Walter Mondale

Two Years Of Kamala Harris As Vice President: Very Underrated!

Ronald Leave a comment

Kamala Harris has been Vice President for two years, but unfortunately, she has been very underrated by many observers.

Most people fail to understand that Vice Presidents have no power or influence, other than what the President gives them.

Joe Biden has been kind and engaged in making sure his Vice President has important duties and responsibilities, but the criticism of Harris fails to take into account how most Vice Presidents have had very little influence.

The only modern Vice Presidents who have stood out in a positive manner are Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; and Joe Biden under Barack Obama.

Even such outstanding individuals as Lyndon B. Johnson under John F. Kennedy; Hubert Humphrey under Lyndon B. Johnson; Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford; George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan; and Dick Cheney under George W. Bush had far less impact than one would have expected.

It seems clear, sad to state, that much of the criticism of Kamala Harris is due to her being a woman, and of mixed race ancestry!

One would think such bigotry would be gone, and much of it promoted by extremist religious factions, both Christian and Jewish! But sadly, it is still a reality!

Hooray! Jimmy Carter Turns 98, An Event To Celebrate! A Much Underrated President!

Ronald Leave a comment

Former President Jimmy Carter turned 98 today, an amazing age and still with his wife, Rosalynn, alongside him after 76 plus years of marriage!

Not only is Carter the longest lived President, nearly three and a half years older than George H. W. Bush at his passing, but Rosalynn Carter passed both Lady Bird Johnson and Nancy Reagan, as she turned 95 on August 18, only behind Bess Truman, who lived to past 97 years of age!

Jimmy Carter is a true treasure, a man of decency, compassion, empathy, and sincerity, much like President Joe Biden, who was the first US Senator at age 33 in 1976, to endorse Carter for President, at a time when it seemed highly unlikely that Carter would win the Democratic Presidential nomination, and go on to defeat President Gerald Ford, and become the 39th President of the United States from 1977-1981.

Carter has had a retirement nearly 42 years in January 2023, more than ten years longer than the longest retired President before him, Herbert Hoover.

Carter has had cancer since 2015, but he has managed to cope and go on with his life with proper medical treatments and continue to promote Habitat For Humanity, the Carter Center, and to publish more than 30 books in retirement.

He will rate higher in history once he passes, as occurred with Harry Truman, but as it is, he is much underrated,when one considers the Camp David Accords with Israel and Egypt, the Panama Canal Treaty, the promotion of human rights, the advancement of the environment as the best one term environmental President, and the establishment of three Cabinet agencies–Energy, Health and Human Services, and Education as his major accomplishments. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his lifetime of promotion of peace and diplomacy.

Carter has managed to outlive nearly everyone in public office and in his Presidency, with his Vice President, Walter Mondale, passing in early 2021 after the longest retirement of a President and Vice President, more than 40 years as a team staying in touch. And one must realize that Carter utilized Mondale as a closer confidante than any President has had with their Vice President!

A truly amazing man, and someone to be saluted and appreciated for the greatness of this person who exudes the true meaning of his faith, Christianity!

Vice Presidents Who Have Accepted Defeat Of Their Party In Electoral College Count

Ronald Leave a comment

One of the roles of the Vice President of the United States is to count and announce the Electoral College vote at the end of a Presidential term.

Every Vice President has done so, constitutionally, in modern times, even when the Vice President may have been the Presidential nominee for the next term in office.

So we have Richard Nixon in 1961, Hubert Humphrey in 1969, and Al Gore in 2001, who have played their proper role.

Also, Walter Mondale in 1981 and Dan Quayle in 1993 were on losing tickets as Vice Presidents, but played their proper role.

And Dick Cheney in 2009 and Joe Biden in 2017, both leaving office, did their duty!

Finally, after much hesitation and the intervention of Dan Quayle led Mike Pence in 2021 to do what he was required, constitutionally, to do in his role as Vice President!

Many groups and individuals, including those who are clearly conservative in nature, argue that the Electoral Count Act of 1887, enacted a decade after the disputed Presidential Election of 1876, and two close elections in 1880 and 1884, needs to be overhauled to prevent the crisis that occurred in 2021, only prevented by Mike Pence, at the last minute, following his duty, despite threats to hang him or murder him by mobs engaged in the US Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021!

Comparing Kamala Harris To Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Spiro Agnew!

Ronald Leave a comment

Kamala Harris has been Vice President for nearly a year, and has faced brutal criticism and attacks, and suggestions by some that she resign, because she has not been assertive in the role of Vice President.

Of course, these suggestions come from Fox News Channel anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, who are actively involved in attempting a coverup of the events of January 6, 2021, even though they were stunned by the events of that day, and tried to reach Donald Trump to express their dismay.

