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Lincoln, FDR & Eleanor Roosevelt The New Republics MOST Influential Americans · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: In the new edition of The New Republic celebrates America's
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and fiftieth birthday. It features a slew of
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  Speaker 1: in depth articles about the state of democracy today, while
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  Speaker 1: also take me to look back at some of the
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  Speaker 1: most influential Americans over the past two and a half centuries.
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  Speaker 1: It includes several lists rankings like top presidents, worst presidents,
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  Speaker 1: and the most important American women. We, of course can't
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  Speaker 1: get into all of that today. That's why you should
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  Speaker 1: pick up an issue and read for yourself. But let's
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  Speaker 1: do a little now. I mean, of course, best presidents.
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  Speaker 1: You know, give us a quick set. These are historians.
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  Speaker 1: This isn't just you and your staff.
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  Speaker 2: Give us.
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  Speaker 3: We're seeing the list.
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  Speaker 1: Here a Lincoln Fdr. Tie at the top, George Washington
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  Speaker 1: a strong third.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, it's about one hundred historians and others. We
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  Speaker 3: asked some other scholars and public in electoral types, and
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  Speaker 3: they gave us answers over the course of the spring.
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  Speaker 3: Best presidents, Worst presidents, Greatest moments in American history, Worst
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  Speaker 3: moments in American history. Images that define American history for
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  Speaker 3: better and for worse. The greatest works of art in
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  Speaker 3: American history, The most influential politicians who weren't president, et cetera,
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  Speaker 3: et cetera, et cetera, culminating in we asked them to
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  Speaker 3: name their liberal mount Rushmore. I'm sure you've had many
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  Speaker 3: barstool conversations about the Red Sox mount Rushmore A way.
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  Speaker 1: So I can do it real quick.
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  Speaker 3: Let's say that later. So we decided to apply that
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  Speaker 3: principle that sports fans use to the history of American liberalism,
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  Speaker 3: and who's your liberal mount Rushmore is a lot of fun.
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  Speaker 1: So talk to us about the most important women that
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  Speaker 1: list you mentioned.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, I can't remember all.
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  Speaker 1: The here we go they're showing on here, Ellen Roosevelt,
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  Speaker 1: Harriet Tubman, Susan B.
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  Speaker 3: Anthony.
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  Speaker 1: The list goes on from there. Lauren, what do you think?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, this is pretty good. I'd like to commend
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  Speaker 2: you a for asking the question and be for putting
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  Speaker 2: it in the magazine, because I think it is one
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  Speaker 2: of the pieces of American history that does continue to
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  Speaker 2: get overlooked. I mean, we have very few statues to
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  Speaker 2: women in history in Washington or in other key places,
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  Speaker 2: So thanks for doing that. But just I guess I
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  Speaker 2: feel like the president worst and best presidents are like
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  Speaker 2: the historians oscars, they love these lists. What's your sons
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  Speaker 2: about the kind of how we process these as Americans
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  Speaker 2: and how Americans are thinking about this anniversary even as
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  Speaker 2: it's been, you know, very polarized and politicized, maybe not
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  Speaker 2: as celebratory as some would like. What's your hope for
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  Speaker 2: Americans to take away?
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  Speaker 3: Well, you know, we have two Americas. You know, we
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  Speaker 3: have the America that people like us live in, and
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  Speaker 3: then there's Mega America. And you know, Donald Trump was
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  Speaker 3: the worst president on our list, and I would always
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  Speaker 3: show that now, yeah, and I would imagine in Mega
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  Speaker 3: America he's very much not the worst. He's probably they
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  Speaker 3: probably put him at the top. I will say that
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  Speaker 3: our list, though our panel of historians obviously leaned liberal,
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  Speaker 3: they were objective in some ways. You might have people
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  Speaker 3: might have noticed Phili Schlaffley was on that most Influential
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  Speaker 3: women list, John C. Calhoun and Bear Goldwater. We're on
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  Speaker 3: the list of most influential politicians who never became president.
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  Speaker 3: And then we had a little section where we did
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  Speaker 3: just ask some conservatives for their point of view, and
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  Speaker 3: that was really interesting too. We ask people like Judge
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  Speaker 3: Luddigg and other influential conservative thinkers. So we gave the
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  Speaker 3: conservatives there say as well.
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  Speaker 1: And I guess to returning to Lawrence point that we
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  Speaker 1: saw the list there, Donald Trump obviously fairs pretty poorly. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and these lists, And I think that's where a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people are having a hard time right now as
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  Speaker 1: we barrel into the two fiftieth anniversary. Is that which
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  Speaker 1: should be a unifying moment, doesn't feel that way. And
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  Speaker 1: I think the president, I mean, there are lots of
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  Speaker 1: factors for that, but the President probably takes the most blame,
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  Speaker 1: in fact, the fact that tonight was supposed to be
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  Speaker 1: an America Unity concert. Instead it's just, in his own words,
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  Speaker 1: a mega Trump rally.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, And you know what he's doing to Washington,
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  Speaker 3: to the footprint of our nation's capital, and tearing down
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  Speaker 3: the East Wing and trying to build that arch in
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  Speaker 3: that little traffic circle. It's a small traffic circle where
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  Speaker 3: he's trying to put this two hundred and fifty foot
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  Speaker 3: high arch. And of course what's going on now at
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  Speaker 3: the reflecting Pool, And you know, you could say he's
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  Speaker 3: trying to beautify Washington, but it's these are vanity projects.
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  Speaker 3: He's trying to leave the stamp of Trump on the nations, the.
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  Speaker 1: Arch in particular, in that sacred place, I find just
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  Speaker 1: a despicable a larene final thought to you. It is
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  Speaker 1: the four year anniversary since the end of.
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  Speaker 2: Revieway well, it's notable that abortion really wasn't on the
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  Speaker 2: ballot in many ways during the election yesterday. It's sort
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  Speaker 2: of faded in many senses from the public campaigning. There
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  Speaker 2: are a whole number of initiatives that are you know,
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  Speaker 2: balid initiatives across the country. It remains a deep battleground
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  Speaker 2: for women and families across America. As much as America
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  Speaker 2: is divided into red and blue, America is also now
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  Speaker 2: divided into abortion access and not and you know Virginia
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  Speaker 2: being the only state in the South where abortion is legal.
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  Speaker 2: This remains a day to day life and death issue
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  Speaker 2: for American women. It is faded maybe from the headlines,
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  Speaker 2: but it is not faded from the lives of everyday Americans.
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  Speaker 2: Just last bug, the all in Together substock Today has
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  Speaker 2: a breakdown of all the details of where there are
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  Speaker 2: upcoming referendums and what's happening in all the states we
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  Speaker 2: do need to keep watching it. This remains a critical
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  Speaker 2: issue for America.