Like I told Chris, Taft and Wood both also have a Yale connection.

not quite the same thing, but here is a snip of discussion some of us inthe Hall of Merit had comparing Presidents to players some time back; but not keeping them locked into the same time period.

Bill Clinton = Dick Allen. Had both a peak and a career, but one achilles heel for which many could not / will not forgive him.
or, Bill Clinton = Darryl Strawberry. We all thought he'd be so good, and he turned out to be human.

JFK = Steve Garvey or Kirby Puckett. Great player for a while, well loved, came through in the clutch, but overrated and stuff under the surface eventually came out, while we wonder about the truth of what remains hidden.

Ronald Reagan = Jim Palmer. Stumbled early on, but had great success and an even better image, and we forgave the late-career lack of performance.
or, Ronald Regan = Steve Garvey. Wildly popular in their hay days, long career, perfect hair, rugged good looks, made their names in Hollywood. And both had nasty secrets lurking behind the teflon exterior.

G H W Bush = Bobby Wallace. HOF vote based on those who valued the conservative values of career and defense, but unknown to most fans 80 years later. Wallace once did somersaults and was quoted as saying "read my flips".

Nixon = E Ciciotte. Talented, but.

Carter = Joe Garagiola. Nice guy, did well in retirement.

Bush 43 = Dave Kingman, nothing but the bombs.

William Henry Harrison -- John Paciorek or Moonlight Graham

Grover Cleveland -- Cool Papa Bell. Big mid-career slump.

William Howard Taft -- Albert Spalding. Went on to greater things.

Woodrow Wilson -- Connie Mack. Fine career, though teams run by assistants near the end.

George Washington -- Lou Gehrig. Went out on top, great farewell speeches.

FDR -- Cal Ripken. Only person with a longer streak, although some argue that he was hurting the team. . . . . . I think FDR and Connie Mack would also make sense, owing to Mack's ultra longevity and FDR's four terms. Both had a sort-of fatherly thing about them too.

I'd guess that Andrew Johnson might be similar to Fred McMullin. A generally ineffective second-stringer who was (or was nearly) ousted under a cloud of intrigue.

Abe Lincoln and Jackie Robinson are an obvious parrallel, each marking a major point of division in the history of the country

U.S. Grant and Fred Haney seem like a good match to me. Haney, the inept manager who couldn't get Aaron, Mathews, and Spahn into the Series in 1959 in a weak year in the league, while Grant idly sat about and let his cronies pillage the South and exploit its resources and people.

Andrew Johnson wasn't on the take like McMullin. He was just in way over his head and not prepared for the circumstances. He's more like Bobby Sprowl starting a game during the 1978 AL East pennant race for the Red Sox.

or, Ronald Regan = Steve Garvey. Wildly popular in their hay days, long career, perfect hair, rugged good looks, made their names in Hollywood. And both had nasty secrets lurking behind the teflon exterior.

Not to mention the part about both being child-eating, mass-murdering Satanist Nazis.

I am angry, angry, angry that I did not think of this first.

Heine Sand, like Coolidge, was also an impeccably honest man. In 1924, Giants' infielder Jimmy O'Connell and coach Cozy Dolan attempted to bribe Sand to throw a game late in the season. Sand reported the attempt, and O'Connell and Dolan were banned for life.

-- MWE

George W. Bush = John Van Benschoten

George W. Bush = Shea Hillenbrand

Thinks he's an All-Star but carries a limited skill set.

Martin Van Buren = Billy Martin

not so much in the temperment (MVB was exceedingly cautious and calculating), but they were both schemers through and through.



Woodrow Wilson -- Connie Mack. Fine career, though teams run by assistants near the end.

I prefer WW = Peter Angelos

Clearly a very intelligent man, but basically f'd things up for the long term because he was convinced of the brilliance of his own grand scheme.

Bill Clinton= Arod. Lots of scandals because they couldn't keep it zipped. A lot of fans but really hated by his detractors. Generally performed well.

Bush 43 - Andruw Jones. We had such high expectations, but he just flat out sucks.

Bush Jr. = Dale Berra. Or Ed Delahanty, remembered only for the grotesque plunge.

Think of the most evil, irredeemable man in baseball, with almost no real substantive accomplishments, who nevertheless is inexplicably thought well of by the ignorant masses. That's your Woodrow Wilson comparison.

Bill Clinton= Arod. Lots of scandals because they couldn't keep it zipped. A lot of fans but really hated by his detractors. Generally performed well.

