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Whites choose Lincoln, Blacks choose Clinton as tops in history
Yahoo News ^ | Mon Feb 18, 5:16 PM ET | AP

Posted on 02/19/2002 6:18:48 AM PST by liberte

Americans place Lincoln at top of greatest presidents' poll, George W. Bush ahead of Reagan Mon Feb 18, 5:16 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Abraham Lincoln has moved to the top of the list of greatest presidents in an ABC News poll for President's Day that saw George W. Bush ease ahead of Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) in the overall survey and among Republicans.

Lincoln was chosen by 20 percent, while the current president and John F. Kennedy were essentially tied for second — with Kennedy at 14 percent and Bush at 13 percent. Reagan, Bill Clinton and Franklin Roosevelt were tied for third at 8 percent apiece.

In the same ABC poll a year ago, Reagan was at the top with 18 percent, Kennedy 16 percent and Lincoln 14 percent.

Kennedy and Lincoln were tied atop the list among Democrats this year, whereas Lincoln was the easy winner among independents, and Bush and Lincoln led among Republicans, with Reagan slightly behind them.

Lincoln was first among whites, but second among blacks, who overwhelmingly chose Clinton as the greatest president. One of Lincoln's best known achievements was freeing the slaves during the Civil War. Roosevelt was the leader among those 65 and older.

The poll was conducted Feb. 13-17 among a sample of 1,025 adults and had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.


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Clinton the greatest president?!?!?! Are they serious?
1 posted on 02/19/2002 6:18:48 AM PST by liberte
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To: liberte
Yep. The first black president in U.S History. Remember Bubba looks white but acts like a black man. I kid y'all NOT!!! ;-)
2 posted on 02/19/2002 6:20:14 AM PST by goldstategop
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To: liberte
Americans place Lincoln at top of greatest presidents' poll,

No wonder America is in the sorry shape it is. No one understands what this nation is supposed to be about anymore. Lincoln was a disgrace to America.

3 posted on 02/19/2002 6:23:17 AM PST by southern rock
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To: liberte
Doesn't speak well for black's judgement, a president who favors holding them back is their favorite, go figure.
4 posted on 02/19/2002 6:24:26 AM PST by boomop1
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To: liberte
Lincoln was great, but I would have to choose Geo. Washington, since he set the tone for the country.  A tone that few have been able to live up too (although few have flouted it as badly or often as Clinton).
5 posted on 02/19/2002 6:24:30 AM PST by Frumious Bandersnatch
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To: southern rock
Oh Get over it you freaking people lost the Civil War, bunch of traitorous rebels! Regards from New Jersey, a proud Union state! We won HA!!!!!
6 posted on 02/19/2002 6:25:14 AM PST by The Cuban
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To: liberte
I wonder if there is some long-term memory issue here. Other than the most BJ's in the Oval Office, what did the Toon accomplish?
7 posted on 02/19/2002 6:26:42 AM PST by Faraday
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To: The Cuban
Oh Get over it you freaking people lost the Civil War, bunch of traitorous rebels!

You cannot be a traitor to a country you are no longer a citizen of.

Lincoln started what FDR finished - the destruction of the Constitution. Clinton was just a late-comer.

8 posted on 02/19/2002 6:28:10 AM PST by southern rock
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To: southern rock
Lincoln was first among whites, but second among blacks, who overwhelmingly chose Clinton as the greatest president. One of Lincoln's best known achievements was freeing the slaves during the Civil War. Roosevelt was the leader among those 65 and older.

This has to be one of the saddest statements on the citizenry's understanding of history that I have ever read

9 posted on 02/19/2002 6:28:15 AM PST by billbears
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To: liberte
Yes blacks are serious about this. They pummelled CSPAN this morning on the NKorea question with insults at Bush's 3rd grade education.

Of course the black callers displayed perfect King's English and a 5th grade education. While they were doing this one even made a reference using expert foreign policy and international relations' terminology - flashing such terms as "axle of evil" and "Saddam Husseiny". All of this while illustrating their ability to talk in a foreign language, ebonics.

