Month: February 2020

Tonight’s MSNBC Democratic Las Vegas Debate Will Be Fascinating To Watch

Ronald 23 Comments

Tonight’s MSNBC Democratic Las Vegas debate will be fascinating to watch as former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be tested for the first time in what is expected to be a spirited, confrontational event.

Bloomberg will be criticized for spending $400 million to “buy” the election, and it is expected he will come out sparring with all of his other five rivals, but particularly Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg.

Bloomberg’s controversial policies and statements on race, gender, and sexuality, in and out of office will be the hotbed of the debate, and it will easily be the most interesting debate held so far.

There are many skeptics of Bloomberg’s record and statements, and it will be interesting to see how well he does in defending himself.

While he is not on the ballot in Nevada or South Carolina, Bloomberg will certainly have an effect on the fortunes of his rivals, as how they do in the two weeks before Super Tuesday will have an impact on March 3 and beyond.

Strong Possibility That Democrats Will Have A Tumultuous National Convention, Reminding Us Of 1968

Ronald 9 Comments

There is a growing feeling that the Democratic Party will be divided all the way to the national convention in the second week of July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Neither the progressive nor moderate wings seem likely to be able to gather enough delegates to lock up the nomination before July, as things now stand.

The Nevada Caucuses, South Carolina Primary, the 14 states on Super Tuesday, and 10 other states in the two weeks following Super Tuesday, might decide, but no certainty at this time.

The longer the struggle goes on, the more likely, horrible to say, that Donald Trump COULD win reelection, and destroy the Constitution and rule of law, making it impossible to recoup the damage that has been done during these three years of his Presidency.

The last time the Democrats were totally divided was 1968, and it led to the victory of Richard Nixon over a good, competent, decent man, Hubert Humphrey, who would have been far better than Nixon was.

The question remains: who is best equipped to win the Midwest, the area that had Hillary Clinton won, Donald Trump would not be President today, creating a constitutional crisis never ending!

Eleven Presidents With Compassion And Empathy, And Eleven Presidents Who Had Neither

Ronald Leave a comment

Since today is Presidents Day, this author and blogger is posting two entries after the one yesterday, to commemorate the holiday.

So here is the second entry today, and the third and last entry to celebrate Presidents Day!

The most important traits that any President should have, but many do not, is compassion and empathy.

There are Presidents who have compassion and empathy as very clear parts of their personalities, and there are those who have absolutely no such compassion or empathy, making them uncaring and harsh in personality.

A list of eleven Presidents WITH compassion and empathy would include the following in chronological order:

John Quincy Adams

Abraham Lincoln

James A. Garfield

Theodore Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Harry Truman

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Jimmy Carter

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama

Those eleven Presidents who most lacked compassion and empathy chronologically would include:

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

Andrew Jackson

John Tyler

Andrew Johnson

Woodrow Wilson

Herbert Hoover

Richard Nixon

Ronald Reagan

George W. Bush

Donald Trump

Debate and discussion on this and the earlier two entries is welcome!

The Twelve Smartest and Twelve Dumbest Presidents In American History

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America has been fortunate in having a large number of smart, intelligent Presidents in its history.

This author would judge the twelve smartest Presidents, chronologically, to be as follows:

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

John Quincy Adams

Abraham Lincoln

James A. Garfield

Theodore Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson

John F. Kennedy

Richard Nixon

Jimmy Carter

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama

Who would be the smartest of all? Probably a tie between Jefferson and John Quincy Adams!

And who are the 12 dumbest Presidents in chronological order?

Andrew Jackson

William Henry Harrison

Zachary Taylor

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan

Andrew Johnson

Ulysses S. Grant

Benjamin Harrison

Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

George W. Bush

Donald Trump

And who is the dumbest President in American history? Probably a three way tie among Harding, George W. Bush, and Trump!

Ten Most Narcissistic Presidents In American History, Other Than Donald Trump

Ronald 1 Comment

Everyone knows that Donald Trump is, by far, the most narcissistic President in American history.

There is no other President who “loves himself” to the extent that Trump does.

But narcissism is not uncommon among political leaders, and major personalities past and present in the arts, business, and sports.

Other than Trump, what other Presidents stand out for their narcissism?

This author’s judgment is that Lyndon B. Johnson has lost the title of most narcissistic President to Trump, but there is no doubt of his high level of that trait.

Following LBJ, the order would seem to this author to be as follows:

Theodore Roosevelt

Andrew Jackson

Franklin D. Roosevelt

John F. Kennedy

Richard Nixon

Bill Clinton

Woodrow Wilson

Andrew Johnson

Ronald Reagan

I welcome debate and discussion on this blog entry!

