Barack Obama

$40 Trillion National Debt A Crisis For America, And Mostly Occurring Under Republican Presidents!

Ronald 33 Comments

America is faced with a crisis, as the national debt just passed $40 Trillion, and no end in sight, as Donald Trump adds massively to the national debt with his extremely large tax cuts, and the costs of the Iran War.

This presents a crisis for the funding of Social Security and Medicare, which will be unable, as things stand now, to pay out to recipients the entire amount they are due on a monthly basis by the mid 2030s, and on health care costs.

The national debt reached $1 Trillion under Ronald Reagan by his second year in office, 1982.

And when one looks at all Presidents since then, it is clear that the national debt has magnified primarily under Republican Presidents since Reagan, who tripled the national debt to $3 Trillion, as well as George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

George W. Bush started with a $5.7 Trillion national debt, and left eight years later, with $10.6 Trillion, so a doubling of the national debt.

Donald Trump started with about $20 Trillion national debt, and left after four years with $28 Trillion national debt. And in his second term, the national debt has grown from $36 Trillion up to, presently, $40 Trillion national debt.

So $20 Trillion, half the total national debt at present, but with about $3 Trillion being added annually by estimate for the next two and a half years of Trump, are due to Republican policies, including more massive tax cuts for the wealthy under Bush and Trump, and involvement in foreign wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Iran.

This is not excusing Democratic Presidents since Reagan, but the worst economic downturn, the Great Recession, since the Great Depression, explains Barack Obama adding $9.3 Trillion to the national debt in two terms; and Joe Biden, with the COVID 19 Pandemic, adding $8.5 Trillion to the national debt in his one term of office.

Bill Clinton added only $1.5 Trillion to the national debt in his two terms, and actually had balanced budgets in his second term, in league with a Republican Congress, while Republican George H. W. Bush in his one term added $1.3 Trillion to the national debt.

By comparison, Democrat Jimmy Carter in his one term only added $300 Billion to the National Debt.

Donald Trump Solidifies Worst Presidential Ranking In Second Term!

Ronald 129 Comments

President Donald Trump, in his tumultuous first term (2017-2021) managed to end up in the bottom three of all 44 Presidents through 2021.

In the C Span Presidential Survey of 2021, Trump ended up tied in points with Franklin Pierce, as third from the bottom of the rankings, only ahead of Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan, with those two Presidents, after and before Abraham Lincoln, only three points apart, with Buchanan as the rock bottom.

Trump ended up as between 40 and 44 in all ten categories, except “Public Persuasion” as 32; “Economic Management” as 34; and “Vision: Setting An Agenda” as 36.

In the Siena College Research Institute Survey of 2022, Donald Trump ended up as third from the bottom, with Andrew Johnson at the bottom, followed by James Buchanan, and then Trump at number 43, since Joe Biden after one year, is included in the rankings.

In 2018, when Trump was first ranked in an earlier survey, he was number 42, again third from the bottom at the time.

In the 2022 poll, Trump only avoided the “40s” in ranking in three of a total of 20 categories of the survey—32 in “Party Leadership”; 16 in “Luck”; and 32 in “Willing To Take Risks”.

In the 2018 poll, Trump only avoided the “40s” in ranking in three cagegories, as well—39 in “Handling of US Economy”; 10 in “Luck”; and 25 in “Willing To Take Risks”.

Finally, in the American Political Science Association Survey of 2024 (Presidential Greatness Survey), Trump is rated at the absolute bottom in points at 10.92, with James Buchanan at 16.71, and Andrew Johnson at 21.56.

In Ranking by Party Ideology, and including Joe Biden in the rankings, Trump is rated as the absolute bottom at 45 by: Democrats, Independents, Liberals, and Moderates; and ranked 41 by Republicans, and 43 by Conservatives.

Trump is also listed, by massive margins, as the most polarizing President, more than twice as much as Andrew Jackson and Barack Obama.

And realize, all of these rankings are BEFORE Donald Trump entered his second Presidency, and the events of the past 19 months will only solidify his ranking as, by far, the worst and most divisive President of the 45 men who have held that office!

“Democratic Socialists” Vs Democratic Party

Ronald 23 Comments

The Democratic Party has brought about in the past century, since Franklin D. Roosevelt onward through Joe Biden, a massive number of major reforms.