It is insulting that conservative supporters of the January 6 Insurrection have the gall to attack Kamala Harris, when the major issue is that she is a woman, and of mixed African and Asian American heritage, as her father is from Jamaican origin and her mother of Asian Indian origin.

Who are the critics turning to as models?

Is it Mike Pence, who refused to speak up at all to Donald Trump for four years, but at least had the guts to uphold the Electoral College vote for Joe Biden on January 6, facing the threat of being hanged by rioters? That is his only redeeming quality.

Or is it Dick Cheney, who while qualified by experience, was a dangerous, out of control Vice President, under George W. Bush, who enriched himself by America’s engagement in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through leadership of Haliburton, and endorsed the use of torture against war prisoners?

Or is it Dan Quayle, who made everyone nervous for four years about the health of George H. W. Bush, as Quayle demonstrated how dumb and clueless he was?

Or was it Spiro Agnew, who resigned from office as a felon, after nearly five years a heartbeat away from the Presidency under Richard Nixon?

The only truly reputable Republican Vice President in the past half century was George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan! Although it must be said that the abbreviated Vice Presidency of Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford was also decent!

Meanwhile, Democrats could be proud of their Vice Presidents—Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; and Joe BIden under Barack Obama!

Kamala Harris is in the tradition of decency and dignity of Mondale, Gore, and Biden, and will do a fine job over the next three years, with her excellent qualification as former San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, and US Senator!

Supposed Unpopularity Of Vice President Kamala Harris According To Conservatives: Preposterous!

admin 1 Comment

It is laughable how conservative websites and Republicans are promoting the view that Vice President Kamala Harris is the most unpopular Vice President since Spiro Agnew in the 1970s.

Think about the Vice Presidents since who are seen as positive forces—Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush, Al Gore, Joe Biden.

Two of these–Ford and Bush became President, while Mondale and Gore lost Presidential races, and Biden has now become President.

Who has been left out?—-Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, Mike Pence.

Dick Cheney was certainly competent in a basic sense, but evil in his abuse of the office, promoting torture in the War on Terror, making money through Haliburton, and being a basic nasty individual, who many thought was really President instead of George W. Bush in the latter’s first term, until Bush finally asserted his authority over Cheney, and their relationship deteriorated.

Dan Quayle was a basically not too bright VP, who scared people at the thought that he might become President, when George H. W. Bush had some health scares.

But compared to Cheney and Quayle, the absolutely worst Vice President in modern times since Spiro Agnew was Mike Pence, who fawned all over Donald Trump, never spoke up when it was appropriate and necessary to do so, and now we learn, he was considering NOT keeping his oath that required him as Vice President to announce the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021!

Of all people, it was Dan Quayle who convinced Pence he had no choice. And Pence was under threat caused by his own boss, Donald Trump, and yet refuses to condemn him and speak out on the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection!

Instead, his rabid desire to be President, which will never happen, makes him live in an alternative world, and to think his so called “good Christian” image will propel him to the White House in 2024!

No sane or decent person would call Mike Pence someone who would be “popular” or “decent”, but delusional Republicans and conservatives instead lie about history of Pence, and also, Cheney and Quayle!

The fact is that the “best” Vice Presidents since the 1970s are Walter Mondale, Al Gore, and Joe Biden! And Al Gore won the national popular vote over George W. Bush, but as we all know, lost the Electoral College!

Kamala Harris, the first woman, first biracial, first African American and Asian American Vice President, will survive the vicious attacks on her character and capability, and will join the list of outstanding Vice Presidents!

Her background as District Attorney of San Francisco; California Attorney General; and US Senator makes her perfectly capable and qualified, and her character, empathy, decency, and compassion match that of President Joe Biden!

And if fate has it that Harris might become President in this term or in a future term by election, the nation will be in good hands!

Mike Pence Stands Up For His Role In Presidential Election Of 2020 At Reagan Library: A Moment To Be Praised!

Ronald Leave a comment

This blogger and scholar is no fan of former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence’s hardline right wing Christianity is distasteful to the extreme, and the thought that he, after being a total sycophant to Donald Trump, might become President, is a monstrous nightmare.

But on January 6, 2021, Pence did his duty to uphold the Electoral College vote that clearly demonstrated that Joe Biden had won the Presidential Election of 2020.

He did the same thing as Richard Nixon did in 1961; Hubert Humphrey did in 1969; and Al Gore did in 2001; and also what Nelson Rockefeller did in 1977, Walter Mondale did in 1981; Dan Quayle did in 1993; Dick Cheney did in 2009; and Joe Biden did in 2017.

Pence defended his role in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum last night, and he faced the threat of being lynched by the Capital Insurrectionists, with his own boss, Donald Trump, unwilling to intervene or care about the health and safety of his loyal lieutenant.

