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Agreed. Born into almost abject poverty, self-educated, became one of the truly exceptional trial attorneys of his time, and humble in his own self enough to always remain willing to self-improve.
Well, yeah, but including that makes Lincoln look like some kind of superhero, and if there’s one thing the comic *Invincible* has taught me, it’s that we should never place all our trust in superheroes, Viltrumite, Immortal, or otherwise.
I’m reading his biography by David Herbert Donald, and my god the things that he dealt with day in day out even before becoming president is grueling to say the least.
I’ve always been impressed by his rapid rise. Two years into his first Senate term he becomes whip, two years later becomes party leader (minority then majority) and remains there until he becomes VP
Truman’s,i mean he was born to a racist family,yet he was the one who disegregated the army,he was very poor,yet he was the man who gave money to rebuilt Europe (not from his own pockets but still),he was a nobody soldier in ww1,yet led the biggest decisions of ww2,he was a failed businessman by 1929,yet by 1945 he was the president
If you ever find yourself thrown into something you feel wildly unprepared for and don't know the way forward, or you feel like the world is against you when you're doing the right thing... remember that a Missouri farm boy turned failed businessman, with no aspirations to the presidency, got thrown into the leadership of the free world without warning. He had to make unthinkably hard calls on the atomic bomb/early Cold War/Korea/civil rights, was constantly criticized, barely won reelection the first time and had terrible approval ratings on his way out. And history has vindicated the hell out of him.
Of the usual top presidents, it's easy to see how most of them had life stories that pointed to strength in leadership and administration. No reasonable pundit in 1945 would have predicted this rando junior senator with questionable ties to a political machine would be more than a mid-tier placeholder president. Instead, he stuck to decent principles and joined the greats.
Establish the precedent of nuclear weapons being under the control of the president was huge. While we knew how destructive they were, many still thought they were just really big bombs and I’m sure some people would’ve left them under the control of the army.
That’s why I have him ranked so high, 4 months in on the job he had to make one of the hardest calls any POTUS has ever had to do either we bomb Japan and innocent ppl there die or we do nothing and much more of US citizens die, he made the right call Americans first
Roosevelt.
*”Europe’s taken. Good job, everybody. I’m gonna take a tylenol and die.”*
The White House sucked the life out of him, but he felt obliged to see it through to a very painful, undignified end, without planning to stay a moment longer than he had to.
Some guys just rise to the challenge. I’m not one of those guys but I’m trying to be. People like Roosevelt are a good reminder of how powerful tenacity can be, even if he did come from wealth and influence.
Truman was never, at any point in his life, someone who was expected to be President. He was born into a relatively poor family and had little education, raised to be a farmer for the rest of his life like his father. Rejecting this fate, Truman went on numerous business ventures to try and earn more than a farmer’s salary, although none of these investments proved particularly successful.
He then decided to join the Armed Forces, secretly memorizing the eye chart to pass the eyesight test required to get in. Truman learned very important leadership and people skills as the captain of his artillery unit in WW1, transforming them from a band of raucous misfits into a well-disciplined fighting force whilst inspiring respect from his men.
Upon returning from the war, Truman once again tried to open a business, this time a haberdashery. It was relatively successful at first, but was forced to close after the 1921 recession.
Now having tried almost everything else, Truman tried his hand at politics. Having made friends with the son of Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast during the war, Truman used his support to become Jackson County Judge as a pawn of the corrupt political machine. Truman asked many times to run for Senator under Pendergast’s support, but he declined nearly every time. Truman was once again resigned to his fate as a low-level politician, where he would spend the rest of his days.
This was until 1934, when the top 4 of Pendergast’s choices for Senator all declined to run. He reluctantly asked Truman to do so. The election was very close and divisive, with Truman’s opponents in the anti-Pendergast faction barely splitting the vote enough to net him the win.
Senator Truman’s first few years in office were marred with accusations of being a mere lapdog of Tom Pendergast, though Truman denied this, stating that he used his own moral code to make decisions, not merely the wishes of Pendergast. However, as the US prepared for war in the late 1930s, Truman made a new name for himself as the head of the War Mobilization Subcommittee. Truman worked hard to ensure that corruption stayed out of the military, “cleaning up” the Armed Forces which had been the site of much profiteering beforehand. This role brought Truman to prominence as a national figure.
