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The 5 Most Badass Presidents of All-Time

By Daniel O'Brien February 15, 2008 3,051,140 views
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#3.
John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams is, hands down, one of the most God awful ugly-assed presidents in American history but, well, the Predator was pretty hideous too, and no one will deny that he still kicks a fairly serious amount of ass. Also like the Predator, Adams was known as a shrewd negotiator and a strong advocate of outdoor boning. But we'll get to that a little bit later.

With his father away from home most of the time busying himself with the rebel cause, Adams, at age eight, was the man of the house. As if ensuring the safety and prosperity of an entire house before you even hit puberty isn't daunting enough, Adams had to do it all during a fucking war. He, in fact, often talked about watching the battle of Bunker Hill from his front porch, constantly worried about being, as he wrote in his diary, "butchered in cold blood, or taken and carried...as hostages by any foraging or marauding detachment of British soldiers." Remember when you were eight and you worried about missing Pokemon? Yeah. If you're feeling, perhaps, a little wet right now, it's because the ghost of an eight year old John Quincy Adams is pissing all over you as you read this.

Adams also maintained a strict, Rocky-like regiment of constant exercise that included a swift swim across the Potomac every morning. Even at 58 years old, Adams could reportedly swim the width of the Potomac in an hour. Also, the nudity; Adams famously exercised and swam nude, presumably, in case he ever came across some emergency that needed immediate boning while out exercising.

Greatest Display of Badassedry:
Also, since we're talking about ridiculous things that JQA did that have nothing to do with being president, he kept a pet alligator in the East Wing of the White House. That actually probably came in handy for some of that shrewd negotiating we mentioned earlier.


The character of detective Sonny Crockett
may have been based on John Quincy Adams

As for the outdoor boning? Well ...

Most Badass Quote:
"The art of making love, muffled up in furs, in the open air, with the thermometer at Zero, is a Yankee invention."

It's not too clear, but it sounds like Adams genuinely believed Americans invented having sex outside, a discovery he no-doubt believed he himself pioneered.

FDR didn't do s**t: Eisenhower & MacArthur won WWII -- FDR turned a blind eye to the invasion of Poland and was well-aware in advance of the Japanese specifically attacking Pearl Harbour; he was stuck in a wheelchair for his entire life (way to go on "kicking polio in the face"); and he married his horsefaced lesbian cousin

6/29/2009 2:06:47 PM
TheRunningMan

I'm a proponent of adding FDR to this list. Not only did he win WWII and serve three terms (elected for four), he kicked polio in the face, which is a neat trick WHEN YOU HAVE POLIO.

6/28/2009 1:06:42 PM
Plangkye

If I lived any time beforehand (note: reincarnation) I'd love to go to the grave fighting one of these motherfuckers. Roosevelt would've beat my ass and I'd be proud of it.

6/28/2009 6:40:27 AM
Flashpenny

Jackson deserves to be much higher on this list. Yes, he murdered many Creek and Cherokee Native Americans. Yes, I am Native American. Nevertheless, Jackson was a force with which to be reckoned.

1. In one of his duels, someone shot him in the chest. The doctors refused to operate, saying the bullet was too close to his heart. The wound never healed correctly; it just skinned over. It also had a tendency to ooze, so he kept a handkerchief over it. Fifteen or twenty years later, sitting at the Presidential desk, the bullet starts to get on his nerves. What did Andrew Jackson do? He reached into his chest and pulled it out! Pop! As if that weren't enough, he then mailed the bullet to the man who shot him with a note saying, "I believe this is yours." The man mailed it back with a note saying, "You've been taking such good care of it for so long. You should keep it."

2. Jackson wanted the Native Americans out of the Alabama area. The Supreme Court told him that was too bad. He'd been treating them like an independent, sovereign nation for too long. Jackson essentially thumbed his nose at the Justices and had his Army remove the Native Americans. Note: I'm not defending the Trail of Tears. I'm just saying deliberately ignoring the Supreme Court Justices is pretty awesome.

3. Before assuming the Presidency, Jackson went to Florida, which was still owned by Spain. He took over the area, which including tying the governor to a raft and letting him loose in the Gulf of Mexico. He committed an Act of War against a much bigger, more powerful nation because he was bored with killing Creek Indians.

Truly, Andrew Jackson was insane. For those who may be interested, my source is a professor (who has a doctorate in this particular era of American history) at my university.

6/28/2009 1:27:19 AM
AshsWorkshed

Thank GOD Clinton wasn't on the list.

6/25/2009 7:36:09 AM
JadeEyes1

I can't believe you have genocidal loon like Andrew Jackson one here. Why not tell people about how badass Hitler was while you're at it?

