Your US and World choices
After reading about some of the new Presidential candidates that people wanted to square off against in the Political Machine, it got me to thinking about who I would put on my ideal historical ticket. There were so many men and women of quality when I first started thinking about it that the decision of who exactly I was looking for in a candidate seem was an difficult task indeed. Then I thought about other world leaders who may have been a good part of a ticket.
So in that spirit, in addition to presenting my tenative ideal tickets, I thought I would solicit some of yours as well. Here are the criteria I am using.
The criteria:
For the American Part:
- They have to have been born in the US
- They have to be dead(sorry to say)
- They have to have reached age 40
For the World Part:
-They have to NOT be a US Citizen or born in the US
-They have to be dead and have reached age 40
My choices for the American part:
Teddy Roosevelt-FDR
The intro to Roosevelt's bio in the 100 greatest people of the 20th century issue of Time says it all about him really.
They don't hold White House lunches the way they used to at the beginning of the century. On Jan. 1, 1907, for example, the guest list was as follows: a Nobel prizewinner, a physical culturalist, a naval historian, a biographer, an essayist, a paleontologist, a taxidermist, an ornithologist, a field naturalist, a conservationist, a big-game hunter, an editor, a critic, a ranchman, an orator, a country squire, a civil service reformer, a socialite, a patron of the arts, a colonel of the cavalry, a former Governor of New York, the ranking expert on big-game mammals in North America and the President of the U.S.
All these men were named Theodore Roosevelt.
And FDR... well, he was the longest serving US President, who saw the country through both Depression and War... and a man who overcame his physical limitations. Even those on the other side of the political spectrum acknowledge his greatness and leadership during tough times.
My Choices for the World Part:
Otto von Bismarck-Winston Churchill
Some may find it strange that I, a liberal, picked Bismarck the conservative as the President in this part. But the man who coined the term realpolitik, has a lot going for him in this contest. He was Machievellian in his foreign policy, and despite being a very conservative political creature, he understood the value of the effective compromise to weaken his enemies, granting them enough concessions to weaken their entire position. He was a tough politician who understood and adapted to his times well, and it was through his efforts that a nation was unified.
And Churchill was a force to be reckoned with both as a parliamentarian and as a leader in war. He inspired a nation to keep on fighting, and though a few others may have been able to do the same, I don't think they would have his dash and charisma.
So... what are your ideal tickets?