Donald Trump deserves life in prison for his treason and sedition, and lack of concern for human life on that day, and in many other cases over his destructive four years in the Oval Office.

So while not supportive of any future for Pence, he should be saluted for doing his constitutional duty, as other Vice Presidents have done throughout American history!

Amazingly, President Jimmy Carter And Vice President Walter Mondale Celebrating 40 Years Of Retirement!

Ronald Leave a comment

On Inauguration Day this Wednesday, Former President Jimmy Carter and former Vice President Walter Mondale will celebrate 40 years of retirement from their term of office in the White House!

This is an amazing record, and is an accomplishment which will never be surpassed in the future, and to top it off, Rosalynn Carter is also still with her husband, celebrating 74 and a half years of marriage, an all time record for any President and First Lady!

Jimmy Carter is three months past 96, an all time record for any President, and Walter Mondale is past 93, making him the fifth oldest Vice President in age, with Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush two of the four longer lived Vice Presidents.

Jimmy Carter has lived longer than any Vice President, except for John Nance Garner, first Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was 98, but only a couple of weeks short of age 99. The other Vice President who lived longer than any other than Garner was Levi Morton under President Benjamin Harrison, who died on his 96th birthday!

The reputation of Jimmy Carter is on the rise, more so because of the totally reprehensible and diametrically opposite personality and character of Donald Trump.

Rosalynn Carter has a dignified reputation as First Lady, a lady of class, unlike the tramp image and disgraceful reputation of Melania Trump, who will go down as the absolute worst First Lady in American history!

And Walter Mondale has the reputation of being the most active, engaged, and productive Vice President in American history, with Jimmy Carter given a lot of the credit, since he did not perceive his own Vice President as a threat, and in this regard, Barack Obama and Joe Biden stand out as equally outstanding.

And one can sense Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will add to the reputation of Carter-Mondale and Obama-Biden, particularly important after the mediocre and submissive Mike Pence under Donald Trump!

The Heroes Of 2020: Bright Lights In A Year The Worst In Most People’s Lifetimes

Ronald 9 Comments

The year 2020 has been the worst year in most people’s lifetimes, but there have been heroes who deserve attention and appreciation from all decent Americans.

The ultimate hero is Dr. Anthony Fauci, who reached the age of 80 yesterday, and has been an inspiration to anyone who believes in science, and respects expertise over “junk science”, or science that is generations out of date.

Some of our greatest heroes of the year, sadly, have departed, including Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who left a legacy of promotion of equal rights for all groups in America, including women, people of color, the disabled, and equal justice for all.

Also departing this world was Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, who promoted the concept of “good trouble” to advance human rights in a world and nation that too often is not engaged in such efforts.

Another hero is former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who advanced equality of gays and lesbians, just by becoming the first known gay Presidential contender, and now will be the first openly gay Cabinet officer as Secretary of Transportation.

Another hero is Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who has done an amazing job pursuing justice, equality, and the interests of the American people, in a time of the massive threat presented by Donald Trump, and has not blinked at his threats, misogyny, and crazed insanity. She has had to deal with the unrelenting misogyny of many in the Republican Party opposition, and Trump supporters who show a total lack of respect for her that they would never utter against a man!

Another hero is California Congressman Adam Schiff, who was a key player in the impeachment investigation of Donald Trump, and is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He has suffered from threats and vicious attacks by Donald Trump and his minions, but has demonstrated courage and conviction in an admirable manner.

Another hero is South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, the highest ranked African American in Congress as House Majority Whip, third ranking leadership role. If it were not for Clyburn, Joe Biden would not have been able to become the Democratic Presidential nominee this year, as Clyburn’s endorsement was a major factor in Biden winning the South Carolina Primary and moving forward to the top of the Democratic Presidential ticket.

Another such hero is the future First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, who, with her elegance and intelligence, will raise the level of that position from the disgraceful low level it reached in the past four years.

California Senator Kamala Harris, soon to be Vice President of the United States, is another hero, who will be the first woman, and first woman of color with her Jamaican and Asian Indian heritage, to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. She is a role model for women and racial minorities, and will be a very influential Vice President, more in the direction of Joe Biden, Al Gore, and Walter Mondale, than Mike Pence!

And last but not least, Joe Biden, who is a man of decency, compassion, ethics, and empathy, will be our 46th President on January 20, 2021. He will face the most daunting set of issues of any President since Abraham Lincoln in 1861, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, and Barack Obama in 2009. His long career in Congress, and his outstanding Vice Presidency give America hope, that in a time of a “dark winter”, as Joe Biden calls the COVID 19 Pandemic and the Second Great Depression, that Biden will take leadership on the level of FDR’s New Deal to take us to brighter days and a recovery in 2021 and beyond!

