Hillary Clinton

Kamala Harris Being Judged Differently Due To Race And Gender

This entry is being revised from the original entry, which accidentally was deleted by the author, for which I apologize. I will be brief in summarizing my ideas on this entry with the same title, and anyone who had commented on the original entry, I would ask to submit a similar comment, and again, my apologies for the blunder, which has never happened before today, and will not happen again!

John F. Kennedy (Catholic); Barack Obama (African American); and Hillary Clinton (female), all faced discrimination and bias due to their uniqueness as Presidential candidates in 1960, 2008, and 2016, respectively.

In the first two cases, the issue of Catholicism and of race were overcome, while Clinton, although winning the popular vote by 2.85 million, was unable to win the Electoral College.

Now, Kamala Harris who is the second woman to seek the Presidency and has Asian Indian and African-Jamaican heritage, is facing critics who are claiming she is unqualified on intelligence and on abilities and knowledge, to occupy the Oval Office.

Harris has had more government experience than most Presidents, more than all Presidents since 1900, except for Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, and Joe Biden.

Harris is also much more intelligent than some Presidents, including Warren G. Harding, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump since 1900; and also more qualified to be President than some Vice Presidents who succeeded to the Oval Office, including Andrew Johnson and Calvin Coolidge.

So the negativism around Harris in some circles should be seen as not worthy of being considered, and hopefully, she will break the barrier as the first woman President in American history!

Joe Biden Gives Great Speech At Convention, Passing The Torch To Kamala Harris!

President Joe Biden displayed his true greatness last night, having devoted a half century to public service, and knowing it was time to pass the torch to a future generation of leadership in Vice President Kamala Harris!

This was one of Biden’s greatest speeches, and showed his compassion and empathy for Americans who need a champion to help their advancement in America.

Biden made clear the battle for American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, that lies ahead.

He was surrounded by his family, and Harris and Doug Emhoff, as he informed the nation that he still would work hard in his final 5 months in office, before he handed over power, hopefully, to Harris.

The convention crowd erupted in an amazing display of love and affection for the 46th President, who will go down as one of the most significant Presidents in American history!

The whole first night of the convention was magnificent, including the speeches of Hillary Clinton, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, and New York Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, among others, as well as the surprise appearance of Kamala Harris, leading chants thanking Joe Biden for his half century of service to the nation!

As Democratic National Convention Convenes, Lots For Democrats To Celebrate!

As the Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago today for the next four days, one can reflect that the party has a lot to be proud of, and to celebrate!

The Democratic Party is the party of change and of accomplishment in so many ways in the past generation!

Meanwhile, the Republican Party has imploded, becoming captive to the lunacy and authoritarian bent of Donald Trump and his MAGA followers!

The Democratic Party brought about tremendous economic growth under Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

On the other hand, the Republican Party under George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump brought economic decline and almost no employment improvement, presiding over major economic disasters, particularly under the latter two Republican Presidents.

The Democrats gave the nation its first African American male President; its first female nominee in Hillary Clinton; and its second female and African American and South Asian American female potential President in Kamala Harris.

There is a lot to celebrate as the Democrats formally nominate Harris and Tim Walz, and show their love and admiration toward Joe and Jill Biden!

Kamala Harris Utilizing Barack Obama Team In Her Presidential Campaign

Kamala Harris is utilizing the people who helped Barack Obama in his election campaign in 2008, and helped him in his Presidency.

This includes David Plouffe, Stephanie Cutter, Mitch Stewart, and David Binder, and with Jennifer Palmieri becoming an adviser to Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff, who would become “First Gentleman”, if his wife is elected President.

Additionally, some staff who worked in the Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign in 2016 will join the team in an effort to bolster the Harris Presidential effort.

These are promising steps forward in the Harris Presidential campaign!

235 Years Since The Inauguration Of George Washington!

On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated, 57 days late, as the first President of the United States, in the downtown Wall Street area of New York City.

Washington was the right person to start the Presidency of a new Republic, and he knew that it was essential that he give up power, in order to insure the survival and stability of the nation in the long term future.

We cannot thank Washington enough, or all of the later Presidents who knew when to leave!

And we can also be thankful that even in hotly contested elections in the future, Presidents who lost reelection—John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush–followed the tradition Washington had set by leaving office.

Also, we have to be thankful that in close elections, such candidates as Samuel Tilden in 1876, Al Gore in 2000, and Hillary Clinton in 2016 were gracious in defeat, and that Vice Presidents who lost the succession to their President—Richard Nixon in 1960, Hubert Humphrey in 1968—also were gracious in defeat, as was Gore in 2000.

Sadly, the crisis today is due to the reality that Donald Trump would not accept defeat graciously, and provoked a violent mob on January 6, 2021, for which he must be held accountable!

Iowa Caucus History, And Caucuses Elsewhere In 2024

In the past, there were up to 15 states that held Presidential Caucuses, with them first evolving in the 1970s.

Today, in 2024, there are only a few states that hold caucuses, with the overwhelming majority having Presidential primaries.

The only states in 2024 with caucuses being held by both major political parties are:

Hawaii
Idaho
Iowa
North Dakota
Wyoming

Two other states have Republicans having caucuses, while Democrats have primaries

Those two states with this odd situation are

Missouri
Nevada

Notice none of these total seven states have large populations, with Missouri being the largest.

At the same time, the Iowa Caucuses have NOT been a good example of accuracy as to who would be the nominees or winners of the Presidency.

The only Presidents who won in Iowa and went on to the White House were:

Jimmy Carter 1976
George W. Bush 2000
Barack Obama 2008

Walter Mondale in 1984, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2016 won the Iowa Caucuses but lost the Presidency for Democrats, while for the Republicans, only Bob Dole in 1996 won in Iowa and then lost the Presidency.

