John F. Kennedy

Barack Obama Invokes Teddy Roosevelt And The “New Nationalism” Of The Progressive Party Of 1912

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President Obama invoked Teddy Roosevelt and the “New Nationalism” program of the Progressive Party of 1912 in a speech today at Osawatomie, Kansas, the site of a speech by the former President in 1910, setting the standard for his later third party run for President in 1912.

Called a socialist, a radical, and even a Communist by many conservatives a century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted a very advanced series of ideas out of office, more than when he was in, including the end of child labor, equal pay for women, a minimum wage, a social insurance program including social security and health care, a progressive federal income tax, and reforming the political system.

His program, known as the “New Nationalism” became the forerunner of much of the “New Freedom” of Woodrow Wilson, the “New Deal” of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the “Fair Deal” of Harry Truman, the “New Frontier” of John F. Kennedy, and the “Great Society” of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Obama talked of the need for a strong middle class and a raised standard of living, and the need to regulate corporations and to raise taxes as other Presidents have done, in order to promote a “fair shake” for everyone, giving everyone “equal opportunity” to succeed.

Obama emphasized that major tax cuts for the rich had led to greater inequality, lower creation of jobs, growing deficits, and the collapse of the American economy in the past ten years. He declared that “trickle down economics” had never worked in the past successfully, and that assertive actions by government were necessary to promote a bright future for all Americans.

He called for more investment in education, research, technology, infrastructure, and manufacturing, rather than in banking and finance which leads to phony manipulation of financial figures and causes financial “bubbles”!

His speech, as usual, was well delivered, and was designed to inspire the American people to take on the struggle that was fought during the Progressive Era by Theodore Roosevelt to promote a bright future for America!

And remember that Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican who believed in the role of government to make a better society, something regrettably not the viewpoint of the transformed Republican Party of today, which speaks only for the wealthy and the corporations, and spends time dividing people and gaining support based on social conservatism issues, including gay rights, abortion rights, gun rights, illegal immigration and affirmative action. Meanwhile, the lives of the masses of Americans who vote on their emotions, rather than their reason, for the GOP, does not lead to better lives for those people!

The Dangers Of Political Extremism: Assassination Of Political Leaders

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Today is a day to dwell on the dangers of political extremism, the kind of rhetoric that we have been witnessing more than ever since the Great Recession occurred in 2008 and after. The election of the first African American President in 2008 has added to the cauldron.

The chasm between the political parties is wider than ever, and the hot rhetoric displayed on much of talk radio and Fox News Channel is more intense than ever, and will, unfortunately, get worse as the heat of the Presidential campaign intensifies.

Political extremism of the past led to political assassination in American history, as witness:

Abraham Lincoln, murdered at the end of the Civil War, April 14, 1865, by a Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth.

William McKinley, murdered by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, on September 14, 1901.

John F. Kennedy, murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, a supporter of Fidel Castro and Cuba, 48 years ago on this date, and being commemorated today.

Martin Luther King, Jr,, murdered by a racist, James Earl Ray, on April 4, 1968.

Robert Kennedy, murdered by an Arab sympathizer, Sirhan Sirhan, on June 5, 1968.

These five assassinations, along with the assassination by mentally ill people of James Garfield and Huey Long; and the attempted assassinations of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan are constant warnings of the dangers of violence once passions are aroused to a dangerous level.

When one considers that an individual was recently arrested for having shot at the White House, and perceived as a danger to President Barack Obama, it makes one feel a chill go through his spine, this on top of a similar incident under Bill Clinton.

Our nation’s leaders are under constant threat, and we need to tone down our rhetoric in memory of the death of John F. Kennedy nearly a half century ago, as we do not want to go through the horror and pain of such an event ever again!

From JFK And The Cuban Missile Crisis To Barack Obama And Al Qaeda, Iraq, And Libya: Statesmanship Personified

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49 years ago today, President John F. Kennedy informed the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Now, 49 years later, President Barack Obama was able to tell us in the past few months that leading Al Qaeda figures (Osama Bin Laden and Anwar al Awlaki) had been neutralized; that our involvement in the Iraq War is finally coming to an end by Christmas; and that Libya has finally been liberated from its war criminal despot, Moammar Gaddafi.

Is there a link between these two Presidents nearly a half century apart? Absolutely, as in both cases, we have seen wisdom, good judgment, and statesmanship, characteristics all too rare.

Kennedy decided NOT to launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union or a direct hit on missile bases in Cuba, but instead to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the greatest crisis of the nuclear age after starting a naval blockade.

