Monday, February 21, 2005

But Where Is William Henry Harrison?

The Battle of Tippecanoe was nothing to write home about, but at least his term in office was quite a success (albeit a short one). Harrison didn't wage any wars, raise any taxes, eliminate any liberties, ignore Congress, become a mass murderer and military dictator, nor weaken states rights, suppress free speech and freedom of the press, nor impose socialism, or appoint despots as judges or restrict trade, and promote imperialism across the realm.

Three months in 1841 (Feb. till April) what a way to live....

But, on the other hand, with Polk we could still have a hold of Mexico City.

Washington Lags in Polls of Top Presidents

AP Story by Will Lester

WASHINGTON - When Americans rate their greatest president, they do not agree on who tops the list, but seem to rank a half-dozen chief executives ahead of the nation's first. George Washington tied for sixth place in one recent poll and rated seventh in another.

"Let's face it, 'First in war, first in peace, and seventh in the hearts of his countrymen,' doesn't sound very impressive," said Ted Widmer, a professor of history at Washington College in Chestertown, Md.

Washington has been considered the "Father of His Country" by school children for generations. Shortly after his death in 1799, Congress adopted the description Henry Lee used in his eulogy of his fellow Virginian: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

But in a poll commissioned by Washington College for President's Day, Americans rated Abraham Lincoln as the greatest president. A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll put Ronald Reagan on top.

Many young adults have only sketchy information about Washington, according to the college's poll.

Asked who was the greatest president, 20 percent of those polled chose Lincoln. Reagan was picked by 15 percent, Franklin D. Roosevelt by 12 percent, John F. Kennedy by 11 percent, Bill Clinton by 10 percent and George W. Bush by 8 percent. Washington was picked by 6 percent.

In the CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll, Reagan had 20 percent, followed by Clinton and Lincoln in the mid-teens and then Roosevelt and Kennedy at 12 percent.

The poll done for the college looked at how much the public knows about Washington and found that 46 percent knew that Washington led the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Two-thirds knew his wife's name, Martha, and that he lived at Mount Vernon, his estate on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia.

Not quite half of young adults knew the name of Washington's wife or where he lived.

Read the whole article at Yahoo News.