Polls One Year Ahead Of National Elections Prove Nothing!

National polling a year or more ahead of a national election is pointless, as much too often, it proves to be totally out of line with reality.

Also, elections are not decided nationally, but state by state, so therefore, the hysteria over the close polls on the Presidency showing a tight race should not cause people to panic.

At this point in many past election cycles, we were told Barack Obama was in bad shape in 2011; that Hillary Clinton was the guaranteed nominee in 2007; that Rudy Giuliani was the favored Republican candidate in 2007; that Howard Dean was favored in 2003; and on and on and on!

A year and more is an eternity, and the Democrats and Joe Biden still would be the favorite moving forward!

The Midwest And Pennsylvania The Fulcrum Of The Presidential Election Of 2024

The heartland of the nation—the Midwest—is the fulcrum of the Presidential Election Of 2024 with its combination of electoral votes.

The states of Illinois (19), Ohio (17), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (10) and Minnesota (10), are likely to decide who wins the Presidency and controls both houses of Congress. Add “next door” Pennsylvania (19) to the mix, and that is a certainty!

All of these states, except Ohio, went to Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020; and Trump won four of these states in 2016—all but Illinois and Minnesota, which went to Hillary Clinton.

The first Republican debate, sponsored by Fox News Channel, this coming Wednesday, will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as will be the site of the Republican National Convention from July 15-18, 2024.

And the Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago, Illinois from August 19-22, 2024!

So both parties know that the Midwest, plus Pennsylvania, is the most important target in election of the next President of the United States!

One must realize that it was the Upper Midwest where the Republican Party was born in 1854, so next year it is 170 years since the founding of a party now in crisis, due to Donald Trump’s corruption!

Presidential Concession Speeches An Endorsement Of American Democracy!

The story of American democracy over two centuries and more has been graceful concession speeches by the losers of Presidential elections. Despite vehement and emotional feelings on both sides of an election, being a “good sport” and conceding in a proper manner is an American tradition!

The only time there was, in effect, no concession speeches was when South Carolina, and eventually ten other Southern states, eventually refused to accept that Abraham Lincoln had won the Presidency in 1860, and began the civil insurrection known to history as the American Civil War!

Other than that one time, losers of Presidential elections have always been gracious and patriotic in their acceptance of the victory of their rivals, until 2020 when Donald Trump refused to concede and provoked the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021!

Some elections have been very close, as in 1876, when Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden, in an election which dragged on to final determination until just before Inauguration Day in 1877, with Tilden accepting his loss.

The same situation occurred in 1884, when the Republican Party lost the Presidency for the first time in a generation to Democrat Grover Cleveland by very small margins, but James G. Blaine accepted defeat graciously.

In 1916, we had the second closest Electoral Vote margin after 1876, until later in the year 2000, with loser Charles Evans Hughes being gracious in defeat to President Woodrow Wilson.

The upset election victory of President Harry Truman over New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey in 1948 was accepted in a proper way by Dewey. And later, Truman had Dewey visit the White House!

Richard Nixon in 1960 had advisers suggest he challenge John F. Kennedy over the close Illinois vote, but Nixon, outgoing Vice President, refused to drag out the matter, and accepted defeat in a gracious manner.

President Gerald Ford was heartbroken in 1976, when he lost to Jimmy Carter, but was very gracious in concession, read by his wife Betty Ford, because the President had developed laryngitis. And the Fords and the Carters became fast friends in later years, a closer friendship than anyone since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson!

Michael Dukakis was way ahead of George H. W. Bush at one point of the 1988 Presidential campaign, but was very appropriate in his concession speech.

President George H.W. Bush was devastated by his loss to Bill Clinton in 1992, as was Bob Dole in 1996, but both were proper in their concessions.

Al Gore fought the good fight in 2000, contesting the result for 36 days, but then conceding, when the Supreme Court intervened, and as outgoing Vice President, rejected any further battle over the Electoral College vote count on January 6, 2001.

Senator John McCain was totally decent and proper in his gracious concession speech, congratulating the nation in 2008, on the election of the first African American President, Barack Obama.

Mitt Romney had the same decency when he lost to Obama in 2012, and Hillary Clinton conceded the morning after the 2016 election to Donald Trump, although totally stunned by the loss.

So there was no excuse, and still there is none today, for any candidate for the Presidency who loses the election to refuse to concede, and instead to cause chaos, disarray, and literal violence, as that provoked by Donald Trump against Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.

So the time has come for Donald Trump to pay the price for the bloodshed and violence he provoked, and to be convicted and sentenced to federal prison.

And his decision to continue to provoke violence and what he calls “retribution” should lead to his incarceration BEFORE trial, as an example to the American people what happens, when anyone, even a former President, chooses to promote undermining of American democracy and the rule of law!

Seven States 2020 Presidential Election Results And Trump Challenge Now Under Further Investigation!

Donald Trump is facing further investigation and likely indictments, and the federal prosecutor Jack Smith has now had all election supervisors testify in the 7 states that the Trump campaign made the center of their challenges to the Presidential Election of 2020!

These seven states are:

Arizona
Nevada
New Mexico
Michigan
Wisconsin
Pennsylvania
Georgia

All of these states are certain to be the center of attention in the upcoming Presidential Election of 2024.

Only Nevada and New Mexico went to the Democrats in both elections, while the other five went from supporting Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2016 to support of Joe Biden in 2020.

So investigation of the pressures brought upon these seven states, and particularly the five which switched from 2016 to 2020, is crucial in the prosecution of Trump, and the center of attention for 2024!