posted June 05, 2005 06:20 PM               

Voting is based on the #1 person who has most embodied the American dream, having the biggest impact on the way we think, work and live.

The show was inspired by previous versions aired in countries including England, France and Germany.

Voting will take place via phone, SMS and online through:
http://tv.channel.aol.com/greatestamerican

The list of nominees includes several space history-related figures, including astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Astronomer Carl Sagan and test pilot Chuck Yeager also make the list. The full list can be found at the above website.

Air times are as follows:

posted June 05, 2005 07:23 PM               

Boy I may like (and like a lot even) some of the people on there, but Dr. Phil, Laura Bush, Anrold S., John Edwards and Michael Moore are not among the 100 Greatest Americans. They are just in the spotlight now and will be forgotton in generations ahead (unless Dr Phil becomes president!). So far Matt Lauer hasn't denied that either.

I don't even agree with Einstein on that list because he is not American (though I would put him in the top ten people in history worldwide).

But sticking to space, I would probably agree with Sagan as well being on there. He contributed to some of the greatest theories in space and science that we know today. He is the American Einstein, you might say.

posted June 05, 2005 07:53 PM               

He is the American dream. His family wasn't rich and it wasn't destitute ... they were the average American family. He then set a goal for himself, to become a pilot, and he reached it. He became an astronaut ... and became the first human to step foot on the lunar surface. Hands down, he has my vote.

posted June 05, 2005 08:08 PM               

Tahir

posted June 05, 2005 08:11 PM               

It is all a matter of opinion. My vote is for Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives" (even if she is not nominated), not for an astronaut who was first to set foot on the Moon a few minutes before the second person to set foot on the Moon and the 3rd and 4th months later.

posted June 05, 2005 08:45 PM               

Does anyone think that Armstrong is a better American or greater American than Abraham Lincoln?

posted June 05, 2005 09:20 PM               

Now the AOL link is active.

posted June 05, 2005 10:05 PM            

I'm in agreement mostly with Astro Bill. Armstrong really shouldn't
be on this list, and I bet he'd be the first to say so.
If anything, the correct nominee would be the entire Apollo 11 crew,
and Armstrong would probably be uncomfortable
with that too, since he's always insisted that he, Buzz and Mike were
just the embodiment of all the people who made
their mission a success. (And anyway, I'd vote for the Apollo 8 crew
over the Apollo 11 crew anyway).

posted June 05, 2005 10:28 PM               

Then again, consider the timing - this is as much intended as summer entertainment as the typical blockbuster movie released this season.

posted June 05, 2005 10:40 PM            

Even more ridiculous than before.

Jonas Salk, Alexander Graham Bell and Pat Tilman didn't make the cut,
but Oprah did?

posted June 05, 2005 10:43 PM               

Regardless, the obvious choices are Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and while Armstrong is a deservedly heroic figure, there were 400,000 people who devoted themselves to put the 12 men who walked on the moon there. To me they're all hero's but not the greatest american, if there is such a thing.

My choice is probably a little trite, but my vote would have to go to the US Soldier. Our US fighting men & women have freed Europe from tyranny & facisim 2 times, they've freed millions of people across the world, they've devoted themselves to stopping the spread of communism, they've volunteered to put themselves in harms way to prevent a psychotic madman from taking over the flow of oil to the western nations and they have been there whenever called upon to give their full measure to defend this country.

It doesn't matter which side of the political fence you're on, the US Soldier has been the reason this country has enjoyed relative peace on our own shores, while helping stop the bad guys from enslaving billions.

posted June 05, 2005 11:09 PM               

That is why I agree with Tahir above and I voted for Abraham Lincoln, who gave his life to keep this country together. How could the winner be anyone other than a President or perhaps Edison or Martin Luther King?

Robert mentioned in another thread that Neil Armstrong will be mentioned in history books. Yes, he will be mentioned in American history books. However, there are now many chapters on Abraham Lincoln and hundreds of books.

