The best leaders of your country

[octafish]

jPaul Keating is my choice. Arrogant, abusive, combatative, brilliant, and commited to his ideals. He is the only Australian leader to have inspired a successful musical. For proof of his brilliance I'd like to post his Redfern speech but I can't work out how to grab the youtube info with my phone.

By the way Poms, are you forgeting Benjamin Disraeli?

 

[Nerdstar]

Favorite might be FDR. There's a reason he had 4 terms.

Teddy Roosevelt is right up there in terms of just being awesome. I only shy away from him because he is responsible for jocks and the obsession with sports ahead of classes in schools, thanks to importing the idea of Muscular Christianity. But besides that, pure awesome.

Coolidge has the best presidential story ever. Notoriously quiet, a reporter told him that she bet she could get more then 2 words out of him during a dinner. After being quiet all night, Silent Cal turned to the reporter and simply said, "You lose".

i'm afraid i'm going to have to call you out on the "jocks and putting sports ahead of schools" bit. roosevelt, who IMHO was one of the finest leaders of the us ( my home country in case you haven't figured that by now) while its true he was an avid enthusiast of altetics(be beat his Asama at a young age throe pure exercise, and a butt-load of coffee) he read multiple books everyday, among his many jobs which included Rancher, Soldier, and Politician, he was also a Historian, Author, and a Naturalist. He matriculated at Harvard College in 1876. His father's death in 1878 was a tremendous blow, but Roosevelt redoubled his activities. He did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. He studied biology with considerable interest and was already an accomplished naturalist and published ornithologist. He had a photographic memory and developed a lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest people. He could multitask in impressive fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. and i haven't even stared naming his REAL accomplishments

 

[Lord Garnaat]

For my American side, I think I'll have to go with either Abraham Lincoln or FDR. Both were great leaders who delivered our country through times of incredible hardship and war. I like Clinton too, but I think that ultimately those two have earned the position of best leader more.

And for my British side, I'm inclined to add to the unfortunate argument going on in this thread and say Churchill. What can I say? He was a great leader, a powerful public figure, and a fantastic speaker. He made mistakes, but I still think he's one of the best leaders the world has known. Attlee was cool too, though comparing him to Churchill is a bit of an "apples and oranges" sort of situation.

 

[TheVioletBandit]

I'm dubious that such a thing as a good leader exists?

 

[Horton986]

For Canada
Pierre Elliot Trudeau- Got the constitution back from England and gave us our charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Louise McKinney- First women elected to a legislature in Canada and in the British Empire, help give women the right to vote.
Tommy Douglas- A crazy socialist, but gave Canada universal health care
Arthur Currie- Commander of the Canadian Corps during world war one. Turned a small dominion army into the shock troops of the allies

 

[BlackStar42]

For the United Kingdom:

- Oliver Cromwell. His policies on religious freedom and reform of the law / Parliament were incredibly ahead of their time. It took until the Great Reform Act of 1832 to re-establish what Cromwell had set up during his reign.

Gonna have to disagree with you there. He was a brutal dictator and a religious fanatic who cracked down on anything that wasn't Puritan. The fucker even banned Christmas. That's pretty low. Oh, and there was the small matter of wiping out 30% of the Irish population. He gets the title "Butcher" for a very good reason.

 

[realist1990]

Spoiler

Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland. She transformed the position (although it's still largely a figurehead position), did a lot of good for the country, worked with the UN and is just an all-round awesome do-er of good deeds.

Strange, my old history book had her listed as Fianna Fail during her terms as Pres..... Lying Bastards at Folens.

Are you thinking of McAleese (spelling)? she was picked by the Finners. Robinson was labour.

Yeah but she didn't even stay her full term.. McAleese, while but in by fianna fail did a lot more for the presidency.. I'd have to go with Collins though..was a **** but was what we needed

Collins were never really leader of the country though. If we are going to expand it that far I'll throw my hat in for the one armed bandit himself Davitt. Thanks to his work in the land league people like my family own our own land.

leader of the "good" Ira though...how about O'Connell, the great emancipator made it less bad to be catholic

 

[Xanadu84]

Favorite might be FDR. There's a reason he had 4 terms.

Teddy Roosevelt is right up there in terms of just being awesome. I only shy away from him because he is responsible for jocks and the obsession with sports ahead of classes in schools, thanks to importing the idea of Muscular Christianity. But besides that, pure awesome.