Everyone needs to pray for his success, but all know that he will not waste a minute or a day in promoting himself on Twitter or playing golf, as our despicable 45th President, Donald Trump, has done more of in the past four years, than doing his job!

Mike Pence Historical Reputation At Stake As He Leaves Vice Presidency Next Month

Ronald Leave a comment

Vice President Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President, has been a total disaster in that office, and has added to the horrendous record of recent Republican Vice Presidents, as compared to recent Democratic Vice Presidents.

Just going back a half century, and one can see how different the historical reputation is of the two party’s Vice Presidents.

There are two Republican Vice Presidents since 1969—Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush—who later went on to become President, and despite controversies, stand out as reasonably decent Vice Presidents. Nelson Rockefeller, under Gerald Ford, also comes across as having had a decent record and historical reputation worth defending.

But then we have Spiro Agnew under Richard Nixon, who was forced out of the Vice Presidency by corruption, and it remains terrifying that he came so close to becoming President.

We have Dan Quayle, who was a not very bright man, and very scary as potential President when George H.W. Bush had some health crises.

And we have Dick Cheney, often considered more a President in the first term of George W. Bush, who was terrifying in his “Darth Vader” type evil, and committed war crimes and abuse of power while Vice President, demonstrating the potential for harm done by a very bright man, who was transformed by September 11 in a dangerous way.

Now compare this to the Democratic Vice Presidents since 1969. We have Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter, recognized by scholars as the most active, engaged and exceptional Vice President in American history, and still living 40 years after his time in office, and reaching the age of 93 on January 5.

We have Al Gore, who served Bill Clinton in a very reputable fashion, and influenced Clinton on environmental and other matters. And he had the dignity after a contested Presidential election in 2000, to concede in a manner that showed respect for the Constitution and rule of law.

And we have Joe Biden, who is seen as either equivalent of importance to Barack Obama or just second to Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter, and now will be the 46th President of the United States in less than a month! Certainly, Biden’s Vice Presidency prepared him for the challenges he will face on January 20, 2021!

All three of these Democratic Vice Presidents in the past half century stand out as successes, and all three also ran for President, and they add to the dignity and significance of the office of Vice President.

The Republican Vice Presidents, at least Agnew, Quayle, and Cheney were, by comparison, true disasters!

Now, Mike Pence, who has demonstrated a complete lack of guts to challenge Donald Trump on anything he says or does, has an historic role he faces on January 6, to go through the ceremonial duty as President of the US Senate, to conduct a formal counting of the electoral votes before a joint session of Congress.

Every one of the Vice Presidents in office at the end of the term from Hubert Humphrey in 1969, through Nelson Rockefeller in 1977, through Walter Mondale in 1981, through George H. W. Bush in 1989, through Dan Quayle in 1993, through Al Gore, in 2001, through Dick Cheney in 2009, and through Joe Biden in 2017, have followed procedure and refused to allow challenges or controversies during that solemn ceremony.

But the odds are good that Mike Pence will allow such characters as Congressmen Mo Brooks of Alabama, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Jim Jordan of Ohio; and Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to delay the counting of the vote as they try to deny Joe Biden his rightful win in the Electoral College and in the popular vote nationally!

If Mike Pence does that, he will be condemned in history on the level of such disgraced Vice Presidents as Aaron Burr and Spiro Agnew!

Trump Moves Toward Insanity In Last Month, And Has Supporters Ready To Destroy The Transition

Ronald 3 Comments

Donald Trump is moving toward insanity as the days tick down until he leave office on January 20, 2021.

He is lashing out at everyone imaginable in stormy, screaming matches in the Oval Office, including against White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House Counsel Patrick Cipollone, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and even Vice President Mike Pence.

Those encouraging his insane, reckless behavior include a rag tag group of characters, including newly elected to the House of Representatives QAnon conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene, and wacko Congressmen, including Louie Gohmert of Texas, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mo Brooks of Alabama, along with Senator Elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, and Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The plan is to create a crisis on January 6, when Vice President Pence must have a joint session of Congress to open up 51 envelopes, and finish the process of the formal election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President, two weeks before the inauguration.

Ordinarily, it is a simple ceremony, but those listed above plan to challenge the final results, and a lot of attention and pressure is being brought against Pence in his last official, constitutional duty to do the electoral vote ceremony in a dignified manner.

It is not as if Vice Presidents have had to announce the defeat either of their own candidacy for President (Richard Nixon in 1961, Hubert Humphrey in 1969, Al Gore in 2001) or the defeat of their ticket for reelection (Walter Mondale in 1981, Dan Quayle in 1993), or the defeat of their party ticket not including them (Nelson Rockefeller in 1977, Dick Cheney in 2009, Joe Biden in 2017).