Day: March 8, 2010

Barack Obama And Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, And Franklin D. Roosevelt

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President Obama is reported to be reading Edmund Morris’s THE RISE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, according to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Obama should also be reading Robert Caro’s LYNDON JOHNSON: MASTER OF THE SENATE, and James MacGregor Burns’s FDR: THE LION AND THE FOX.

Obama needs to show the aggressiveness of Theodore Roosevelt, who first brought up the concept of a National Health Care plan in 1912!

Obama needs to hone the political skills of Franklin D. Roosevelt in gaining Social Security and other social reforms during the NEW DEAL years!

Obama needs to push and prod the Senate and the House of Representatives membership as Lyndon Johnson learned to do as Senate Majority Leader and President, gaining the passage of Medicare, Medicaid, and path breaking Civil Rights legislation!

While Obama is appealing to the American people through speeches and public town halls, he needs to use the political skills of these three great Presidents who knew how to get things done, and did not worry about opposition.

Mr. President, at this key moment in the fight for Health Care reform, take off the gloves and punch back, and use every tactic available to get “Reconciliation” done, and do not worry about the talk shows and the other critics!

This is a moment of greatness awaiting you! If you accomplish this great goal of Health Care reform, you will be in the pantheon long term with TR, FDR, and LBJ! So get to work!

Jim DeMint, Jeb Bush And 2012

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Conservative Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina stated in an interview that he was not interested in running for President in 2012, but thought former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was the best candidate available on the horizon.

The only problem, DeMint declared, is that his last name is Bush! 🙂

Actually, on this, DeMint is probably correct, as Jeb Bush can be seen by most conservatives as having fewer weaknesses or negatives than almost anyone being discussed as a possible GOP Presidential nominee.

Jeb would have probably been a better President than his brother, George W., but losing the Florida governorship to Lawton Chiles in 1994, while his brother defeated Governor Ann Richards in Texas, changed the course of history, certainly for the worst.

But it seems clear that, at this point, Jeb Bush has no desire to run in any case. However, the best advice is not to consider the issue closed, as anyone who follows politics knows anything can happen!

What Will Charlie Crist Do? The Major Question In Florida

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Governor Charlie Crist is fading very fast in the polls in the Senate nomination contest in Florida.

A poll coming out tomorrow is said to be devastating to Crist, with the teaser today being that 56 percent of Republicans want him out of elected office, and only 14 percent want him as Senator, and 19 percent want him as Governor, a position he is leaving no matter what happens this fall.

Despite his denials, it will increase the speculation that Crist, if he wants to try to gain the Senate seat, will have to run as an Independent this fall against Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek.

In that scenario, a candidate could win with mid to high 30s percent of the vote, and while that is not a great kind of race where nearly two thirds of the voters might vote against the winner, that seems to be the only answer for Crist, other than to be humiliated in the primary race, and leave office in a defeated fashion that is embarrassing.

This is a story to watch carefully over the next few months!

The Difference Between Democrats And Republicans On Scandal

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It is disgraceful when either Democrats or Republicans get involved in scandal, but there is one major difference: their reaction to it, at least in many cases.

Eliot Spitzer, Jim McGreevey, and Charles Rangel all resigned or stepped down from their position of authority (Rangel). While David Paterson has not done so yet, it is clear he will be forced to very soon.

On the other hand, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Sanford, and John Ensign refused to resign, and decided to “tough” it out, no matter how embarrassing to their party, and all but Craig are still in office, showing no shame.

Of course, it might be said that what is the real difference, since all of the above individuals have been involved in activities that should never have happened.

But at least the Democrats have not gone around touting their “family values” and “high moral principles” and then showing themselves as the hypocrites that Republicans regularly have been!

As a person who believes in total disclosure and promotion of truth, of course, it must be mentioned that Democrats John Edwards and Rod Blagojevich are in a separate class–despicable, and unwilling to come clean by their own confessions.

But at the end, whether revealed or confessed or not, all of the above and those others who are involved in scandal in both parties need to be condemned for their behavior, as having failed to uphold their oath of office!

The Education Problem NOT Being Addressed: The Reality Of Life

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The education system in the United States is in crisis for many reasons, including funding shortages, recruitment and retention of teachers, and performance levels of students.

But one issue is often ignored, and that is due to standardized testing, which only monitors basic English and Math levels, rather than a broad based education.

Students at all levels from elementary through middle through high school, and into the college and university level, lack a general knowledge base.

When they are encouraged to read, they usually engage in fiction reading, which is fine and good, but inadequate training for life.

What is short changed is learning about the world around them in reality, rather than fantasy. They already gain enough fantasy from video games, and while reading fiction is important, it is not enough to deal with the realities of life.

Students need to develop language and communication skills, which require the learning of factual knowledge about science, history, public affairs, and the arts. They emerge as adults with basically a blank slate of awareness, and poor language and communications skills.

To make things worse, students spend inordinate amounts of time online on social media sites, which isolates them further from reality and in mastering important skills to succeed in life and at work and in relationships with other human beings.

So emphasis on nonfiction reading is essential in order to prepare students for the world they will live in!