"So I would say Reagan was the best, and certainly Clinton the worst"
About this Quote
The “certainly Clinton the worst” line does even more subtextual work. “Certainly” is a rhetorical shortcut, a way of treating a contested judgment as self-evident fact. It invites listeners into a shared moral verdict rather than a debate about trade policy or budgets. Clinton’s presidency, to Boone’s cohort, is less remembered as the ’90s boom than as a culture-war flashpoint: sexual scandal as national humiliation, liberal triangulation as betrayal, Hollywood-and-Washington permissiveness distilled into a single face.
Context matters: Boone’s fame was built in an era when entertainers were expected to project virtue, not complication. This quote keeps that contract. It isn’t trying to persuade the unconvinced; it’s trying to reassure the already aligned that their memory of America - and of who “we” are - still holds.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Boone, Pat. (2026, January 15). So I would say Reagan was the best, and certainly Clinton the worst. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-i-would-say-reagan-was-the-best-and-certainly-164359/
Chicago Style
Boone, Pat. "So I would say Reagan was the best, and certainly Clinton the worst." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-i-would-say-reagan-was-the-best-and-certainly-164359/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"So I would say Reagan was the best, and certainly Clinton the worst." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-i-would-say-reagan-was-the-best-and-certainly-164359/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.