10 posted on 02/19/2002 6:30:14 AM PST by rbmillerjr
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To: The Cuban, southern rock
Lincoln had his faults, but compared to the incompetant Jefferson Davis (who was scorned in the South prior to his speaking tour in the USA in Europe, which partially rehabilitated him), he showed strength and resolve as a leader.

Nervertheless, I still believe that the South had a right to secede, as the constitution did not prohibit secession for any reason. There was a movement, BTW, the bring Cuba in as a slave state under Polk and later, as a member of the confederacy. If Cuba HAD become part of the antebellum USA/Confederacy, CUBANS would be flying the stars and bars as well!

11 posted on 02/19/2002 6:31:52 AM PST by Clemenza
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To: liberte
Sad, ain't it?
12 posted on 02/19/2002 6:31:56 AM PST by Mr Ducklips
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To: liberte
Very sad for these deceived, willingly ignorant people. Lets look at the condition of the black culture during the nineties; how was education among the blacks?; how was out of wedlock birth?; how was AIDS?; how was gang violence?; Just to name a few.
13 posted on 02/19/2002 6:32:00 AM PST by week 71
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To: liberte
I'd still put Reagan above Bush because he fixed the national mood and helped cause the collapse of communism. Those are tough achievements to beat.

George W Bush deserves to be honoured, since his handling of the war has been darn near perfect. I don't think he's made a major mistake yet in dealing with the war. Neither did his dad, but his dad's domestic record was quite a bit worse.

Clinton might have been among the worst presidents if his health care programme had passed. Call him a lucky failure. He did damage our international image, but no more than, say, Carter.

FDR has a badly mixed record; he was a great war leader, but he created the Social Security ripoff for which he must be forever cursed.

D

14 posted on 02/19/2002 6:32:06 AM PST by daviddennis
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To: liberte
Blacks chose a man like Clinton over the author of the Emancipation Proclamation? Amazing. What does that say about them as a group?
15 posted on 02/19/2002 6:32:53 AM PST by lady lawyer
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Comment #16 Removed by Moderator

To: lady lawyer
Short memories.
17 posted on 02/19/2002 6:36:55 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: liberte
Clinton made sure that blacks remained undereducated and feeling victimized so that they would be more dependent on government and more likely to vote democrat. Under his watch black reading scores dropped, teen pregnancy rose, marriage rates fell, drug abuse increased, and the crime rate increased. I will never understand the cosmic reasons why the black community poured their support behind clinton/gore while watching their once proud culture implode.
19 posted on 02/19/2002 6:37:22 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Clemenza
If Cuba HAD become part of the antebellum USA/Confederacy, CUBANS would be flying the stars and bars as well!

Didn't New York City actualy come pretty close to flying the stars and bars at one point as well?!

20 posted on 02/19/2002 6:37:34 AM PST by southern rock
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To: lady lawyer
I'm amazed that George Washington (military leader, first president, abdicated the "King" part of the Presidency) and Thomas Jefferson (the ideas leader of the greatest group of political and philosophical thinkers perhaps ever) were not 1-2 by all Americans.

The majority of blacks have proven they are irrelevant in the political process and hold hysterical uninformed opinion - so their selection of Clinton just synergizes their irrelevancy and affirms their role as contributing to American satire.

21 posted on 02/19/2002 6:40:42 AM PST by rbmillerjr
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To: goldstategop
Yep. The first black president in U.S History. Remember Bubba looks white but acts like a black man. I kid y'all NOT!!! ;-)

It makes me sick to have to partially agree with you on this. Clinton was also one of the most charismatic actors and orators that the US presidency has had. The man was utterly corrupt, but his followers did not care, as long as he "felt their pain" and spoke to their hopes and fears. Clinton was an illusion and history will judge him for what he really accomplished, nothing of lasting significance. That such a large ethnic segment of our society regards Clinton as the best president in history is shocking. That virtually 90% percent of that segment, when it votes, votes for the Democratic party no matter how corrupt (Clinton, Maxine Waters, etc.) is another tragic statement about this society and about the black community.

I find any group that would judge Clinton as the best president in US history, to be beyond belief. I just can not fathom what that group (anyone of any background who thinks that Clinton was a great president) must value or desire as a role model.