The vast number of them came under FDR and the New Deal in the 1930s, and Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society in the 1960s, both periods where the Democratic Party had massive majorities in both houses of Congress.

Under other Democratic Presidents, fewer reforms were possible, but there were domestic accomplishments and advancements under Presidents Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

Now, however, so called “Democratic Socialists” are trying to turn the Democratic Party further to the left, and have succeeded in electing Zohran Mamdani as NYC Mayor and likely will elect Janeese Lewis George as Washington DC Mayor in November.

The best known “Democratic Socialist” is Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democratic Party, and is seen by others as a “model”, but is not technically seen as part of this updated “Democratic Socialists”.

Also, there are three members, presently, in the House of Representatives;

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
Greg Casar of Texas

In the upcoming 120th Congress (2027-2029), the following additions are to be added to the House of Representatives:

Dairaliza Avila Chavalier of New York
Claire Valdez of New York
Melat Kiros of Colorado
Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania

There are others who are termed as “The Squad”, but do not call themselves “Democratic Socialists”, including

Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Ayanna Presley of Massachusetts
Delia Ramirez of Illinois
Summer Lee of Pennsylvania

The “Democratic Socialists” and “The Squad” membership could be a problem if the Democrats gain the majority in the House of Representatives by only a small margin, as that could interfere with the ability of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York to become the first Black Speaker of the House.

“Democratic Socialists” promote the following:

32 Hour Work Week
Minimum Wage of $30
Medicare For All
High Taxation of the Rich
Housing Reform And Universal Rent Control
Cuts In Military Spending
Opposition to NATO and Aid to Ukraine
Replacement of Capitalism
Hostility To Israel Since Israel-Gaza War

This author and blogger, proud to be a “Progressive”, sees these goals as unrealistic or objectionable.

Lowering the work week to less than 40 hours is possible, and a minimum wage goal over time of $25 seem reasonable.

Movement toward Medicare to cover Americans over 50, and some taxation of the rich is also reasonable.

Housing Reforms including for renters in a moderate way is also reasonable.

Some Cuts in Military Spending, but support of NATO and of Aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia is the proper way for the future.

Capitalism will not be replaced, but could come under greater regulation and controls.

Criticism of Israel, and ending military support of the government due to its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, can occur, but not total hostility to the right of Israel to its own nationhood.

So there is potential for reforms and change, but not to the extreme promoted by the “Democratic Socialists” and “The Squad”.

They will continue to “make noise” as their small number in Congress grows, but the Democratic Party is not going to go as far left as these groups promote, as they are totally unrealistic.

106 Day Iran War So Called Agreement No Improvement Over Obama 2015 Iran Deal!

Ronald 72 Comments

Donald Trump has “Obama Derangement Syndrome”, unwilling to give former President Barack Obama any credit or respect in any way.

Clearly, Trump is extremely jealous of Obama’s intellectual brilliance, widespread popularity, and his charisma and accomplishments, knowing he can never match him in any way.

And being that Trump is a white supremacist and racist just makes it more infuriating, as Trump has now, in desperation, seemingly come to an an agreement after 15 weeks of war, massive spending, high inflation, and the loss of 14 servicemen and women, that brings America back to the original Obama Iran Deal, negotiated with five other nations in 2015.

Iran and the nuclear weapons issue is not resolved, with the only “accomplishment” being the killing of much of the Iranian government leadership, but with replacement by others who have no desire to cave in to the US or Israel.

And Israel is alienated, and has no plan to accept the so called agreement, which supposedly will open up the Strait of Hormuz, but little else.

Donald Trump’s foreign “adventure” has been an unmitigated disaster, but he will try to convince Americans otherwise, and hope that his party continues to control both houses of Congress.

His own party is calling for details on the proposed agreement with Iran, and for the Congress to have a role in its acceptance, something Trump is clearly unwilling to promote.

The idea that Iran may benefit financially in the proposed agreement will be a center of controversy by many members of Trump’s party, as well as the opposition Democrats.

If the Democrats gain control, hell will be paid by Trump and his corrupt Cabinet and other Republican sycophants.

The biggest danger is Trump, in desperation, following through on the threat of the suspension of the Writ of Habeus Corpus, and invocation of the Insurrection Act, and interference in the Midterm Elections of 2026.

America is in a dire situation as we near the elections, and the feared destruction of American Democracy and the Rule Of Law, which must be resisted in every way possible!

