Andrew Jackson

Is Mitt Romney To Be A Repeat Of Richard Nixon And Ronald Reagan, Having Another Chance To Be President?

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Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP Presidential nominee, is giving strong hints that he might seek the Presidency again, after failing to win the nomination in 2008, and then losing to Barack Obama in 2012.

Public opinion polls show him leading, mostly based on recognition factor, that having been the nominee two years ago, most Americans know who he is.

But Romney lost, and to believe that a loser for the Presidency has another life defies reality.

Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan ran three times each for the Presidency, and never won.

Thomas E. Dewey and Adlai Stevenson ran two times each for the Presidency, and never won.

The only first time losers who won the Presidency were Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison, along with Richard Nixon

The only other President in modern times who lost a battle for a nomination and went on to reside in the White House was Ronald Reagan. It is also true that George H. W. Bush tried for the nomination against Reagan in 1980, but the battle was lost early, while Reagan fought to the convention in 1976 against Gerald Ford before he lost a very close race for the nomination.

So forgetting the early Presidents, the only realistic comparison is Romney to Nixon and Reagan.

But Romney is NOT Nixon or Reagan in any comparison.

Nixon had 14 years of federal government experience when he ran the first time for President in 1960, and Reagan had eight years as Governor of California, about one seventh of the nation, while Romney had one lone term as Governor of Massachusetts, and never had real interest in governing, as Nixon and Reagan did.

Nixon was very knowledgeable in how government worked, and Reagan had very strong conservative credentials and principles, and Romney has neither, as he only served as Governor to add on to his business experience.

No matter what one thinks or thought about Nixon and Reagan, we knew we would get what we saw, a man who had real commitment to definite ideas, while Romney is infamous for having no principles or beliefs that he will not change tomorrow if it might advance him.

Face the facts, that no one could possibly accuse Nixon or Reagan of being shallow, of “flip flopping”, of being someone who is a mystery, and of just wanting to be President for the sake of being President.

But that is the basic definition of Mitt Romney!

The Mitt Romney Presidential Boomlet Neutralizes Age Issue For Hillary Clinton!

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The sudden Mitt Romney Presidential boomlet that has emerged has one good result for Hillary Clinton!

It neutralizes the age issue, that Hillary at age 69 is too old to run for a first term as President, as Mitt Romney would also be 69, and actually is seven and a half months older than Hillary, and would reach 70 in less than two months after inauguration, while it would take Hillary another nearly seven and a half months to reach that age.

It could also help Joe Biden, who would be 74 on Inauguration Day, as there really is not that much difference between 69 and 74, if the opponent is either age listed.

More significantly, the issue arises whether Mitt Romney can really repeat what Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and Richard Nixon managed to do, to lose election to the White House, and then win it (although Cleveland is a special case, having won, then lost, and then returned to the White House).

Putting betting money on that occurring again is to gamble one’s fortune!

Eight Presidents Who Had A Major Role In The Military

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Many of our Presidents, about two thirds, have served in the armed forces of the United States, but eight were involved in particularly notable roles in the military that stand the test of time.

These are:

George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

Ulysses S. Grant during the Indian Wars, Mexican War, and Civil War.

Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish American War.

Harry Truman during World War I.

Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II.

John F. Kennedy during World War II.

Jimmy Carter in the early Cold War years.

George H. W. Bush during World War II.

Other Presidents served of course, and Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Zachary Taylor were generals; Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley served in the Civil War; and Hayes and Franklin Pierce (in the Mexican War) and Kennedy were wounded. But these eight listed above particularly stand out in their military service of all of the Presidents who served!

Significant Fourths Of July, And The Most Important One Of All!

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It has been 238 years since the Declaration of Independence, declared in Philadelphia on this day in 1776.

Some of the Fourth of Julys that have followed have been more significant than others.

In 1801, the 25th anniversary, the nation celebrated the first turnover of government to the opposition being conducted successfully four months earlier, as Thomas Jefferson succeeded John Adams.

In 1826, the 50th anniversary, Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both intimately involved in the document’s formulation, died, during the administration of Adams’ son, John Quincy Adams.

In 1831, the 55th anniversary, President James Monroe died, marking three of the first five Presidents dying on Independence Day, but it has never occurred since then. This death occurred during the administration of Andrew Jackson.

In 1876, the nation celebrated its first century of independence during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant.

In 1901, the 125th anniversary, the nation celebrated the new century, during the administration of William McKinley.

In 1976, the bicentennial was celebrated during the administration of Gerald Ford.

In 2001, the 225th anniversary was celebrated during the administration of George W. Bush.

But none of these anniversaries mattered as much as July 4, 1863, the 87th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, fought the three previous days, and won on July 3 by the Union Army over the Confederacy, insured that the Union would be preserved, the ultimate purpose of Abraham Lincoln leading the nation into the Civil War in 1861. The last real chance of the South to win independence was lost, although the war continued for another 21 months.

