Who is the greatest American?

By Joe McAdory

Published: July 21, 2008

Our Web site’s current poll asks readers who they believe the greatest American of all-time is. The choices are a mixture of past presidents, a newsman, fighters for civil liberties and an inventor who dabbled in politics.

Through 10 days online, I’m a bit surprised that Ronald Reagan is the leading vote-getter. He did a lot of great things for this country, but wasn’t there some controversy too? Reagan had a ton of swagger, charisma and was a strong leader that leaders around the world respected. But is he the greatest American? Hey, that’s not up to me.

So far, here are the standings:
Ronald Reagan 153
George Washington 111
Martin Luther King 102
Someone else 64
Abraham Lincoln 47
Benjamin Franklin 38
Thomas Jefferson 26
Douglas MacArthur 7
Susan B. Anthony 4
Clara Barton 3
Walter Cronkite 3
John Glenn 2

I’d like to know who the “someone else” vote-getters are. There are plenty of fine choices not listed.

From the list above, I’d probably go with Ben Franklin. But I’d rather get theatrical, show a photo of Arlington National Cemetery and just say, ‘pick one.‘