Lyndon B. Johnson

Presidents Who Were Most Prolific Authors In Life Or After Their Deaths

Ronald Leave a comment

The issue of the intellectual prowess of Presidents is a significant one, in a time of a President who does not display much intellectual interest or talents.

Of course, ability to write and communicate in diaries or in books is not the only area of competence for a President, but we are fortunate that so many Presidents contributed to our nation in their writings.

First, however, is which Presidents did NOT contribute any significant writings in print or in diaries, although many left behind a massive amount of manuscripts, which historians have utilized in their published books on Presidents.

The list would include, chronologically, the following 20 Presidents.

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield
Chester Alan Arthur
William McKinley
William Howard Taft
Warren G. Harding
Franklin D. Roosevelt

A long list of Presidents (24) wrote diaries, Memoirs, or autobiographies, or other published works in their lifetime, or after their deaths, including, chronologically:

John Adams
John Quincy Adams
James K. Polk
James Buchanan
Ulysses S. Grant
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Harry Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump

Of all of these 24 who contributed published works, only a few, however, were voluminous, substantial, and could be described as prolific.

John Quincy Adams, with his 69 year diary in 48 volumes, would be one such case.

James K. Polk. with his 4 volume diary, would be another.

Theodore Roosevelt was extremely active as an author, and Woodrow Wilson was an active academic, which explains his large amount of publishing.

Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter, all with long retirements, were prolific, and Carter has continued to be so.

Barack Obama is expected to join this group of prolific authors, and had two books before his Presidency, similar to John F. Kennedy, who clearly would have contributed more, had he not been assassinated.

So this is a summary of the literary intellectual life of our 44 Presidents!

Terrible Character And Role Model: Donald Trump And The Diminishment Of The Presidency

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump, in nine months in office, plus his 19 month campaign leading to his election and inauguration, has demonstrated terrible lack of character and decency, and has made a disgraceful role model for children, the nation at large, and the world.

He has diminished the image of the Presidency dramatically, and it will take many decades to recover from this nightmare, which may end soon, but also, might, miraculously survive longer than most observers think.

Trump is not the only President with terrible character and role model image.

We could include Andrew Jackson in this category, along with Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

All three undermined the office of the Presidency by their maniacal behavior on many issues, but none, not even Nixon, was as reprehensible as Donald Trump has been.

The man has no empathy, sympathy, compassion, decency, or dignity.

Similar to Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon, he came into office with a chip on his shoulder, despite the fact that he was born to wealth, unlike Jackson, Johnson, and Nixon, all who were born in poor circumstances, particularly the latter two.

There are other Presidents who were narcissists, including Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Bill Clinton, but all three had many virtues which lessened the effect of their narcissism.

We will spend many lifetimes and generations trying to figure out what makes Donald Trump tick, but it is clear he is a mentally ill man, very insecure and unhappy, despite his wealth, his beautiful wives and family, and his having made it to the Presidency.

One can expect that ultimately, under attack that makes being President lacking in true enjoyment, that Donald Trump will resign under fire in the Spring of 2018, as the Mueller Special Counsel investigation closes in, and as clear revelations of the corruption of the Presidential Election of 2016, becomes more conclusive.

A Clear Mental Illness: Donald Trump’s Massive Hatred Of Barack Obama And His Legacy

Ronald 3 Comments

Never in our history have we seen such a massive hatred of a previous President by the newly inaugurated President, as we have seen with Donald Trump’s clear mental illness regarding former President Barack Obama.

Trump is obsessed with wiping out the memory and record in office of the 44th President, and it is clear that this is a dangerous sign of severe mental illness of the 45th President.

Trump has spent the last eight years hating Barack Obama, and no matter what one says to deny reality, a lot of it has to do with the fact that Barack Obama is black in appearance, although he is mixed race, and his mother was white.

One wonders if genetics had worked differently, and Obama had been born looking white, and his name had been changed to his mother’s name, making him Barry Dunham, how the story of the hatred of Trump and so many others towards him would have evolved.

Trump became the promoter of the “Birther” theory, that Obama was born in Kenya, and has never really reneged on that, although he stopped talking about it during the Presidential Election campaign of 2016.

Trump was furious when Obama ridiculed him during the White House Correspondents Association event in 2011, making fun of Trump being a reality star, when Obama had to make life and death decisions in the White House.

Despite their history, Obama was cordial and offered help to Trump two days after the election, in their only personal face to face meeting, but Trump made up his sick mind that he was going to destroy the legacy of Obama, and so far, he seems to have accomplished that in regards to ObamaCare, the Iran nuclear deal, the environmental record in the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the treatment of the Dream kids who came with their parents to the United States when they were young.

Trump also accused Obama of wiretapping the White House, a delusional accusation already proved to be a crazy conspiracy theory.

What it comes down to is that Trump, an undeniable racist, cannot tolerate that a black man accomplished so much, and therefore, Trump is using a hatchet to destroy everything he can of the Obama legacy, as soon as he can do so.

But one can be assured that while much is being destroyed for now, a very upsetting development, that in the future, we will have a Democratic Congress, and a future President will work to restore all of the good work that Barack Obama accomplished.