So July 4, 1863 is more to be celebrated than any other July 4, and we must remain thankful that those who wanted to break up the United States were overcome. We must be ready to react against any threat of further secession put forth by right wing propagandists who want America to lose its whole purpose of creation, the establishment of a democracy which would be the beacon for people all around the world, who would want to come here and be part of the American experiment in freedom. It is immigration that makes, and has made, America the great nation that it is!

Multiple Losing Presidential Candidacies, And Those Who Lost, Then Won The Presidency

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The history of multiple candidacies for the Presidency is an interesting one, with five candidates being nominated more than once and losing each time, and five candidates being nominated more than once, and losing before winning the White House (with unusual circumstances for Grover Cleveland)

Those who ran multiple times and continued to lose are:

Charles Pinckney, Presidential Elections of 1804 and 1808
Henry Clay, Presidential Elections of 1824, 1832, and 1844
William Jennings Bryan, Presidential Elections Of 1896, 1900, and 1908
Thomas E. Dewey, Presidential Elections of 1944 and 1948
Adlai Stevenson, Presidential Elections of 1952 and 1956

Those who ran multiple times and first lost, and then won the Presidency are (with unusual case of Grover Cleveland described below):

Thomas Jefferson, Presidential Elections of 1796, 1800 and 1804
Andrew Jackson, Presidential Elections of 1824, 1828 and 1832
William Henry Harrison, Presidential Elections of 1836 and 1840
Grover Cleveland, Presidential Elections of 1884, 1888, and 1892 (winning in 1884, losing in 1888, winning in 1892)
Richard Nixon, Presidential Elections of 1960, 1968 and 1972

Also, Jackson and Cleveland won the popular vote in the elections they lost in the Electoral College, so both actually won the popular vote three times, the only candidates to do that, other than Franklin D. Roosevelt, who won the popular vote and electoral vote four times, in the Presidential Elections of 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944!

Additionally, Martin Van Buren ran a third time in 1848 on the Free Soil Party line and lost; and Theodore Roosevelt ran a second time in 1912 on the Progressive Party line and lost.

Hostile Relationship Of Former Presidents With Incumbent Presidents

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The question of the relationship of former Presidents with incumbent Presidents is an interesting one, with usually the former Presidents avoiding open criticism of their successors, even if they are of a different political persuasions, and did not support the nomination or election of their successors.

There are only a few cases of open criticism and attack, including:

John Quincy Adams highly critical of Andrew Jackson, and returning to Washington, DC as a Congressman to “keep watch” over his policies and actions. Adams was also a sharp critic of the slavery and expansionist policies of John Tyler and James K. Polk.

Martin Van Buren being a major critic of the expansionist policies of John Tyler and James K. Polk in the 1840s, and of the slavery policies of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan in the 1850s.

John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan all critical of the policies of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

Grover Cleveland being a sharp critic of Benjamin Harrison, who he had lost to, and then ran against again and defeated in 1892, and then opposed William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt on the issue of imperialism and expansion.

Theodore Roosevelt very critical of his successor William Howard Taft, who he ran against on the Progressive Party line in 1912, and then against Woodrow Wilson’s policies toward World War I, after losing to him in 1912. Also, TR was resentful that Wilson “stole” some of his progressive ideas, and enacted them as President in his first term.

Herbert Hoover harshly critical of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s policies during the Great Depression and World War II.

Harry Truman very critical of Richard Nixon for years before he became President, and never really making peace even when Nixon gave the Truman library the piano in the White House that Truman had played. Also, Truman was critical of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the two men only resolved their differences at the funeral of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Jimmy Carter very critical of the policies of his successor, Ronald Reagan, and at times, of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Otherwise, the tendency has been to sit on the sidelines and avoid open criticism of one’s successors to the Oval Office!

47 Vice Presidents, But Only Nine Have Had Two Terms, Including A First, The Last Three Vice Presidents!

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America has had 47 Vice Presidents, but only nine have had two terms of office, including the last three, once Joe Biden completes his term in January 2017!

In fact, NEVER have three Vice Presidents in a row had two terms of office until Al Gore, Dick Cheney, and now Joe Biden, assuming he completes his second term.

Before these three, the only Vice Presidents to have two complete terms were John Adams under George Washington; Daniel Tompkins under James Monroe; Thomas Marshall under Woodrow Wilson; John Nance Garner under Franklin D. Roosevelt; Richard Nixon under Dwight D. Eisenhower; and George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan.

Two others–George Clinton under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (dying in the last year of the second term), and John C. Calhoun under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson (resigning with three months left in the Jackson term), nearly finished eight years.