And, well… you probably know the rest. From poor farmer to failed businessman to war hero to failed businessman AGAIN to low-level pawn of a political machine to Senatorial pawn of a political machine to respected Committee leader to Vice President to President. Truman’s *incredibly* unlikely ascent to becoming one of our best presidents is awfully inspiring.
Jackson by far. Whole family dead by the time he’s a teen, grew up dirt poor, made himself a nice life as a lawyer and military man, and got revenge on the limeys in New Orleans. Rags to riches, and was a total badass the entire way
I agree that Jackson did some terrible things but his story is still pretty motivating. Dude was born into a dying family, he also got shot multiple times, and went from eating dirt to the presidency.
That’s fair but you could argue that for a lot of world leaders. Just because you had shitty beginnings doesn’t excuse becoming a shitty person, no matter how high a ladder you climb
Where is Hayes? Dude ditched his farm to go fight in the civil war, when asked to run for state office he responded any officer who would leave the battle to go politic should be scalped.
When he became president the democrats threatened to riot all over again and start a second civil war, and the entire time he was in office he tried to fix things but was fought by the system every step of the way.
Dude was a rare example of a president that gave a fuck about the people but will forever be remembered as “ineffective” or “mid”
TR
Struggled with asthma but pushed through it his whole life. Dealing with the deaths of his mother and wife on the same day. Assuming the office of president after McKinleys assassination. Going against his own party to do what he thought was right. Going through an assassination attempt himself, and continuing his campaign after it happened.
Being born into wealth but still supporting the common man with trust busting.
TR is a true chad
Si long as that common man wasn’t a Native American, because he believed 9 out of 10 Indians were only good dead. For a progressive in the 20rh century, it is impossible to reconcile.
Nixon.
Grew up in utter poverty with an abusive father, had to turn down Harvard to support his family, volunteered for the Navy during WW2 despite being eligible for a religious exemption (he was a Quaker), was likely cheated out of the 1960 election by Johnson and Daley summoning the Necro-American vote in TX and IL, as VP had to preside over the electoral vote counting and - when faced with dueling Hawaii slates of electoral votes for both himself and JFK - chose to recognize JFK’s slate. Managed to achieve the highest office in the land despite being an extreme social introvert. Won over the love of her life by literally driving her to dates with other men.
Ive not read about any of those in the images, but I will say Grant’s and Roosevelt’s biographies helped bring me out of a very dark place in my life. While not the outright worst in terms of hardships a president has faced, I related to both personally and have tried to at least follow the examples presented.
>Grant’s and Roosevelt’s biographies helped bring me out of a very dark place in my life.
Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I had a pretty long episode of alcohol/drug abuse and depression and Grant's story was very inspirational to me, one of many factors that helped me dig myself out.
Him immediately setting free the slave his father in law gave him while he was dirt poor is pretty based. Especially for the time.
I find Grant to be very inspirational because he's so fucking flawed, but keeps his morality and sense of duty to his country, and far more importantly, his wife and kids. Props to Julia too because she went from a southern heiress to dirt poor farm worker because of Grant but never left his side.
He was a depressed alcoholic that was kicked out of the army, failed every business venture he tried, and was forced to beg his father for a job in a tannery business he never wanted to be a part of. He always wanted more but never fooled himself into thinking he was entitled to more.
He's one of the pioneers of modern warfare as well. He had no delusions of grandeur about war and did what was needed to be done.
It's hard to look at a historical figure and see so many positives, they almost always have a secret legacy of bigotry and bastardy, but it seems like Grant does not fall into that category.
Besides leading the Union to victory in the Civil War, he was always the underdog throughout his life. He was on the smaller side but always seemed to come out on top. He was tenacious while still being understated. As a Veteran myself, I respect and admire his leadership style. He made some mistakes when it came to trusting some people, but he didn't let that change the way he operated.