Donald Trump Presidency Easily The Most Corrupt In American History, Bar None!

Ronald 86 Comments

If there was any doubt about the level of corruption of Donald Trump in his first term in the Presidency from 2017-2021, his one year and four months so far of his second term, with two thirds of the term still ahead of us, settles the issue. It has escalated to the certainty of a multitude of observers, that his Presidency is the ultimate level of corruption without any debate on other Presidents and their administrations.

It is also fact that there can be no debate that the Presidencies that stand out as corrupt are all Republican Presidents.

Richard Nixon’s Presidency was seen as the worst and most corrupt, but now Trump replaces Nixon at the top of the list, without any debate.

Once we get past Trump and Nixon, the remaining Presidencies with high levels of corruption, would include

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
George W. Bush (2001-2009)

No other Republican President comes close to the level of corruption and scandal of the above six Republican Presidents.

So Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush are not to be compared with the horrendous record of the six Republican Presidents who had large scale illegalities in their administrations.

And one would have to scrape very far to find any Democratic President since Andrew Jackson established the “Spoils System” in the 1830s to attempt to put any leaders of that party on the level of corruption being discussed here.

There is no such thing as perfection, but other than personal scandal, sometimes known in their lifetime, and other times not known, not one Democratic President—Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, or Joe Biden—comes anywhere near the scandal ridden times of the six Republican Presidents.

Four Octogenarian Presidents In Next Three Months!

Ronald 14 Comments

America has had 45 men serve as President, and 12 of them have reached the age of 80, and with three more to be added to the list between June and August 2026.

So one third of our Presidents will have reached the age of 80, with six of them reaching the 90s up to 100, and nine reaching the age of 80 plus.

Those in their 90s include Jimmy Carter, who reached age 100, followed by George H. W. Bush (94); Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan (93); John Adams and Herbert Hoover (90).

Those in their 80s include Harry Truman (88); James Madison (85); Joe Biden (who will be 84 in November 2026); Thomas Jefferson (83); Richard Nixon (81); and John Quincy Adams (80).

In the next three months from today, Donald Trump will reach 80 on June 14; George W. Bush on July 6; and Bill Clinton on August 19.

Seven of these 15 are Republicans (HW Bush, Ford, Reagan, Hoover, Nixon, Trump, W Bush); 4 are Democrats (Carter, Truman, Biden, Clinton); 1 is Federalist (Adams); and 3 are Democratic Republicans (Madison, Jefferson, JQ Adams) in party affiliation.

Interestingly, 4 of the 15 Presidents were from the first 6 Chief Executives. Then, all of the remaining 11 Presidents who will have reached the age of 80, are a full century later after JQ Adams.

And after Hoover and Truman, and from Nixon onward in succession, every President from Ford, Carter, Reagan, HW Bush, Clinton, W Bush, Biden and Trump, will have reached that accomplishment, with only Barack Obama still nearly 15 years away from being an octogenarian.

Speculation On Long Shot Democratic Presidential Contenders For 2028

Ronald 2 Comments

With speculation about the future Presidential Election of 2028 heating up, as we near the Midterm Congressional and Gubernatorial Elections of 2026, Reid J. Epstein of the NY Times published on May 13 an exhaustive list of potential contenders in both parties, totaling the “crazy” number of 62 individuals—30 Democrats and 32 Republicans.

This author and blogger thinks this massive list is “off the wall”, and that the vast number of these potential 62 contenders will never even announce a Presidential candidacy.

However,there are some who are intriguing on the Democratic Party side.

Newcomers who have to prove themselves by winning in November

James Talarico of Texas, Senate
Graham Platner of Maine, Senate
Rob Sand of Iowa, Governor

Democrats in office who would be fascinating candidates

Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Senator
Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Senator
Jason Crow of Colorado, House of Representatives

Realistically, of the above list, the only likely contenders who would announce for President would be Slotkin and Ossoff.

However, there is speculation that Talarico, who has really inspired and excited many about his prospects, could end up running for Vice President, as after all, Vice President JD Vance only had one and a half years in office as Ohio Senator, before being tapped for the Vice Presidency.

And also, Barack Obama announced for President only two years after winning his Illinois Senate seat, and became President after four years of service.