Coolidge has the best presidential story ever. Notoriously quiet, a reporter told him that she bet she could get more then 2 words out of him during a dinner. After being quiet all night, Silent Cal turned to the reporter and simply said, "You lose".

im afrad im going to have to call you out on the "jocks and puting sports ahead of schools" bit. rosevelt, who imho was one of the finesit leaders of the us ( my home contry incase you havent figerd that by now) while its true he was an avid enthusites of altetics(be beat his asma at a young age threu puer exesise, and a buttload of coffee) he read mutiple books everyday, amog his many jobs which included Rancher, Soldier, and Politician, he was also a Historian, Author, and aNaturalist. He matriculated at Harvard College in 1876. His father's death in 1878 was a tremendous blow, but Roosevelt redoubled his activities. He did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. He studied biology with considerable interest and was already an accomplished naturalist and published ornithologist. He had a photographic memory and developed a lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest people. He could multitask in impressive fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. and i havet even stared nameing his REAL accmpishments

Oh, he was 10 shades of awesome, and the jock thing was hardly intentional. But Muscular Christianity was a movement that found its way to the United States heavily thanks to Teddy's influences. The idea is that sports and athleticism with religious underpinnings would greatly aid a powerful, physically strong and cooperative army to conquer with. It was heavily influential in England, and naturally the idea appealed to Roosevelt. Of course soon after, things like science would become more important to winning wars then upper body strength, and this sudden attack on the sport status quo caused a major backlash, with football teams and other school athletes digging in there heels. And that would lead to a present day where football can get funding priority over a science class, and the stereotype of jocks hating nerds. There's a very interesting account of this in the book, "American Nerd: The Story of my People" by Benjamin Nugent

 

[CrazyJew]

Benjamen Nethaniahu. Granted, he is a bit TOO aggressive, prepared to go on an all out war with Iran over nothing, bu I love how he was the first one to grab the mortar-lobbing terrorists in Gaza by the balls and going "Hey, fuckers, when we made this bit autonomous you promised to sit quietly."

 

[Nerdstar]

Favorite might be FDR. There's a reason he had 4 terms.

Teddy Roosevelt is right up there in terms of just being awesome. I only shy away from him because he is responsible for jocks and the obsession with sports ahead of classes in schools, thanks to importing the idea of Muscular Christianity. But besides that, pure awesome.

Coolidge has the best presidential story ever. Notoriously quiet, a reporter told him that she bet she could get more then 2 words out of him during a dinner. After being quiet all night, Silent Cal turned to the reporter and simply said, "You lose".

im afrad im going to have to call you out on the "jocks and puting sports ahead of schools" bit. rosevelt, who imho was one of the finesit leaders of the us ( my home contry incase you havent figerd that by now) while its true he was an avid enthusites of altetics(be beat his asma at a young age threu puer exesise, and a buttload of coffee) he read mutiple books everyday, amog his many jobs which included Rancher, Soldier, and Politician, he was also a Historian, Author, and aNaturalist. He matriculated at Harvard College in 1876. His father's death in 1878 was a tremendous blow, but Roosevelt redoubled his activities. He did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. He studied biology with considerable interest and was already an accomplished naturalist and published ornithologist. He had a photographic memory and developed a lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest people. He could multitask in impressive fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. and i havet even stared nameing his REAL accmpishments

Oh, he was 10 shades of awesome, and the jock thing was hardly intentional. But Muscular Christianity was a movement that found its way to the United States heavily thanks to Teddy's influences. The idea is that sports and athleticism with religious underpinnings would greatly aid a powerful, physically strong and cooperative army to conquer with. It was heavily influential in England, and naturally the idea appealed to Roosevelt. Of course soon after, things like science would become more important to winning wars then upper body strength, and this sudden attack on the sport status quo caused a major backlash, with football teams and other school athletes digging in there heels. And that would lead to a present day where football can get funding priority over a science class, and the stereotype of jocks hating nerds. There's a very interesting account of this in the book, "American Nerd: The Story of my People" by Benjamin Nugent

while i can see where your coming from with this i hardly think its fair to claim that Roosevelt advocated "Muscular Christianity" at the expense of scholastics and that in turn shaped how sports programs can get priority funding over science,history and the arts.(as already stated he was a renaissance man with a love for both the athletic and intellectual) that i believe stems from multiple sources including the idea of appealing to the lowest common denominator(your average who just wants to watch the game),sports have always been a big thing and there often a communal thing where as intellectual study is(wrongly) perceived as a solitary endeavor,simply put i don't think that Roosevelt was the be all end all reason for the lopsided funding preitys however the idea of the stereotype jock hating nerd idea steaming for this situation dos have merit.