I respect every astronaut for their exceptional bravery and intelligence. But we have many brave people in the US, including the firemen and policemen killed in the World Trade Center because they were going upstairs while everyone was going downstairs.

posted June 05, 2005 11:29 PM               

The U.S. Soldier should not be nominated because most of the soldiers I have spoken with (who have backgrounds from the Vietnam war all the way to the Iraqi war) have told me that they were just following orders and did not really want to be in a war.

Second place should go to John Glenn because he is awesome on a Moral Level (still married and a great family man after all these years), and an Inspiration to ALL of us, since he went back into space and proved that he still had the spirit of Science and discovery.

First Place should go to ... Benjamin Franklin, a man who was extremely influential in both the Scientific and Spiritual Worlds. He is one of those rare individuals who was balanced and intelligent on many levels. He Should Be the #1 American.

posted June 06, 2005 05:01 AM               

1. Churchill
2. Brunel
3. Diana
4. Darwin
5. Shakespeare
6. Newton
7. Lennon
8. Elizabeth I
9. Nelson
10. Cromwell

You see the cult of the celebrity is everywhere. How on Earth could Diana and Lennon be considered in the same company as Churchill or Shakespeare? At least no footballers made it to the top 10, but the influence of the mass media, the poor state of history teaching (it's not PC to teach English history in depth any more) and pre-defined shortlists all had their effect.

At least Churchill wasn't controversial but Frank Whittle, Michael Faraday, Florence Nightingale, George Stevenson, Alexander Fleming etc, etc were all way down the list. IMHO there's also a strong argument for saying that no living person should be eligible.

Paul Bramley

posted June 06, 2005 10:30 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by zee_aladdin:
Well, Carl Sagan should not be on the list of Greatest American, they found out (and I do have the newspaper article) that he smoked pot on a regular basis! Plus, he was an Atheist, which even though I have nothing against them, falls AGAINST most of mainstream America that has 'IN GOD WE TRUST' on our currency, and we have the Ten Commandments hanging all over our Judiciary courts.

---

posted June 06, 2005 05:37 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by gliderpilotuk:
The British results were:

1. Churchill
2. Brunel
3. Diana
4. Darwin
5. Shakespeare
6. Newton
7. Lennon
8. Elizabeth I
9. Nelson
10. Cromwell

You see the cult of the celebrity is everywhere. How on Earth could Diana and Lennon be considered in the same company as Churchill or Shakespeare? At least no footballers made it to the top 10, but the influence of the mass media, the poor state of history teaching (it's not PC to teach English history in depth any more) and pre-defined shortlists all had their effect.

At least Churchill wasn't controversial but Frank Whittle, Michael Faraday, Florence Nightingale, George Stevenson, Alexander Fleming etc, etc were all way down the list. IMHO there's also a strong argument for saying that no living person should be eligible.

Paul Bramley

---

posted June 06, 2005 05:39 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by earlyduke:
I just saw that AOL/Discovery has already narrowed the field to 25.

Even more ridiculous than before.

Jonas Salk, Alexander Graham Bell and Pat Tilman didn't make the cut,
but Oprah did?

I need an advil.

---

The voters are apparently voting in a popularity contest instead of a Greatest American survey.

posted June 06, 2005 05:46 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Isbell:
With regard to who is the greatest American, while I have no problem with Sen. Glenn or Neil Armstrong being in consideration, I would have to note that there name reconition comes from the luck of the draw as to wdich space missions they were assigned to, rather than there individual contributions. That said, I would have to many, if not most, of the other contestants also acheived there positions in history by being in the right place at the right time also. With so many people abd such diverse contributions having been made, I am of the opinion that it is folly to try to single out any one person as the greatesr American.
That said, if I were forced to cast a vote, I would probably select Sen. Glenn.

---

posted June 06, 2005 08:29 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Isbell:
Bill,
I did not see the show last night. Who are the 25 remaining ?

