Most influential recent president

who would you say is the most influential recent US president?  Next, who would you say of the last 50 yrs worldwide?

I think reagan is really often overlooked in his influence.  Besides the cold war and image abroad, he really shaped domestic culture, for better or for worse.

He set back environmental policy and delayed energy conservation.  He cut welfare and halted reform efforts.    He reveresed alot of liberal policy and set the stage for a rebirth in conservatism, including silly things like metrication in the US.

Besides this he put pressure on the soviet union, showed the world a stronger, more unified America, and pushed for more efforts in suburbs, trying to cut urban decay.  The country was a much different place in 1984 than it had been from '82 earlier.  Much of this is due to his presidency coinciding with the high tech boom.  Factories had long closed, the cities largely abandoned, it was the peak of suburbia....mini malls, long commutes to work. etc

Edited by lennel

debated it, but since we're talking recent (up to 50 yrs back) presidents, I thought modern history would be the best forum.  Either one would work though, in my opinion

Originally posted by Mila I still hate Ronald Reagan - no logical idea why. I just hear the name and I think... snake. My Grandmother thinks he's the equivalent of an antiChrist.

Why does she not like him?

Originally posted by Mila Worldwide, I'd say George W. Bush. He's destroyed America's reputation almost entirely.

Meh, in a decade or two no one will remember.  The masses have short memories.

Most influential in recent times? Definitely Reagan.

Reagan is to conservatives what JFK is to liberals: a symbolic representation of what a good president is about.

Reagan is getting credit for things that he didn't do, just like JFK. I cringe every time he is credited with the end of the cold war. He just followed a policy set up by Truman at the end of WWII and followed by every president since then. And beside "take down that wall," most people cannot give a list of his accomplishments.

Just like JFK, his legacy is mostly a myth.

And, if you don't like Bush as the answer, then the most influential president of the last 50 years is Nixon.

Nixon is not influential for his policies, but for his methods and for the movement that his downfall spawned.

Nixon's Southern Strategy, that of playing on the racial prejudices of the population, set a key rule for electoral victories for the Republican Party. Reaching out to extremists, either racist or religious fundamentalists, became a party tradition.

Also, this was the point where a now 30-year-campaign of attacking the media and taking over it started, as young Republicans at the time attributed the downfall of Nixon and the fall of support for the Vietnam War to the media coverage.

Today the U.S. media is a cruel caricature of what it was during the Nixon era. They constantly self-censor, and defend the president's actions in the hopes of being seen as balanced by right wing ideologues.

Most of the thugs in the White House today were young members of the Nixon White House. There they learned their dirty tricks, ruthlessness, and cynicism. However, they surpassed their master. Even Kissenger wouldn't have dared to do as much as these people do.

Originally posted by lennel debated it, but since we're talking recent (up to 50 yrs back) presidents, I thought modern history would be the best forum.  Either one would work though, in my opinion

Definitely Modern History

 

Originally posted by Mila Clinton affected the Balkans much more than either Bush ever did.

Would you say he affected the Balkans positively or negatively? What is the Bosnian perspective on the American role in the Balkans?

I think its far too early to know who is the most influential of the, say, past 10 presidents (post 1952). My own guesses would be Reagan and George W. Bush, but both require a lot more historical perspective.

The least influential -- Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, Ford, Clinton -- but those are wild guesses also. I would add Bush Sr, but he did manage the end of the USSR very well, but besides that, he would be in this ranking.