voted for him, because of their friends, or it was " Cool", which we saw alot of from our University campuses.
Just goes to show, how great our Universities our, teaching students to vote not based off of an informed decision, but because it was cool. I use this as example, but to also point out, that I knew students whom were told, if they brought back their voting statement, that they could receive either an " A " in some classes, or extra credit, as long as the vote went for Obama.

Point being, the lack of informed individuals comes as know surprise.

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective
Either this poll is absolutely chock-o-block full of BS to the Nth degree, or americans are becoming more and more dumbed down by the day.

DUBYA ranked above THOMAS JEFFERSON?!? Are you freakin kidding me?

Nobody can be that incredibly ignorant, can they? Nevermind. lol

The guy from Mad Magazine was voted higher then the greatest American that ever lived?

I dont even know what to say

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


I am not surprised, because the American people are the most stupid and backward in the world.
Ronald Reagan is likely the worst president so this ignorant fox news country making him number 1 is no surprise.

reply to post by inforeal


On the contrary, the Reason Reagan is revered as the greatest president, is because not only did he free the hostages form Tehran, and not only did he stop the cold war, but he also capitalized on the " computer " industry, and not only promoted the science, but promoted the jobs that were in line with it. He reduced the deficit, lowered the GDP, and the list goes on.

Whether you like him or hate him, the FACT is, is that he was the most successful President in the last 3 decades.

sidenote: your statement about Americans are the dumbest people, well since history proves that we are the most " wise " nation, that developed and manufactured almost everything you take for granted, would suggest your lack of understanding, and judgmental ways loses you any and all credibility.

From Gallup themselves on the matter...

Americans' views on the topic of great presidents appear to have coalesced around three presidents: Lincoln, Reagan, and Kennedy. One of these three has been at the top of the list in each of eight surveys conducted since 1999.
[...]
This "greatest president" question is open-ended, meaning that respondents are asked to name a president off the top of their head. This type of measurement tends to increase the mention of recent presidents. Democrats, for example, are most likely to name Clinton -- the most recent Democratic president not currently in office -- as greatest. Republicans, in slightly different fashion, tend to skip over the two most recent Republican presidents, the two Bushes, and instead are most likely to choose Reagan.

This is interesting too...



Source

It's always wiser with polls to drill deeper and try to understand why results are what they are. Anyone at anytime can pretty much take any poll and then focus on the just those parts that support a message they want to get across, this RawStory piece included. Here someone appears to be wanting or needing to discuss Reagan and Bush.

Originally posted by Whereweheaded
reply to post by inforeal

 

On the contrary, the Reason Reagan is revered as the greatest president, is because not only did he free the hostages form Tehran, and not only did he stop the cold war, but he also capitalized on the " computer " industry, and not only promoted the science, but promoted the jobs that were in line with it. He reduced the deficit, lowered the GDP, and the list goes on.

Whether you like him or hate him, the FACT is, is that he was the most successful President in the last 3 decades.

he cut the tax breaks middle class people had for interest deductions, which INCREASED my taxes, while cutting taxes for the wealthy, the iran-contra scandal saw at least 60 of his people go to prison, he doubled the national debt, he fired the traffic controllers, who were just asking for better working conditions, and wouldn't even negotiate with them or hear them out over safety concerns, one of the worst presidents on my list, no hate, but absolutely no respect.

reply to post by Whereweheaded


ahh.. Reagan was an actor... plain and simple. thats it. thats all..

that is why he is perceived as having done anything good as you put it..

he had Alzheimer's... did exactly what was told on command..

which allowed the BS like trickle down economics and other seemingly good on paper things to take place that the average idiot thought was good..

thats all.. Bush was running crap having come from the CIA.. and his father the Nazi Prescott Bush..

Reagan was the perfect PUPPET..

Originally posted by Whereweheaded


Whether you like him or hate him, the FACT is, is that he was the most successful President in the last 3 decades.

Thats not a fact, that is an opinion

Reagan was the first president to adopt debt model governance

Reagan raised the debt 150% MORE THAN ALL THE PRESIDENTS IN HISTORY BEFORE HIM COMBINED

ALL

You like his personality and the legend surrounding him, unless you enjoy unsustainable debt mode you are basing your OPINION on ignorant criteria.

FOX has moved beyond double talk to double thought, amen

LISTEN UP FOLKS

THE MAJORITY OF OUR CURRENT DEBT IS THE COMPOUNDED INTEREST ON REAGAN's
INITIAL DEBT.