22 posted on 02/19/2002 6:42:47 AM PST by Robert357
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To: rbmillerjr
Doing away with Washington and Lincoln's birthdays as separate holidays was a terrible mistake. But I think it was a deliberate attempt to make us ignorant.

Even a little study about Washington, the things he endured to make us a country, and his beliefs, would disserve the cause of the leftists.

23 posted on 02/19/2002 6:43:05 AM PST by lady lawyer
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To: week 71
Pathetic. Of all the demographics groups that got screwed by the Clintons, blacks had to have taken it the worst.

Yet they love him. It makes no sense to me at all.

24 posted on 02/19/2002 6:44:20 AM PST by tjg
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To: southern rock
Didn't New York City actualy come pretty close to flying the stars and bars at one point as well?!

I don't know about that, but there was considerable symphathy for the Confederacy among the Democratic Party in the North, and its Irish-American constituents in New York who HATED being forced into service by Lincoln's draft. The most violent urban insurrection in US History (worse in terms of lives loast than the Detroit and Los Angeles riots combined) was the Draft Riot of 1863, in which "southern symphatizers" were blamed by the press.

I don't know if the Dems were in power in New York during the Civil War. I believe the Dems did not consolidate their dominance in city politics until after the war (although Tammany-style organizations were around before the war). I do know for a fact, however, that the Dem party in New York was largely pro-Southern.

25 posted on 02/19/2002 6:45:08 AM PST by Clemenza
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To: liberte
Blacks dont value education and have a higher percentage of high school dropouts among their population. Blacks are 10% of the population but perpetrate more than 50% of crimes. Is it any wonder they think a criminal like Clinton was great president? These poll results are an extremely sad commentary on the present state of blacks in America.
26 posted on 02/19/2002 6:45:18 AM PST by Astronaut
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Comment #27 Removed by Moderator

To: rbmillerjr
The majority of blacks have proven they are irrelevant in the political process and hold hysterical uninformed opinion - so their selection of Clinton just synergizes their irrelevancy and affirms their role as contributing to American satire.

Well put. I second that.
28 posted on 02/19/2002 6:48:47 AM PST by dyed_in_the_wool
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To: rbmillerjr
The majority of blacks have proven they are irrelevant in the political process and hold hysterical uninformed opinion...

Worth repeating.

29 posted on 02/19/2002 6:49:20 AM PST by Steve0113
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To: tjg
Pathetic. Of all the demographics groups that got screwed by the Clintons, blacks had to have taken it the worst.

Yet they love him. It makes no sense to me at all

Perfect example of the "battered wife syndrome," where women remain loyal to some bastard who beats them.

30 posted on 02/19/2002 6:49:52 AM PST by Clemenza
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To: lexcorp
Besides, TR was our greatest President.

I always admired TR the Man more than I did his Presidency. Nevertheless, he is AT LEAST in the top 10. I used to enjoy visiting Sagamore Hill at Oyster Bay when I was a kid.

Pat Buchanan has always professed to have been an admirer of Teddy Roosevelt, although he is not a quarter of the man that TR was. Neither is John McCain!

31 posted on 02/19/2002 6:52:51 AM PST by Clemenza
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To: Clemenza
Nervertheless, I still believe that the South had a right to secede, as the constitution did not prohibit secession for any reason.

The Constitution says that the Constitution and the laws "made in pursuance thereof" shall be the supreme law of the land.

That includes the Militia Act of 1792 (passed at the request of George Washington) which gives the power to the president to ensure that United States courts operate in all the states. The other piece of early legislation is the Judiciary Act of 1789, which gives the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction when "civil controversies" arise between the states.

In 1862, the Supreme Court heard the Prize Cases and ruled that the actions of the "so-called confederate states" (to use their term) were rebellion and that the president was authorized to put down that rebellion.

There is no access to unilateral state secession in U.S. law, and there never was.

