Clement Attlee was not a good Prime Minister. Discuss.

[Tupac Shakur]

Inherited a nation that was largely bomb craters.

How is that an accomplishment?

Finished off winning WW2

We're going to give him credit for the American victory in the Pacific? Churchill already ended the war in Europe.

set up the modern welfare state

This looks less and less like a positive accomplishment with every debt crisis.

turned Britain into a nuclear power

Waste of money. The smart countries let America pay for their nuclear umbrella.

pulled off holding an Olympics against the odds

The Olympics are another frightful waste of money.

increased Labour's vote to its highest ever level at the time.

Don't care.

You can disagree with the politics, but he sure as hell got **** done.

Judging by your list, Attlee is 0-3-3. What a man.

[BeBMan]

As far as I know he didn't oppose the German unification in the 1990ies. Makes him a freedom lover and a great PM in my book.

[Aeson]

fought the vietnam war

Um... how is that getting anything done?

[Tupac Shakur]

As far as I know he didn't oppose the German unification in the 1990ies.

Neither did Churchill.

[BeBMan]

Neither did Churchill.

Like Roosevelt

[Tupac Shakur]

And Stalin.

[BeBMan]

All the world thought it was a great idea, just Thatcher didn't see the light

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

How is that an accomplishment?

It's the starting point, you bell end.

[Tupac Shakur]

I didn't really need the context for Attlee's meager accomplishments explained to me, but thank you anyway.

[kentonio]

The welfare state he created is unsustainable and potentially the cause of the next Depression along with its equivalents in Europe and North America.

Except that isn't actually true. The NHS has marched along quite happily for the last half a century and will continue to do so for the next couple too. I never understand why people can't see that universal healthcare is a huge money saver.

[Tupac Shakur]

The welfare state is much more than just healthcare.

[kentonio]

True, but Attlees greatest achievement was founding it.

[Tupac Shakur]

Like I said, that's not much of an achievement.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If we're going by "getting **** done", then Lyndon Johnson was a great president because he pushed through medicare, medicaid, great society, fought the vietnam war, and did the civil rights act. But only the last of these was actually good, so he was a terrible president.

There is a reason LBJ is held in high esteem in historian rankings - getting **** done is something leaders are supposed to do.

Oh, and Kennedy gets to have Vietnam - LBJ inherited that crap.

[Hauldren Collider]

LBJ escalated Vietnam. Our involvement actually dates back to Eisenhower. Kennedy sent over some advisors. LBJ actually landed real troops there. LBJ gets Vietnam.

And no, getting **** done is not what leaders are supposed to do. Getting the right **** done is what leaders are supposed to do. Christ, are we really going to ignore the merits of our leader's actions when judging them? That's ridiculous.