Hangin' With The Prez
It's often said you vote for the guy you'd most like to have a beer with. This is why politicians have tried to be folksy ever since average citizens got the franchise.
It got me thinking--which Presidents would I most like to hang out with? I looked at all the modern ones--those who served before WWII seemed historical and unapproachable. Based on what little I know about them (i.e., their words, deeds, and what others have said), I came up with this list. None of them would be perfect, since, for one thing, they're all politicians--still, some are better than others.
Harry Truman: Don't think I'd like him. You can be too honest, and I don't need a short-tempered guy ready to give me hell.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: A little too proper and stand-offish, and too much a military man. But he's knows how to deal with people, likes sports and has some great war stories. I think we'd get along.
John F. Kennedy: High class party guy. Sounds like a lot of fun, if I could handle the action.
Lyndon Johnson: A glad-hander. Devious and vulgar. I'd stay away.
Richard Nixon: Smart, musical, good poker player, we might have fun. But sooner or later his paranoid pitbull side would kick in and it wouldn't end well.
Gerald Ford: Great athlete (and we could always talk about Michigan). Forgiving. Mostly well-meaning, but a bit on the dull side.
Jimmy Carter: Prickly, bitter and self-righteous. To be avoided.
Ronald Reagan: Engaging, good storyteller, but I don't think he'd be able to manage a deep relationship.
George H. W. Bush: Patrician. Decent, intelligent and hardworking, but a bit of a stiff.
Bill Clinton: Smart. Well-rounded. And you could eat whatever you want. He's got a temper, but if you could handle the explosions, he'd be a great friend. On the other hand, he'd tell you what you want to hear then sell you out if things go bad.
George W. Bush: He doesn't party any more (not that I could or would have kept up with him back in the day). Now he's into health, religion and country music--not that enticing to me. Personable, even charismatic, but I think his BMOC frat-style humor wouldn't wear well. And I don't want a cute nickname.
Barack Obama: A fun guy with lots of similar interests. You'd have great bull sessions. But I'm not sure if I'd ever really know where I stood with him.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:02 AM
4 Comments:
By all accounts Warren G. Harding was quite the party dude.
I don't know about having a deep, personal relationship with, but just to hang out:
Eisenhower: Could get me on Augusta, so, you know, perks.
Kennedy: Lots of chicks, man. And, the Rat Pack.
Nixon: Poor loser. Like Le Chiffre.
Reagan: Just be a fly on the wall and listen.
H.W.: It'd be like having your dad around all the time.
Clinton: Just deplorable taste in women.
W.: Fun to take in a ballgame with.
Obama: Another poor loser. If you beat him at Horse, he'd get all sulky and smoke.
The rest? Meh.
Actually did sorta hang out with a recently-deposed Bush 41 & spouse at a Rangers- Red Sox duelling Rogers* game in Spring 1993 (OK 4 rows back behind the visiting dugout- my former firm used to represent owner of club so there was always good seats around when somebody more important couldn't use them) But for the fact that he showed up in the 2d inning and left in 6th and life had to stop each time, the recently-defeated seemed to be voluble fun-loving fan who loved his hot dogs and smilingly ignored the catcalls (drunk guy in the section behind me who thought he was being supportive- "Come back! Clinton sucks worse!"). Didn't notice if W (then owner) was there.
Teddy Roosevelt might be fun if you shared an interest in slaughtering God's creatures
* the other Rooger was Texas' "can't miss" fireballer Roger Pavlik
I'll bet Franklin Pierce was a stitch.
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