Walt

32 posted on 02/19/2002 6:52:52 AM PST by WhiskeyPapa
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To: Clemenza
Clinton as the greatest president and O.J. Simpson as the greatest husband.
33 posted on 02/19/2002 6:53:19 AM PST by NewCenturions
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To: daviddennis
I disagree...Bush shouldnt have been in the mix at all. At least not until his second term of office has been completed & Jeb has begun his own!

Wait until all the fruit has come to harvest before you can accurately judge its merit.

As for Slick, what blacks think of a man whose accomplishments are nothing more than a semen stain on the Flag is appalling. Who were they polling? Jesse? Al? The Crips, Bloods, and O.J.? Only the media hounds who became famous during his term for their outlandish & criminal behavior would be so blind as to even rank him.

34 posted on 02/19/2002 6:55:08 AM PST by Wondervixen
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To: liberte
Unfortunately, THIS is why Blacks lag in so many areas. Obviously, if Blacks had a better understanding of politics and history, they couldn't think of making this selection. The truth here is that Blacks are in a race with other minorities ( primarily Hispanics ) to the GOP - see W's incredible 58% Black, BUT unheard of 78% Hispanic, support in New York City! ( Quinnipiac University poll 2-6-02) Unfortunately for America's Blacks, if they continue to look at Republicans with this type of irrational fear, they will not win the race. What problems ensue from that we can only guess at.
35 posted on 02/19/2002 7:01:12 AM PST by jmaroneps37
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To: rbmillerjr
Exactly right. George Washington did so many things to lay out the direction of the nature of our government, and refrained from grabbing the power that could so easily have been his. He will always be the greatest president, in my opinion.
36 posted on 02/19/2002 7:01:32 AM PST by B Knotts
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To: WhiskeyPapa
In 1862, the Supreme Court heard the Prize Cases and ruled that the actions of the "so-called confederate states" (to use their term) were rebellion and that the president was authorized to put down that rebellion.

There is no access to unilateral state secession in U.S. law, and there never was.

From what I understand, the Miltia Act and other Federal Initiatives passed through the 1840s were not considered to be an abridgement on secession. One of the reasons that the principle was a topic of such hot debate in the first half of the 19th century was precisely due to the fact that the Constitution was never clear on this point and subsequent Federal law was ambiguous, a reflection of the regional tensions that had existed since colonial days.

That being said, were I a southerner back in the day, I WOULD NOT have been one of the hotheads calling for secession, as a newly independent Confederate nation would have become entirely dependent on European credit for financing and would have remained an export-driven, agrarian country, with some nascent industry (in other words, similar to Latin America). There were many Southerners who opposed secession (a fact seemingly forgotten by many), yet still served their region proudly.

37 posted on 02/19/2002 7:01:46 AM PST by Clemenza
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To: Wondervixen
BUMP
38 posted on 02/19/2002 7:02:58 AM PST by Aurelius
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Black undereducation isnt ALL Clintons fault...It starts with pimps like Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton who have taken the words of Dr King and twisted them (and sometimes MADE THEM UP) for their own greedy purposes.

There are entirely too many young blacks out there who have never been told the real truth of what Dr King stood for, and in essence, Jackson, Sharpton, and company are assassinating the man all over again. Martin Luther King is now no more than a cardboard puppet for Negro "leaders" of today to stand behind mouthing THEIR wants & desires.

39 posted on 02/19/2002 7:06:02 AM PST by Wondervixen
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To: Clemenza
I don't know about that, but there was considerable symphathy for the Confederacy among the Democratic Party in the North, and its Irish-American constituents in New York who HATED being forced into service by Lincoln's draft.

Only about 6% of the Union army was provided for by the draft. The vast majority were volunteers.

Crucial to the success of the whole war effort was the fact that a large number of 3 year volunteers who enlisted in 1861 RE-enlisted just as Grant's 1864 campaign was getting underway.

The CSA had generally enlisted its soldiers for 12 months and found that the army threatened to melt away in the spring of 1862 as those enlistments ended. At that time, the CSA involuntarily extended the enlistments and started a general draft a year before the Union did.

So much for the freedom loving south. And this compulsorary service was a factor in the fact that southern armies began to melt away in the summer of 1864. Desertions became a flood after Lincoln was re-elected in November, 1864.