23 years of compounded interest on serval trillion dollars

He made THIS CRAP the norm,


Thank you Ronnie!

reply to post by ~Lucidity


That's a very good point sis.

Although I have to say that even the line-ups of the dems and independents make me scratch my head...CLINTON above JFK? wtf?

I feel like I'm living out that movie "idiocracy".

reply to post by Whereweheaded


All YOUR STATEMENTS ARE ALL LIES.

"On the contrary, the Reason Reagan is revered as the greatest president, is because not only did he free the hostages form Tehran,"


Reagan didn’t free the hostages he illegally made a deal before the elections so the Iranians held on to them so Carter could loose the elections in 1980.

"and not only did he stop the cold war,"

Reagan didn’t stop the cold war, he exacerbated it with heavy defense spending. The USSR before Reagan came to office was hurt by the Afghan war THAT JIMMY CARTER DID TO AID THE MUHAJJADIN.


"But he also capitalized on the " computer " industry, and not only promoted the science, but promoted the jobs that were in line with it. He reduced the deficit, lowered the GDP, and the list goes on."

This is another lie. Reagen cut the budget for scientific research IT WAS UNDER CLINTON that the computer age came about

HE DIDN’T REDUCE THE DEFICIT HE RAISED IT BY HIS TAXES FOR THE RICH.

"Whether you like him or hate him, the FACT is, is that he was the most successful President in the last 3 decades.
sidenote: your statement about Americans are the dumbest people, well since history proves that we are the" most " wise "
"nation, that developed and manufactured almost everything you take for granted, would suggest your lack of understanding, and judgmental ways loses you any and all"

Sure the Americans were wise in the past before Reagan and the fox news age came about


SIDE NOTE:
Your lies and distortions based on YOUR OWN IGNORANCE JUST PROVES WHAT I SAID IS TRUE

reply to post by Whereweheaded


Here is more proof that your post is riddled with Fox News type distortions:

blog.buzzflash.com...

But the rich fought back, and won big-time in 1980 when Reagan, until then the fringe “Voodoo economics” candidate who was heading into the election trailing far behind Jimmy Carter, was swept into the White House on a wave of public concern of the Iranians taking US hostages. Reagan promptly cut income taxes on the very rich from 70% down to 27%. Corporate tax rates were also cut so severely that they went from representing over 33% of total federal tax receipts in 1951 to less than 9% in 1983 (they’re still in that neighborhood, the lowest in the industrialized world).

The result was devastating. Our government was suddenly so badly awash in red ink that Reagan doubled the tax paid only by people earning less than $40,000/year (FICA), and then began borrowing from the huge surplus this new tax was accumulating in the Social Security Trust Fund. Even with that, Reagan had to borrow more money in his 8 years than the sum total of all presidents from George Washington to Jimmy Carter combined.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective

I forget. Did they ever cure the idiocracy?

On a more serious note, I think what's highlighted here is that most people just go to what they remember most. For example, a few pages about JFK in a history book isn't going to stick in a younger person's mind as much as what they experienced living through the Clinton years.

This, however, does underscore what should be a growing concern and very alarming to everyone—what is going to stick in the collective mind of today's internet generations? Information from the "side" that has the sexiest and most sensational headlines? Or the truth? We no longer have to wait for history to be revised in the books—we're watching it be revised and rerevised and revised again daily. But, again, what's going to "stick?"

reply to post by inforeal

Reagan didn’t free the hostages he illegally made a deal before the elections so the Iranians held on to them so Carter could loose the elections in 1980.

yeah i saw that Conspiracy show about that too~ Got any real proof to add, or just rehearse what you watched?

Reagan didn’t stop the cold war, he exacerbated it with heavy defense spending. The USSR before Reagan came to office was hurt by the Afghan war THAT JIMMY CARTER DID TO AID THE MUHAJJADIN.

And the response from the Russian powers was to begin talks of weapons reduction, the threat was to mighty in there eyes, which was the very beginning of the " end of the cold war". Though many actions did take place long after his leaving office, he is labeled the man who ended the conflict.

HE DIDN’T REDUCE THE DEFICIT HE RAISED IT BY HIS TAXES FOR THE RICH.

Actually, he changed the tax brackets, which many people experienced different taxation.

The U.S. Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA) (Pub.L. 99-514, 100 Stat. 2085, enacted October 22, 1986) to simplify the income tax code, broaden the tax base and eliminate many tax shelters and other preferences. Referred to as the second of the two "Reagan tax cuts" (the Kemp-Roth Tax Cut of 1981 being the first), the bill was also officially sponsored by Democrats, Richard Gephardt of Missouri in the House of Representatives and Bill Bradley of New Jersey in the Senate. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was designed to be tax revenue neutral, because individual taxes were decreased while corporate taxes were increased. As of 2011, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was the most recent major simplification of the tax code, drastically reducing the number of deductions and the number of tax brackets.

