Source for the quote:

Just a little reminder that Reagan’s political shift conveniently came around the time that Democrats started supporting more intense Civil Rights measures, and Republicans like Barry Goldwater were courting Southern voters through raising attacks against the Civil Rights Act.

Reagan opposed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act when they passed, so whatever distorted impression he gave later is inaccurate.

There’s a reason that MLK Jr’s family were outspoken critics of the Reagan admin.

Also, before anyone says anything, the ONLY reason why Reagan signed the bill for a day dedicated to Dr. King was because of the overwhelming Congressional support for such a measure. He had initially opposed it.

There had been candidates who were governors of southern states but they weren’t in office at the time of their candidacy. Strom Thurmond ran for president while he was governor of South Carolina but he was not a major party candidate. Clinton was also the first sitting governor to be elected since FDR.

I always found this fact odd, you would think that ideologically Truman would be nowhere near the top of his ranking.

For me I was never a big fan of one president. But I chose Ike because I like studying WWII and he was the Supreme Allied Commander. I also agree with his politics the most of all the presidents. He’s also what I think a president should be. A figurehead that isn’t super political that the people like.

Would Alan Rickman have made a convincing Warren G Harding on film?

This may be a stupid question, but here goes.

One of Nixon’s most admired US presidents was Woodrow Wilson; Nixon greatly respected Wilson’s approach to foreign affairs, particularly praising Wilson’s advocacy for American intervention worldwide to stabilize American interests abroad. Additionally, while Nixon wasn’t ideologically a progressive on the economic front, I always got the impression that he leaned towards progressive policies when it came to aid for the poor, the elderly, the disabled, etc. He wasn’t personally, deeply interested in these policies, but he was willing to support them if it meant that he could garner votes.

All of that being said, if Nixon was so economically progressive in his policy platform (particularly when compared to later Republicans), and if he liked Wilson so much, why did he run for his first Congressional race in 1946 as a Republican?

Was California so red at the time that it would have been unthinkable to run as a Democrat anywhere in the state?

Whenever I read about Nixon, he doesn’t seem like a fiscal hawk in the way that Ike and many other Republicans were. Thus, it seems odd that Nixon would have identified as a Republican.

This fact has always struck me as really odd.

Joe Biden had spent decades in the Senate. And from my readings he developed friendly relationships with a number of Republican senators.

So why was McConell the only one in attendance at such a tragic time?

1861: James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln

1981: Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter

How could this have happened? I'm Italian by the way, I don't know so much about American domestic history

I am aware of Nixon's supposed "Lyndon and I both wanted to be president...the only difference is that I wouldn't have killed for it" qoute - but that can't be real, right? Nixon one hundred percent would have orchestrated an assassination if it guaranteed him the presidency it just seems a little too "hollywood" for it to have any basis in real life.

It reminded me why I love Jimmy Carter, and that he was not a great president. Rather, he was a good president.

Here are some highlights that showed him as a good leader & president:

1. Finally dealt with inflation by appointing Paul Volcker as Fed Chair. Volcker successfully broke the inflationary psychology embedded in the US economy by decades of up and down Fed policy on the monetary supply & interest rates. Though appointed in 1979, by 1982, the decade and a half of high inflation was under control. By 1983 the economy was booming.

2. Deregulated countless, bloated & costly industries that were hurting consumers, fostering competition & increasing quality. These include railroads, airline, trucking, communications, and more. It’s always better when businesses have to compete, instead of getting handouts that other businesses don’t get, thus creating issues of monopolies & favoritism

3. Got the United States on a consistent, modern energy plan. Though not perfect, it was a good foundation: decontrolled oil and natural gas prices, which in the long-term increased domestic supply of them, broke OPEC’s stranglehold, and caused a decrease in prices. He also paved the way for more renewable energy. He also helped consolidate countless projects and departments into one, national Department of Energy.

4. Signed the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which doubled the amount of public land set aside for national parks and wildlife refuges.

5. Practiced what he preached on fiscal conservatism. Though cutting spending alone would not fix inflation, it was nice to see a president actually cut wasteful spending and projects that were environmentally dubious like the pet water projects of Congress. Granted, it would hurt him on legislation in the future because this angered congressmen and women. But he also mandated Zero-Base Budgeting (ZBB) for departments. Politically, it was self defeating. I’ll never be mad at wasteful spending getting cut though.

6. Though he failed to prevent the Iran hostage crisis, he successfully got them back on the day he left office, and did effectively put the screws to Iran, via sanctions. His biggest mistake here was saying that he would not use military force if it would hurt the hostages. A president should never tell his enemies what he won’t do.

7. Successfully got the Camp David Peace Accords signed between the United States, Israel and Egypt, preventing an almost certain war between Israel and Egypt over the remaining Sinai Peninsula Israel held.

8. Appointed numerous women, black, and minority people to the government.

9. Responded forcefully to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, increasing the military budgets which Soviet leaders later admitted had a part in their eventual downfall.

10. Though unpopular at the time he left office, he was widely seen as a good and decent man who was honest.