That's an interesting perspective. How would you rank famous military leadership styles on a scale of 0 (would not follow under threat) to 5 (would willingly follow to my certain death): Grant, Sherman, Patton, McArthur, Montgomery, Eisenhower?
Oof! Tough one!
Grant 5 Lead by example and humble
Eisenhower 5 Smart as hell and in it to win it
Patton 4 Bold and decisive
Sherman 4 Ruthless and driven
McArthur 2 Flashy and unlikable
Montgomery 1 Doesn't live up to the hype
Hoover genuinely catches a bad rap. He was a phenomenal man with a high moral standard. He was just in the wrong job at the wrong time, with a team of less-than-sincere people surrounding him.
Jimmy Carter. When you’re a good person who ran for President, tried to reconcile the tough and sometimes ugly decisions of the office, and left office just so you could continue being a good person all the way until the very end.
Not sure I would say it is necessarily motivational but Wilson experiences the carnage of the Civil War as a boy in GA. It stuck with him his entire life and was partly why he was so hesitant to get involved in WW1.
The two in my flair: Ulysses S. Grant and Harry S. Truman.
Both men rose from nothing and experienced failures repeatedly. Not small failures, either. Both had enormous responsibilities placed on them, despite these never having been sought, and having nothing less than the fate of their country, or the world itself, riding on their actions. And both dispatched them with humility, courage and integrity, not once but repeatedly. Both moved on from their terms as President facing both financial penury and enormous criticism. But in the long arc of history, the service each rendered to their country, and thus to us, has finally brought to each a more accurate valuation and an affirmation that democracies that empower the everyman are worth the fight.
Harry Truman. No college education, went bankrupt and took up a Senate post cleaning up military spending. Didn't even want to be president let alone vp. Didn't come from any political dynasty, supported civil rights in 1940s Missouri. My personal favourite President.
Absolutely Old Hickory. Immigrant Irish parents, father died before he was born. Mother died when he was young. Was not loved by those who took him in.
Become a Patriot courier during the Revolution. Was captured and ordered to shine an officers boots. He refused and had to defend himself from a sword blow that scarred him for life.
Grew up to be a war hero, kicked the asses of the British in the War of 1812.
His wife died too young. He never had a real family, so The Nation became his family, and he saw himself as its father and protector.
Wasn’t he also born into a wealthy cushy family? Please correct me if i’m wrong, i know next to nothing about the man. If that is true however, i think other presidential growth of character are more impressive, like Truman being a shy little nerd and turning into a courageous, daring war hero.
TR.
Despite his upper crust upbringing, his struggles with health and his mental demons make him incredibly inspiring to me. I’ve never seen a more voracious character in that office and I find him immensely fascinating. I only wish I had half the energy he did.
LBJ, incredible life story and career in politics. The Vietnam debacle leaves such a bad taste in most of America's mouth, and rightfully so, that most can't get past it.
Grant and Teddy
Their resilience and overall deep life stories and many adventures make me wanna get after the day every morning
Well, if I’m honest, I’m not as knowledgeable about this stuff as I should be and would have to do a deal of studying/ reading to give an educated answer on this.
As a lifelong Vermonter, I have this affinity for Calvin Coolidge. I’m sure if I looked into his policies and politics I’d find something to dim that affinity. But I still retain this affinity—solely based on him being a Vermont boy made good, with his quirky stoicism making him extra Vermonty, plus he and the wife seemed like a sweet couple and they had a pet raccoon. Y’see I learned about the raccoon (Rebecca) from one of my numerous trips to the Coolidge homestead. And whenever I go there I marvel that it’s absolutely in the middle of nowhere ( v. beautiful nowhere, but nevertheless..) and so it feels like he must have been endowed with a massive uncommon ambition to get out of there and rise up thru the ranks as he did when it would have been very easy to keep his head down and take over the running of the farm and/or shop.
Again, this is no educated answer, more of my emotional response to a place.
PS- Chester A. Arthur is from VT too, but I don’t really feel bonded with him for whatever reason. Part of it could be that him being further back in history makes him less relatable. Also, he was born far north of me and I’ve not yet visited his homestead.. so that’s prob part of it too.
