#1.Theodore Roosevelt Last president without a college degree would basically take you down, he faced down lions and elephants. Invented a rifle cartridge. After watching John Adams though I think it would be a tie for first between him and this guy.
Andrew Jackson should be #1. The guy was a total hardass and was bat **** crazy. If there was one president I would be afraid to mess with it would be him. In a fight between Teddy Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson, Jackson would win because he would stab Roosevelt in the back with a letter opener while Teddy was rolling up his sleeves in preparation for a fair fight. Jackson would probably then pee on Roosevelt’s corpse, just to be spiteful. Also, Jackson is the only president to directly engage in systematic genocide (against Seminoles and Cheorkee). Finally, he basically said to Spain, "**** off, you can't have Florida, it's mine now," and made it stick. In fact, he told quite a few groups to "**** off" and made it stick (congress, supreme court, other presidents before he became one himself, indians, Spain, etc). To put him at number 5 is a travesty. Otherwise the list is OK.
Personally, I think George H.W. Bush belongs in there somewhere, maybe instead of John Q. Adams. When he was shot down over the Pacific, he finished his mission with his plane on fire. Besides, there's something about a fighter pilot/wildcatter that demands a little respect.
The bit on Jack Kennedy was a riot! I'd like to see Sishir read that and make another lame assault on JFK. Impeach Bush. Sentence Him to Community Service. In West Virginia.
1. "Old Hickory" Andrew Jackson 2. "Rough Rider" Theodore Roosevelt 3. "His Accidency" John Tyler 4. Ulysses S. Grant 5. "The Buck Stops Here" Harry S Truman Oh, wait, I was thinking tough-guy presidents, not womanizing presidents. That's a different list altogether.
It's curious the story didn't mention anything about his wife, Rachel Jackson. They lived together for a year (remember, the mores of that time were wildly different from now so this in itself was pretty scandalous). They were married in 1791, but Rachel didn't get a divorce from her first husband until 1792. Racy stuff, hey?
Jackson is by far Number 1. Not even close. He was a kid during the Revolutionary War and was running messages for the good guys when he was captured by the British. He was hauled before the British General and told he was going to become the "boot boy" and to start shining the General's boots. Jackson promptly spit at the General who then drew his sword and slashed Jackson's face, creating a permanent scar. Only because of the intervention of other British officers was Jackson not killed by the enraged General. He was either 12 or 13 at the time. The Dickinson duel is even more badass when you know the details. The argument was over a horse race and Jackson lost his cool. Because Jackson was the challenger, Dickinson had the choice of weapons and chose pistols. Jackson was quite upset because Dickinson was renowned as the best pistol shot around. Thankfully, when the day of the duel arrived, it was chilly, and Jackson put on a number of layers, including an oversized outer coat. Since dueling was illegal in TN, the had to ride to KY. Once there, Disckinson took first shot. Now, the general practice was that the first shooter would intentionally miss and the second shooter would then fire into the air and both could claim their honor was preserved on the field. But sometimes it didn't work out that way and Jackson figured that the beef between him and Dickinson was such that he would take a bullet, so he was ready for it. Dickinson's shot hit Jackson about an inch from his heart. He didn't move and slowly raised his pistol. Dickinson was in shock, repeatedly saying "Did I miss? Did I miss?" Jackson's Second made Dickinson stand his ground. Jackson shot and killed him. He then got on his horse and started riding back to TN. A little ways down the road, he fell off the horse and it was then his attendants found out that he had indeed been shot as his clothes were soaked in blood and he had a hole in his chest. It took him awhile to recover and he did indeed carry the ball for the rest of his life. The wound never completely healed and would occasionally become infected and abscess, partly because of all the clothing fibers that entered his body along with the ball. Still, many of the people in attendance think Dickinson missed the heart because the oversized coat made Jackson appear to be larger than he really was. He was in another fight where he was ambushed walking into a bar. From that fight he carried a ball in his shoulder for years. It was only when he was President that he had it removed. By that time, he had made up with the shooter, Thomas Hart Benton, who was then a political ally as a Senator. Jackson had the ball delivered to Benton after it was removed. When he was President, SC was making noises about seceding. Jackson sent the South Carolinians a message saying that if they went through with it, he would personally lead the US army to SC and show no mercy. They smartly deferred a few years. And for the record, the general consensus is that the nickname "Old Hickory" came about becasue he was as tough as hickory wood.
I don't know about these cats but man! It takes some serious cojones to give up your golf game just because of a little war.
It's hard to argue with that list for bad mommajomma Presidents...I concur. well,...I'm not so sure about John Tyler though.
Tyler was the first V.P. to become President when William Henry Harrison died a month after taking office. Harrison was wildly popular but Tyler was there only to consolidate the ticket. He was as prickly as a porcupine and mean as a snake. He was Southern aristocracy who had no real wealth but would not hesitate to spit on anyone who disagreed with him -- which was everybody. His own party dumped him, but he fought back with all the power of Presidency replacing all the Whigs with southern conservatives. His battles with Henry Clay are legendary. When the southern states seceded, Tyler attempted a compromise to save the union but failed. He turned his attention to the Old South and devoted himself to establishing the Confederate States of America. He died in 1862. He was a battler but virtually forgotten in history.
Ike was known as a consensus builder, skilled in diplomacy and organization. Granted, Ike was a great commander but was too nice of a person to ever be considered for this list. Compare him to Grant, cigar in one hand and whiskey bottle in the other, as an iron-fisted general and you will see the difference. Grant didn't care who he stomped on as long as he won.