This is ridiculous. If Bill Clinton is A-Rod, that makes him the greatest president of all time!

Nixon = Pete Rose. Both men of immense ability, underestimated early on in their careers, compiled records of undeniable achievement. Ultimately forced out under a cloud of blackest scandal & disgrace, mostly because they came to believe that the rules of the game just didn't apply to them. Attempts at post-career redemption accepted by a forgiving minority, but rejected by a majority who just can't forget what they did.

Think of the most evil, irredeemable man in baseball, with almost no real substantive accomplishments, who nevertheless is inexplicably thought well of by the ignorant masses. That's your Woodrow Wilson comparison.

The San Diego Chicken?

Think of the most evil, irredeemable man in baseball, with almost no real substantive accomplishments, who nevertheless is inexplicably thought well of by the ignorant masses. That's your Woodrow Wilson comparison.

The San Diego Chicken?

Is that what we're calling Larry Lucchino these days?

Generally performed well.

This has nothing to do with Bill Clinton, but I love it when people describe A-Rod as having "generally performed well".

Bush 43: AJ Pierzynski

Jeffrey Maier = John Wilkes Booth

Jeffrey Maier = John Wilkes Booth

Does that logic make Armando Benitez into Abraham Lincoln? Seems like given Armando's mental problems he's better cast as Mary Todd

Think of the most evil, irredeemable man in baseball, with almost no real substantive accomplishments, who nevertheless is inexplicably thought well of by the ignorant masses. That's your Woodrow Wilson comparison.

That's asinine. I'm no Wilson fan but the bashing of him is out of hand to the point of ignorance. In his first term he was a pretty damn good progressive president. It was one of the high points of national progressive reform as he helped pass a series of acts, most nobaly the Clayton Anti-Trust Act (which Samuel Gompers called the Magna Carta of labor) and the Federal Reserve Act, while also engaging in a good amount of trust-busting. I can see an argument agasint him if you're a libertarian, but the most venomous bile for him ain't coming from the libertarians.

Would Maier scream "Sic triumphus tyrannis"?

Bush 43: AJ Pierzynski

Oh - I might have to steal that one.

Jed Bartlett:Sidd Finch

Would Maier scream "Sic triumphus tyrannis"?
No, it breaks down there -- surely that phrase has to be reserved for use AGAINST the Yankees, Celtics, or Canadiens. I'm not sure football has the equivalent dominant dynasty.

Bush 43: Lance Niekro... We knew he'd suck, just not this badly.

Not a player, but I must once again bring up the Selig/Nixon match:


Nixon: Good Foreign Policy. Selig: World Baseball Classic.

Nixon: Visited China. Selig: Had Dodgers and Padres visit China.

Nixon: Man landed on Moon during his term, which looks good until you realize Nixon had basically nothing to do with it. Selig: Had Ripken break streak during his term, which looks good but Selig had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Nixon: Prolonged Vietnam War. Selig: Prolonged Steroid scandal.

Nixon: Watergate. Selig: Steroids, tie All-Star game.....

This is way too much fun...I'm mostly using players from the 90s onward, or pretty famous guys, seeing as I don't know historical players that well. And my comparisons do fall short in certain areas, so take 'em with a grain of salt.

Bush 43 - Roger Clemens. From Texas, enormously popular at his peak but later the entire persona was exposed as fraudulent. Did things in a pumped-up, overly masculine way. One is in the pocket of Big Oil, the other, famously, has some grotesque number of Hummers.

Bush 41 - Carlos Beltran. Does the little things well but is criticized by many in the press due to a lack of flash. Generally competent and good, but not quite the best.

Reagan - Mark McGwire. Very popular for a long time but left tainted by scandal. Manages to be both overrated and underrated, depending on who you ask.

JFK - Sandy Koufax. A short, generally successful career that ended during its peak and is thus remembered as being even better than it actually was.

I also like the Pete Rose-Nixon comparison. I've been trying to come up with ones for Clinton and Carter, but right now, I can't.

JFK might match Koufax's teammate Don Drysdale even better. Great lookin guy, peak not nearly as good.

I'm trying to find a good Eisenhower comparison, but it's a tough one. Eisenhower was already very accomplished before he became president (Supreme Commander of Allied Forces). He was a successful two-term president with several notable accomplishments: record economic expansion and prosperity, desegregation of military, sending the National Guard into Little Rock, and one of the few government spending programs that even a lot of libertarian-sympathizing small-gov't types like me can grudgingly get behind (federal highway system). Left office with an utterly unexpected, principled anti-establishment flourish (warning against the military-industrial complex). Nevertheless, he remains chronically underrated because he presided over a period of boring consistency that is associated with hidebound traditional pre-'60s morals.