Obama, often considered not ready for crisis leadership, has successfully overcome terrorist threats and eliminated leading terrorists; has brought about a final end to involvement in Iraq, a war we did not need to fight; and cooperated with NATO allies in liberating Libya, at a low cost of about $2 billion, and NO American casualties.

Both Presidents have demonstrated strong, assertive leadership in ways that should be emulated by future Presidents. When one engages in war, one must be careful and cautious, and recognize international cooperation promotes a better result than being a LONE RANGER, out to swagger and flaunt American power, without concern as to how the international community perceives the United States.

Hopefully, the age of George W. Bush is a bad memory that will not be repeated by future Presidents, but the lack of insights by the Republican Presidential field is troubling as a sign that we may be in danger of moving away from the statesmanship represented by these two Democratic Presidents, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama.

This is an issue that MUST become a major part of the Presidential Election of 2012, the qualifications and views of the Republican contenders to lead our nation into an uncertain future in international relations.

With foreign policy to be the center of the next presidential debate in November, it is time that the nation focus on and realize that economic policy is not the only consideration in the selection of the next President. We need a statesman on the level of JFK or Obama, and the prognosis to find such a person in the Republican field (outside of maybe Jon Huntsman) is NOT promising.

Presidential Styles: Interpersonal Relationships Important In Level Of Success!

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The American Presidency is a complex institution, with 43 men so far having occupied that office, and the personalities of the Presidents have a great deal to do with the level of success they achieve.

Many have been shy or withdrawn in dealings with others, including the public, the Congress, and the news media, which may surprise the average person, wondering how they were able to win election. Among this group would be included Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush.

Others had great capabilities as communicators, but somehow could not translate it into warm relationships with Congress, including Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and now clearly, Barack Obama.

Then, there were those who knew how to get what they wanted, including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan, keeping close in touch with Congressional leaders, charming them with White House meetings, including the opposition party!

And then there are those Presidents who don’t quite fit any of the above descriptions, including Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush. All were unique in their skills and abilities, having some successes and some failures in office.

A recent Washington Post opinion piece called Obama a “loner” President who finds it difficult to make Congressional relationships, even with his own party, and not particularly liking people as individuals, and much better speaking to the nation as a whole. This could be seen as a shortcoming, which could undermine Obama’s attempt to win re-election!

But then, Obama’s Republican challengers, particularly Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain do not exactly engender a sense of warmth in dealing with others!

The Republicans On The Road To Self Destruction Over Religion!

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The Republican Party, in theory, has a fantastic opportunity to win the 2012 Presidential Election, considering the bad economic situation we are in, with no likelihood of the unemployment rate going down below 9 percent over the next year.

But in the midst of this hopeful sign for the party, it is religion that looks as if it will divide the GOP, and help to cause their defeat.

It is the same issue that we had with Al Smith in 1928 and John F. Kennedy in 1960, because of their Catholicism.

It is now the issue of the Mormon Church and the candidacy of Mitt Romney, and also, Jon Huntsman, both of whom have the best opportunity to overwhelm Barack Obama in next year’s election, were either of them to become the nominee of the party.

But with evangelical Christians in the South and border states having prejudice against not only Mormons, but also Catholics. Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, there is a real barrier to Romney or Huntsman being able to win enough support in the primaries and caucuses, many of the early states (Iowa and South Carolina as examples) dominated by the evangelicals.

And if either were to, somehow, win the nomination, there is a good chance that someone would form a third party and divide the Republican vote, helping Obama to return to office.

As if the Republican Party does not have enough trouble with its inability to attract African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, gays, and educated women, they add the burden of using religion as a disqualifying factor that may destroy any chance of them regaining power in the White House!

Here We Go Again: New Hatred By Evangelical Christian Pastors!

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It is a sad reality that many Evangelical Christian pastors have made a career out of promoting divisiveness and hate, in the name of their conservative values and the almighty dollar!

How else to explain why many of these pastors have continued to promote hatred toward President Barack Obama, including that he is a Muslim, born in Kenya, a Socialist, and out to undermine American values?

How else to explain a so called “unifying” pastor, Joel Osteen, who runs the largest megachurch in America in Houston Texas, on nationwide TV on CNN advocating homophobia, knowing full well that it is a major crisis in America, particularly for young gay men and women who are committing suicide because of bullying, and has no problem continuing to quote the Bible on this matter, in a distorted way? And then to learn that Joel Osteen, who inherited his father’s leadership of their church, dropped out of college and has NO ministerial training at a seminary, so therefore is, technically, a phony minister, who is very wealthy because of the contributions of his congregants, and of course, like all religious leaders, avoids personal income taxes?

