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Mon 11 Aug, 2003 08:50 am
If, magically, all the American Presidents were alive and 30 years old, and forced to fight each other in a no-rules, battle royale; who do you think would win?
George Washinton, or William Howard Taft. Washington was over six feet in height, and kept fit, having traipsed about the wilderness since adolescence. Taft was over six feet, and weighed in at nearly 300 lbs. (when he was the civilian head in the Phillipines, the military leader, Arthur MacArthur, would send nasty notes home about the horse who broke down after being ridden by Taft). Abe was a tall drink of water, and probably pretty fit, but he was kinda skinny.
Taft would just sit on him. At age 30, they were friends . . . later, they were less enchanted with one another . . .
Taft, if I remember right, was also a Grecco Roman Wrestler while at Yale which might come in handy.
Gerald Ford was a collegite boxer (and later a boxing coach) as well as a football player so at age 30 he prolly would have been in pretty good position to contend too.
Bush, he'd attack "pre-emptively".
Jackson - he was just plain meaner.
Yep.
Jackson. Meanness counts for a lot. Did he shoot Burr, or did Burr shoot him? Faulty memory. Was it over Jackson's wife?
Ford would probably swing and miss.
I have some very ornery politicians in my family tree.
The Tilghmans of South Carolina. One of them shot NG Gonzales, the local newspaper editor, on Main Street in broad daylight. (Didn't like the bad editorials.) He was acquitted. They say he paid people to use fishing rods, clipped with money, to pay off the jury as they deliberated.
Sofia- not that it matters, but Aaron Burr shot & killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Jackson shot & killed a guy named Charles Dickenson in a duel.
Regarding Taft. President Cleveland was almost as heavy as Taft. And if he was President twice, maybe he'd be reincarnated twice? And could double-team Taft.
Cleveland and Taft in a sumo match?
If I remember my history correctly, Jackson killed a man in a duel for slandering his wife. Lincoln was challenged to a duel, but his opponent backed out when he saw the stipulations that Lincoln had put up.
Thank you Jim and Equus.
Seems like we've had our fair share of pistol totin' Presidents.
Now, I'm curious about Lincoln's stipulations....
I was afraid someone was going to ask that. From what I remember, it had to do with dueling with sabers in a confined area. Given the length of Lincoln's arms, it would have been suicide for the challenger to follow through with the duel.
That's funny. Lincoln was a hoot.
This is funny....I was rooting for Taft too, and I'm Canajun...I shouldn't know about Taft. Maybe it's the Marat-Sade bathtub death that got me interested. I would put bets on Lincoln too though. He was skinny, but he boxed, and probably had more stamina than the fatties.
Lincoln--also devilishly witty and sly. Once dispersed a lynch mob by himself, without a weapon. (Wait, that was a TV movie...)
JFK would just hire a hit,
and no one would realize what happened or that he had anything to do with it.
J. Edgar would have known, but he wouldn't have told, unless . . . .
Definitely Teddy Roosevelt. Very physically fit (despite a sickly childhood, very familiar with firearms (and fond of hunting large dangerous games), a combat veteran...as president he commonly carried his own pistol, determined to take any would be assassin with him. Took up Judo while in the White House too.
Bush Jr. - he would have Rummy call in an airstrike, followed by a division of rangers.............Of course, Bush would be a thousand miles away and 6 miles high
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