Secretary Of State

Totally Inexperienced And Unqualified Appointees In Trump Administration: The Triumph Of The Neophytes

Ronald 3 Comments

Donald Trump is a neophyte, someone with zero government experience related to the position he competed for, and he has moved toward bringing total neophytes into his close circle.

Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State
Ben Carson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy
Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor
Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education

Only Rick Perry has been in government, as Texas Governor, but he is no expert on energy issues, and is best remembered for being unable to name the Department of Energy as one of the government cabinet agencies he wanted to eliminate, were he elected President. And he received Cs, Ds, and Fs in science courses at Texas A & M University!

The other three other than Tillerson are out to destroy the purpose of their government cabinet departments, and Tillerson is a pure corporate guy, who has no background in foreign policy at all, except that he has made business deals with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump is destroying the whole concept of experience and competence in these and many other appointments he has made, the worst group ever of appointees of any modern President!

The Republican Party, Donald Trump, And Russia: Ronald Reagan Is Turning Over In His Grave!

Ronald 4 Comments

The Republican Party is now faced with an incoming President who is cozy with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and whose National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, are also too close to the Russian dictator.

To have much of the Republican Party willing to accept this without complaint is an outrage, and a danger to national security.

Thank goodness for such Republicans as John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio for making clear they plan to put the feet of Rex Tillerson to the fire, and somehow, Michael Flynn, who also believes in conspiracy theories, but does not require Senate confirmation, must be prevented from serving Donald Trump in the White House, where his deleterious impact could be of great harm, outweighing that of Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

Ronald Reagan would be turning over in his grave, as Barack Obama said, if he knew what has happened, and so would Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and other dead Republicans, who made their careers on anti Soviet stands in the Cold War, including 1964 Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.

Yes, the Cold War is supposedly over, and Communism is gone, but is this true? Putin, after all, was part of the Soviet KGB Secret Police, and has blood on his hands, and has gained possibly the largest personal fortune of any human being on earth

We must deal with Russia, but to be naive about it, and give in to flattery, as Donald Trump has done and is doing, is alarming and dangerous to the national security of this nation.

Imagine the infamous Joseph McCarthy, the Red Scare villain of the 1950s, and how he would react to the craziness and lunacy of American foreign policy under a reckless, dangerous, unhinged Donald Trump!

Totally Unqualified For Cabinet: Ben Carson, Rick Perry, Rex Tillerson, And They Should All Be Rejected By US Senate!

Ronald 1 Comment

Donald Trump has selected three cabinet members who have absolutely no background for the positions they have been chosen for.

Ben Carson was a pediatric surgeon, who was conveniently given a “golden parachute” to leave Johns Hopkins Hospital since his behavior was becoming strange and weird, as people watching the Presidential campaign certainly noticed. He has NO qualifications to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, other than that he grew up in a poor family and lived in public housing in Detroit.

Rick Perry was 14 year Governor of Texas, and is not the brightest bulb in American politics, and when he sought the Presidency in 2011, he could not recall the Energy Department was one of the cabinet agencies he thought should be closed down. Now he is nominated to head that agency, although he has no knowledge of nuclear weapons or energy, and received Cs, Ds, and Fs in Science courses at Texas A & M University.

Rex Tillerson has been CEO of Exxon Mobil, and has never served in government, and is a chum of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who gave him the highest honor that can be bestowed on a foreigner, and they have done oil deals together and get along splendidly. But that is alarming to John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and other Republicans, as well as Democrats, and would make Ronald Reagan turn over in his grave, as Barack Obama said today in a news conference, that such a pro Russian oil executive with ZERO knowledge of foreign policy, should be the nominee for Secretary of State.

All three should be stopped in committee by the Republicans or by filibuster by the Democrats in the Senate, as all three are a disgrace to the positions they have been nominated for by Donald Trump!

Would Mitt Romney Work For Donald Trump As Secretary Of State?

Ronald 1 Comment

The mere suggestion that Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, who vehemently opposed Donald Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, will be visiting with Trump, and might agree to be his Secretary of State, is mind blowing.

Romney is the most credible nominee for any post yet to be rumored to be a possible cabinet member for Trump, but it is hard to imagine that Romney would actually be offered such a position, or would agree to such appointment.

The two men are temperamentally exact opposites, and Romney ran his campaign in 2012 warning us how dangerous Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, were, while Donald Trump has praised Putin, and suggested a bromance with the Russian leader.

How would Romney reconcile that difference, and how would Trump do the same?

Romney would add some badly needed stature to the Trump cabinet, but what would he get out of it, other than being mistreated by a boss who would be looking forward to firing him, or forcing him to resign over policy differences?