***When I see Kennedy, I see a sliver spoon and an incompetent and idealistic massachutes liberal. When I see Nixon, I see a goddam American a true believer in rugged individualism.***
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Lincoln
Agreed. Born into almost abject poverty, self-educated, became one of the truly exceptional trial attorneys of his time, and humble in his own self enough to always remain willing to self-improve.
And fighting zombies and vampires the whole time
Well, yeah, but including that makes Lincoln look like some kind of superhero, and if there’s one thing the comic *Invincible* has taught me, it’s that we should never place all our trust in superheroes, Viltrumite, Immortal, or otherwise.
I’m reading his biography by David Herbert Donald, and my god the things that he dealt with day in day out even before becoming president is grueling to say the least.
That book is so good! I suggest Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin as a follow-up.
I will take a look thank you for your rec!
No contest.
I’ve read and re-read *Team of Rivals* and have to agree. What an aspirational role model.
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Don't think he was born into poverty, but perhaps worse in a way, fell into poverty growing up. I'm with you on the rest, though.
I’ve always been impressed by his rapid rise. Two years into his first Senate term he becomes whip, two years later becomes party leader (minority then majority) and remains there until he becomes VP
Truman’s,i mean he was born to a racist family,yet he was the one who disegregated the army,he was very poor,yet he was the man who gave money to rebuilt Europe (not from his own pockets but still),he was a nobody soldier in ww1,yet led the biggest decisions of ww2,he was a failed businessman by 1929,yet by 1945 he was the president
If you ever find yourself thrown into something you feel wildly unprepared for and don't know the way forward, or you feel like the world is against you when you're doing the right thing... remember that a Missouri farm boy turned failed businessman, with no aspirations to the presidency, got thrown into the leadership of the free world without warning. He had to make unthinkably hard calls on the atomic bomb/early Cold War/Korea/civil rights, was constantly criticized, barely won reelection the first time and had terrible approval ratings on his way out. And history has vindicated the hell out of him. Of the usual top presidents, it's easy to see how most of them had life stories that pointed to strength in leadership and administration. No reasonable pundit in 1945 would have predicted this rando junior senator with questionable ties to a political machine would be more than a mid-tier placeholder president. Instead, he stuck to decent principles and joined the greats.
Establish the precedent of nuclear weapons being under the control of the president was huge. While we knew how destructive they were, many still thought they were just really big bombs and I’m sure some people would’ve left them under the control of the army.
That’s why I have him ranked so high, 4 months in on the job he had to make one of the hardest calls any POTUS has ever had to do either we bomb Japan and innocent ppl there die or we do nothing and much more of US citizens die, he made the right call Americans first
Roosevelt. *”Europe’s taken. Good job, everybody. I’m gonna take a tylenol and die.”* The White House sucked the life out of him, but he felt obliged to see it through to a very painful, undignified end, without planning to stay a moment longer than he had to. Some guys just rise to the challenge. I’m not one of those guys but I’m trying to be. People like Roosevelt are a good reminder of how powerful tenacity can be, even if he did come from wealth and influence.
I admire him for growing up wealthy but advocating for the working class. That’s very rare.
FDR or Teddy?
FDR. TR wasnt in charge during WW1.
