Sorry I misunderstood Bad-Ass I withdraw Dublya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Bader badass

General George S. Patton:

"We're going to go through them like crap through a goose!"

I also nominate General Anthony C. McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge. His reply to a German surrender request: "Nuts!". That pretty much sums it up (the translator translated it as "go to hell")

I'll additionally vote for Vladmir Putin. He made Russia a world power again. (So what if he sold crap to terrorists and sponsored the Russia Mafyia and had a former KGB spy killed?)

"The man is simply unstoppable!"
--TIME magazine

Without a doubt Hannibal Barca
Driven to avenge his father's death, he took his relatively small army (which included elephants) over the alps. He used his tactical genius to bring Rome to its knees.

1) Ernesto "Che" Guevara

2) From Doctor to traveler to Guerrila soldier to Guerrilla Commander to President of the National Bank of Cuba to Minister of Industry to Guerrilla Commander again, in Africa, Asia and South America.

A loose quote that paints him as badass as he was. When asked about executions performed by the Revolutionary Government in Cuba, he said:

"Of course there have been executions. The struggle for the liberation of the opressed is a fight to death. We know what is on the line when we face the enemy, and the enemy must know it also."

I can't think of another men who faced death willingly so many times, knowing the unsurmountable odds against him.

Of course, men like these tend to die young.

"Sent from: stratagos (457 ) Sent: 12:02 PM
http://www.cracked.com/article_16590_6-great-us-presidents-their-crimes-against-humanity.html"

How do you make a list like that and leave out Andrew Jackson?

More on topic, I see "bad-ass" generally meaning the type of person you don't want to mess with. Conquering Europe also helps. Its not necessarily good or bad.
Stalin-People who mess with him end up dead. People who think about messing with him also end up dead. In fact, if you don't even think about messing with him, there's a good chance you'll end up dead anyway.
Napoleon-He conquered Europe, and even after he was defeated he was able to return, despite everyone hating him
Bismark-He didn't do as much as the other two on my list, but he didn't have as much to work with. Also, he accomplished his goal of unifying Germany.

Old Hickory was quite the badass, much like Teddy Roosevelt.

Che's not bad-ass. He failed at everything he did.

I swear the next person I see wearing a che t-shirt they bought at hot topic is getting their ass kicked

Hannibal also failed in his policy against Rome and Carthage was destroyed. That is not bad-ass.. it'as as lame as his elephants were by the time they had all died crossing the Alps.

It didn't matter whether Hannibal destroyed rome, Carthage was essentially dead after the 1st punic war

@ Invictus:

There is still a Socialist regime in Cuba if I am not mistaken. As history tells, this started with a small guerrilla in a place called Sierra Maestra, wich, almost exactly 50 years ago, took the power in the island.

Guess who was one of the Commanders of such an army?

@ Sicarius:

For the record, I don't wear a T-Shirt and I have no idea what "hot topic" is or where to find one.

"hot topic" is an American store where they sell emo, goth, and scene apparel.

Oh, and I also nominate the usual. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Ghengis Khan, Kim Jong il, and last but not least, Winston Churchill.

"If you're going through hell, keep going."
--Winston Churchill

Templar Grandmaster Geraard van Ruddervoorde
Took on 10 to one odds at The Battle of Hattin rather than cooperate with his rival. He was surrounded on a plateau and eventually captured. Saladin let him go on the condition of surrendering Gaza. Instead, van Ruddervoorde attacked Acre and when the rest of the christian forces retreated he considered it an unacceptable option and took on Saladin single handedly. Saladin did not let him go this time andit is unknown whether he was killed on the battlefield or captured and executed

@diplomat "Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin" Under the definition of being bad, and being asses. Hitler and Stalin I can possibly see, despite some huge blunders they made, but Mussolini? He attacked France AFTER Germany had broken their lines and FAILED. Then, he tried to do stuff in Africa, and had to be rescued by Hitler. Finally, he decided that he had to win somewhere, so he attacked Greece. And failed, making Hitler save him again. He is easily the least badass of anyone named here.

I voted for Mussolini because he was a bad arse. Two seperate words.

1 Cynthia Roberts (Just someone I know) Ass too big.
2 Shelley Brookes (Someone else I know) Ass too wobbly
3 Peter Jacabs (Yet another person I know) Ass too smelly.

The battle of Cannae says it all
Plus, if Philip V never backed him up! Hannibal's army was so bad-ass they just went on without reinforcements.
Rome didn't win a military victory, they won through attrition.

Maniac +10. OTGL

What?

Thanks diplomat (I think - what is OTGL?)