The top tax rate was lowered from 50% to 28% while the bottom rate was raised from 11% to 15%. Many lower level tax brackets were consolidated, and the upper income level of the bottom rate (married filing jointly) was increased from $5,720/year to $29,750/year. This package ultimately consolidated tax brackets from fifteen levels of income to four levels of income. [1] This would be the only time in the history of the U.S. income tax (which dates back to the passage of the Revenue Act of 1862) that the top rate was reduced and the bottom rate increased concomitantly. In addition, capital gains faced the same tax rate as ordinary income. The rate structure also maintained a novel "bubble rate." The rates were not 15%/28%, as widely reported. Rather, the rates were 15%/28%/33%/28%. The "bubble rate" of 33% simply elevated the 15% rate to 28% for higher-income taxpayers. As a result, for taxpayers after a certain income level, TRA86 provided a flat tax of 28%. This was jettisoned in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, otherwise known as the "Bush tax increase", which violated his Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

It was a change of tax bracket break offs. Which changed the end result of taxation you fell in, further, it simplified the process in doing so.

( Take note : notice the changes that Bush did during his tax increase, which conflicted with Reagan's tax system.)

Some of Reagan’s economic record:

Of course for the Rich his record was great. They loved him, but lets look at what his actions did to the poor and middle class:

Reagan was the only president who didn’t in 8 years raise the minimum wage.

en.wikipedia.org...

In 1981, Reagan significantly reduced the maximum tax rate, which affected the highest income earners, and lowered the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 50%; in 1986 he further reduced the rate to 28%.[15] As a result of all this, the budget deficit and federal debt increased considerably: debt grew from 33.3% of GDP in 1980 to 51.9% at the end of 1988 [16] and the deficit increased from 2.7% in 1980 to more than double in 1983, when it reached 6%; in 1984, 1985 and 1986 it was around 5%.[17] In order to cover new federal budget deficits, the United States borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, raising the national debt from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion,[18] and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.[19] Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.[20]

The number of Americans below the poverty level increased from 29.272 million in 1980 to 31.745 million in 1988,

Reagan's tax policies pushed both the international transactions current account and the federal budget into deficit and led to a significant increase in public debt.

reply to post by Whereweheaded


Conspiracy theory?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

You either lied about the deficit or were just wrong.

Next time before you jump this way MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME FACTS

OR BACK OFF!

I, unlike the Fox news generation do research and seek objective truth not propaganda

reply to post by inforeal

deficit increased from 2.7% in 1980 to more than double in 1983, when it reached 6%; in 1984, 1985 and 1986 it was around 5%.

You do realize that the average deficit is 6% don't you? There is nothing staggering about this? Except thanks to Bush, the average is now staggering! Obama's proposal, last I saw, claimed he was going to attempt to bring the deficit down back to 6%. so, no argument there.

reply to post by inforeal


I back off to know one. Especially when someones views/opinions are left of center. Which is clearly obvious. Nice try though, think re-runs of oprah are in your future.

BTW, it helps when you use supportive references other than wikipedia. Wiki has lost alot of credibility as of late~

reply to post by Whereweheaded


Look I don’t have the time to educate you or anyone else. Just in the future do basic research and stop spreading false propaganda.

You are on the wrong side of history, truth, what’s right and just, and you don’t even know it yet.

The conservatives Tea Party Republicans are on the side of the tyrants, the greedy rich, the fundamentalist, the right wing wackos of Fox News and other evil stuff.
Ronald Wilson Reagan was one of the worst human beings in history as he contributed to this culture of darkness and ignorance that has produced the greedy stupid, anti-human culture of Fox news and the Tea Party.

reply to post by inforeal

The conservatives Tea Party Republicans are on the side of the tyrants, the greedy rich, the fundamentalist, the right wing wackos of Fox News and other evil stuff.

That I agree on, ( keeping in mind I'm a independent ), but your comments throughout, unfortunately sound way to much like a left wing " pitch ". Like your trying to sell something? Anyways, you believe what you want, and i will do the same, ....opinions are like arse holes, every one has got'em.

Btw, if you claim you'r gonna " educate " someone or others, you might want to lay off wikipedia, almost as bad as CNN and MSNBC. I try some other sources of research.