Day: October 15, 2012

History Of Major Social And Economic Change And Presidential Reelections

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When one examines American history, in times of major social and economic change, often very controversial, the American people have chosen every time to endorse those changes, no matter how divisive, by reelecting the President who brought about the reforms.

Witness Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, followed by a reelection victory in the midst of the Civil War in 1864.

Witness Woodrow Wilson, and the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, Clayton Anti Trust Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, and several labor reforms, and being reelected in 1916.

Witness Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, and the passage of the National Labor Relations Act and Social Security Act, leading to reelection in 1936.

Witness Harry Truman vetoing the Taft Hartley Labor Act and promoting integration of the the military and Washington, DC, and then winning election in 1948.

Witness Lyndon B. Johnson promoting the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and then winning election to a full term the same year.

Witness Republican Richard Nixon, going along with Democrats, and signing into law the Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Occupational Safety And Health Administration, and Affirmative Action, and being reelected in 1972.

Now Barack Obama has accomplished major reform on health care, ObamaCare, something millions of Americans already benefit from, so to imagine the American people rejecting it this November, would defy American history, that when major change comes about, it becomes permanent!

The Beginnings Of The Cuban Missile Crisis 50 Years Ago: A Warning For The Future WIth Iran

Ronald 1 Comment

On this day in 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech in Chicago, and then rushed back to Washington, DC, telling his press secretary to give out a cover story that the President was “indisposed” and would be out of the public eye for a few days.

Kennedy had just found out about the installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba, put there by an agreement between Nikita Khrushchev, Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, and Cuba’s leader, Fidel Castro.

For the next 13 days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war, the greatest crisis ever faced by a President, and Kennedy’s calm, cool leadership, along with tough bargaining, averted what could have become a nuclear holocaust.

This is something to keep in mind as we have neoconservatives, advisers to Mitt Romney, who regularly talk about attacking Iran, rather than using diplomacy and economic sanctions, and leaving an attack to a last resort.

This needs to be brought up in the Lynn University debate on foreign policy in Boca Raton, Florida, next week, if not brought up at the Hofstra University debate in Hempstead, New York, tomorrow night.

Barack Obama has been a cool, calm, decisive President in foreign policy, much like John F. Kennedy was 50 years ago.

Before we elect Mitt Romney, this factor needs to be considered, as Romney’s statements and views on Iran, and foreign policy in general, have been worrisome!