The Contrast Of Dick Cheney And Joe Biden

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The last two Vice Presidents of the United States are a study in massive contrasts!

Both Dick Cheney and Joe Biden were qualified to become a heartbeat away from the Presidency when they took office.

Both Dick Cheney and Joe Biden displayed basic competency in their roles as Vice President. They were not Dan Quayle, for instance, or a similar situation if Sarah Palin had ever become Vice President!

Both Dick Cheney and Joe Biden are highly intelligent and, in many ways, were more ready to become President, based on their experience, than their “bosses”, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

But that is the extent of how Dick Cheney and Joe Biden are to be compared positively!

Dick Cheney has proved to be the most controversial former Vice President in modern history, far surpassing the outspokenness of John C. Calhoun, after serving under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson in the 1820s and 1830s, and Henry A. Wallace, after serving under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early 1940s!

Neither Calhoun nor Wallace nor any other former Vice President has ever continued to be the subject of so much attention, all of it showing Cheney constantly on the attack against President Obama, and using the psychological idea of “transference” to blame Obama for all of the faults of the Bush-Cheney Administration over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Cheney and his daughter Liz are clearly out to destroy Barack Obama’s ability to govern, and Cheney’s neoconservative viewpoint is being repudiated by the American people, but the Cheneys are tone deaf!

The fact that Cheney was a “chicken hawk”, who avoided military service in the 1960s, but is only too willing to use military force everywhere in the world without limits, and that he has enriched himself through his connections with Halliburton, one of the major war profits corporations, and does not apologize one iota for it, is both hypocritical and infuriating, as Cheney has no shame!

The man is seen by many as a war criminal, who was totally wrong in his assessment of the Iraq War, but will not apologize for it, and refuses to go into the woodwork. He is defiant in every way possible, and sees no contradictions in his statements and the truth, as even Megyn Kelly of Fox News Channel pointed out to him this week, as Cheney advocates a military intervention back into Iraq!

One would think that Cheney would go off into the sunset and shut his mouth, but just the opposite is occurring, and his daughter Liz is determined, despite her withdrawal from the Wyoming Senate race this year, to be a factor, and an inheritor of her father’s ideas and principles, whatever they might seem to be to others!

Dick Cheney also comes across as forbidding in personality, unpleasant, arrogant, harsh, and in fact so much so, that even his “boss”, George W. Bush, started to back away from contact with him in the second term.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden has been very supportive of Barack Obama all the way, and has shown his winning personality and his sincerity and genuine nature, and is now being shown to have been correct in his assessment years ago that the best solution for the Iraq mess is a division into three nations, each based on ethnic lines, not all that different than the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1980s and 1990s into separate nations.

Joe Biden has been, in so many ways, a positive force in the Vice Presidency, while Dick Cheney will, in the long run, as well as already in the short run, be seen as a negative force!

On The Brink Of A Record Not Attained Since 1825–Three Presidents With Eight Years In Office!

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We are on the brink of accomplishing a record in the Presidency which has not occurred since the early days of the Republic–three Presidents in a row finishing eight years in office over 24 years!

The one and only time this happened was the administrations of Democratic Republicans Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), James Madison (1809-1817), and James Monroe (1817-1825).

With all of the controversies, divisions, emotions involved in the past two plus decades, IF Barack Obama can avoid any assassination threats in the next two and a half years, God willing, he will have done what Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and George W. Bush (2001-2009) did before him, finish two complete terms of office!

We have not even had two Presidents in a row finish two terms of office otherwise, an amazing record, demonstrating the trials and tribulations of the Presidency!

The only other Presidents to finish two consecutive terms of office include: Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan. Of course, FDR was also elected to a third and fourth term in office.

George Washington started his first term 57 days late, so did not complete a full eight years in office, and Grover Cleveland’s two terms were non-consecutive.

Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley were elected President twice, but both were assassinated early in the second term.

Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman inherited most of a term, but were only elected President once.

Richard Nixon was elected twice, but resigned early in his second term due to the Watergate Scandal.

So this is a record, three straight Presidencies over 24 years completed, worthy of note!

Multiple Time Presidential Nominees Are A Very Select List!

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An interesting statistic is how many Presidents have been nominated for President more than twice, as well as whether there were any Presidential nominees who lost the White House, but were nominated more than twice.

The list of Presidents who were nominated more than twice includes:

Thomas Jefferson (1796, 1800, 1804)
Andrew Jackson (1824, 1828, 1832)
Martin Van Buren (including the Free Soil Party nomination in 1848 along with 1836, 1840)
Grover Cleveland (1884, 1888, 1892)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944)
Richard Nixon (1960, 1968, 1972)

The nominees who were chosen more than twice were:

Henry Clay (1824, 1832, 1844)
William Jennings Bryan (1896, 1900, 1908)

As one can see, this is a very short list, indeed!