Hopefully, Obama will have a long life so that he can witness the restoration of the Obama legacy, just as we honor the great accomplishments of other outstanding Presidents, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, with Obama joining them as among the most productive Presidents in American hstory.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump will end up in the bottom of the listing of Presidents, and nothing will be done to lift him from where he belongs, in the basement.

Obama, now listed in the C Span Presidential poll of 2017 as number 12, will likely rise to the bottom of the top ten in the future, while Trump will end up number 44 out of 44, realizing that Grover Cleveland is listed twice, as number 22 and number 24. Trump will fall below James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, and nothing he can do will allow him to rise, as he has done enough damage in nine months to prevent him from avoiding his fate as the worst and most dangerous President in American history!

Sixty Years Of The Space Age: A Time Of Great Achievements And Technological Advancements

Ronald Leave a comment

Yesterday, October 4, was the 60th anniversary of the Space Age, as the Soviet Union shocked the world by orbiting an artificial satellite, Sputnik I, beginning the Space Race, leading to the United States landing on the moon on July 20, 1969, after promotion by John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. It was the age of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and so many other heroic astronauts.

It transformed American thinking, and helped to promote science, math, and technology, and the importance of promoting higher education.

So under President Eisenhower, we saw the enactment of the National Defense Education Act in 1958, and the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with headquarters in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and later in Houston, Texas.

The Space Age promoted patriotism and excitement, as millions of Americans watched all of the launches of satellites and of astronauts on television.

This blogger remembers the uniqueness of the Space Age, and is still saddened by the lack of commitment to go further into space, with the argument that we could not afford the expenditure.

If we had continued the pace of the Space Age after the last mission to the moon in 1972, America would likely now have explored Mars, which now is a goal for the 2030s, after many lost decades.

The loss of interest in science, is a great tragedy, as many ignorant people have worked against it, instead advocating religion over science, to the detriment of the nation.

The Modern Presidency Began Today, September 14, In 1901, With The Coming To Power Of Theodore Roosevelt

Ronald Leave a comment

As a lifetime student of the American Presidency, September 14, 1901 stands out as the beginning of the modern Presidency.

On that day, 116 years ago, Theodore Roosevelt succeeded from the Vice Presidency, which he had held for about six months, and became the 26th President of the United States, upon the death of President William McKinley from the assassination bullets fired by anarchist Leon Czolgosz eight days earlier, on September 6, in Buffalo, New York.

TR brought a new vision of the Presidency to the White House, an activist, aggressive, broad interpretation of executive powers, and transformed the office for the long term future.

Our youngest President, still 42, TR brought life, excitement, charisma to the Presidency, and made America a respected nation in foreign policy.

He also initiated the idea of Progressive reform, that the national government had a role in moving the nation forward by regulation and legislation, away from the concept of states rights.

There was never a dull moment in TR’s life, either in the Presidency or after, and he became a model for future Presidents of both parties, particularly Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

With TR’s accession to the Presidency, the history of the Secret Service protecting the Chief Executive began, and remains a major burden of security to keep the President safe and unharmed.

A reminder that the McKinley Assassination is covered in Chapter 4 of my book, ASSASSINATIONS, THREATS, AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield Publishers), now out since March in paperback from the publisher or Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Also, there is Chapter 5 in the book, which covers the attempted assassination of TR when running as an ex-President on the Progressive (Bull Moose Party) line in 1912, being shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 14, 1912 by John Flammang Schrank, but surviving his wounds.

The March On Washington 1963, Plus 54 Years: Backtracking On Civil Rights And Civil Liberties!

Ronald Leave a comment

Fifty four years ago, The March on Washington occurred, with the most famous moment being the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivering his “I Have A Dream” speech before a crowd of whites and African Americans estimated at a quarter of a million people.

The march was impetus for the passage in the following two years of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights, with Lyndon B. Johnson picking up where John F. Kennedy left off.

Now, a half century later, the great progress on civil rights and civil liberties has suffered backtracking, partly by the right wing Supreme Court, and partly by the policies of President Donald Trump.

It is very disconcerting and even tormenting that the progress made has been reversed.

But that means the battle to restore and expand what makes America a democracy must not be abandoned because of setbacks, but rather pursued with renewed energy and commitment, in order to fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Donald Trump: The Liar Of All Liars, The Most In Presidential History!

Ronald 1 Comment

It is true that it is part of human nature that all of us lie in our daily lives.

We lie when we do not want to be honest about someone’s clothes, appearance or our private thoughts about them, when we are in their presence.

We lie at work, to get along with fellow employees, and to avoid antagonizing our supervisors, as we wish to avoid tension, and danger to our livelihood.

We lie, when we try to influence our teachers and professors, hoping to gain a better grade in a class.

We lie when we deal with relatives in order to keep the peace.

We lie when we have friends we do not wish to lose over minor disagreements.

In many other situations, we lie, as we pursue romantic interests.

So it is “normal” to lie, but hopefully, none of this lying is serious lying that undermines our protection of ourselves in society.

Hopefully, we are not lying to the extent that others can see right through our lies, and where our moral and ethical standing is compromised to our detriment.