6/19/2009 2:05:05 AM
Gopherbassist

This article rules.

6/15/2009 9:54:29 AM
valduchi

You forgot a number of badass things that TR did. He beat the hell out of Wall Street's trusts, which today would be the equivalent of punching a CEO in the face and expecting to live after it. And when he was talking to the bigwigs of the meatpacking business, he said that were it not for the dignity of the presidency, he would have "pick[ed] one of them up by the seat of his pants and fl[ung] him out of the window".

6/13/2009 8:12:16 PM
loqutor

Honestly, who can argue against the top pick? Especially since he knew how it worked. The adage 'speak softly and carry a big stick' has a few meanings, all important. He ended up as Vice President from, at least one source I've seen says, someone wanting him OUT of their hair. So pack him off to be VP and sit around waiting for the President to die. Oops..

Even the photo on the page makes me think he's upset with the photographer.

6/3/2009 2:20:09 AM
IL-Kuma

Those aren't the only badass Presidents,

After Ronald Reagan was shot, he turned to his wife and said "I forgot to duck" badass.

5/27/2009 9:58:16 PM
Kabosh

That Jackson story cracks me the hell up.

5/19/2009 4:47:51 PM
ReneeIsMe2day

Andrew jackson also lead the american genocide against the indians.
He once murdered an entire indian village and saw that there was a child still being held tightly in his slaughtered mothers arms. He picked that f****r up and adopted him. As you can imagine that must have been a really awkward family story.

5/16/2009 3:02:34 AM
ToastMeister

You got the century numbers mixed up. Jackson was president during the 19th century.

5/8/2009 1:24:37 AM
chamomile7

Surprise to see Bush missing from the list and also where is Lincoln. I guess the list should be haveen of top 10 instead the top 5.

http://www.ekhichdi.com/actors-actress/penelope-cruz-onscreen-sex-with-ben-kingsley

Tina

5/7/2009 3:22:25 PM
tina_iyer

I know the unspoken rule of double posting but you guys didn't do Teddy justice.

I mean he kickboxed with his interviewers. He read at least one book a day. And was so smart that Wislon had to go to dictionary inorder to discipher one of Teddy's insults (Teddy never went low-brow). Killed a bunch of African animals.

Began the national park system and conservation. Is the only President to win the nobel peace prize.

I mean I personally think Teddy was an a*****e, but I'd never say that to his face. I mean he'd kill me, but only after making me (mister 33 on the ACT) feel dumber than s**t.

Oh, and he'd make rude faces at small children.

Does all of that add to his badassery? I think any body who loves life so much and who is so proficient at ending it is very cool.

4/25/2009 9:23:16 PM
ijpowers

you forgot to mention that one of the bullets logged in Jackson's body ( I believe there were three when he died) was right next to his lung.
If he twisted his body right it would scrape his lung.

He could and would in effect spit blood on you.

4/25/2009 9:04:13 PM
ijpowers

Dickinson was also the best shot in Tennessee, and Jackson still challenged him. He dueled CD because CD called his wife a loony or a s**t or something. It was awesome. In one episode of Aqua Team Hunger Force (I think) the characters were printing money on a magic printer, but they were making copies of 1 dollar bills. Eventually the ghost of George Washington came and told them to stop and that it was wrong. When he left, one turned to the other and said, "We should printed up 20s, Jackson wouldn't have given a s**t."

4/16/2009 10:02:29 PM
naz0583

I CANNOT believe Abraham Lincoln failed to make this list!!!! He was the most amazing president and a GREAT man.

4/14/2009 1:18:11 PM
CatcherFOX

I just can`t believe how funny you people are.... keep up the funnys, and I`l send you a cookie...

4/13/2009 2:23:49 AM
Cooler777

One more badass thing about Teddy Roosevelt. Apparently he haunts the bar at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. It was there that he recruited many of the Rough Riders by getting them drunk and essentially "shanghaiing" them.

Several years ago after closing hours, a night janitor was cleaning the bar. Suddenly, the doors slammed shut behind him. He tried to open them, but they were stuck fast. He turned around and saw a man motioning to him from the end of the bar wearing an old-fashioned uniform with a mustache. The janitor began banging on the doors, screaming to be let out. Other staff members heard his cries and rescued him. They ended up calling an ambulance for him, as they were afraid he would have a heart attack, due to severe shock. He eventually recovered, but quit the next day.

So even in death, Teddy Roosevelt is still scaring the s**t out of people.

4/6/2009 2:46:31 PM
Hobbitopoly