When did the Presidency lose it's respect?

[Death Metal Moe]

Now I just want to preface my post by saying I DID NOT start this thread to bash Clinton. In my opinion he brought a lot of disgrace on the US Presidency, but this started before him.

I'm talking about how back in the days of or Truman or Eisenhower the President was treated with the upmost respect. Don't forget that FDR was almost cripple. The press KNEW this and would NEVER take pictures of him in his wheel chair or leg braces. It was out of RESPECT.

But now our presidents are mocked NIGHTLY. "That's My Bush", Clinton on SNL. My first memory of this was with Reagan. Remember those huge headed puppets that some guy made after political figures of the day? Even back then Reagan was portrayed as a forgetful old man with his finger on the nuke button, and just looking for a reason to use it. I remember those fucking puppets in a Genesis video.

George Bush Sr. was openly mocked as a "wimp" and "It's the Economy, Stupid" bumper stickers popped up during his campaign for the Dems. Quayle deserves whatever he gets.

Clinton.....well, personally I think that Bush is being examined so closly because of the actions of Clinton. Clinton's IMMORAL actions forever tarnished the Presidency and what other countries think of our leadership.

Now George W. is in office and if he sneezes wrong, it's in the paper the next day that he was probably snorting something before the press conference. Every verbal mistake he makes goes into The Daily Show's "Bush File" to be brought up over and over again. I'd like to see how many times other presidents flubbed a little here and there. Sure, they didn't make up imaginary words, but it's the point.

So I'm not that old. Does anyone really know about what president this disrespect and over examination of our presidents started?

I don't think we should NEVEr question our leadership. Presidents have always met opposition. I just hate to see the leaders of the free world held up as bufoons.

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[Steels]

HBO's sitcom "Not Necessarily the News" was the first open forum of presidential mocking/bashing. In my opinion of course.

Those puppets with the big heads were from the show "D.C Follies"

Excellent thread, you make several fine points.

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[HAMMERHEAD]

The presidency lost it's Respect when Papa Bush was too much of a pussy to go into Baghdad.

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[HAMMERHEAD]

bottom line no one respects a pussy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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[Death Metal Moe]

I thinik it was before that.

And see what listening to pressure from the UN does to your presidency? Their lack of courage has forever stained his memory as president.

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[shamus mcfitzy]

I think the first prez to really be mocked on TV was LBJ, because he was a bit of a hick and because he was JFK's "replacement". But I think that Truman wasn't all that well respected, mostly because he was FDR's "replacement". And early on in the US' history, a lot of presidents had no respect. John Tyler is the first prez i can think of that was really dis-respected because he came in very unexpectedly and unwantedly (is that a word?) after William Henry Harrison's 30 day term. But Carson definitely started the all-out "the president's a joke" thing.

[FiveB247]

Nixon was probably the largest influence of mistrust and discourse for the presidency. Before him, most people held the government/ president (in general) in high regards with trust and respect. Once Vietnam and the scandal hit Washington....the notion that "maybe the government is being truthful" or "isn't acting in the people's behalf ...interest", it all hit the citizens with truthful accounts of disbelief. Before Watergate and Nixon...most presidents and government were held in regards with the media as well. There were some cases in which they were brought into the the bad spotlight...but most of the time...officials and such were kept out of the realm of media scandal and such. I mean look at JFK...it was well known about him and Marilyn Monroe but nothing was ever printed or spoken in the public forum. Clinton is just one in a long line of presidents or government officials who have been thrown before the public via media scrutiny for various actions.

[Death Metal Moe]

Hmmmm. Not being alive back then does limit my knowledge to books and TV, but I think Nixon may be a good place to start to look at why our Presidents started to get disrespected publicly.

Watergate was a BIG story and he had to leave office in disgrace. Not to mention the war issue.

Hmmmm. Until I see more arguments I think Nixon may be the well that all this modern disrespect of our presidents sprung from.

