Day: June 17, 2012

Mitt Romney Wants Us To “Trust Him”, Avoiding Specifics! Why Should We Trust The “Lie Master And Chameleon?”

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, refuses to be specific about his plans for the economy to deal with taxes and the budget.

Romney refuses to be specific about what he would do about the illegal immigration controversy.

He refuses to be specific about ANYTHING, instead preferring to attack President Barack Obama as having failed, and that he, as a businessman, has the answers as to how to create jobs, even though he did a poor job on that score as Massachusetts Governor for four years.

Mitt Romney also repudiates his major accomplishment, the Massachusetts Health Care plan, which was used by Obama as a model for his health care plan.

Mitt Romney has changed his views on EVERY topic and issue imaginable, recasting himself as a “severe” conservative, when the record shows that he is a moderate Republican in his views.

Romney expects us to “trust” him, even though he avoids specifics, and is a total chameleon! The term “flip flopper extraordinaire” fits him to a tee!

So what it comes down to is that Mitt Romney is an expert “Lie Master”, who wants us to forget that he seems to have no principles, and despite his great statements of how religious he is about his Mormon faith, he will not even explain his religious viewpoints, evading it totally!

And if someone is so “religious”, then why can he not tell the truth about anything, or be consistent in his views on anything?

Why is he a “weather vane”, who changes direction on a moment’s notice?

This is the man who wants our support in November, running against a man who has already changed the course of history in numerous ways that are long lasting and productive, and has done a great deal economically to head us in the proper direction.

Yes, more needs to be done economically, but enough has been done, and the principles of the man who did it, to make any sane person realize that a “Lie Master” chameleon like Mitt Romney is NOT the better choice to be our President!

And think about it: Richard Nixon told us to “trust him”, and elect him on a “secret” plan to end the war in Vietnam, which he did not have! We know the kind of President Richard Nixon turned out to be, a “Lie Master”, who was forced out of the Presidency, and is a stain on the history of that office, despite some positive developments, which do not make up for the shortcomings of a person we chose to “trust” without facts or evidence!

The Wartime Presidency: One Out Of Every Three Presidents!

America has had 43 Presidents, and a total of 14, or one third, have been wartime Presidents.

Some inherited wars, as Theodore Roosevelt and the Filipino Insurrection of 1899-1902; Harry Truman and World War II; Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Korean War; Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War; and Barack Obama and the Iraq War and Afghanistan War.

Others took us to war, believing it was necessary and unavoidable, including James Madison and the War of 1812; James K. Polk and the Mexican War; Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War; William McKinley and the Spanish American War; McKinley and the Filipino Insurrection; Woodrow Wilson and World War I; Franklin D. Roosevelt and World War II; Harry Truman and the Korean War; Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War; George H. W. Bush and the Gulf War; and George W. Bush and the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

Of these 14 wartime Presidents, one was a Democratic Republican (James Madison); seven were Republicans (Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower; Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush); and six were Democrats (James K. Polk, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama).

The Bicentennial Of The War Of 1812 On Monday

Two centuries ago tomorrow, the United States declared war on Great Britain, its first war as a nation, its first declaration of war in American history.

The declaration of war under President James Madison was a bold and unfortunate gesture, as America was ill equipped to fight the greatest naval power in the world, and our former colonial masters.

The war would see the burning of the White House and Capitol Hill in August, 1814, our first internal invasion, followed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941, and the attack by Al Qaeda on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC on September 11, 2001.

The war would have its heroes, including Andrew Jackson, who won the major battle of the war at New Orleans, a few weeks after the formal ceasefire, but before knowledge of it was available.

The War of 1812 has been called the Second War for Independence, with America turning inward after the war, and expanding across the continent, and not engaging in war with a foreign power from Europe again until the brief Spanish American War of 1898, and made only a major commitment to overseas warfare a century after the War of 1812, during the last 19 months of World War I.

The War of 1812 has also been called the “Sorry Little War”, since it was not a bright moment for America militarily, and James Madison is regarded as a weak wartime President, despite the greatness of his career otherwise.

While relations between America and its former colonial master would be tense much of the time for the next century until World War I, we would never again fight Great Britain in war, and since World War II in particular, our greatest friend and ally has been Great Britain!

While not a war of significance long term as the Civil War, or the two World Wars, and not a war with territorial gains, as with the Mexican War and the Spanish American War, it is appropriate that we commemorate this bicentennial event in a respectful manner!

40 Years Since The Watergate Scandal Erupted: Its Long Range Effects

40 years ago today, the Watergate scandal erupted, as seven “burglars” were caught at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

The scandal lasted more than two years before President Richard Nixon was forced to resign, in the midst of an impeachment effort that had succeeded, and would have led to his removal from office had he not resigned.

The events of 40 years ago transformed the Presidency, the news media, the political parties, and Americans’ views of their government.

It has led to investigative media that is ready and willing to expose scandal and evil like never before.

It has led to such partisanship that no President can ever really have a true mandate anymore, and antagonism between the major political parties is at an all time high since the Civil War era.

Most Americans are skeptical of the value and virtues of government, a terrible and tragic event, considering the complex world we live in.

Richard Nixon’s reputation has risen quite a bit since his resignation, as many have realized how tragic his downfall was, as he had actually accomplished a great deal of good, mixed in with the evil events of his Presidency.

Disillusionment with many of his successors in the White House has also helped to make him look “better” in many people’s eyes, but the revelation of new transcripts of the Watergate tapes every year remind us just how dangerous and law breaking the 37th President of the United States actually was.

The need for mental health evaluations of Presidential candidates seem more essential now than ever, considering that there were manifestations of mental illness by Nixon, and instability in behavior by Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in later times.

The Watergate scandal still fascinates us, as a turning point in American history, on the level of the Civil War and the Great Depression, in its long range impact on the nation.

With the Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and the major exposer of the scandal, John Dean, still alive and kicking, Watergate in many ways is still current, but the question is whether the lessons of that scandal have been learned in a time when we are having millionaires and billionaires investing obscene amounts in campaign spending on the Presidential campaign, thanks to the disgraceful Citizens United case of the Supreme Court in 2010.

So in a sense, Watergate is the past, but also part of the present political situation, sadly!