Mike

---

Go to Robert's initial posting in this thread and there is a link that will take you to the list of 25 finalists with photos. It takes a minute or so to open the link. Then you can vote three times a week on every computer that you have.

posted June 07, 2005 01:33 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Astro Bill:
The British final 10 are interesting, but with both contests end in one Greatest person or 10 Greatest persons?

---

Churchill received the most votes by a fair margin. I only list the other nine for interest. As I said before, two of those in the top ten cannot hold a candle to the likes of Churchill and simply reflect current fads.

Paul

posted June 07, 2005 06:29 PM            

BRUNEL (Isambard Kingdom Brunel is his full name) was an engineer in the 1800's who made significant impact in multiple areas such as bridges, railways, ships, etc.. Go to http://web.ukonline.co.uk/b.gardner/brunel/kingbrun.html for more information.

We recently had such a television based "Greatest Canadian" here. Tommy Douglas, a politician, won it. He was social policy innovator, and is recognised as the "Father of Medicare" in Canada, along with others such as social welfare, old age pensions and mother's allowances.

It is interesting to see that this choice, like Churchill's in the UK, in some way personifies each respective country.

Churchill stands for the British for spirit and determination in the face of overwhelming odds and adversity. While the rest of Europe was falling to Hitler's war machine, and others were practising isolationism, he was the tireless force which mobilised Britain to defy the advance. He embodied the "British Bulldog" attitude which for example people in London showed as they suffered through the Blitz.

posted June 07, 2005 07:23 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by spacegrl13:
Quote:
"Robert mentioned in another thread that Neil Armstrong will be mentioned in history books. Yes, he will be mentioned in American history books. However, there are now many chapters on Abraham Lincoln and hundreds of books."

Actually, I looked in our School History book. This year we are doing US History, and Neil Armstrong isn't mentioned ONCE in the whole book, even though the book covers the 60's. As a matter of fact the only astronaut mentioned is John Glenn (Hello, what about Alan Shepard!), there are also three pictures of John Glenn. I doubt that half of the people my age (16) could say that Neil was the first to walk on the moon. Also, if they could name one astronaut it would be John Glenn, eveyone seems to think he was the first person in space. I guess it's up to me to fill them in!
cheers,
Helen

---

Hello Helen. Thanks for your reply to my posting. Sometimes i feel like I am a voice in the wilderness and that there are no listeners. So Armstrong is not mentioned in recent history books and Glenn is mentioned several times. What about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and Ben Franklin, were they mentioned over many chapters as I stated or has history class changed greatly since I graduated in 1962?

posted June 07, 2005 07:40 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by MrSpace86:
I would vote for Abraham Lincoln too. I don't think Armstrong or Glenn have a legit chance, but they would deserve to be like #10 or something.
I don't see why Martin Luther King has a good chance. Why not Muhammad Ali? All these guys did was run around protesting (even though I'm a big admirer of both).
It will most likely go to a President, since they have made crucial decisions for America and some of them have even been assasinated for those decisions and what they believe in. Something weird like 'The American Soldier' or something lame like that representing the current status of the country might also win too.
Yuri Gagarin should win the award
-Rodrigo

---

Dear Rodrigo -

I cannot tell if you are serious about the comments that you made or if you are trying to get a reaction to some of your ill-conceived comments. Did you place a funny face at the end of your comments to say that you were not serious about the entire posting or just the last comment?

On the chance that you are serious about some of your comments, I will reply. I recall seeing Rev. Martin Luther King on TV many times in the 60's. He was not just "running around" as your stated. He saw a problem with segregation and he chose to protest it and correct it. He personally risked his life many times in protests and he served time in jail because of his beliefs. He was assassinated in 1968 shortly before Robert Kennedy was assassinated. He is now honored with a natioinal holiday every year in the US and his ideals and memory still live in everyone who believes as he did. There may still be some problems with racism, but segregation as a policy has been ended because of what he did.

Your comment that the possible nomination of the "American Soldier" as the Greatest American is lame, shows that you have no idea of the contribution that they all have made for our country AND for the world.