George H W Bush

“It’s The Middle Class, Stupid!”: The Campaign Slogan For 2012, Thanks To James Carville And Stan Greenberg!

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James Carville, who coined the campaign slogan “It’s The Economy, Stupid!” in the 1992 Bill Clinton Presidential campaign against President George H. W. Bush, has just published a new book with Stan Greeenberg, coining a new campaign slogan, this time for President Barack Obama against GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, entitled “It’s The Middle Class, Stupid!”

Pointing out that there has been class warfare against the middle class for the past 32 years, since the victory of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the authors make it clear that Obama can win an election with his critics claiming he is declaring class warfare against the top two percent, who have become extremely wealthy due to GOP economic policies under Reagan and George W. Bush.

And Mitt Romney is the perfect candidate to use this slogan against, as he proposes to make the wealthy wealthier, and to cut programs that benefit the middle class, as well as the poor.

And if conservatives and Republicans try to use what Reagan used as a slogan against Jimmy Carter in 1980–“Are you better off than you were four years ago?”–the answer is YES, as what Obama has done has made life better, and he could have done a lot more without Republican obstructionism over the past 18 months when they have controlled the House of Representatives, and have made it their mission to do NOTHING to make life better for the middle class!

Mitt Romney’s Vetting Process For Vice President: Different Than For Himself!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, is deep into the process of vetting potential Vice Presidential running mates.

Among those thought to be in the competition are:

Tim Pawlenty
Rob Portman
Paul Ryan
Bobby Jindal
Marco Rubio
Condoleezza Rice
Bob McDonnell
Kelly Ayotte
Chris Christie
John Thune

What is being expected of any, and all, of the above candidates?

A complete vetting, including many years of tax returns!

Hey, wait a minute here! Mitt Romney wants these people, or at least those on the short list, to give information about their finances?

If that is so, which it is, WHY is it that Mitt Romney refuses to give the American people an accounting of his finances, as well?

Why is it that potential Vice Presidential candidates must do this, and Romney will not do so?

Does Mitt Romney think he is a “privileged character”, who does not have to meet the same standards as those who might be his Number Two, and ALL presidential nominees or contenders from his father George Romney on through both Bushes, Bob Dole, John McCain, and all others?

That is the answer: Mitt Romney THINKS he is a “privileged character”, who is “entitled” to play by his own rules, and to remain secretive about his finances!

Why would he be so vehement about this, if there is nothing to be concerned about in his finances?

BECAUSE, obviously, there is a lot to hide!

But one thought crosses one’s mind: Mitt Romney handed over 23 years of financial information to John McCain in 2008, as he was on the short list to be McCain’s running mate!

So the McCain campaign has these records, and if Mitt Romney refuses to release them, they should be released against his will!

Of course, one would say that would be illegal, which, technically it would be!

And certainly, Senator McCain, being a loyal Republican, is not about to do such a thing to his fellow Republican!

But what about the thought that to refuse to reveal information that EVERY other candidate in the past 40 years has done SHOULD be seen as disqualifying someone to be President, and should actually be illegal itself!

In conclusion: Mitt Romney is trying to hide something, probably a lot, as if that were not so, why not release the financial information?

So as Vice President Joe Biden said the other day; Mitt Romney wants Latino and Hispanic immigrants to be forced to “show their papers”, but he is not willing to show his own papers!

It is a great laugh line, but also totally TRUE!

The Condoleezza Rice Boomlet: An Attempt To Take Attention Off Mitt Romney’s Problems With Bain Capital And Tax Issues!

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This author has written before about the speculation that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be chosen by Mitt Romney to be his Vice Presidential running mate.

While Rice is a fascinating, intelligent, and super qualified candidate to be Vice President, and in theory, President of the United States, one would have to be drunk to believe she will be the nominee of the Republican Party for Vice President.

Rice has great foreign policy expertise, but would constantly be associated with the Iraq War, which was based on false information, and any connection with President George W. Bush right now would be toxic.

But also, it is certain that former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom often had major internal battles with her and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, would bitterly oppose her, were she on the short list for Vice President. There would be an internal battle within the party, since neoconservatives would be against her, while former President George H. W. Bush would strongly back her, but is pretty much ignored within the party apparatus, while gaining more and more respect and appreciation from the American people as he and his wife, Barbara, near 20 years since they left the White House!