There's got to be a baseball player that fits those parameters: consistent solid production with great career value but little peak flash, underrated by the masses but appreciated by aficionados.

#31: Stan Musial or Eddie Collins, perhaps Charlie Gehringer.

If his career had been a bit longer, perhaps Larry Walker for #31.

James Polk = Chuck Finley because they both had mullets.

There's got to be a baseball player that fits those parameters: consistent solid production with great career value but little peak flash, underrated by the masses but appreciated by aficionados.

Al Kaline?

Long, steady career with tremendous accumulated value and a strong all around game, but little sizzle.

Take away the steroids and Rafael Palmiero would be a decent fit as well.

Good Face:

Palmeiro was actually the guy I thought of as an Eisenhower comparison as well. But it just doesn't work for me because Eisenhower went out in an unexpected flash of integrity (who could've predicted the military-industrial complex speech from EISENHOWER of all people?) whereas Palmeiro went out with...well, you know.

record economic expansion and prosperity, desegregation of military
Can you really give that much credit to Ike for the first one? Afterall, most of the rest of the first and second world was rebuilding from rubble and we hadn't gotten dependent on foreign oil yet (or if we were, we had control of most of the wells anyway).
I thought Truman was responsible for the military desegregation, hence is(was) loved by blacks of that generation.

Also, some uber-Greens might argue that the Interstate System is responsible for our poor public transportation infrastructure and our total dependence on foreign oil.

Palmeiro went out with...well, you know.
Well, Ike had his jeep driver lady friend.

Also, some uber-Greens might argue that the Interstate System is responsible for our poor public transportation infrastructure and our total dependence on foreign oil.

And those uber-Greens would be the stupidest people I would have ever debated politics with. What else were we supposed to use for interstate commerce and travel, flux capacitors? The rail network was already breaking down as early as the late 1940s.

Well, Ike had his jeep driver lady friend.

Leaving aside the fact that this obviously didn't drive him from office a la Palmeiro, this supposed "affair" is just an unsubstantiated rumor as far as I can remember.

There's got to be a baseball player that fits those parameters: consistent solid production with great career value but little peak flash, underrated by the masses but appreciated by aficionados.

Maybe Eddie Murray? I think the Musial/Collins/Gehringer/Kaline comparisons are maybe a cut too good as ballplayers. Eisenhower was good, but probably not an all-time great President (although when you start working through the Presidents, it's a little surprising how quickly you run out of "all-time greats"; you can probably make a perfectly reasonable argument for Ike being in the top 10). Disregarding his last two crappy hang-around seasons, Murray went out with a surprisingly solid season as the DH for the best Indians team in 40 years in 1995. Although I don't know that Murray was ever truly "underrated by the masses" (although the press did seem to hate him at times, they tended to give him his due, if sometimes grudgingly) or particularly "appreciated by aficionados" (he's a guy whose value was probably pretty accurately pegged; he's not necessarily a darling of the statheads).

William Henry Harrison -- John Paciorek or Moonlight Graham

I'll go with Graham here. Paciorek was REALLY GOOD for his one day.

Would Maier scream "Sic triumphus tyrannis"?

Didn't do so well in fifth grade Virginia history, did you? Sic semper tyrannis. Thus always unto tyrants.

I would put the Romans Go Home Graffiti scene from Life of Brian here but it's too long.

Gerald Ford = Scott Brosius

In the right place at the right time.

The rail network was already breaking down as early as the late 1940s.
It's lasted another 60 years, sort of. :) Of course a lot of our bridges are breaking down now. PA claims 25% of bridges in substandard shape. No doubt, with the interstates commerce would have slowed if RRs were the alternate. We are paying now for that breakthrough, although the price we are paying today is probably small potatoes when compared to the benefits.

this supposed "affair" is just an unsubstantiated rumor as far as I can remember
Fair enough. Some smoke but no confirmed fire. I wasn't meaning to run down Ike so much, he, like the presidential Truman, might be the two most honorable presidents in the 20th century.

Warren G. Harding: Jackie Robinson.

Because, as John McLoughlin would have you know, Warren G. Harding was a Negro. Thus, he broke the color line.

Gerald Ford = Scott Brosius

In the right place at the right time.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

Didn't do so well in fifth grade Virginia history, did you? Sic semper tyrannis. Thus always unto tyrants.

