This June, the Discovery Channel will broadcast "Greatest American", a show where Americans will vote from among 100 nominees and eventually pick our Greatest American.

The 100 nominees were chosen from nominations made via AOL and are divided into categories like "Presidents", "Champions of Causes", "Scientists" and "Celebrities". Some of the usual suspects are there: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Edison. But some of these nominees are just hilariously lightweight. They're the Jim Verraros of the competition. Here's just a few of them:

• Tom Cruise
• Ellen DeGeneres
• John Edwards
• Brett Favre
• Mel Gibson
• Hugh Hefner
• Michael Jackson
• Rush Limbaugh
• Madonna
• Dr. Phil McGraw
• Michael Moore
• Barack Obama
• Martha Stewart
• Pat Tillman

Now, I understand that the producers of the series undoubtably wanted to include people the audience is more familiar with. But come on. Brett Favre? I love Brett, but don't you think he's a little embarassed to be on this list, sandwiched between Dwight Eisenhower & Henry Ford. Let's see...led the Allied Forces to victory over the Nazis, introduced the assembly line to automobiles and made cars affordable for nearly everyone, and, uh, led the Packers to a Super Bowl. I mean, if they had to have a Packer on the list, why not Vince Lombardi?

Better yet, why not just let us vote for the Greatest Living American? That show would be far more intriguing and could legitimately include some modern household names. Instead we have a list with Maya Angelou, but not Walt Whitman or Ernest Hemingway or William Faulkner. We have Michael Moore, but not Alfred Hitchcock or John Ford. There's no Meriweather Lewis or William Clark. No Douglas MacArthur or Black Jack Pershing. No Johnny Cash or Tennessee Williams or Winslow Homer. You get the idea.

In fact, this list is so ridiculous that I've come up with my own list, using the same categories, and over the next few weeks we can narrow it down. We may come up with the same winners, but I think the Dummocrats competition will be far tougher.

I'll put up a new poll every three days, with nine choices in each. Our first category is "Actors and Directors". Have at it!

This poll is now closed. Our winner was John Wayne.

Update: since I can only have 9 choices per poll, I'll have to get rid of a category, and celebrities is going to be it. I want to stay as close to what the Discovery Channel has as I can, so I think this is how the categories will break down:

1. Actors & Directors: May 9-11
2. Artists & Writers: May 12-14
3. Athletes: May 15-17
4. Business Leaders: May 18-20
5. Champions of Causes: May 21-23
6. Heroes & Icons: May 24-26
7. Musicians: May 27-29
8. Politicians: May 30-June 1
9. Scientists, Inventors & Explorers: June 2-4

Then, we'll run the finals from June 5-7, right after Discovery's program begins.

So, if you want any input on the nominees for a particular category, be sure to get them in before the dates above. Just suggest them in the comments to the post where the latest poll is.