Who was the last president who was truly respected?

[SoCalDem]

I am not talking about the routine "my-party-his party" bicker-y disrespect that always happens. I am talking about utter, and total disrespect, writ large.

When half the country and virtually ALL the media disrespects a president, not much will be done FOR us, but a LOT will be done TO us.

The media did not like Bush very much, but I do think they respected him. Comedians , satirists & columnists may have routinely skewered him, but even then they did it in a way that was not totally disrespectful. Many gave him a pass because of 9-11 (even though he was not all he could have been in that, and had ignored warnings)

We have a pernicious system here, and I am quite happy to be aging. I think we are headed for a very evil outcome within the next generation.

I know that respect has to be earned, but we do NOT have a monarchy or dictatorship, where one supreme leader calls the shots and everyone has to obey, or rise up in revolt.

No matter how respectful or conciliatory a president may be, he (she) can never accomplish anything of note if the people they have to negotiate with, refuse to negotiate and overtly disrespect him. This is especially nasty when that act of disrespect is cheered and egged on by their followers and the media.

If we are fair, we who wanted Obama to be bold and decisive have to realize that nothing would have come from that based on the make up of congress and the way their arcane rules are set up.

Republicans feel entitled to ownership of government, and NO "democRAT" usurper will ever be "allowed" to govern successfully, even if it means that millions will be jobless and dining on sauteed sawdust.

The fact that our president is black, actually prevents him from addressing the disrespect, because they are trying to goad him into it, so they can then pounce on him for being an uppity, angry black man,,.just like they all knew he really was :grr:

[ChandlerJr]

1. By everyone? Never.

n/t

[tblue]

19. None. This isn't Nazi Germany.

We get to speak out. It's the American way and always will be.

If you're longing for the good old days when no one dare disrespect our politicians, I don't think they ever existed in this country.

But it can't be fun for Obama if he's following all this. And I'm not sure he is. He's going small on his proposals tonight, I just read, when polls and economists are expressing a desire for more. I don't mean to disrespect him, but I can't say I always agree with him.

[Bragi]

2. No-one since Ike has been universally respected /nt

[SoCalDem]

4. Ike wss my choice as well...n/t

[11 Bravo]

36. And mine. n/t

[DURHAM D]

18. Nope - Republicans did not respect him because

he did not undo the Roosevelt programs. Even today the older conservatives go ballistic talking about what a poor excuse for a Republican he was.

[MADem]

22. He's probably the closest--but even he caught shit for golfing too much,

and when he had the heart attack, well, there was cluck-clucking then, too. There were always people who complained about what he did, or did not do, with regard to foreign policy, and even domestic issues.

[SheilaT]

31. Yep. you have to go that

far back to find a President who was actually respected.

[Odin2005]

3. Probably JFK or Ike.

[MrScorpio]

13. JFK?

You mean the guy who was shot to death?

[Odin2005]

20. JFK wasn't respected?

:shrug:

[RebelOne]

28. Probably because of his so-called affair with Marilyn Monroe.

I respected him. I even voted for him. That was the first year I was old enough to vote.

[Bragi]

33. JFK was not liked in the South

He was much demonized and hated in the south largely because of his support for civil rights for African Americans.

I'm reading a book right now that says there were only two states in the south he intended to campaign in for re-election (Texas and another I can't remember.)

The book is excellent:

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
David Talbot (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Hidden-History-Kennedy-Years/dp/0743269195/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

[pacalo]

15. I think LBJ, as well; partially due to aftershock of JFK's assassination.

[Odin2005]

21. Then he pissed it all away with Vietnam.

[pacalo]

25. Oh, yes, of course. He garnered respect at the beginning until the war was escalated.

Then came Nixon, the beginning of the end of political civility. GOP payback for Nixon's well-deserved impeachment proceedings have affected every president since then, whether the tit-for-tat was directed toward a Democratic president or was executed by petulant Republican presidents attacking Democratic programs.

[hifiguy]

17. Agreed

Kennedy had very high approval ratings prior to his assassination, and LBJ (pre-Vietnam) had a great reservoir of public good will as a result of JFK's death. LBJ won (re)election with more than 60% of the popular vote in 1964. That number is mind-blowing.