Sic triumphus tyrannis

Aha, I think that #23 was a step ahead of us. Nicely done.

Bob Lemon:Benjamin Harrison

Of course a lot of our bridges are breaking down now. PA claims 25% of bridges in substandard shape. [...] the price we are paying today is probably small potatoes when compared to the benefits.

That many highways are largely in need of repair some 50+ years after the Federal-Aid Highway Act was signed is no criticism of the interstate highway system. I doubt anybody figured that the roads would have zero maintenance costs when they were constructed, and railroad tracks aren't maintenance-free either.

OK, here we go:

Clinton - Darryl Strawberry. Scandal-ridden, but still viewed somewhat positively due to charming persona. As a result such scandals, he generally did not fulfill his enormous potential; however, if you look at him objectively, he was still pretty good.

And those uber-Greens would be the stupidest people I would have ever debated politics with. What else were we supposed to use for interstate commerce and travel, flux capacitors? The rail network was already breaking down as early as the late 1940s.

I think an uber-Green (or, like myself, a non-uber-Green) would argue that we should have spent some of that money on rehabilitating and modernizing said rail network. Now, I'm not going to argue that the Interstate Highway System was a bad idea - it wasn't. It was good for the country and I give Eisenhower (about whom I generally agree with you) credit for it. However, you don't have to be Ralph Nader to argue that a more comprehensive, less auto-centric, transportation policy during the 50s and 60s would have been preferable in the long-term.

William Jennings Bryan:Roberto Petagine

There's got to be a baseball player that fits those parameters: consistent solid production with great career value but little peak flash, underrated by the masses but appreciated by aficionados.

Ike is Harold Baines?

What else were we supposed to use for interstate commerce and travel, flux capacitors?

Well, flux capacitors were invented during the Eisenhower administration.

record economic expansion and prosperity, desegregation of military

Can you really give that much credit to Ike for the first one?

No. Not only did it happen under Truman, but then-General Eisenhower testified against it before Congress. He didn't want the military to be a sociological lab.

Ike and Civil Rights. He appointed Earl Warren to the Supreme Court. That was his main claim to fame. Then again, he privately told people that it putting Warren on the Supreme Court was the biggest mistake of his life. He enforced the Court's ruling (he desegregated DC right away and as already noted sent the troops to Little Rock) but he never really embraced the cause. JFK called it a moral imperative, but for Ike it was an order from the court he had to obey, and as a good soldier he would. He also passed two civil rights acts, but they were both tepid and much pressure for them came from Congress. He doesn't have a bad civil rights record, but it is mixed and there's an overall sense that for Ike it was something he felt was part of the job than anything he saw as a moral obligation.

underrated by the masses but appreciated by aficionados.

I'm not sure that really holds for Ike. I think he's neither as underrated nor as appreciated as this indicates, strangely enough.

Oh, I originally intended to make Koufax my JFK, but backed off for various reasons.

None of the matches I intend to make has been mentioned yet (except the AJ-W. Bush one, which is me getting an idea from this thread).

No president deserves credit for the economy. It's like BABIP.

Doc Nabbit:

He also passed two civil rights acts, but they were both tepid and much pressure for them came from Congress. He doesn't have a bad civil rights record, but it is mixed and there's an overall sense that for Ike it was something he felt was part of the job than anything he saw as a moral obligation.

As with many things political on BTF, I find I am an unwitting Nieporent acolyte in the sense that I care far more about substantial results than alleged motivations. Whether Ike insta-desegregated DC and sent troops into Little Rock out of a sense of moral obligation or a quasi-military "following orders" obligation is utterly irrelevant to me: the fact of the matter is that even if he wasn't a civil rights guy by pure conviction he never let his personal misgivings override or even delay his obligation to act.

In fact, I actually find the idea of Ike acting out of an instinctive understanding of the role of the Executive vis-a-vis the Judiciary to be far more honorable than I would were he acting out of private conviction; that was a man who understood the separation of powers and was willing to bring the full force of the law to act regardless of personal belief. That is the perfect definition of "integrity" IMO.

I also like Nieporent's comparison of Ike to Baines, except that I think Ike is a HOF/HOM president, whereas Baines doesn't quite qualify for the baseball analogue.

bunyon:

No president deserves credit for the economy. It's like BABIP.

I laughed. But what about Hoover and Roosevelt, two presidents whose active interference in the economy prolonged the worst economic misery in the history of the United States?