How would Romney overcome National Security Adviser nominee Michael Flynn’s close association and impact on President Trump?

And why would Romney want to give up his close family activities, and spend, if he survived in office, the next four years doing the toughest job in the world, in regards to stress and constant travel, such as a million miles in four years, as occurred with Hillary Clinton, and close to that mileage, if not more, for John Kerry?

Disarray At Trump Tower: So Many Candidates, Some Totally Dangerous Or Ridiculous! And Major Problems For Midtown Manhattan!

Ronald 14 Comments

There is disarray in Trump Tower in Manhattan, and massive traffic issues below in midtown Manhattan.

Donald Trump seems to want to live in Trump Tower a lot of the time, rather than the White House, which creates major traffic, economic, and security issues.

Fifth Avenue and 56th Street is now barricaded, and traffic will become impossible, and trying to protect the President-Elect is a security nightmare, as it requires tremendous manpower of New York City Police and the Secret Service, and is creating problems for businesses, auto traffic, and pedestrians, which will only get worse.

But also, Trump seems totally disorganized, and rumors are spreading of some candidates for different positions in the government who are totally dangerous or ridiculous!

For Secretary of State, the candidates seem to include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton; South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley; and former Massachusetts Governor and 2012 Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The first two named are dangerous for the State Department, as they have no sense of personal diplomacy, and are both loud mouths, with Bolton being the more scary. Haley adds good looks and a woman to the list, but no real qualifications to be Secretary of State. Mitt Romney is the most credible, but really has no diplomatic experience to speak of. And Haley and Romney were bitter opponents of Trump, and did not endorse him.

Then we have the crazy idea of Sarah Palin being Secretary of Interior or Secretary of Energy!

Already, we have Stephen Bannon as Chief Counselor and Senior Adviser in the White House, despite his racist, nativist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, homophobic, and misogynist behavior and utterances. And we have General Michael Flynn, fired by Barack Obama from the Defense Intelligence Agency leadership in 2014, who has also shown elements of antisemitism, and suggested that Hillary Clinton be jailed, to be National Security Adviser. These two appointments do not require Senate confirmation, but it is clear with the chaos in Trump Tower, that Donald Trump will have problems with confirmation of some of his cabinet and other appointments.

Trump, The Most Repudiated Presidential Nominee In American History, Starts Off With Controversial Appointees

Ronald 7 Comments

Donald Trump not only is the most unpopular President in American history in public opinion polls before his election, and not only in the popular vote margin of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, nearing one million and counting, but also in the total repudiation of his candidacy by:

Republicans who refused to endorse and support him
Conservatives who also refused to endorse and support him
Economists who warned against his election, as dangerous to the economy
Historians who warned against his election, looking at history
Defense and Security personnel who thought he was dangerous
Diplomatic personnel who were alarmed at his nomination
Newspapers that were traditionally Republican and conservative endorsing his opponent
Foreign Governments alarmed by his candidacy

Now all of these opponents must come to grips with the fact that Donald Trump is our President Elect, and alarm is spreading, as Trump has announced Stephen Bannon as his Senior Counselor and Chief Strategist in the White House, despite his misogyny, racism, nativism, antisemitism, islamophobia, homophobia and white supremacy views.

Trump also is considering neocon John Bolton, a highly abrasive personality, who was a controversial recess appointment as UN Ambassador under George W. Bush, to be Secretary of State, with the leading alternative being abrasive and egotistical former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York!

Hillary Clinton Seems To Be Planning To Ask Joe Biden To Be Her Secretary Of State! If So, Fantastic Move!

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Politico reports that Hillary Clinton is planning to ask Vice President Joe Biden to be her Secretary of State!

If the news is true, that would be a fantastic beginning to a Hillary Clinton Presidency!

This author and blogger has proposed this in the past, and it would be great news if it turned out to be reality.

Joe Biden is the absolutely best person to head our foreign policy in the next four years.

Joe Biden has a record of enough caution in his views on foreign affairs that it would help allay fears on the left of the Democratic Party that Hillary Clinton would be prone to engage us in foreign interventions, due to the image, much of it unwarranted, that she is a “hawk”.

Joe Biden knows all world leaders, and he knows how to get along with everyone, and move them toward his ideas, even including Republicans on Capitol Hill, who genuinely like him and had him as their liaison to President Obama during the last eight years, due to Biden’s well known ability to “schmooze” in a way unique to American politics.

