Day: January 20, 2013

Presidential Inauguration Days On Sunday, But Public Ceremonies On Monday

Ronald 2 Comments

Seven times, the Presidential Inauguration Day has been on a Sunday, but all were conducted publicly on the following Monday.

These were as follows:

James Monroe—1821
Zachary Taylor—1849
Rutherford B. Hayes—1877
Woodrow Wilson—1917
Dwight D. Eisenhower—1957
Ronald Reagan—1985
Barack Obama—2013

All were sworn in privately on Inauguration Day, except Monroe, in his second term, and Taylor, who refused an earlier swearing in on principle, therefore, technically making Senate President Pro Tempore David Rice Atchison of Kansas technical “President” for 24 hours, although most of that Sunday, Atchison was sleeping, and made no decisions worthy of mention!

Of course, the first four Presidents who had a Sunday inauguration were on March 4, while Eisenhower, Reagan and Obama had it on January 20.

Troubled Second Terms Of Presidents Common Theme

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Sadly, it is much more likely that a second term in the Presidency will downgrade the historical image of that President, no matter how successful he might have been in the first term.

Below is a list of second term Presidents— including those who succeeded to the Presidency during the term, and then were elected on their own—who faced adversity big time in that last term in the Presidency, indicating the negative developments.

Thomas Jefferson—-The Chesapeake Affair, and the Embargo Act.

James Madison—The War of 1812, and burning of the White House and the US Capitol by the British.

Abraham Lincoln—Assassinated within six weeks of starting second term of office.

Ulysses S. Grant—-Exposure of Credit Mobilier Scandal, and the Panic of 1873.

Grover Cleveland (non consecutive terms)—Panic of 1893, Pullman Strike, Cancer surgery on the President’s jaw in secret.

William McKinley—Assassinated after six months of his second term in office.

Woodrow Wilson—-Controversy over Versailles Treaty and League of Nations, the Red Scare, and the stroke which paralyzed him in his last 18 months in the Presidency.

Franklin D. Roosevelt—-Split in the Democratic Party over the Supreme Court “Packing” plan, attempted “Purge” of Southern Democrats, Recession of 1937-1938, and controversy over isolationism and World War II.

Harry Truman—After finishing the term of FDR, facing the Second Red Scare and the Korean War controversy.

Dwight D. Eisenhower—The Soviet move into space with Sputnik, and the U-2 Spy Plane Incident with the Soviet Union.

Lyndon B. Johnson—The escalation of the Vietnam War, and the invasion of the Dominican Republic, both highly controversial.

Richard Nixon—The Watergate scandal and the move to impeach, and the resignation.

Ronald Reagan—The Iran Contra Scandal

Bill Clinton—The Monica Lewinsky Scandal, and the Impeachment Trial.

George W. Bush—The Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the Great Recession.

Let us hope for better fortunes for Barack Obama in his second and last term!

Reelected Presidents And Foreign Policy

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An interesting trend of reelected American Presidents is their tendency to become deeply involved in foreign policy matters. This is true since the dawn of America as a world leader in the time of Theodore Roosevelt.

The question is whether this is a planned strategy, or a simple reaction to events, or both.

After Theodore Roosevelt won his full term, having succeeded William McKinley after his assassination, TR became involved in aggressive policy making, criticizing Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany over Morocco at the Algeciras Conference of 1906, and taking leadership of relations with Japan.

Woodrow Wilson, after keeping us out of war in Europe, called for our entrance into World War I a month after his second inauguration, and then went to the Versailles Peace Conference after the war, and worked, unsuccessfully, to convince the US Senate to ratify the Versailles Treaty and membership in the League of Nations. He also committed troops, along with Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, to attempt an overthrow of the Soviet Union regime under Nikolai Lenin.

Calvin Coolidge, elected after succeeding Warren G. Harding in 1923, became involved in the promotion of the Kellogg Briand Pact in 1928, an attempt to outlaw war as an instrument of international policy.

Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the nation closer to dealing with the German Nazi, Italian Fascist, and the Imperial Japanese threat before and during the early part of the Second World War, and then took us into the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in his third term, and pushed for an alliance with the British and the Soviet Union during the war, and advocated the formation of the United Nations as the war was ending.

Harry Truman, after succeeding FDR upon his death in 1945, and winning his own election in 1948, helped to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, took America into the Korean War, and gave aid to the French in the Indochinese War.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his second term, engaged in diplomacy with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at Camp David in 1959 and secretly planned to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Lyndon B. Johnson, after succeeding the assassinated John F, Kennedy in 1963, in his full term, escalated American involvement in Vietnam to a full scale war that divided the country, and invaded the Dominican Republic in 1965.

Richard Nixon, after being reelected, became engaged in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, saving the possibility of a Soviet intervention in the Middle East, and also arranged the overthrow of the Chilean President, Salvador Allende.