 

[BOOM headshot65]

As an American, there is 5 I can think of (in order):

#1: George Washington-set the bar for all that followed.
#2: Dwight Eisenhower-Very good with policy and foriegn affairs.
#3: Ronald Reagan-Excellent leader all around.
#4: John F. Kennedy-Or at least, what he talked about getting done, which was most likely screwed up by LBJ.
#5: George W. Bush-I just know that I am going to catch flak for him...I still think he was good.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

From what I hear, Eloy Alfaro was alright for a leader in the country I live in.
Until he got lynched by peasants.

The only leader I know about from where I come from is Patric Manning, and he was a fool who jerked off all over the country.

 

[Jak23]

I have always found George Washington to be a boss. Most of the other badass presidents were nutjobs in some way, but he was just awesome.

What he said.
Although I would like to add Ronald Reagan.

 

[SomeBrianDude]

Wartime leaders get all the glory. I don't think anyone needs reminding about Churchill's achievements, like how he bested Hitler in single combat with a blow that leveled Nagasaki. That's how World War II ended, right?

Massive world leader brawl?

No?! Oh, well you learn something new every day.

So, spare a thought for Henry Campbell-Bannerman, British Prime Minister 1905-1908. I won't go into too much detail, but you can essentially thank him (along with HH Asquith and David Lloyd-George) for the modern welfare state. You know the one where the poor aren't punished for being poor? Yeah, that one. Unemployment benefit, sick pay, free school meals, state pensions - all introduced by his government. Clement Atlee runs him close, but the NHS simply wouldn't have been possible without the Liberal Reforms. The pre-WWI Liberal governments were probably the most important of the 20th century (in peacetime, at least).

Captcha: men in suits. They probably did wear suits, captcha. Do you read my posts before you verify my human-ness?

 

[JCBFGD]

I'd say Jefferson, Eisenhower, and Carter are the only really awesome presidents the US has had. Everyone else is either meh or shit.

 

[Xanadu84]

Favorite might be FDR. There's a reason he had 4 terms.

Teddy Roosevelt is right up there in terms of just being awesome. I only shy away from him because he is responsible for jocks and the obsession with sports ahead of classes in schools, thanks to importing the idea of Muscular Christianity. But besides that, pure awesome.

Coolidge has the best presidential story ever. Notoriously quiet, a reporter told him that she bet she could get more then 2 words out of him during a dinner. After being quiet all night, Silent Cal turned to the reporter and simply said, "You lose".

im afrad im going to have to call you out on the "jocks and puting sports ahead of schools" bit. rosevelt, who imho was one of the finesit leaders of the us ( my home contry incase you havent figerd that by now) while its true he was an avid enthusites of altetics(be beat his asma at a young age threu puer exesise, and a buttload of coffee) he read mutiple books everyday, amog his many jobs which included Rancher, Soldier, and Politician, he was also a Historian, Author, and aNaturalist. He matriculated at Harvard College in 1876. His father's death in 1878 was a tremendous blow, but Roosevelt redoubled his activities. He did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. He studied biology with considerable interest and was already an accomplished naturalist and published ornithologist. He had a photographic memory and developed a lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest people. He could multitask in impressive fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. and i havet even stared nameing his REAL accmpishments

Oh, he was 10 shades of awesome, and the jock thing was hardly intentional. But Muscular Christianity was a movement that found its way to the United States heavily thanks to Teddy's influences. The idea is that sports and athleticism with religious underpinnings would greatly aid a powerful, physically strong and cooperative army to conquer with. It was heavily influential in England, and naturally the idea appealed to Roosevelt. Of course soon after, things like science would become more important to winning wars then upper body strength, and this sudden attack on the sport status quo caused a major backlash, with football teams and other school athletes digging in there heels. And that would lead to a present day where football can get funding priority over a science class, and the stereotype of jocks hating nerds. There's a very interesting account of this in the book, "American Nerd: The Story of my People" by Benjamin Nugent

while i can see where your coming from with this i hardly think its fair to claim that Roosevelt advocated "Muscular Christianity" at the expense of scholastics and that in turn shaped how sports programs can get priority funding over science,history and the arts.(as already stated he was a renaissance man with a love for both the athletic and intellectual) that i believe stems from multiple sources including the idea of appealing to the lowest common denominator(your average who just wants to watch the game),sports have always been a big thing and there often a communal thing where as intellectual study is(wrongly) perceived as a solitary endeavor,simply put i don't think that Roosevelt was the be all end all reason for the lopsided funding preitys however the idea of the stereotype jock hating nerd idea steaming for this situation dos have merit.