Hopefully, we are not lying where it causes harm or even more to anyone, in the name of our own ambition.

But then there is Donald Trump, who is, the liar of all liars, the most in Presidential history by far!

Dwight D. Eisenhower lied about the U-2 Spy Plane Incident in 1960.

Lyndon B. Johnson lied about the Vietnam War in 1967.

Richard Nixon lied about the Watergate Scandal in 1973-1974.

Bill Clinton lied about the Monica Lewinsky Affair in 1998.

George W. Bush lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2003.

All of these lies were horrendous, and undermined the record and reputation of the Presidents involved.

But none of these Presidents lied so early in his term, and not at the rate of five lies per day as an average, as shown by an analysis done by the New York Times of the first six months.

Donald Trump has lied about just about everything imaginable, much of it where he knows that we know he is lying, but he is incorrigible.

Donald Trump has made an art of lying, and carries along with him one third of the American people, who seem not to care, or simply be ignorant enough that they do not understand he is lying.

And this lying is going on with no major crisis having yet arisen, but much going on internally which we do not know about, due to national security, but will undermine our nation once we become aware of what Trump and his advisers are perpetrating that will cost American lives, and make the lives of millions of others worsen dramatically, due to the disease of lying excessively.

With only 24 percent trusting him, and 73 percent not trusting him in the latest CNN poll, Donald Trump has lost all credibility.

Donald Trump has become a massive liar, the liar of all liars, a chronic and habitual liar, a disease that undermines any possibility of success in his Presidency.

Donald Trump Totally Delusional, Comparing Himself To Lincoln, And Suggesting Mount Rushmore For Himself!

Ronald 3 Comments

Donald Trump is totally delusional, and he is becoming more embarrassing by the day.

He is telling us now that he is more “Presidential” than any President except the “great” Abraham Lincoln, who would not give him the time of day if he were to have met him, as he would see that Trump is simply an egotist, a narcissist, a braggart, a bully, a BS artist, a misogynist, a racist, a xenophobe, a nativist, a liar, a homophobe, an Islamophobe, an obnoxious personality, and innumerable other adjectives, all which would cause Lincoln to reject him, as he was a man of character.

Trump has no historical knowledge, so he thinks he has accomplished more in six months than anyone ever has, when he has accomplished less than any President ever in American history!

He seems not to know about Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, or Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society, or Woodrow Wilson and the New Freedom, or others who had a dramatic and positive effect on the nation and very rapidly.

And Trump imagines himself, as he said in a speech two days ago, that he might be a future candidate for Mount Rushmore, because he is on the level of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt in his own delusional mind!

One can imagine the rolling eyes and shaking heads of these Presidents in the afterlife as they look at Donald Trump, and the total embarrassment he is to the institution of the American Presidency!

Hardworking Presidents Vs. Lazy Presidents, And Then There Is Donald Trump!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Presidency is an all encompassing job, one that the occupant of the Oval Office, particularly in modern times, cannot escape, even when on so called “vacation”.

Some Presidents stand out as constantly on the job, very active, very committed and hard working.

These would include in modern times, since 1900, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Note only three of these Presidents–TR, Nixon and the first Bush–are Republicans.

Indications are that James K. Polk and Abraham Lincoln, Democrat and Republican respectively, were also hard workers, dedicated, and committed, among pre1900 Presidents.

On the other hand, the following Presidents come across as far less committed, and in many cases, too laid back, and in some cases, purely lazy:

William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, all Republicans. All of these Presidents took many vacations, and had short work days much of the time, and it undermined America in domestic and foreign policy on a regular basis.

Pre1900 examples would include Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Ulysses S. Grant, the first two being Democrats and Grant being a Republican.

And then there is Donald Trump, whose work habits make clear that he is the LAZIEST President of the United States in all of American history, certainly since 1900 at the least!

He loves to sign executive orders, many which are symbolic, and to take a long time in signing in a flourishing manner at Presidential signing ceremonies, and then showing it to the gathered audience over and over, like a little child proud of his signature, absolutely unbelievable immaturity on the part of a President, who lowers the image of the Presidency every day.

He has taken no part in promoting Health Care legislation, and is simply ready to sign any bill that comes to his desk, as he told evangelist Pat Robertson in an interview before leaving for his trip to Paris, France for Bastille Day.

Trump knows no details on anything, and is not willing to do much reading or learning, and it is truly pitiful how he has degraded the Presidency daily!

July 2 An Historic Day In So Many Ways!

Ronald Leave a comment

July 2 is an extremely historic day in American history in so many ways, more than typical.

July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, with the document being printed, and beginning to be signed on July 4.

July 2, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed Morrill Act, granting land for state agricultural colleges.

July 2, 1863, Second day of Battle of Gettysburg, turning point battle of Civil War.

July 2, 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot and mortally wounded by Charles Guiteau, died 79 days later on September 19, 1881, a tragedy I devote a chapter to in my Assassinations book, now out in paperback from Rowman Littlefield.

July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, most path breaking and historic civil rights law in American history.

July 2, 1986, the Supreme Court upheld Affirmative Action in two cases.