Also, Rice is a socially moderate in a party which is not so, as she is pro choice on abortion, for affirmative action, and for gay rights. That makes her poisonous to evangelical Christians and Tea Party activists, who look down upon a bright woman with a mind, and willingness to speak up for what she believes in!

And underlying a lot of opposition to her is the fact of the thought of an African American woman being in line for the Presidency! What a horrifying thought to the hate mongers in the Republican Party who hate Barack Obama much more than they love America, and would allow the country to go down the tubes, rather than cooperate for the benefit of the millions of victims of the Great Recession brought about by the short sighted policies of the Bush Administration!

Besides all of the above, Condoleezza Rice has made it perfectly clear that running for office is not her thing, and she happens to like her life at Stanford University, including her freedom to speak out and write and be back in the life of the scholar! She would have to be totally crazy to give that up, particularly for a Presidential candidate who is fatally flawed, and loves power too much to wish to give influence to someone who actually is much smarter than him in so many ways!

So why is her name being floated again? The answer is to deflect attention off Mitt Romney’s problems with his lies about his association with Bain Capital, and his refusal to release multiple years of tax returns, which would create problems for him.

This is a man who has said publicly that he has paid all of the taxes required, and NOT ONE PENNY more!

God forbid that he put his country first, and show some patriotism, that his government is not the enemy that he must avoid paying taxes at all costs. He could never spend or utilize all of his vast fortune in his lifetime, or even in the lifetime of his five sons, but he has this obsessive need to keep on having MORE and MORE, and must have power, because he is a control freak who looks down on the American citizenry as people he “can fire” in order to cut government spending, and to enrich himself and his oligarchic class of one percenters!

Condoleezza Rice may be a critic of Barack Obama, but her reputation, already damaged by association with George W. Bush, would suffer further damage if she dared to associate with Mitt Romney, to the extent that she would agree to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Do not hold your breath, as this is NOT going to happen!

Why Barack Obama In 2012 Is NOT George H. W. Bush In 1992, NOR Jimmy Carter In 1980!

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With exactly four months to go until the Presidential Election of 2012, the job figures this month, showing a slowing of the economy, very little job growth, and a steady 8.2 percent unemployment rate, makes it clear that Barack Obama will not be able to bring the numbers under 8 percent before the election, and will have the highest unemployment rate of a President seeking re-election since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.

So there are the hysterical political followers who fear that Obama is about to lose the election to Mitt Romney, but that is not going to happen!

Obama is compared to George H. W. Bush in 1992 and Jimmy Carter in 1980, with both of them losing, but the situations are VERY different!

Bush lacked any charisma, was running against a charismatic opponent, Bill Clinton, and had a serious, strong third party candidate in Ross Perot, which helped to cause his loss in the election. He also had accomplished very little beyond the Gulf War victory, and the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Jimmy Carter in 1980 was also lacking in charisma, was running against a very charismatic candidate, Ronald Reagan, who was able to unify people with his speaking skills, and faced the Iranian hostage crisis, and super high inflation due to the second Arab Oil Embargo, and also faced a third candidate in the Presidential race, Independent John Anderson.

Obama has tons of charisma; while Mitt Romney has absolutely NONE, not even being well liked as a personality as Clinton and Reagan were; and Obama faces no third party or independent challenger.

Obama is personally popular, which Bush and Carter were not, based on public opinion polls.

But having said that, it is clear that what Obama must do is take parts of three former Democratic Presidents, and make it part of his campaign.

Obama must give the GOP “hell” as Harry Truman did in 1948, and must push job plans and education and infrastructure spending by calling Congress into special session in September after the ocnventions, as Truman did, even though Truman knew and we know no such legislation will pass, but still put the Republicans on the defensive!

Obama must act like Franklin D. Roosevelt by saying he welcomes the hate of the GOP, since they refuse to work with him, and drop the “nice guy” image!

And Obama must take on a Lyndon B. Johnson image, that he will push and prod Congress by constant news conferences and speeches on the essential need for massive changes in America!

In taking on ideas of Truman, FDR, and LBJ, Obama would stir the enthusiasm of progressives and liberals, and the groups that might be lazy about voting, and would also draw many of the independents who would realize we have a President who really CARES about average Americans, as Truman, FDR and LBj demonstrated, and contrast it with Mitt Romney, who has made it clear he has no care or concern for more than the one percent at the top of our society!

Which Presidents Would Belong On A Second Mount Rushmore?