Teddy Roosevelt = Mike Piazza. They were both Rough Riders

As with many things political on BTF, I find I am an unwitting Nieporent acolyte in the sense that I care far more about substantial results than alleged motivations. Whether Ike insta-desegregated DC and sent troops into Little Rock out of a sense of moral obligation or a quasi-military "following orders" obligation is utterly irrelevant to me: the fact of the matter is that even if he wasn't a civil rights guy by pure conviction he never let his personal misgivings override or even delay his obligation to act.

With Ike it's less about what he did and more about what he didn't do. He didn't press for any substanitive civil rights legislation, even on voting, the one area he felt was most in need of addressing. He never really tried to rally the nation's emotions behind the cause. He'd respond to it if forced to, but that's all.

While I get the point of the Honus Wagner - Teddy Roosevelt comparison, I have a hard time buying it, just because they're such different personalities. Honus was one of the all time nice guys, while Roosevelt was a bombastic glory-seeker. (But in a good way.) Honestly, the player he most reminds me of from that era is Rube Waddell, although that's not really fair. McGraw would be a good comp, although he wasn't really a player any more. Maybe Turkey Mike Donlin.

I love the Cobb-Wilson match, though.

I laughed. But what about Hoover and Roosevelt, two presidents whose active interference in the economy prolonged the worst economic misery in the history of the United States?

Nobody really knows exactly how to make an economy boom, but there are a number of proven ways to break one.

I also enjoyed the presidential economy = BABIP analogy. Brilliant.

whereas Palmeiro went out with...well, you know.

Mrs. Sandberg?

Speaking of which...
Warren G. Harding = Kris Benson. Career may have been fatally poisoned by high-spirited wife.

I laughed. But what about Hoover and Roosevelt, two presidents whose active interference in the economy prolonged the worst economic misery in the history of the United States?

Sorry but this is crap.

Sorry but this is crap.

Well, you can't argue with that, folks. I think Lincoln could have beaten Douglas in 1858 if he had only taken debate direction from Epitome.

Truman = Terry Francona. Both were in charge when a long battle was finally completed, yet both were accused of standing on the shoulders of giants.

BTW, just for kicks, anybody have comparisons for Obama and McCain?

Sorry but this is crap.

I stand corrected.

then maybe Truman = C Schilling. Give'm ####, Curt!

Well, you can't argue with that, folks. I think Lincoln could have beaten Douglas in 1858 if he had only taken debate direction from Epitome.

Esoteric started with a bald assertion, epitome responded in kind.

Grover Cleveland = I suppose any player who went off to war and came back.

Apart from that, Jackie Jensen and Jim Bouton come to mind.

Obama = Jeter. McCain, I'm not sure about.

McCain = Julio Franco.

Obama = Evan Longoria. Full of promise, people always confuse him with somebody else based on his name.

McCain = Jamie Moyer??? Nyeh, that's about as good as I can do....

I'm trying to find a good Eisenhower comparison, but it's a tough one. Eisenhower was already very accomplished before he became president (Supreme Commander of Allied Forces). He was a successful two-term president with several notable accomplishments: record economic expansion and prosperity, desegregation of military, sending the National Guard into Little Rock, and one of the few government spending programs that even a lot of libertarian-sympathizing small-gov't types like me can grudgingly get behind (federal highway system). Left office with an utterly unexpected, principled anti-establishment flourish (warning against the military-industrial complex). Nevertheless, he remains chronically underrated because he presided over a period of boring consistency that is associated with hidebound traditional pre-'60s morals.

There's got to be a baseball player that fits those parameters: consistent solid production with great career value but little peak flash, underrated by the masses but appreciated by aficionados.

Stan Musial.

As an Obama skeptic, let me instead suggest Angel Berroa as a proper comparison. Undeserving (or at least questionable) Rookie of the Year award, tons of unforced defensive errors glossed over or ignored by supporters. Promised a lot of hope and change for their respective teams, but instead brought only disappointment that fans could only face up to long after it was far too late to do anything about it.

(ducks out of way of exploding bombs)

Well, you can't argue with that, folks. I think Lincoln could have beaten Douglas in 1858 if he had only taken debate direction from Epitome.

