At 12:16 AM 1/18/02 -0500 Gautam Mukunda wrote:
>>Not to get into the argument, but I actually think that Woodrow Wilson was
>>the second-worst President in American history, after only the pathetic
>>James Buchanan...
>
>I think LBJ belongs below Wilson somewheres......
>
>JDG
>
>Not even close. For the Civil Rights Act of 1968 _alone_ LBJ gets into my
>"near-great" Presidents list. Screw Vietnam. Yes, he botched it. He
>wasn't alone in that. His efforts on behalf of racial justice - that is,
>the eternal attempt of the United States to redeem itself from its original
>sin - are so much more important that Vietnam shrinks into insignificance in
>comparison.
Yes, the Vietnam is a big strike against him, but there is more.
Most important is The Great Society, which probably has produced the least
bang for the buck of any government program in US History. Indeed, it was
the massive spending combiantion of The Great Society and The Vietnam War
that produced the economic debacle of the 1970's.
As for Civil Rights - every President has their achivements, but on this
issue a lot of credit has to go to Kennedy as well.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Our campaign against international terrorism does not represent some
sort of 'clash of civilizations.' Instead, it is a clash between
civilization and those who would destroy it." -Amb. Richard N. Haass