How else to explain another Evangelical Christian pastor at the Values Voters Summit In Washington, DC, supposedly asked to introduce Texas Governor Rick Perry, declaring that Mormons are not Christians, but instead are a “cult”, an attack directed against former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the frontrunner in the GOP Presidential race, and indirectly against the other Mormon in the race, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman?

It should not matter whether a candidate for President is a “good Christian”, as we have a belief in separation of church and state, and religion should no more be a barrier now than it was in 1960 when John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic to win the White House, after Al Smith, the earlier Catholic nominee in the 1928 Presidential Election, was soundly defeated because of his Catholicism. Of course, who were the leading critics of Smith and Kennedy? Evangelical Christians, who claim to be holier than thou!

It is clear that the same anti Mormon sentiments would be visited against a serious Jewish nominee in the future. These “good Christians” are excellent at promoting hate and division!

Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman should be judged for everything except their Mormon faith. Neither is out to promote or advocate their faith, anymore than Smith or Kennedy were, or a future Jewish nominee would! Why do Evangelical Christian pastors however feel they have the right to force their congregants to think their narrow minded way?

It is time for all of the non Mormon Presidential nominees to condemn this pastor and make it clear that religious bigotry of any kind is not acceptable, and will not be part of the GOP Presidential race from this day forward! But don’t bet on that happening!

The Targeting Of Bin Laden: The Most Important Accomplishment Of Barack Obama And Will Guarantee A Second Term In The White House!

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Here we are 14 months away from Election Day 2012, and many observers project that Barack Obama is in deep trouble, and will lose reelection.

Certainly, with the horrible economy and the highest number of unemployed citizens in history, and the lack of any cooperation by the Republican opposition, Barack Obama has many problems and issues that could affect how people vote in 2012.

Despite these realities, the President remains personally popular, which is a major positive in his favor.

And after having watched the HISTORY CHANNEL two hour special tonight, entitled TARGETING BIN LADEN, revealing all of the details of the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden, it became clear to the author that this accomplishment will always be remembered as the most significant single action of Barack Obama, just as the Cuban Missile Crisis will be always seen as the major accomplishment of John F. Kennedy in office!

The courage, the decisiveness, the handling of the Bin Laden matter will be enough to give Barack Obama a second term as President!

Imagine if this action had failed! Barack Obama would be seen as Jimmy Carter after the failed mission to release the hostages in Iran in April 1980, the major reason for Carter’s loss to Ronald Reagan in the Election of 1980.

For the same reason, Obama will be able to use this great deed to insure that he will be reelected in 2012!

The Month Of August: A Crisis Month In History For The American Presidency!

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Now that we have seen the month of August slip into history, it is worthwhile to look back and notice how significant the month is in Presidential history, how it is often a crisis month!

Examples include:

August 24, 1814–Great Britain invaded and burned the nation’s capitol, Washington, DC during the War of 1812, sending President James Madison and Congress fleeing to nearby Baltimore. This was the only invasion of American territory until Pearl Harbor in 1941.

August 4, 1914–World War I began in full swing, as all of the major European powers had finally declared war a week after the initial declaration. This alarmed President Woodrow Wilson issued a declaration that the United States would remain “neutral in thought, as well as action”, a statement which could not be upheld as the war progressed into a long term stalemate, leading to US entrance in 1917.

August 6 and 9, 1945–Newly inaugurated President Harry Truman, in office less than four months after the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, unleashes the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, leading to the end of World War II.

August 13, 1961–The Soviet Union begins the construction of the Berlin Wall, separating East Berlin from West Berlin, during the first year of the administration of President John F. Kennedy. It will remain a symbol of oppression until its destruction in November 1989.

August 4, 1964–The Tonkin Gulf Incident is reported during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, a supposed attack on US Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin by North Vietnamese patrol boats. This led to Johnson’s request of a resolution allowing the use of force to react to the reported aggression, and was the first step in the escalation of the war in Vietnam to a full scale conflict.

August 9, 1974–President Richard Nixon resigned from office, the first President to take such action, due to the “smoking gun” tape that showed his involvement in a coverup of the Watergate scandal. President Gerald Ford succeeded him in office, and later pardoned Nixon from prosecution, allowing Nixon to evade punishment, including being removed from office in an impeachment trial had he stayed in office.

August 2, 1990–Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, invaded its oil rich neighbor, Kuwait, alarming Saudi Arabia and other Arab and oil nations, and led to US involvement, in unison with a United Nations coalition, to force Iraq out of Kuwait, but also putting US troops for the first time in the Middle East, and inciting Muslims who became involved in terrorism through participation with Al Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden,

August 2011–President Barack Obama faced the crisis of the Debt Ceiling, which led to a lowering of the credit rating of the United States by Standard and Poor’s and a stock market crisis. Additionally, the Atlantic Coast Earthquake and Hurricane Irene became major crises, along with the final steps toward the removal of Moammar Gaddafi from power in Libya after a five month effort by the US, with backing of NATO allies, the United Nations, and the Arab League.

