Mondays are for President Day Ramblings..

If we are supposed to honor our presidents today, what better way of doing so than with some presidential ramblings.

The Presidents of the United States are one fascinating bunch of men. They offer such a rich variety of figures to study, learn from, and complain about. Of course they have just about the most impossible job in the world, but that has never stopped us from complaining that they are merely human. In honor of the ridiculousness of their work, here are some presidential ramblings.

As a kid I used to tell people that I was directly related to Chester A. Arthur our 21st president. Interestingly enough he had no vice president because there was no provision for establishing one back then. We now have an amendment that allows the president to do so. I have no evidence I am actually related to Chester Arthur.

Did you Richard Nixon was a Quaker? Somehow his Anabaptist background didn’t totally sink in I am guessing. Tricky Dick also helped me get into college as I wrote a college essay on why I would like to have dinner with him and Billy Graham.

John Adams is one of the most interesting presidents as far as life experiences go. The David McCullough book and HBO series on his life are really terrific. That man was a patriot who simply served wherever he was needed. One tough minded man.

Theodore Roosevelt is probably my favorite president just for the life he led. This was  a tough guy. As a matter of fact, in a caged death match of all of our presidents I am putting my money on Teddy. He not only led the Rough Riders around Cuba and boxed at Harvard, after serving as president he also went on safari in Africa and explored South America. Teddy Roosevelt was a man who could have thrived in any age.

Looking back on life as a Cold War kid growing up Ronald Reagan now seems like more of a caricature than a real person to me. He was almost so beloved and such a black and white figure in an age where we knew where the bad guys were that he hardly seems real. He seems like the character of a movie more than anything else. You could take some of the speeches he made, have Bill Pullman read them and stick them in an action movie. I love Reagan as a kid and have no idea what to think of him now.

Did you see the news about the book written by Mimi Alford about her time as an intern under John Kennedy and their affair? The details are pretty interesting in a wow JFK was really lucky he didn’t live in the age of social media and 24 hour news coverage kind of way. I think JFK is a very overrated president.

Jimmy Carter, terrible president, really fantastic former president. He has done more to impact the world in a positive way than he ever did as president. I dig Jimmy for the man he is.

I am more torn about George W. Bush as a president than anyone. There are things about the man I admire and tons of things that make me cringe. I simply think he was president in the wrong era. Put him as President in the 80′s or maybe 1880′s and I think he does a better job.

Those are some presidential ramblings. Who are your favorite presidents and why?