[mfcorey1]

5. None. There will always be those who will find fault in something. It is the American way. nt

[TwilightGardener]

6. I agree with much of this. I just feel sad about it. And when I read snark and bashing

directed toward him HERE, in the place where I try to find some escape from that sort of utter disrespect and complete trashing of the man, it does make me dislike many of the posters who try at every turn to diminish him as much as Republicans do.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. Ike, then T-rex before him.

Certainly not Lincoln. Just take a look at the newspapers at the Lincoln Musee in Springpatch, Ill to see just how vile and Fox News like the coverage was. They hated him, especially slave owning states.

[treestar]

8. Was that a good thing?

Probably back when all authority was more respected.

[Broderick]

9. If you trust polls

Order President Highest Approval Lowest Approval High-Low Highest Disapproval Approval Average<16>
44<7> Obama 69 (1/22/09) 38 (8/22/11, 8/27/11, 8/29/11) 31 55 (8/27/11, 8/29/11) 50<17>
43<18> Bush (G.W.) 90 (9/21/01) 25 (10/3/08, 10/10/08, 10/31/08)65 71 (10/10/08) 49.4
42<19> Clinton 73 (12/19/98) 37 (5/26/93) 36 54 (9/6/94) 55.1
41<20> Bush (G.H.W.) 89 (2/28/91) 29 (7/31/92) 60 60 (7/31/92) 60.9
40<21> Reagan 68 (5/16/86) 35 (1/28/83) 33 56 (1/28/83) 52.8
39<22> Carter 75 (3/18/77) 28 (6/29/79) 47 59 (6/29/79) 45.5
38<23> Ford 71 (8/16/74) 37 (3/28/75) 34 46 (4/18/75, 11/21/75) 47.2
37<24> Nixon 67 (1/26/73) 24 (8/2/74) 43 66 (8/2/74) 49.1
36<25> Johnson 79 (2/28/64) 35 (8/7/68) 44 52 (8/7/68, 3/10/68) 55.1
35<26> Kennedy 83 (3/8/62) 56 (9/12/63) 27 30 (9/12/63, 11/8/63) 70.1
34<27> Eisenhower 79 (12/14/56) 48 (3/27/58) 31 36 (3/27/58) 65.0
33<28> Truman 87 (6/1/45) 22 (2/9/52) 65 67 (1/6/52) 45.4
32<29> Roosevelt (F.D.)84 (1/8/42) 48 (8/18/39) 36 46 (5/22/38, 5/29/38, 11/7/38)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_approval_rating

[FarCenter]

26. Eisenhower then

Per the graphs, his approval rating was more uniformly high throughout his two terms. Kennedy did have better numbers, but this reflects his very high initial approval rating, which was seriously sagging by the time he was assasinated.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Nelson Mandela.

[hlthe2b]

11. I share your sentiments...

and am fighting the same fear for the future.

[alsame]

12. There used to be respect for the office of the

Presidency even if the President himself wasn't popular.

[denem]

14. Certainly not FDR

[Hepburn]

16. Carter...n/t

[Waiting For Everyman]

23. JFK. n/t

[bklyncowgirl]

24. Maybe George Washington--but then maybe not. nt

[Frustratedlady]

27. By all? I'd say Eisenhower. But then, in those days, presidents were respected more. EOM

[Nye Bevan]

29. Reagan won 49 states in the 1984 election.

I guess he was reasonably well respected at that point in time.

[Claudia Jones]

30. I don't think the premise is accurate

The criticism of president Obama is tame when compared to that directed at other presidents in the past, including such icons as Jefferson, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Kennedy and Johnson.

[jwirr]

32. I depends on what you mean by respected. They have always had

opposition that spoke out but there is another level that has become popular now. As we know the "you lie" and I am not going to his speech type is fairly new. What I think is very significant is the lack of appropriate address to him - Mr. President, President Obama, etc. The last president I remember who was consistently addressed appropriately was raygun?

[lynne]

34. The difference is not in the amount of respect or disrespect -

- the difference is that we are able to easily communicate our feelings and make them known today. Before the internet, the only "disrespect" we saw was the occasional newspaper cartoon or a joke from a co-worker. Everything else was communicated person-to-person with no ability to reach out to the public in general. The media was different then - they kept much unsavory information to themselves.

The internet changed everything. Gave us all a voice and a means to express it. What we may perceive as a lack of respect is just the fact that its so "in our face" these days than it was before.

[Puregonzo1188]

35. None in their lifetime. Not even George Washington.

[MicaelS]

37. George Washington n/t