In Jay Tea’s post regarding faith, troll wannabe JimX (like the product Ex-Lax, except that his effect uses vitriol and rhetoric rather than choco-flavored chemicals) derided several Republicans when I noted that President Obama has no humility in him whatsoever. Rather than argue with JimX on the matter (tantamount to barking back at a mongrel), I am taking the question to the greater audience. Which presidents have struck you as especially humble, and which were personally arrogant? To be clear, when I say ‘humble’ I do not mean timid or lacking in confidence, but rather a leader who cares about the goal, rather than his ego, and whose character is selfless in action. Arrogance, in this context, does not apply to bold action, even when pursuing a political goal one might object to, but the person who puts himself ahead of the country, and whose ego requires constant puffing up.
Note that a president may be arrogant yet effective, or humble and ineffective. I am considering this quality as it pertains to the man, not as a metric of his job performance.
Here’s my starting list of the most humble and most arrogant Presidents of the United States:
Humble
Gerald Ford
John Adams
George W Bush
Ronald Reagan
Abraham Lincoln
Dwight Eisenhower
Millard Fillmore
John Quincy Adams
Arrogant
Barack Obama
Andrew Johnson
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Franklin Roosevelt
James Madison
Andrew Jackson
James K Polk
I thought this might start a good conversation on the men who have served as Presidents.