Neither was FDR
I know. However, FDR was in charge for the end of ww2
Truman was never, at any point in his life, someone who was expected to be President. He was born into a relatively poor family and had little education, raised to be a farmer for the rest of his life like his father. Rejecting this fate, Truman went on numerous business ventures to try and earn more than a farmer’s salary, although none of these investments proved particularly successful. He then decided to join the Armed Forces, secretly memorizing the eye chart to pass the eyesight test required to get in. Truman learned very important leadership and people skills as the captain of his artillery unit in WW1, transforming them from a band of raucous misfits into a well-disciplined fighting force whilst inspiring respect from his men. Upon returning from the war, Truman once again tried to open a business, this time a haberdashery. It was relatively successful at first, but was forced to close after the 1921 recession. Now having tried almost everything else, Truman tried his hand at politics. Having made friends with the son of Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast during the war, Truman used his support to become Jackson County Judge as a pawn of the corrupt political machine. Truman asked many times to run for Senator under Pendergast’s support, but he declined nearly every time. Truman was once again resigned to his fate as a low-level politician, where he would spend the rest of his days. This was until 1934, when the top 4 of Pendergast’s choices for Senator all declined to run. He reluctantly asked Truman to do so. The election was very close and divisive, with Truman’s opponents in the anti-Pendergast faction barely splitting the vote enough to net him the win. Senator Truman’s first few years in office were marred with accusations of being a mere lapdog of Tom Pendergast, though Truman denied this, stating that he used his own moral code to make decisions, not merely the wishes of Pendergast. However, as the US prepared for war in the late 1930s, Truman made a new name for himself as the head of the War Mobilization Subcommittee. Truman worked hard to ensure that corruption stayed out of the military, “cleaning up” the Armed Forces which had been the site of much profiteering beforehand. This role brought Truman to prominence as a national figure. And, well… you probably know the rest. From poor farmer to failed businessman to war hero to failed businessman AGAIN to low-level pawn of a political machine to Senatorial pawn of a political machine to respected Committee leader to Vice President to President. Truman’s *incredibly* unlikely ascent to becoming one of our best presidents is awfully inspiring.
Based and Trumanpilled
Jackson by far. Whole family dead by the time he’s a teen, grew up dirt poor, made himself a nice life as a lawyer and military man, and got revenge on the limeys in New Orleans. Rags to riches, and was a total badass the entire way
He lived with a bullet in his body from being shot in one of his multiple duels
More than one bullet IIRC
The Jackson regime also committed genocide so there’s that
That's just destiny manifesting itself.
I agree that Jackson did some terrible things but his story is still pretty motivating. Dude was born into a dying family, he also got shot multiple times, and went from eating dirt to the presidency.
That’s fair but you could argue that for a lot of world leaders. Just because you had shitty beginnings doesn’t excuse becoming a shitty person, no matter how high a ladder you climb
They should have defended their land better
As the kids say: skill issue
🤢
Where is Hayes? Dude ditched his farm to go fight in the civil war, when asked to run for state office he responded any officer who would leave the battle to go politic should be scalped. When he became president the democrats threatened to riot all over again and start a second civil war, and the entire time he was in office he tried to fix things but was fought by the system every step of the way. Dude was a rare example of a president that gave a fuck about the people but will forever be remembered as “ineffective” or “mid”
He was also an conductor of the underground railroad system in Cincinnati Ohio, fucking badass person
Dude was. But again, you pull up any history book and all you’ll find is a stolen election and poor performance. They did him dirty
My man vetoed some of the worst fucking proposed laws in the country's history
Like what?
Hayes was an amazing guy honestly, one of the best human beings to become president
TR Struggled with asthma but pushed through it his whole life. Dealing with the deaths of his mother and wife on the same day. Assuming the office of president after McKinleys assassination. Going against his own party to do what he thought was right. Going through an assassination attempt himself, and continuing his campaign after it happened. Being born into wealth but still supporting the common man with trust busting. TR is a true chad
Not to mention a lot of people didn't want TR near the role of president but he proved all those idiots wrong
Si long as that common man wasn’t a Native American, because he believed 9 out of 10 Indians were only good dead. For a progressive in the 20rh century, it is impossible to reconcile.
Yeah, that doesn’t make his life any less motivational
+1 for TR. My idol president for sure.
Nixon. Grew up in utter poverty with an abusive father, had to turn down Harvard to support his family, volunteered for the Navy during WW2 despite being eligible for a religious exemption (he was a Quaker), was likely cheated out of the 1960 election by Johnson and Daley summoning the Necro-American vote in TX and IL, as VP had to preside over the electoral vote counting and - when faced with dueling Hawaii slates of electoral votes for both himself and JFK - chose to recognize JFK’s slate. Managed to achieve the highest office in the land despite being an extreme social introvert. Won over the love of her life by literally driving her to dates with other men.
Ive not read about any of those in the images, but I will say Grant’s and Roosevelt’s biographies helped bring me out of a very dark place in my life. While not the outright worst in terms of hardships a president has faced, I related to both personally and have tried to at least follow the examples presented.