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This morning, on MORNING JOE on MSNBC, there was a fascinating three hour discussion on the American Presidency, to commemorate the Fourth of July national holiday.

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski had many distinguished guests, journalists and historians, to analyze the office and the 43 men who have held that position.

Three distinguished historians–Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jon Meacham, and Evan Thomas–gave their view of which Presidents would be appropriate for a second Mount Rushmore, if such a momument were ever to be built in South Dakota or elsewhere.

Their selections were certainly fascinating, controversial, and highly debatable.

Goodwin’s list was Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan.

Meacham’s list was Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy,and Ronald Reagan.

Thomas’s list included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

So FDR and Reagan are on all three lists, and would certainly please progressives and Democrats on the one hand, and conservatives and Republicans on the other hand.

But there the disagreements begin, and lead to a total of six other Presidents being listed–Jackson, Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ, and Bush No. 41.

One wonders if there has been disrespect shown toward Woodrow Wilson, who had such a long range impact on the office of the Presidency, although there has been a lot of criticism directed toward him over the years.

One also wonders about the famous “obscure” President, James K. Polk, who gained more territory in his one term than anyone other than Thomas Jefferson.

Also, the question arises whether Bill Clinton will see his historical stock rise as the years go by, to the point of possibly being a candidate for a second Mount Rushmore.

If this author and blogger were queried about his choices, the Presidents he would select would be to agree totally with Doris Kearns Goodwin: FDR, Truman, LBJ, and Reagan!

But now the reader can chime in with his or her views about a second Mount Rushmore, and the more the merrier!

Historically Significant Vice Presidents: Nineteen, Including Nine Presidents!

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The Vice Presidency has often been called an office of insignificance, as the Constitution gives the Vice President no authority except to preside over the US Senate, cast a rare tie breaking vote, and sit in waiting for the President to die!

Therefore, the office has been ridiculed, and some have suggested that it be eliminated by constitutional amendment without answering what the line of succession would be if such a change occurred.

Despite the low esteem of the office historically, significant men have served in that office, even if unhappily in most cases.

So if a list were to be made of those Vice Presidents who mattered because of their entire career, the list would include:

John Adams under President George Washington
Thomas Jefferson under President John Adams
Aaron Burr under President Thomas Jefferson
John C. Calhoun under Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren under President Andrew Jackson
Theodore Roosevelt under President William McKinley
Charles G. Dawes under President Calvin Coolidge
Henry A. Wallace under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry Truman under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Richard Nixon under President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lyndon B. Johnson under President John F. Kennedy
Hubert H. Humphrey under President Lyndon B. Johnson
Gerald Ford under President Richard Nixon
Nelson Rockefeller under President Gerald Ford
Walter Mondale under President Jimmy Carter
George H. W. Bush under President Ronald Reagan
Al Gore under President Bill Clinton
Dick Cheney under President George W. Bush
Joe Biden under President Barack Obama

All of these men had a distinguished career before the Vice Presidency, made a difference in American history in some fashion, and all of those since Henry A. Wallace actually had impact upon the growth of the office. Of course, nine of the nineteen listed also became President.

The Summer: Again The Danger Time In International Affairs, Leading To War

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He we are in the heat of summer, and once again, in danger of international war, which has occurred so often in American and world history.

America went to war against Great Britain in June 1812 under President James Madison, in the two and a half year war known as the War Of 1812.

World War I began in August 1914, after the assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary in late June. America did not enter that war until the spring of 1917, but the outbreak of war in the summer of 1914 presented a challenge to President Woodrow Wilson, nevertheless.

World War II began officially at the beginning of September 1939 after a summer of growing tensions, and although America did not enter the war until December 1941, the outbreak of the war caused a serious crisis of leadership for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Korean War began in the last days of June 1950, with President Harry Truman making the fateful decision to commit troops to United Nations forces fighting for the sovereignty of South Korea against North Korea and its Communist allies, the Soviet Union and Communist China.

The Gulf of Tonkin Crisis leading to US bombing of North Vietnam took place in August 1964 under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which led to the Persian Gulf War under President George H. W. Bush in 1991, began in August 1990.

And the attack on September 11, 2001 by Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda occurred technically in a time still part of the official summer season, under President George W. Bush.