Ronald Reagan, in his second term, engaged in arms agreements with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; bombed Libya over its claim of a 200 mile territorial limit; and supported overthrow of dictatorial regimes in Haiti and the Phillippines.

Bill Clinton, in his second term, brought about peace in Northern Ireland; became engaged in war against Serbia over Kosovo; and engaged in counter terrorism actions against Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists.

George W. Bush, in his second term, conducted a “surge” in Iraq, and promoted action against the HIV-AIDS epidemic in Africa.

The question is what Barack Obama will end up doing in the field of foreign policy, and whether he will initiate it, or react to events he cannot control.

Conflict Between Presidents And Chief Justices Quite Common Historically

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It is well known that President Barack Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts do not have a warm relationship, with Roberts chosen by George W. Bush, with Obama voting against his confirmation, and with the two men having totally different ideological views. Despite that, and the annoyance of Roberts over Obama’s condemnation of the Supreme Court for the Citizens United case of 2010, Roberts saved “ObamaCare” in June 2012, legitimizing it for the future, and gaining the anger of Republicans and conservatives. Who can say for sure how the relationship between Obama and Roberts will develop in the second term, and whether Roberts will surprise with more support of the administration than just the health care issue?

But the fact of their antagonism is not new in American history, as it is actually quite common that the Chief Justice is picked by a President of one ideological view, and will often clash with a future President of another party during his tenure on the Court.

The examples of such antagonism, far worse than the Obama-Roberts relationship, follow:

Thomas Jefferson and Chief Justice John Marshall (appointed by John Adams), on the Marbury V Madison case of 1803, dealing with Judicial Review. They were also distant cousins, who personally disliked each other.

Andrew Jackson and Chief Justice John Marshall (appointed by John Adams), on the removal of the Cherokee and other Indian Tribes after the Worcester V. Georgia and other similar cases in the 1830s.

Abraham Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger Taney (appointed by Andrew Jackson), over the Dred Scott V Sanford case in 1857, and the President’s use of war powers during the Civil War years until Taney’s death in 1864.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes (appointed by Herbert Hoover), over Supreme Court decisions during the New Deal years, and specifically FDR’s Court “Packing” Plan in 1937.

Richard Nixon and Chief Justice Earl Warren (appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower), who Nixon had criticized in earlier years, and were rivals in California politics,and Warren trying to leave office under Lyndon B. Johnson, so Nixon would not replace him, but unable to do so due to controversy over Johnson’s nomination of Associate Justice Abe Fortas in 1968, leading to rejection, and Warren’s replacement, Warren Burger, being chosen by Nixon in 1969.

Bill Clinton and Chief Justice William Rehnquist (appointed by Ronald Reagan), who had major disagreements on policy, but Rehnquist conducted himself well at the Bill Clinton Impeachment Trial in 1999.

So the antagonism and rivalry of Presidents and Chief Justices is nothing new!

Two Great New Websites For Progressives And Liberals

Ronald 2 Comments

Two new websites will inspire those who consider themselves progressives or liberals, and they should become standard for all of similar political persuasion to visit those sites.

These two sites are:

The Progressive Press

Liberals Unite

The first one just began operation yesterday, the day before the second Inauguration Day of President Obama.

The second one has been around since September 2011, but just discovered by the author..

There can never be enough websites and blogs to promote the progressive-liberal cause, as there is a lot of ignorance and misunderstanding of what the American experiment in democracy is all about, and these and other websites like them enlighten those who are willing to open up their minds to truth and legitimate facts.

Memories Of January 20 Inauguration Days

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As Inauguration Day comes around, it brings back memories of special moments on Inauguration Days of January 20, which began in 1937, the second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, after the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1933, mandating a change from March 4, the previous Inauguration Day.

Here are the memories that stick out:

1961—A blizzard had hit Washington, DC, and John F. Kennedy gave the most inspiring Inauguration Address of all January 20 addresses—only surpassed in reputation by two March 4 addresses—Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

1977—Jimmy Carter took the oath of office and walked to his inauguration, a first.

1981—Ronald Reagan took the oath of office, and the 52 Americans held hostage in Iran were freed at the time of his Inaugural speech, ending the nightmare that had begun 444 days earlier during the Carter Administration, effectively ending Carter’s Presidency.

1985—Ronald Reagan took the oath of office on the coldest Inauguration Day in history, leading to the cancellation of the parades, and the taking of the oath inside the US Capitol, instead of outside, as is traditional. This was partially done due to the fact that Reagan was the oldest inaugurated President in history, at age 73, but only weeks away from 74.

2009—This author and blogger was present, freezing to death, at the inauguration of the first African American President, Barack Obama, but felt it was all worth it, and there is a video on this blog, which was taken by his son, from the perspective we had at the event.