The Greatest American?

I forced Ed to watch the Discovery Channel series, The Greatest American, over the last few weeks. They started out with a list of the 100 greatest Americans, then viewers narrowed that list down to the top 25, then the top 5, and finally to the single greatest American.

If you didn't see the show, you didn't miss much. It was way cheesy - especially for a show on the Discovery Channel hosted by Matt Lauer.

But, as cheesy as it was, it was kind of fun to see the list of great Americans, put them in order in your own mind, and see how your list compared to the list as chosen by the viewers. I had a feeling mine would definitely not agree with the viewers' list, and boy, was I right.

The top 5 greatest Americans according to the viewers:

#5 - Benjamin Franklin
#4 - George Washington
#3 - Martin Luther King
#2 - Abraham Lincoln

and...

Are you ready for this?

The #1 greatest American in the history of the country was...

Ronald Reagan!

Excuse me, but...huh? My feelings for Reagan softened a lot after his death. I no longer despise the guy. In fact, I think he accomplished a few good things (although I stop short of agreeing with Ann Coulter, who proclaimed in one of the GA shows that "Iran-Contra" was the greatest accomplishment of Reagan's presidency...").

He was at most an "OK" president. Maybe even a "good" president, if you're from Jesusland. But to call him not only the greatest president, but the greatest person in the history of the country? Give me a break.

Even among just presidents, there's no way Ronnie would qualify as one of the 5 greatest. He didn't win the Revolutionary War against incredible odds; he didn't preserve the union and abolish slavery during the worst conflict in American history; he didn't guide the country through a Great Depression or a World War; he wasn't one of the Founding Fathers who crafted the form of government and stood up to foreign powers in the name of independence and freedom. Sure, you can credit him for helping to end the Cold War, but really, in comparison to the hell those other great presidents lived (and guided the country) through, Reagan's greatness is really not all that "great."

Oh, and don't get me started on the whole "Oprah Winfrey is the 9th greatest American, just ahead of FDR" thing...

Comments

[Scott-O-Rama]

Ronald Reagan beat out Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin???

Sounds like the producers were pandering to the conservative right.

[Jordan]

I agree with you 100%

Nice blog, by the way.

[Jordan]

I agree with you 100%

Nice blog, by the way.