Chicago Illinois

The Barack Obama Presidential Center In Chicago Opens!

On Thursday, June 18, there was a three hour opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

There were lots of entertainers performing; the presence of all three former Presidents and First Ladies; and magnificent speeches by both Michelle Obama and Barack Obama.

As the Obama Presidential Center opens, as it did on Friday, June 19, the Juneteenth national holiday, public opinion polls show Obama is the most popular former President, and his wife is regarded as an exceptional First Lady.

Of course, Fox News Channel and Donald Trump badmouthed the event, but it did not succeed, and never will, to undermine the accomplishments, common decency, empathy, and principles of the 44th President and his wife.

This author and blogger hopes to visit the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago at some point in 2027, adding to the list of Presidential sites he has visited, which include all Presidents in modern times, except Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George H. W. Bush

The State Of The Republican Presidential Race On Independence Day!

With about 7 weeks to the first Republican Presidential Primary Debate on August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the state of the race is that Donald Trump is running away with the nomination, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about thirty five points behind him, and everyone else in the dust, although Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie each have at least a few percent of the vote.

DeSantis has become a total flop, and only Chris Christie has been willing to take on Trump in an organized fashion, with all others avoiding criticism.

It now seems as even if Trump is indicted two more times, which seems highly likely, and even if convicted, that the Republican Party is selling its soul to the twice impeached President who incited the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

This is very disturbing, and makes one wonder what future the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, and Reagan has, with many, including this author and blogger, with the 170th anniversary of the founding of the party in Ripon, Wisconsin occurring in the summer of 2024, just as the party holds its convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

Wisconsin will be one of the major battlegrounds of the Presidential race, and the Midwest will be a key factor in the Electoral College, as the Democratic Party holds its convention in Chicago, Illinois!