Ill agree that blame does not rest solely at his feet. But I do think that he had a part to play, even if it was completely reasonable at the time. And of course, I do have to mention that basically this conversation has turned into, "Teddy was really fricken awesome" "Nuh uh, he was TOTALLY fricken awesome".

I think that the true million dollar question here is, "Who was the best Roosevelt, Teddy or FDR?". That could get downright violent.

 

[Nerdstar]

Favorite might be FDR. There's a reason he had 4 terms.

Teddy Roosevelt is right up there in terms of just being awesome. I only shy away from him because he is responsible for jocks and the obsession with sports ahead of classes in schools, thanks to importing the idea of Muscular Christianity. But besides that, pure awesome.

Coolidge has the best presidential story ever. Notoriously quiet, a reporter told him that she bet she could get more then 2 words out of him during a dinner. After being quiet all night, Silent Cal turned to the reporter and simply said, "You lose".

im afrad im going to have to call you out on the "jocks and puting sports ahead of schools" bit. rosevelt, who imho was one of the finesit leaders of the us ( my home contry incase you havent figerd that by now) while its true he was an avid enthusites of altetics(be beat his asma at a young age threu puer exesise, and a buttload of coffee) he read mutiple books everyday, amog his many jobs which included Rancher, Soldier, and Politician, he was also a Historian, Author, and aNaturalist. He matriculated at Harvard College in 1876. His father's death in 1878 was a tremendous blow, but Roosevelt redoubled his activities. He did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. He studied biology with considerable interest and was already an accomplished naturalist and published ornithologist. He had a photographic memory and developed a lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest people. He could multitask in impressive fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. and i havet even stared nameing his REAL accmpishments

Oh, he was 10 shades of awesome, and the jock thing was hardly intentional. But Muscular Christianity was a movement that found its way to the United States heavily thanks to Teddy's influences. The idea is that sports and athleticism with religious underpinnings would greatly aid a powerful, physically strong and cooperative army to conquer with. It was heavily influential in England, and naturally the idea appealed to Roosevelt. Of course soon after, things like science would become more important to winning wars then upper body strength, and this sudden attack on the sport status quo caused a major backlash, with football teams and other school athletes digging in there heels. And that would lead to a present day where football can get funding priority over a science class, and the stereotype of jocks hating nerds. There's a very interesting account of this in the book, "American Nerd: The Story of my People" by Benjamin Nugent

while i can see where your coming from with this i hardly think its fair to claim that Roosevelt advocated "Muscular Christianity" at the expense of scholastics and that in turn shaped how sports programs can get priority funding over science,history and the arts.(as already stated he was a renaissance man with a love for both the athletic and intellectual) that i believe stems from multiple sources including the idea of appealing to the lowest common denominator(your average who just wants to watch the game),sports have always been a big thing and there often a communal thing where as intellectual study is(wrongly) perceived as a solitary endeavor,simply put i don't think that Roosevelt was the be all end all reason for the lopsided funding preitys however the idea of the stereotype jock hating nerd idea steaming for this situation dos have merit.

Ill agree that blame does not rest solely at his feet. But I do think that he had a part to play, even if it was completely reasonable at the time. And of course, I do have to mention that basically this conversation has turned into, "Teddy was really fricken awesome" "Nuh uh, he was TOTALLY fricken awesome".

I think that the true million dollar question here is, "Who was the best Roosevelt, Teddy or FDR?". That could get downright violent.

lol, yeah it seems as if our conversation has become a sort of who's the awesomest teddy roosevelt.

indeed roosevelt, may have had a part to play in the thing but then again so has every mom and dad who's ever taken there kid to a pee wee hockey game the

 

[Corax_1990]

This thread got out of control quickly. I mean it really got out of control fast.

To answer the actualy question. John Curtin. His leadership of Australia throughout WW2 and his response to the Japanese threat was extraordinary. Considering the nation, at that time, was not even 50 years old and his resources were very limited (in terms of troop numbers and millitary strength), his management and political manouvering ensured Australia was not forgotten by the rest of the Allies.

His popularity is demonstrated by the fact that he lead his party to their greatest victory in history.

 

[Freechoice]

He comes a close second to President Michael Wilson [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trmPZScztok#t=9s].

What. the. hell. was. that?

I'm not sure my brain can process what I just watched.

DLA

Distilled Liquid Awesome. Not available in the United States. GODDAMIT SEGA

 

[CAPTCHA]

How did he found Britain? That award goes to James VI or Anne. All William did was conquer England and then brutally subjugate it.

Those peasants needed to be repressed. Violence was inherent in the system.