So there has to be a sign of relief that the ugly month of August has again passed into history!

Nostalgia For The 19th Century: The “Good Old Days” Of The Gilded Age?

Ronald 2 Comments

Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century, and yet the Tea Party Movement and the Republican Party contains within itself a great nostalgia for the past–the 19th century Gilded Age!

Why is the Gilded Age seen in such a positive light by the Right Wing of the Republican Party? Let us count the ways in no special order!

1. Labor unions were struggling to survive, and workers were working long hours under horrible work conditions with no protection and no basic rights for the working men, women and children. Yes, children as young as 6 were working for menial pay, as well as women being paid less than men.

2. Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia were being discriminated against, and paid less than “native born” workers, and living in slums in the big cities.

3. Women had no rights legally and were not allowed to vote or control their work conditions.

4. No one had any health care, pension, minimum wage protection or sick leave or vacation leave, and could be fired on a whim of the employer.

5. African Americans mostly lived in the South and faced segregation, lynchings, and sharecropper poverty, and civil rights of any kind did not exist.

6. Corporations ruled in America, major monopolies which corrupted the political system on all levels–national, state and local.

7. State and local governments controlled just about every aspect of their population’s lives in a very inadequate manner, and the federal government was extremely minimal in its impact upon the people.

8. There was no social safety net of any kind, other than churches and other organizations which were unable to do much for those less fortunate, in poverty, or having serious medical ills.

9. Racial supremacy was a widely held belief, along with Laissez Faire Economics and Social Darwinism.

10. Education was minimal for the vast majority of the population, and therefore allowed little social mobility for the average American.

11. If natural disasters occurred, little assistance or aid was available, except to pray to God for divine guidance.

This nostalgia today is VERY SIMILAR to the above reality of the Gilded Age, but we have had a century of reform, including the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Great Society and other reforms on specific issues at other times!

We have had reform oriented Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Barack Obama promote major changes that have made America a better nation!

Now the proposal of the Right Wing in the GOP is to reverse the reforms and changes that have made America an improved nation over the past century. The desire is to negate, to veto, to wipe out the social safety net, labor reforms, and so many other hard earned reforms. This is being offered as the GOP answer to the economic crisis we are in, as if making things worse and protecting the corporations and the extremely wealthy is the answer to our difficulties!

Returning to the Gilded Age is precisely the wrong thing to do! We cannot allow such a disaster to occur in 2011, or EVER!

The Mid Third Year First Term Presidential Slump: Perfectly Normal!

Ronald 1 Comment

When one looks at the history of the Presidency, in the third year of the first term of a President, it is very normal that he suffers a loss in public opinion support, and is usually the low point of his first term, but often has had no effect on future electoral success.

Witness the following examples:

1, Franklin D. Roosevelt in his third year (1935) was denounced as a socialist, a communist, a fascist, and every other dirty name by opponents, including the American LIberty League, Huey Long, Dr. Francis Townsend, Father Charles Coughlin, and others. He went on to a smashing reelection victory, winning all but two states in 1936.

2. Harry Truman in 1947 was very unpopular and predicted to have no chance at reelection, particularly with the opposition party in control of Congress, and some members of his party suggesting he resign, because of the vote of no confidence represented by the Republican 80th Congress. He proceeded to win a miracle upset victory for reelection!

3. John F. Kennedy in 1963 was in deep trouble in the South because of his stand on civil rights, and he was on a campaign swing in the South, trying to mend fences, when he was assassinated.

4. Richard Nixon was at a low point in 1971 over the Vietnam War, with the Pentagon Papers being revealed and attempts of Congress to end the war by cutting funds. It was fear that his Democratic opponent might be strong that convinced Nixon operatives to become involved in the Watergate scandal, but Nixon won all states but one in 1972.

5. Ronald Reagan in 1983 had the highest unemployment rate since FDR, and low public opinion ratings similar to those of Barack Obama now (low 40s), but went on to win all but one state in 1984.

6. Bill Clinton had low public opinion ratings in 1995, particularly after the Republicans took over both houses of Congress, but won reelection in 1996.

7. George W. Bush had a lot of opposition and criticism about the war in Iraq in 2003, but went on to win reelection in 2004.

So it is not a danger sign that Barack Obama is suffering a low point in the summer of 2011, as despite many problems, he still has strong popular support personally, and the opposition Republicans are being blamed by many for the Debt Ceiling Crisis and its aftermath!

So don’t count the President out by any means, as the odds still strongly favor his reelection in 2012!