Now the ante is going up on possible war between the radical Islamic government of Iran and the Western nations which are imposing an oil embargo and other trade and financial restrictions in reaction to the belief that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. And Iran is threatening missile attacks on US military bases in the Middle East; threatening to close the Straits Of Hormuz, which provide the major path for oil shipments around the world, and if closed, would create an energy crisis for the world at large; has talked about destroying Israel, eliminating it off the face of the earth, leading to Israeli plans to strike at Iranian nuclear facilities if nothing is done to stop their development; and has also threatened British and Saudi Arabia interests and other Gulf States facilities in the event of war. The US is upping its troops and ships in the area, and tensions are growing, creating a test of leadership for President Barack Obama.

Barbara Tuchman, the famous historian, wrote a book called THE GUNS OF AUGUST about the outbreak of World War I.

Right now, as the earth heats up into the warmest summer on record, we can say the heat of possible war is also heating up, sadly!

Interview with WWRL (New York) Morning Show with Mark Riley

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This morning, I woke up bright and early on the 4th of July to discuss the American Presidency, the Tea Party, and more with Mark Riley of WWRL in New York. Click on the link below to listen to my interview.

Interview with WWRL (New York) Morning Show with Mark Riley

Despite Health Care Ruling, Supreme Court Is Still Out Of Control, And Presidential Election Will Decide If It Regains Confidence Of The American People!

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The Supreme Court came through by the barest of margins on the issue of “ObamaCare” last week, but when one looks at the Court’s radical swing to the right in so many other ways, it is clear that the future reputation of the Court and the long term future of the nation requires the victory of Barack Obama for a second term as President.

By confirming their Citizens United decision again in a case involving Montana state law, and by actions against labor unions and their rights in another case, and in the solidity most of the time of the Republican appointees in rejecting past precedent and tradition, the Court has gained an image of being extremist and confrontational, and lost American public opinion and respect, which is dangerous for our democracy.

Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush effectively moved the Court away from the political center to the extreme right, and we are suffering the effects of this extremist rightward tilt.

We cannot afford to base the future on Anthony Kennedy SOMETIMES going with the liberal side of the Court, or Chief Justice John Roberts seemingly being concerned about the reputation of the Court. Neither is reliable to keep the Court in the political center, and protect the rights of the powerless.

The only answer is to insure that when the older members of the Supreme Court retire or die while in service on the Court, that we replace them with Justices who have a vision of the country more in line with the reality of the 21st century than the 19th century Gilded Age!

With Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy to be over 80 before the next Presidential term ends, the likelihood is that whoever is President in the next four years will have a transformative effect on the Supreme Court and constitutional law.

The thought of Mitt Romney making those choices is truly terrifying, and will make the Court a right wing extremist influence into the 2040s, totally unacceptable!

Barack Obama will be able to make the Court shift more into the mainstream, preserving the brilliant times of the Warren Court in the 1950s and 1960s, when America advanced constitutionally in so many ways!

A Reminder: The Supreme Court Determines The Future!

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WIth the Supreme Court term about to end on Thursday, and all of the tumult about the upcoming decision on the Affordable Care Act, and the decisions today on immigration, corporate spending in campaigns, and juvenile sentencing for life terms for murder fresh on one’s mind, it is again important to remember what most Americans don’t even know or realize: The Supreme Court determines the future, more than any part of American government!

A lifetime job, with total freedom to say and do what one wants, is a great power, and we are now suffering from the reality that Ronald Reagan may be dead for eight years, but two of his appointments to the Court (Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy) are still dictating much of what happens in America; George H. W. Bush’s appointee, Clarence Thomas, is not going away anytime soon; and George W. Bush’s two appointments, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, will be around for at least two more decades on the Court, assuming good health!

And now with Scalia and Kennedy being 76, and Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsberg being 79 and Stephen Breyer being 73, it is certain that one to four appointments are likely to be made by the winner of the 2012 election.

Can we afford President Romney shaping a Court that will be to the “right of Attila the Hun?”

It would destroy the chance for fairness, equity, humanity on the Court, and would continue the corporate conquest of American government going on with the Citizens United case, and the new Montana case just decided, that reaffirmed that earlier, disgraceful, decision!

It cannot be emphasized enough that NOTHING matters more than the Supreme Court and the federal circuit judges in this upcoming Presidential election! Economic policy and foreign policy are much less significant than constitutional law!

Obama and his supporters NEED to bring up this issue regularly, and never stop referring to it, with the hope that it will penetrate the brains of the American people!