If I thought a more at length response was appropriate, and wouldn't derail a thread with a lot of potential for personal politics to get in the way of entertaining discussion, I would have expounded more at length. I only intended to identify a spurious accusation as bollocks. But since I've been called out by Mr. Nierporent, let me reiterate that yes, the idea that Roosevelts "active interference" in the economy "prolonged" or contributed to the economic misery of the depression in any meaninful way is bollocks. I am fairly familiar with a lot of work by professional economists on the Depression and works of economic history by professional economists as well. In fact our current (Republican) Chairman of the Fed has in the past written some of the best work on the subject. Suffice to say that in all the literature I've reviewed I've never read an economist make a case that Roosevelt's "active interference" in the economy in any way prolonged or worsened the Depression. The most uncharitable characterisations of the Roosevelt administration being that all their schemes had little impact on ameliorating the Depression and the more charitable characterisations of the conduct of the Roosevelt administration during this time being that it kept the Depression from getting worse. The strongest consensus if there was one, being that the biggest achievement during this time by the Roosevelt administration was laying the groundwork for the economic and financial regulatory infrastructure that persists to this day, rather than any impact on the Depression.

I have never read a serious scholar, widely respected in the field put forth the case that Roosevelt prolonged, worsened, or in some cases depending on the loon, "created" The Great Depression. Such accusations, with surprisingly litle variability, are generally always limited to persons pushing an obvious political and or partisan agenda, and or "libertarians". This is remarkable considering economists aren't exactly known for liberalism or leftism relative to people working in other social sciences.

So yes to summarize; "Sorry but this is crap"

I have never read a serious scholar, widely respected in the field put forth the case that Roosevelt prolonged, worsened, or in some cases depending on the loon, "created" The Great Depression.

Then you simply haven't read very widely in the field. You certainly haven't seriously considered anything except the views espoused by doctrinaire New Deal economists, it would seem. Milton Friedman, to name but one "widely respected serious scholar," argued the very point that you seem to think is ridiculous. Not that Roosevelt or Hoover "created" the Great Depression, I mean, but rather that their inept oversight of monetary policy was a primary cause, and that their institution of massive government spending programs only prolonged its agony. See A Monetary History of the United States, for example.

But let me guess: Milton Friedman is a crackpot, and the Austrian School economists are just a motley crew of mountebank charlatans.

I have never read a serious scholar, widely respected in the field put forth the case that Roosevelt prolonged, worsened, or in some cases depending on the loon, "created" The Great Depression.

You've never heard that FDR's decision to tighten the money supply caused the 1937 recession? Seriously?

FDR's decision to tighten the money supply

People blame presidents for the darnedest things, but ... monetary policy?

McCain = Ted Williams (cranky war hero lacking a championship, with a disturbingly stiff and frosty grin)

John McCain = Todd Jones

Despite his significant decline from eight years ago, his team gave him the nod to close out the game early in the spring because all the other options were worse. Performed well despite his advancing years, but fell apart in the dog days of summer. Age-related decline makes his hold on the closer job a shaky one. Poor comparison to flamethrowing Chicago ace has his team thinking about replacing him with a younger prospect for the fall. Otherwise, his team's faint hopes for the stretch run will rely on winning unappealing, interminable slugfests.

I think Obama=ABerroa and McCain=TJones work well if you don't like them.

If you do like them but are also realistic about them, I think Obama=Jeter (like Vaux said) and McCain=KRogers

Obama=Jeter: major plusses and also big minuses, cross-over mixed-race cultural icons, bland in some ways but still get strong positive and negative reactions; both symbols of huge, powerful organizations that many like, many hate, and few ignore


McCain=KRogers: been around forever and a day, prone to temper tantrums and not above playing dirty, also underrated by detractors and even supporters; tougher, smarter and more of a factor than many realize

Those more positive about McCain might compare him to GMaddux or GPerry (after all, Rogers is a lefty). Those more positive about Obama might compare him to Willie Mays.

I'm trying to find a good Eisenhower comparison, but it's a tough one. Eisenhower was already very accomplished before he became president (Supreme Commander of Allied Forces).

How about this one: Brian Jordan. Star defensive back for Atlanta Falcons teamed with Deion Sanders to form a strong defense and lead Falcons to playoffs. NFL All-Pro at young age. Retires from the gridiron to start a new career in baseball. Rises to the heights of his new profession using some of the same skill sets. Unspectacular but solid over a long career. Has some outstanding accomplishments (All Star 1999 and in the Top 10 of MVP voting 1996), but not nearly enough to put him in the top tier. Certain accomplishments overrated (had seasons with .300 avg & 100 RBI) but overall career showed competence and success, including 1999 NL pennant.

Those more positive about Obama might compare him to Willie Mays.

If Obama actually gets elected it would be hard to list anyone except Jackie Robinson here, for obvious reasons. (If not elected, of course, he's Cool Papa Bell.)