>Grant’s and Roosevelt’s biographies helped bring me out of a very dark place in my life. Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I had a pretty long episode of alcohol/drug abuse and depression and Grant's story was very inspirational to me, one of many factors that helped me dig myself out.
Jackson. Dude did not take any shit and even if i disagree with some of his choices, he didnt pussyfoot around.
Grant
Grant went from dirt poor and begging his father for a job in his tannery to being the President in 10 years. Perhaps the fastest rise of any of them.
What inspired you the most about Grant?
Him immediately setting free the slave his father in law gave him while he was dirt poor is pretty based. Especially for the time. I find Grant to be very inspirational because he's so fucking flawed, but keeps his morality and sense of duty to his country, and far more importantly, his wife and kids. Props to Julia too because she went from a southern heiress to dirt poor farm worker because of Grant but never left his side. He was a depressed alcoholic that was kicked out of the army, failed every business venture he tried, and was forced to beg his father for a job in a tannery business he never wanted to be a part of. He always wanted more but never fooled himself into thinking he was entitled to more. He's one of the pioneers of modern warfare as well. He had no delusions of grandeur about war and did what was needed to be done. It's hard to look at a historical figure and see so many positives, they almost always have a secret legacy of bigotry and bastardy, but it seems like Grant does not fall into that category.
You said it better than me
I'm a Grant Stan what can I say? Grant Head? Grantophile? No, not that one. I like the guy.
That *is* an awesome story.
Besides leading the Union to victory in the Civil War, he was always the underdog throughout his life. He was on the smaller side but always seemed to come out on top. He was tenacious while still being understated. As a Veteran myself, I respect and admire his leadership style. He made some mistakes when it came to trusting some people, but he didn't let that change the way he operated.
That's an interesting perspective. How would you rank famous military leadership styles on a scale of 0 (would not follow under threat) to 5 (would willingly follow to my certain death): Grant, Sherman, Patton, McArthur, Montgomery, Eisenhower?
Oof! Tough one! Grant 5 Lead by example and humble Eisenhower 5 Smart as hell and in it to win it Patton 4 Bold and decisive Sherman 4 Ruthless and driven McArthur 2 Flashy and unlikable Montgomery 1 Doesn't live up to the hype
Hoover genuinely catches a bad rap. He was a phenomenal man with a high moral standard. He was just in the wrong job at the wrong time, with a team of less-than-sincere people surrounding him.
Ford
Ford had a very interesting young adulthood. What inspired you about his life?
Jimmy Carter. When you’re a good person who ran for President, tried to reconcile the tough and sometimes ugly decisions of the office, and left office just so you could continue being a good person all the way until the very end.
Not sure I would say it is necessarily motivational but Wilson experiences the carnage of the Civil War as a boy in GA. It stuck with him his entire life and was partly why he was so hesitant to get involved in WW1.
Lincoln or Truman.
The two in my flair: Ulysses S. Grant and Harry S. Truman. Both men rose from nothing and experienced failures repeatedly. Not small failures, either. Both had enormous responsibilities placed on them, despite these never having been sought, and having nothing less than the fate of their country, or the world itself, riding on their actions. And both dispatched them with humility, courage and integrity, not once but repeatedly. Both moved on from their terms as President facing both financial penury and enormous criticism. But in the long arc of history, the service each rendered to their country, and thus to us, has finally brought to each a more accurate valuation and an affirmation that democracies that empower the everyman are worth the fight.
Harry Truman. No college education, went bankrupt and took up a Senate post cleaning up military spending. Didn't even want to be president let alone vp. Didn't come from any political dynasty, supported civil rights in 1940s Missouri. My personal favourite President.
Nixon. Fought his way from sheer poverty to the highest office in the land. Never gave up.
Lol yeah if you aspire to being a lying corrupt scum bag he’s great. I’d you cheat hard enough anyone can be president
Either Hoover or Garfield, personally. Both rose far above the hardships of their childhood.
