I've been watching the discussion on the Discovery Channel over who should be chosen as "The Greatest American". As of now the finalists are Benjamin Franklin, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, & George Washington.

Who do you think should be "The Greatest American"? Why do you think so?

I think it would be easier to ask about who is most influential, not who is the best. That is most influential in your own life... I think that would be more appropriate... and answerable.

I'd rather not prove you wrong, because I nearly 100% agree with you. Yet, 2 million Americans thought it was pretty easy to decide (on Ronald Reagan somehow). I hoped I wasn't the only one questioning why this person is on the list and this one isn't. Bret Favre & Tom Cruise made the list & somehow Hemingway, one of the most influential authors of the 20th century, was left out. I just wonder how important a quarterback & an actor will be in 200 years, even 100. I can't quite comprehend why Dr. Phil is a greater American than oh I don't know, Ulysses S. Grant(besides most of his presidency of course), but it seems whoever voted for this list, besides myself, thought so.
I just though I would ask people my age, & see if they had a reasonable answer.

Im just going to say, that no one has written back because that is a really difficult question to answer. How can measure the merit of heroes? How can you compare them? How can you tell which issues they fought for were more important? How can you say that womens rights were less important than civil rights, because you know that a hero, or a great american, is measured only by their accomplishments in their time... their accomplishments in history for their times' most vital and important issues... Its not possible... So if someone does respond to your question, the person they say is just the one they know the best, or just favor over most others, not who they think is just plain better...
Thats just what I think... Prove me wrong to get this conversation going...