Overrated events/persons in history?

[ikalugin]

Patton?

[ExFishermanBob]

Magna Carta.

Imagine if there were a document that expressed that the people, town and country, had the right to choose and dismiss their monarch (president) at some time of their choosing (say, every 4 years) and that that was approved by the international ruler of the time (the pope).

Guess what...not the Magna Carta, but the Declaration of Arbroath.

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by ikalugin

Patton?

I'm sure that charge could be leveled against Patton in many ways, but in the pantheon of US WW2 generals, Douglas MacArthur is far more richly deserving. The man presides over a disaster in the Philippines much of it his own making, is plucked from the middle of it as his command crumbles and made a national hero over night. Go figure. General Dmitry Pavlov of the Soviet Western Front should have been so lucky.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

I'm sure that charge could be leveled against Patton in many ways, but in the pantheon of US WW2 generals, Douglas MacArthur is far more richly deserving. The man presides over a disaster in the Philippines much of it his own making, is plucked from the middle of it as his command crumbles and made a national hero over night. Go figure. General Dmitry Pavlov of the Soviet Western Front should have been so lucky.

Fully agree.

As to Patton he was overrated even during the war as the Germans feared him. Had the whole fake army prior to D-Day as a ruse. What I do like about Patton which can not be be said of his peers is he lead from the front this is why most men under him respected him and his enemies feared him. Rommel was similar in this respect.

When comes to history often it is hard to judge where truth ends and myth begins.

[August]

Montgomery.

His greatest claim to fame is that he just happened to be the latest in a long line of British Commanders when the tide of men and material finally overwhelmed a weakened and stretched out Afrika Corps. During the Sicily campaign his decision to land at Syracuse allowed the Germans to escape from Messina. His tardiness in clearing the Schelde Estuary very nearly ran the Allies out of gas and ammo just as they hit the German border and his Holland campaign was far more than A Bridge Too Far, it got an entire Airborne division wiped out and they were lucky it wasn't three and an Armored Corps to boot.

[Red October1984]

Lewis Hamilton, anybody?

I can't bring myself to consider him one of F1's greatest. I feel like that if he didn't have such a good team of engineers, mechanics, etc behind him he wouldn't be where he is. I feel that everybody gives him credit for what the Mercedes team (and McLaren before, although he had some problems with them) has done for him. I'm not saying he's not good...he's a damn good driver but I don't consider him a living legend by any means. He comes across to me as a guy who takes advantage of a good situation and tries to do too much with it.

EDIT: Opinion is the same regardless of whether or not I have the big Scuderia Ferrari signature. I'd feel the same way, either way.

[BossMark]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

Lewis Hamilton, anybody?

I can't bring myself to consider him one of F1's greatest. I feel like that if he didn't have such a good team of engineers, mechanics, etc behind him he wouldn't be where he is. I feel that everybody gives him credit for what the Mercedes team (and McLaren before, although he had some problems with them) has done for him. I'm not saying he's not good...he's a damn good driver but I don't consider him a living legend by any means. He comes across to me as a guy who takes advantage of a good situation and tries to do too much with it.

EDIT: Opinion is the same regardless of whether or not I have the big Scuderia Ferrari signature. I'd feel the same way, either way.

Got to agree with Lewis Hamilton, his heads that big I am surprised that he can walk through the door, and I could win the F1 championship in the car he as been given to drive.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by August

Montgomery.

His greatest claim to fame is that he just happened to be the latest in a long line of British Commanders when the tide of men and material finally overwhelmed a weakened and stretched out Afrika Corps. During the Sicily campaign his decision to land at Syracuse allowed the Germans to escape from Messina. His tardiness in clearing the Schelde Estuary very nearly ran the Allies out of gas and ammo just as they hit the German border and his Holland campaign was far more than A Bridge Too Far, it got an entire Airborne division wiped out and they were lucky it wasn't three and an Armored Corps to boot.

I tend to agree and Operation Goodwood was the ultimate turning point in the relationship between Eisenhower and him, Eisenhower feeling that Montgomery lied in his promised pre-operational objectives, leaving him (Eisenhower) open to allegations of failure from his 'enemies'.

[STEED]

Present British Prime Minister David Cameron.

UK debt has doubled under him.
Recovery based on the service sector figures, banks in most part.

I know BossMark will agree with me.

[Platapus]

Two events that, while emotional, really are overrated in the context of actual events:

1. Kennedy's address to congress on 25 May 61

I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.

This is often applauded as being visionary, but it was simply political one-up-manship.

Earlier, Richard Nixon gave two speeches concerning space exploration.

In one, Nixon called for a manned trip around the moon, and in the other predicted that the first manned moon landing would occur in the 1970's

If your political opponent calls for a trip around the moon, then you say landing on the moon

If you political opponent calls for a moon landing in the 1970's, then you say before the 1970's.

JFK's speech writers just took Nixon's speeches and just "added 1".

Since JFK was not initially a big fan of the space race, I often wonder who was JFK competing against? The USSR or Nixon?

2. Reagan 12 Jun 87 speech

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

The actual opening of the border control was much more complicated and the US played an almost negligible role.

Both speeches were inspiring and certainly good political moves. But for actually changing world events, I feel they were overrated.