Joe Biden has been right much of the time, including his suggestion years ago that Iraq should probably be three nations, each with its own religious sect and nationality—the Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds. That is still the ultimately best solution for that battle torn nation, once ISIL (ISIS) is destroyed.

Joe Biden has 44 years in government, and was head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and no one past or present, has the depth of experience and knowledge that this man has.

Even though Joe Biden will be 74 next month, he still has loads of energy, enthusiasm, stamina, and motivation to serve his nation, and he is a true jewel who should be utilized in our next President’s administration.

The report on Hillary Clinton planning to ask Joe Biden to join her cabinet is a true sign of her wisdom and genius in running a sane, sensible foreign policy in the future!

Hillary Clinton Only Qualified Candidate On Foreign Policy To Be The 45th President Of The United States

Ronald 3 Comments

It is clear to anyone who pays attention to foreign policy, that only Hillary Clinton is qualified to be President and Commander in Chief!

Donald Trump is a “loose cannon” who has alienated many foreign leaders with his crazy statements on international affairs, and his love vest with Russia is an alarm bell to all sensible and thoughtful people.

Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, is clueless on just about everything imaginable, including foreign policy, on which she has no expertise or experience.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate, is proving how incompetent he is, when he did not know about Aleppo, Syria, and now unable to name one foreign leader he knows and trusts, and he has become a major embarrassment for his ignorance.

Hillary Clinton has had four year as Secretary of State, and much of it is positive, although criticism can be made on the Middle East policy, but much that goes on in the Middle East regularly is impossible to control, whether Republican or Democrat in the White House, as for example, George W. Bush’s eight years in the White House.

She also knows most foreign leaders,and many foreign policy experts, many of them Republican, as well as conservatives and former Republican Senators, have endorsed her as the only sensible choice, along with Republican newspapers which have endorsed her, the first in history for the Arizona Republic, and for almost a century for the Dallas Morning News and Cincinnati Enquirer.

One must realize that many of the so called “scandals” charged on Clinton and her husband have turned out to be false, having no substance, and is part of the 25 year attack on the Clintons by the right wing. and yet, nothing substantive that matters has been found.

But propaganda continues, and Hillary Clinton has borne the nasty attacks very well, and is highly favored to win the Presidency in 40 days.

And the nation is better for that reality!

Barack Obama Becomes Best Presidential Booster Of A Potential Successor In American History

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When one looks at American history, it is indeed rare that a President leaving office really goes out of his way to boost and promote his party’s nominee to succeed himself.

That is the case, however, with Barack Obama, who is vigorously campaigning for Hillary Clinton in a manner no one would have predicted after the 2008 Democratic primary battle between the two candidates.

Of course, not everyone, and in fact, no one, except Abraham Lincoln, has picked his leading rival for the nomination to the most important cabinet post, Secretary of State.

Lincoln selected Senator William Seward of New York, who turned out to be a great Secretary of State under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. And despite attacks, Hillary Clinton did a good job as Obama’s first term Secretary of State.

It is rare in modern times that a President gets his chosen successor to be elected, and none spent the time or effort that Obama has done and will do through the election, as he sees the victory of Hillary as a way to promote his own legacy.

Ronald Reagan backed George H. W. Bush as his successor, but did not go out of his way in the same way that Obama is for Clinton.

And Dwight D. Eisenhower was far from enthusiastic about his Vice President, Richard Nixon, succeeding him.

And Bill Clinton was not allowed by Al Gore to campaign for him, because of Gore’s belief that Clinton’s sex scandal and impeachment trial made him someone to avoid during the election campaign, a mistake that probably helped to defeat Gore, ironically, as the nation overall embraced Clinton despite the scandal, with Clinton keeping high popularity ratings.

Hillary Clinton Is Almost Like FDR In The Oval Office–Two Terms Under Her Husband And One Term Under Obama–No One More Experienced!

Ronald 10 Comments

A different way to look at Hillary Clinton is to realize that she has spent more time in the White House at the center of power than anyone in American history, except Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt was elected four times, and died in the early months of his fourth term, a total time of 12 years 39 days.

Well, Hillary was married to Bill Clinton, and was intimately engaged in the events of that 8 year Presidency.

She also was deeply immersed in foreign policy with the White House under Barack Obama, as his Secretary of State for four years.

So Hillary Clinton has been in or around the Oval Office for twelve years, and therefore, has had more time in that environment than anyone except FDR, who she would surpass in time by the beginning of March 2017.

No one has ever had this kind of experience, along with eight years in the Senate, in all of American history.

So Hillary Clinton is superbly qualified for the Presidency, while no one is claiming that she is perfect, but no one running this year for President is such, and none in our entire history as a nation.