I’ve been having to do some research lately with one of my daughters on some of the Presidents of the United States.  I do not care for politics and this is most definitely not a political blog, unless you count Mayor Shambley’s posts.  He is always glad-handing the citizens for a vote.  While I don’t keep track of politics, I do love history.  Anyway, we were talking about one president and I stated that he is a great example of a man’s man.  Having all girls, I had to define the term, but found it difficult to do so.  A website called wisegeek.org defines it this way:

A man’s man is a man who engages in activities that are traditionally viewed as masculine, and who earns the respect of other men. Such men may also be described as “manly,” emphasizing their masculine personality. They tend to be domineering, confident, and bold, because these character traits are reinforced by traditional gender roles.

We got past that discussion and talked about some of the men who had been president.  You have to include generals such as Eisenhower, Washington, and Grant in the discussion.  But I settled on two: Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt.  Although a hero in two wars, Jackson would never have been electable today.  His fiery temperament caused him to shoot and kill a man in a duel for disparaging his wife.  In fact, on the last day of the presidency, Jackson admitted that he had but two regrets, that he “had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun.”

Theodore Roosevelt coined the phrase, “speak softly and carry a big stick,” and he lived that way.  Cowboy, Rough Rider, Colonel during the Spanish-American War, big game hunter.  He was the definition of the term man’s man.  AND, this picture would indicate that he carried Virgil Creech like a field manual through it all.

Everything is subjective, and I am sure I’m missing someone.  But these are my two picks.  Yours?