The CSA armies mostly melted away.

Walt

40 posted on 02/19/2002 7:10:34 AM PST by WhiskeyPapa
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To: WhiskeyPapa
So much for the freedom loving south.

Well, on this point, you will not get any argument from this yankee. The draft, the liberal printing of fiat money and the fact that the South spent much of its post-war history electing Pork-Guzzling politicians proves this point. Lew Rockwell is wrong.

41 posted on 02/19/2002 7:13:34 AM PST by Clemenza
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To: B Knotts
Yes, George Washington, a rare person indeed. I would think that a Poll on this board would have him at the top - since he had power and gave it away. George Will, has gone as far as calling him the man of the Millenium of the World, let alone the US.

btw, on MLK Day, my son (kindergarten) came home with a book he made that consisted of 6 pages of work they completed during a week they focused on MLK. As for President's Day, nothing yet - I'm holding out until after Washington's BDay - if there isn't equivalent work for our great Presidents, I'll be scolding the teacher and President. AND HE IS IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL.

42 posted on 02/19/2002 7:14:00 AM PST by rbmillerjr
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To: Clemenza
From what I understand, the Miltia Act and other Federal Initiatives passed through the 1840s were not considered to be an abridgement on secession. One of the reasons that the principle was a topic of such hot debate in the first half of the 19th century was precisely due to the fact that the Constitution was never clear on this point and subsequent Federal law was ambiguous, a reflection of the regional tensions that had existed since colonial days.

The Constitution is very clear. The Constitution, and the treaties and laws passed in pursuance are the supreme law of the land; the laws of any state cannot withstand the supremacy clause.

The key element here is supremacy. If a state could unilaterally withdraw from the Union, then supremacy would rest with each state, respectively - not with the Constitution and the laws made pursuant to it. As the Constitution expressly declares the Constitution to be the Supreme Law of the land, any act that denies this supremacy (e.g., unilateral withdrawl) must be unconstitutional.

Walt

43 posted on 02/19/2002 7:15:29 AM PST by WhiskeyPapa
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To: The Cuban
Oh Get over it, your freaking people lost to Castro, I guess that makes you a bunch of traitorous rebels! Regards from Dixie. Castro won HA!!!!!

I hope that’s not too Intellectual for ‘m

I almost forgot- Nana Nana Boo Boo!

44 posted on 02/19/2002 7:20:12 AM PST by FreetheSouth!
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Comment #45 Removed by Moderator

To: B Knotts
"Exactly right. George Washington did so many things to lay out the direction of the nature of our government, and refrained from grabbing the power that could so easily have been his. He will always be the greatest president, in my opinion."

MINE, TOO!

WHICH IS PRECISELY WHY GENERAL WASHINGTON HAD TO BE SUPPLANTED BY MLK, ET AL BY THE STATISTS/ELITIST AND THEIR MORE THAN WILLING EDUCARAT HANDMAIDENS.

I recently asked my 6 year-old granddaughter "Who's the father of our country?"

Without missing a beat, she came back with "Martin Luther King."

"WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY, THEY FIRST MAKE INSANE."

Our destruction MUST be just around the corner. The insanity has gone about as far as it can. Hasn't it...?

46 posted on 02/19/2002 7:40:42 AM PST by Dick Bachert
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To: rbmillerjr
LOL
47 posted on 02/19/2002 7:42:28 AM PST by B4Ranch
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To: The Cuban
Round Two has just begun. Besides, most Cubans stood with the South during Round One, diddlehead. The Kid.
48 posted on 02/19/2002 7:44:56 AM PST by warchild9
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To: tjg
It's called television, friend. Television loved Clinton, and those who watched the most love him the most. The Kid.
49 posted on 02/19/2002 7:46:34 AM PST by warchild9
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To: liberte
Who cares? Not me. I don't got no fave Prezdent and I don't got no fave Pope. It's called history by poll. Popularity contest among the cretins of the society. These polls do more damage than good in (1) provoking reactions such as ours here, and in (2) dictating to non-participants how they should think to keep their friends.
50 posted on 02/19/2002 7:53:06 AM PST by Revolting cat!
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