I don't know if you've heard about the Discovery Channel special which asks the question "who is the greatest American ever?", but apparently part of the process with the show is a national tour as a way of getting people involved in the decision making. They've got a blog for the journey, and their road show will be right here in Houston this weekend. Here's an excerpt from an email I received on the subject:
A Road Tour was kicked off last month in Boston and is stopping in Houston this weekend (May 14th-15th). The road tour will conclude in June and be followed by a TV series with Matt Lauer of the Today Show that counts down the top 100 nominations to #1 (the Greatest American).The above mentioned Road Tour I mentioned features a Greatest American tour bus that that will be making stops in cities and towns across the country as part of a grassroots campaign to let people know about the nominees for Greatest American. Greatest American tour bus will be in Houston at the Art Car Parade on Saturday between 10 and 3 and the Galleria on Sunday between 11 and 7.
In addition, at each stop, Americans will be encouraged to watch the count down shows in June and express their support for who they think is the Greatest American through old-fashioned Get-Out-the-Vote campaign events featuring Greatest American buttons, stickers and other giveaways.
Ben Franklin, without a doubt.
Posted by: Nate on May 13, 2005 1:56 PMWith pictures of three of the Bush clan on the first page. Yeah, this will be an accurate vote.
I was thinking Lincoln. Franklin is probably a better choice. Hugh Hefner gets a nomination, but Sam Houston doesn't?
But really, the big missing is Emperor Norton.
Posted by: Jeb on May 13, 2005 3:06 PMHow in the heck do Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore, Tom Cruise, and Madonna get nominated?
I guess I can see Lance Armstrong, Bill Cosby, and such. But I think this is overrun by celeb fetishism.
Posted by: Jim D on May 13, 2005 3:48 PM3 Bushes, but not the GIPPER? I'm astonished.
Posted by: Ken on May 13, 2005 3:50 PMI could have sworn I saw Ronald Reagan there, but I could be wrong.
I'm inclined to go with Abraham Lincoln, since he is the American ideal of the self-made man. He wouldn't have been a bad choice if he had never been President, but the fact that he was during such a difficult time and how he handled it (not to mention giving two of the most eloquent speeches in the history of the English language in the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inuaguration Speech) clinches it for me.
Ben Franklin would be one of my top choices as well, although I think more people would choose Thomas Jefferson over him from that era.
Posted by: William Hughes on May 13, 2005 5:41 PM