Bill Clinton is Babe Ruth. Obama is Ted Williams. Discuss.

[cthulu2016]

14. re: DiMaggio

DiMaggio was a truly great player and his streak will never be broken. But Williams was a better hitter.

Keep in mind that Dimaggio's career encompassed much of the 1930s era while Williams' was centered on the 1950s. All hitting stats are higher in the 1930s, for everyone.

And in terms of assessing talent over a career, Williams being drafted into WWII AND Korea make a substantial dent in what are already some remarkable career stats.

I don't think anyone ever questioned that DiMaggio was the superior all-around baseball player. I certainly don't. Williams was a mediocre fielder and probably not the best team-mate. He wasn't a leader like DiMaggio was. And he was never loved like DiMaggio was.

But nobody has ever offered a serious statistical case for DiMaggio being a better hitter than Williams.

As far as picking Obama over Clinton or visa-versa, the OP tries hard to not do so for a reason. Like Ruth and Williams, they are hard to compare.

People seem to have forgotten that Clinton changed a national sense that the presidency was to be Republican forever. He meant as much to Democrats in 1992 as Obama did in 2008.

And 10-20 years from now people will be complaining about Obama in exactly the same way. The compromises we see as necessary in real time will appear tragic errors in the comfort of hindsight.