William Seward

The Growing Bond Between Barack Obama And Bill And Hillary Clinton

It is hard to believe that in 2007-2008, Barack Obama was involved in a heated “war” with Hillary and Bill Clinton, as Hillary sought the Democratic Presidential nomination, her husband became intimately involved, and bad words and thoughts and accusations reigned on a regular basis between the rivals.

But then, Barack Obama made the smartest move of his Presidency, selecting Hillary to be his Secretary of State, taking a page from Abraham Lincoln, who picked his leading rival in 1860, Senator William Seward of New York, to be his Secretary of State.

So a political leader from Illinois selected a political rival from New York in both circumstances, and now we can say that in both cases, it made a dramatic difference in the success of the Lincoln and Obama Presidencies!

Seward was massively important to Lincoln in the trials of the Civil War, in conducting diplomacy with Great Britain and France to keep them out of the Civil War.

Hillary Clinton has been very important as an equally loyal supporter of Barack Obama, sharing the burdens of foreign policy with the President, and becoming closer to him as a result.

And then last week, Bill Clinton, who seemed to hate Barack Obama in 2007-2008, made the most effective speech possible to help Barack Obama, at the Democratic National Convention, and now Obama has gained in every public opinion poll imaginable, and just as that occurs, the crisis in the Middle East has joined the President and Hillary together emotionally and physically as they have dealt with the crisis, and presided today over the return of the four victims to the United States in a dignified way.

Obama and Hillary Clinton are dealing together with the issues involved in the Middle East, as well as the irresponsible Republican Party opposition, in a very dignified and sophisticated manner.

The performance of Hillary Clinton makes her more than ever someone who must be considered for President in 2016, even though she professes weariness, and desire to retire from politics completely next year.

But if she changes her mind about running to succeed Obama, one has to wonder how Obama would deal with the obvious conflict that might result. That is, should Obama be loyal to her candidacy, or instead be loyal to his honorable, committed team mate, Vice President Joe Biden?

This may be the ultimate quandary for President Obama in 2015 and 2016, depending on events!

Bill Clinton To Nominate Barack Obama For Second Term As President, While George W. Bush Will Avoid Republican Convention!

President Barack Obama will be formally nominated for reelection at the Charlotte, North Carolina Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, September 5th, by former President Bill Clinton, once his most bitter rival during the battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination conducted by Senator Hillary Clinton.

But Barack Obama and Hillary and Bill Clinton have become fast friends, and Hillary Clinton has been one of the greatest Secretaries of State in American history, a master stroke by Obama to nominate the New York Senator, as Abraham Lincoln chose his most bitter rival, Senator William Seward of New York, to be his Secretary of State, who went on to conduct brilliant foreign policy, keeping Great Britain and France neutral in the Civil War, rather than recognizing the Confederacy!

At the same time, former President George W. Bush is not even attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, the last week of August. And as of now, neither former Vice President Dick Cheney nor former GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin are planning to attend either! But even if either one does, they will certainly NOT play a major role in the convention as Bill Clinton will at the Democratic National Convention!

March 30: Important Date In History In Many Ways, Including A Personal One!

Today, March 30, is a very significant date in American history.

It is the day in 1981 that President Ronald Reagan was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, but survived, recovered, and went on to serve two full terms as the 40th President.

It is also the day in 1867 when Secretary of State William Seward signed the treaty arranging for the purchase of Alaska from Czarist Russia for $7.2 million, becoming infamously known as “Seward’s Folly”, It was fortunate that the United States bought Alaska, because if it had remained Russian, imagine the security problems for Canada and the United States during the Cold War years with the Soviet Union!

And it was the day in 1870 that the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote, was finally ratified and added to the Constitution. Sadly, the South would soon disobey the amendment, and successfully take away the right to vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, guaranteeing federal intervention to insure everyone’s right to vote. Now the Republican Party in many states, including, most grievously the state of Florida under Governor Rick Scott and a dominant state legislature, is making it more difficult for people to register and vote, particularly the elderly, the poor, college students, and the poor.

And, in the mind of this author, March 30 is MOST significant because in 1984, his younger son Paul was born, and has brought joy and pride to his father and brother and uncle now for 28 years!

Total Ignorance About American History: Michele Bachmann, Pat Buchanan And Other Republicans! :(

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is demonstrating her total ignorance of American history and the history of her Republican party, based on the text of her speech to be delivered tonight after President Obama’s State of the Union Address!

She says slavery was ended by the Founding Fathers, showing she is unaware of the role of her Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War in ending slavery. She is, as always, demonstrating her total lack of knowledge of the American past and the American Constitution, joining many other Republicans, including Sarah Palin, in this regard! 🙁

But now, Pat Buchanan, former challenger for the Presidency against George HW Bush in 1992, and running for President as a third party party candidate in 2000, has also demonstrated his lack of knowledge, by asserting there were more slaves in the Union states that had slaves (Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri) than in any of the Confederate States that broke away from the Union! He also said incorrectly that George Washington freed his slaves after his wife died, but the reality is that his wife outlived him by over two years! 🙁

The ignorance and lack of knowledge of these and other Republican leaders is shocking and reprehensible! 🙁

The Founding Fathers (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin) and the statesmen of the pre Civil War era (Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas, William Seward, Charles Sumner, Abraham Lincoln) would be shocked and mortified if they came back today and witnessed the TOTAL STUPIDITY AND IGNORANCE of many GOP leaders, and Republicans of the Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower era would also be ashamed of what their party has become: a party without legitimacy, ethics, character, and morality! 🙁