Midterm Elections With Presidential Approval Ratings Below 50 Percent

Ronald 52 Comments

The history of Midterm Elections and Presidents has, historically, not been a good one for almost all Presidents in modern history,

The one major exception is 1934, two years into the first term of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, when his party gained supermajorities in both houses of the 74th Congress, up from 60 to 75 seats in the US Senate, and up from 309 seats to 333 seats in the House of Representatives.

In the 106th Congress (1999-2001) under Democrat Bill Clinton, his party gained five seats in the House of Representatives, and one seat in the Senate, although the Republicans kept the majority.

And in the 108th Congress (2003-2005), under Republican President George W. Bush, and after September 11, Republicans gained six seats in the House of Representatives, and one seat in the Senate.

Finally, in the 118th Congress (2023-2025) under Democrat Joe Biden, the Democrats actually gained one seat in the Senate, while losing the House of Representatives majority to the Republican opposition.

Otherwise, the party in the White House has suffered major losses in seats, connected particularly with the modern approval ratings of Presidents falling below 50 percent.

So in 1946, under President Harry Truman, the Democrats lost 55 House seats and the majority in both houses.

Lyndon B. Johnson lost 48 seats in 1966; Ronald Reagan lost 26 seats in 1982; Bill Clinton lost 54 seats in 1994, and control of both houses; George W. Bush lost 30 seats in 2006, and control of both houses; Barack Obama lost 64 seats in 2010 and control of the House of Representatives; and Donald Trump lost 42 seats in 2018 and control of the House of Representatives.

Trump’s Women Cabinet Members The Worst Combination EVER Of Any President!

Ronald 27 Comments

There have been 72 Women Cabinet Officers since the first one, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (1933-1946) was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and continued in the early months of the Presidency of Harry Truman, therefore the longest serving woman Cabinet officer.

Some have been outstanding in their performance, with only the first two being appointed before 1975. Jimmy Carter was the first to have multiple women appointments. Bill Clinton was the first to have five such appointments, and George W. Bush had six, while Barack Obama had eight, which Donald Trump has matched between his first term and the first year of his second term.

Some have been really outstanding and exceptional, while many have been at least noncontroversial.

But Donald Trump, particularly in his second term, has three such Cabinet members who are outrageously horrific, arrogant, nasty, confrontational, divisive, and many other possible negative images.

These are:

Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Health And Human Services
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence

All three have caused outrage, and demands that they resign, be fired, or be impeached, a level of fury never seen before!

Bondi and Noem have appeared before committees in the House of Representatives and Senate, and have infuriated legislators, mostly Democrats, but also some Republicans, with their refusal to take responsibility for their blunders and errors.

The fact that Pam Bondi has NOT apologized to victims of Jeffrey Epstein, and has slow walked releasing many of the Epstein records; and Noem has refused to apologize for the horrific ICE murder of Rene Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, and labeling them “domestic terrorists”, has caused great outrage.

And Gabbard, as Director of National Intelligence, has been engaged in activities not her position, including interfering in yet another outrageous investigation of the Georgia vote in the Presidential Election of 2020, a sign of the desire of Donald Trump to interfere in the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2026 and the Presidential Election of 2028.

These women Cabinet Officers have no shame and no goal except to be total sycophants to Donald Trump, and all three should be forced out of office by resigning, being fired, or being impeached!

Trump-Netanyahu “War Of Choice” Escalates To Widespread Middle East Conflict With Iran Attacking Neighboring Nations!

Ronald 19 Comments

The decision of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to choose to provoke a war with Iran is leading to a widespread Middle East escalation affecting all of the neighboring nations of the area, including

Kuwait
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Qatar
Oman
Lebanon
Iraq
Jordan

This war came about without an “imminent threat” of Iran having enough potential for a nuclear weapon, and with negotiations going on between Iran’s Foreign Minister and Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

This clearly was a war promoted by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has wanted this war for decades, but until now with Donald Trump, could not bring it about under earlier Presidents.

Barack Obama brought about a nuclear agreement in 2015, signed onto by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, and yet Trump destroyed the agreement in his first term, with Joe Biden reviving it in his term, but with Israel knowing how to stroke the ego of Trump, and accomplish what Netanyahu has wanted for a very long time.

So Netanyahu effectively manipulated Donald Trump, and now we have a Middle East War that is creating chaos and anarchy, and is causing economic instability, with higher oil prices on the way, and no certainty of how the US will resolve the war, including whether combat ground troops will engage, putting America in a major morass as Iraq and Afghanistan were for the previous two decades.