BlairWitch749
Banned
Agree with previous poster on Petain; have him die in 1938 and he would be probably be considered France's greatest general (even ahead of Nappy)
People Whose Reputations Would be Improved by Death
- Thread starter Saepe Fidelis
- Start date
Snake Featherston
Banned
I think Ferdinand Foch would probably hold that position instead of Petain. I'm just saying. Petain would be known as the victor of Verdun and one of the all-time greatest.
Being Anti-Semitic was the norm in Europe, nothing he could be accounted for. He repeated many times ( in public ) that he did not want war ( yeah right ) having him dead between 1938 and 39 he would be remembered as a "positive" leader in compared with whoever succeed him an drag the world to war ( many people will suspect, but it will be just that suspicions )
Do not forget that Churchill himself put him in his book of Great Men of the century ( Though he already hated him by then )
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His successor was Hess, not Goering ... war was probable with either ...
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George W. Bush, if he'd died of asphyxiation after choking on a pretzel in January 2002, would probably go down as one of the greatest presidents ever. Cheney would be a placeholder for a couple of years, and McCain or Jeb or someone like that would get the blame for Afghanistan/Iraq.
This is much like the JFK/LBJ situation.
This is much like the JFK/LBJ situation.
Well in Europe his warnings about Climate change certainly enhanced his status. Its not really controversial that it exists over here just what to do against it. Several of my younger friends wouldn´t even know him without his dedication against global warming.
Wolfpaw
Banned
I find this whole "Bush going down as a great president" farily far-fetched. He was viewed as something of an inarticulate oaf even before he was elected to the presidency, and it only increased from there. If he dies from choking on a freaking pretzel, the best PR firm in the world won't be able to stop him from looking foolish.
A dead Bush pre-Iraq will be seen as a harmlessly buffoonish chap who glows in comparison to his successor, Cheney, who will be blamed for extending the war to Iraq.
So will Bush be seen as a bad president? Probably not. As one of the greats? Absolutely not. He'd be a middling fellow who is most known for a controversial election, handling 9/11 rather poorly, for sending us into Afghanistan, and for being killed by a snackfood. Not the stuff legends are made of, but certainly better than the memory/perception of him IOTL.
Snake Featherston
Banned
Wrong thread. In this context he'd be the bungling idiot who failed to notice a warning of an invasion and went from Inchon to a complete disaster. Unless you meant in the fall of 1950 in which case this would be accurate.
Wolfpaw
Banned
They're not remembering his presidency more favorably, they're remembering a Republican presidency more favorably.
There are two posiblities
1) AGW is a greatly hyped non-problem that Gore latched on to try and make himself a billionaire. This seems more likely by the year as past predictions keep failing to come true.
2) It is not greatly hyped and he is the hypocrite who hurt the cause by living a lifestyle so far removed from what he advocates that people stop taking it seriously. You can't say we're going to have a 20 foot rise in sea level if we don't use less fossil fuels and then go using 20 times the electricity of an average American, own 3 mansions and fly everywhere in private jets. Getting carbon offsets as a bonus from your own company doesn't cut it. It is a trivial expense for you but not for some cashier at Walmart. Gore has to walk the walk not just talk the talk to be taken very seriously by the general public.
Deleted member 1487
Nope, Hess was from the outset really marginalized as a useful idiot. Goering was Hitler's designated successor and was really opposed to war. Hess wouldn't have lasted in power very long, the generals would have eaten him alive, not to mention party politics probably quickly toppling his regime.
the_lyniezian
Banned
If she'd died in 1983 I suspect all she'd be remembered for would be the Falklands War since it occured in 1982.
Be interesting to speculate whether the Tories would have still won with no Maggie. Be interesting to speculate whether we'd see an Alliance win, as in another thread on the site, whether Foot's Labour would have gotten in (shudder), or a Thatcher-less Conservatives.
Well, maybe her reputation certainly amongst the working classes and old-Labour types up here would have been less bad had she died in '83- before the miner's strike, it being handled in the way it was. Certainly though the subsequent time in office has probably improved her reputation in certain quarters, and maybe she'd be more remembered almost just for the Falklands- and of course being Britain's first female prime minister. (I'd like to know what impact Thatcher's early death might have on the possibility of future woman PMs, though I guess that's unlikely simply by reason of the small number of potential candidates, compared to men.)
I don't see why Al Gore is being mentioned in a thread like this, everything he's done post-2000 has only enhanced his reputation. If somebody wants a contemporary Democrat as an example, then John Edwards would fit the criteria due to his blunders since 2004.
Charles Lindbergh is another possibility. Imagine if he had been the target of the Crime of the Century. He would be such a tragic hero, I bet he would be on some sort of US currency by now.
Charles Lindbergh is another possibility. Imagine if he had been the target of the Crime of the Century. He would be such a tragic hero, I bet he would be on some sort of US currency by now.
If anything is hypocritical lifestyle has hurt the AGW cause. Google Al Gore Hypocrisy and you will get about 4.8 million hits. You can't say the world is coming to an end unless less fossil fuels are used and live like Al Gore without people noticing. Al Gore either 1) Doesn't believe in AGW and is pushing it to make himself a quick buck in carbon dioxide rights or 2) He believes in it and is such a monster that he is unwilling to cut back on his lifestyle to save the planet. He isn't so stupid that he doesn't know that his lifestyle is all over the internet and fuels skepticism on whether he believes what he is saying or not. He is not so stupid as not to realize in this day and age you have to lead by example.
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Wolfpaw
Banned
Enoch Powell dying sometime before his "Rivers of Blood" speech would do him wonders. Prior to that the things he was most known for were denouncing British atrocities in Kenya and advocating decolonization while at the same time being an utter prick as Health Minister.
All and all better epitaphs than "racist, fascist hate-monger."
All and all better epitaphs than "racist, fascist hate-monger."
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Harold Wilson dying sometime between the 1966 election victory and the devolution of the pound in 1967, similarly with John Major between May 1992 election and the exit from the ERM in September of the same year which put the skids under him long before the back to basics scandals.
In artistic terms the whole idea is more complex as while an artists early work may appeal to one generation it will not too another, so for example killing Brando off early might have some James Dean type effect, but we'd lose his performance in the Godfather.
In artistic terms the whole idea is more complex as while an artists early work may appeal to one generation it will not too another, so for example killing Brando off early might have some James Dean type effect, but we'd lose his performance in the Godfather.
He was never a skilled businessman. He's the worst kind. Hell, he's gone bankrupt like 5 times!
If she'd died in 1983 I suspect all she'd be remembered for would be the Falklands War since it occured in 1982.
Be interesting to speculate whether the Tories would have still won with no Maggie. Be interesting to speculate whether we'd see an Alliance win, as in another thread on the site, whether Foot's Labour would have gotten in (shudder), or a Thatcher-less Conservatives.
Conservative, unless the new leader was a total klutz - and probably even then.
The opposition was hopelessly divided, and after the Falklands a dead Maggie might be as big an asset as a live one.
The difference would be longer term. I could well see them going out in 1992 instead of 1997.