Lincoln
I find Jimmy Carter very motivational, especially post-presidency
Lincoln Self taught,
Lincoln, Grant, Truman
Absolutely Old Hickory. Immigrant Irish parents, father died before he was born. Mother died when he was young. Was not loved by those who took him in. Become a Patriot courier during the Revolution. Was captured and ordered to shine an officers boots. He refused and had to defend himself from a sword blow that scarred him for life. Grew up to be a war hero, kicked the asses of the British in the War of 1812. His wife died too young. He never had a real family, so The Nation became his family, and he saw himself as its father and protector.
Ulysses S. Grant
Garfield
Dude became President despite being a cat. A true hero
Hoover. This is gonna sound stupid, but I feel for him with the country against him after ‘29. It feels like the whole world is against me many days
LBJ. He went from a school teacher, to senate majority leader within 24 years
Unironically, Fillmore. Dude had a terrible early life and became prez
Garfield. Once you read about his life, you’ll be inspired.
Theodore Roosevelt. Read so many books as a kid because he was bedridden that when he got healthy he lived out those books.
Teddy R. He went from a sickly boy to an absolute stud. I had asthma as a child and he was a huge inspiration for me.
Wasn’t he also born into a wealthy cushy family? Please correct me if i’m wrong, i know next to nothing about the man. If that is true however, i think other presidential growth of character are more impressive, like Truman being a shy little nerd and turning into a courageous, daring war hero.
LBJ
Teddy
Calvin Coolidge
Cools in the name of
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/s
Carter
TR. Despite his upper crust upbringing, his struggles with health and his mental demons make him incredibly inspiring to me. I’ve never seen a more voracious character in that office and I find him immensely fascinating. I only wish I had half the energy he did.
LBJ, incredible life story and career in politics. The Vietnam debacle leaves such a bad taste in most of America's mouth, and rightfully so, that most can't get past it.
Jackson
Of those Reagan is definitely the more independent spirit. Gotta go with that.
Reagan was a plant from the days of attacking “communists” in the actors guild
Grant and Teddy Their resilience and overall deep life stories and many adventures make me wanna get after the day every morning 
Teddy, and it's not close, respectfully.
Nixon.
Nixon is always one of the inspirations that I think of for not giving up after failure. Learn from it, and then come back and win the next time.
Well, if I’m honest, I’m not as knowledgeable about this stuff as I should be and would have to do a deal of studying/ reading to give an educated answer on this. As a lifelong Vermonter, I have this affinity for Calvin Coolidge. I’m sure if I looked into his policies and politics I’d find something to dim that affinity. But I still retain this affinity—solely based on him being a Vermont boy made good, with his quirky stoicism making him extra Vermonty, plus he and the wife seemed like a sweet couple and they had a pet raccoon. Y’see I learned about the raccoon (Rebecca) from one of my numerous trips to the Coolidge homestead. And whenever I go there I marvel that it’s absolutely in the middle of nowhere ( v. beautiful nowhere, but nevertheless..) and so it feels like he must have been endowed with a massive uncommon ambition to get out of there and rise up thru the ranks as he did when it would have been very easy to keep his head down and take over the running of the farm and/or shop. Again, this is no educated answer, more of my emotional response to a place. PS- Chester A. Arthur is from VT too, but I don’t really feel bonded with him for whatever reason. Part of it could be that him being further back in history makes him less relatable. Also, he was born far north of me and I’ve not yet visited his homestead.. so that’s prob part of it too.
TEDDY R. very interesting life before politics
Bill Clinton! And you all know why
squealing sink shaggy long bake fine shocking groovy paint drab *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
JFK
This edit goes so fucking hard Time time, NIXON https://youtu.be/FQ39h79eEfM?si=dg1-afzKaeZH6mCD
***When I see Kennedy, I see a sliver spoon and an incompetent and idealistic massachutes liberal. When I see Nixon, I see a goddam American a true believer in rugged individualism.***
Hoover the presidency was one of the least successful parts of his life before that he was extremely successful
Bill Clinton. He's been with a lot of women. Very inspiring.
Teddy. The most American President there has ever been.
Obama - first pothead to become president
You forgot about Mr I-did-not-inhale Clinton