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[erole]

Hearing stuff like JFK's lady fiascos, LBJ and his wanting to be a lady fiasco, Nixon and the trash talking tapes fiasco, and you set the Presidency up for disrespect. I'll say that it was a combination of all three Presidents. It was one President after another. Nothing was working right.
But if you want specifics...Nixon. It jumped the shark with tricky Dick.

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[TheMojoPin]

Nixon killed it.

Actually a damn fine president, if you look past the crippling paranoia. But Watergate not only eroded the nation's faith in our presidents, but our government as a whole. And that's just monstrous.

Most of the presidents this century had deep personal flaws, most involving women. Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Hoover, Kennedy and Johnsons all had at least one mistress (Truman was clean as a whistle, and as no small coincidence I think he was the last all-around "great" president we had), but there was an unspoken promise that the press would "ignore" these infedelities. Kennedy and FDR's (Roosevelt had at least FOUR mistresses while in office...one for each term!) indiscretions were especially common knowledge around DC and the in the press, but things were kept quiet for the "good of the nation."

Nixon shattered that trust, and it almost seems like an act of vengeance that the press keeps track of VERY detail for the public that almost demands it.

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[FiveB247]

Geeeez..it's about time some people finally agree with me about something! hehe

[Death Metal Moe]

Don't worry Five.

We'll be back to disagreing with your Left Wing agenda soon enough.

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[FiveB247]

I don't have a left wing agenda. Many of my views maybe radical...but I don't consider myself a part of any one political philosophy.

[Death Metal Moe]

Me thinks your posts deceive you!

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[Bama]

Cartoons of Washington had him on a donkey with the caption "An ass rides to Washington" or something to that effect.

Even so, I think we've always deep down respected our legitimately elected presidents. :)

P.S. CLINTON RULES!

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This message was edited by bamanation on 3-10-03 @ 2:34 AM

[FUNKMAN]

ever since George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were banging cocktail waitresses two at a time...

actually they were farmhands and servants but I thought Johnny Fontane might appreciate the misquote...

and all Clinton did was get his nob slobbed...

poor guy...

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[JerryTaker]

I seem to remember seeing some old political cartoons showing Taft as this gigantic baloon... It probably goes back further than that, but I think those cartoons is where you will find the biggest cases of "disrepect" for the current president...

I mean it's preposterous, what we do in this country.. we should respect our elders, and out politicians, after all, they're always right, aren't they?



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[high fly]

It was DICK NIXON.


The trauma he put this country through killed trust in our leaders.
While other presidents have aspects about them that can be justly criticized, what Nixon did stands head and shoulders above most, if not all the others.
What is kind of amusing is how Republicans, smarting from the suspicion and hatred that Dick Nixon aroused, had been desparate for many years to find a Nixon on the left, and this is at the root of their hatred of Bill Clinton.

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[A.J.]

What is kind of amusing is how Republicans, smarting from the suspicion and hatred that Dick Nixon aroused, had been desparate for many years to find a Nixon on the left, and this is at the root of their hatred of Bill Clinton.

It's just that Nixon and Clinton are similar in that they both could have had great presidencies but they were scandal-ridden due to their own personal flaws.

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[FatTony]

Pardon me if I am wrong, but I believe it had to do with our now "fearless" leader George Dubya damn near killing himself by choking on a pretzel. I mean if you give someone ammunition shall they not use it? You just can't help but make fun of such stupidity.

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[A.J.]

Pardon me if I am wrong, but I believe it had to do with our now "fearless" leader George Dubya damn near killing himself by choking on a pretzel. I mean if you give someone ammunition shall they not use it? You just can't help but make fun of such stupidity.

It's true: like when Gerald Ford fell down the steps of Air Force One (see Chevy Chase on SNL) or when Jimmy Carter collapsed during a marathon.

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[Jackie Sloan]

It's gotta be Tricky Dick...the presidency has never been the same.

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[Death Metal Moe]

When you started to mention the fact that there
was a
president you hick fuck.


I hope that's directed at someone else pal.


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