The Urgent Need To Switch The US Senate To Democratic Control In 2020 And Beyond

Ronald Leave a comment

The Presidential race is heating up, but one must never forget that the battle for control of the US Senate by the Democrats is urgent.

The Senate has become the place that proposed legislation dies much too often, as now when 395 House passed bills are lying dormant, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to call them up for consideration and a vote.

If any progress is to be made in the next four years on urgent domestic issues, the Senate MUST go over to Democratic control in 2020.

And certainly, the future of the Supreme Court and lower courts is doomed if the Republicans keep control of the Senate and the White House.

At the most basic level, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is reaching 87 this year, and Stephen Breyer is reaching 82, and they cannot go on forever in service.

If they are replaced by right wing Justices, the Constitution and rule of law is in as much danger as a second term of Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

So emphasis on Senate control going to the Democrats is a top priority, and over the next months, this blog will examine the Senate races which will determine the future of American government after 2020!

Is Bernie Sanders The Equivalent Of George McGovern In 1972?

Ronald 13 Comments

Half a century ago, the Democratic Party nominated South Dakota Senator George McGovern for President, and sadly, he went on to suffer a massive defeat at the hands of President Richard Nixon, losing all states except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

This blogger and author was then a graduate student who was intrigued by McGovern, and loved the fact that he had gained a Ph. D. in History, as I was pursuing at the time.

I always loved McGovern for the rest of his political life, and was saddened by his death in 2012.

I felt he would have been good for the nation, but he was perceived as too far to the left, and this is what concerns me about Bernie Sanders in 2020.

Sanders is no danger to democracy, as some see it, but his ideas are self declared “Socialistic”, which I believe is a guarantee of a massive defeat.

I know there are readers of my blog, and students who I have taught and still teach, who do not agree with me about this, including my loyal contributor “D”.

But defeating Trump is even more significant than if Nixon had been defeated, as Nixon was brought down anyway, but that is not the case if Trump were to win in 2020.

So a moderate, mainstream Democrat, such as Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, or if he can revive, Joe Biden, and even Michael Bloomberg would be more likely to win the Presidency, and save us from another four years of Trump, preventing the total destruction of the New Deal of FDR and the Great Society of LBJ, and all other progress under Presidents of both parties in the past century and more!

Is Joe Biden “Done”? Not So Quickly, One Might Say!

Ronald 10 Comments

Former Vice President Joe Biden has done poorly in the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary, being 4th and 5th respectively, and many observers are thinking he is “done”.

Not so fast, as Biden is still favored to win in South Carolina, and in theory, is the only Democrat to have widespread African American support.

And Super Tuesday on March 3 will be the ultimate decider on his fate, as if he performs poorly in the 14 state primaries on that day, then it will be time for him to drop out.

Biden has been trying to be President for a third of a century, longer than any Presidential contender in American history, having first tried in 1988, and then 2008, before now.

He has never come near being a serious potential candidate, and his age is a detriment, plus his seemingly declining public performance.

This blogger and author has been a long time fan and supporter of Joe Biden, who exudes the most important trait any President should have, empathy. He is the kind of person who one could imagine that if he was your neighbor, he would ask if he could help you with anything.

He is a genuine, sincere, decent man, with more experience than any Presidential contender or President ever came with to the Oval Office.

But we know that experience and capability is not always a plus, and that many Presidents we have elected were far from the best choices, but they had the magic and the luck to be able to win.

We may be seeing the final conclusion on the public life of Joe Biden in the next month, but he can still be an adviser or participant under another Democratic President, and of course, he can stay in the public eye through speeches and writings, contributing to public discourse.

And since he is in his late 70s, he can also choose to enjoy his retirement, his family, and recall all of the contributions he made as a six term US Senator, and as one of the best Vice Presidents in American history!

New Hampshire Primary: Moderates Dominate, And Joe Biden And Elizabeth Warren In Free Fall

Ronald 29 Comments

The New Hampshire Primary results are in, and the winners are Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, who together won 44 percent of the vote, compared to Bernie Sanders winning 25.7 percent, only about 3,700 votes ahead of Buttigieg, who had 24.4 percent of the vote on his own.

Even if you add Elizabeth Warren’s poor showing, 9.2 percent of the vote to Sanders’ total, the moderates clearly won, even not including Joe Biden’s embarrassing 5th place finish, with 8.4 percent of the vote.

It is clear that both Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are in free fall, and if they do not do well in Nevada and South Carolina, and on Super Tuesday on March 3, they are done as candidates, and it is likely down to Sanders, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and the likelihood that Michael Bloomberg may do well on Super Tuesday, after spending about $300 million on advertising so far.

Tom Steyer, Deval Patrick, and Tulsi Gabbard remain technically in the race, which is down to just nine candidates, after Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet withdrew last night.

No one thought that Buttigieg and Klobuchar would get this far as survivors, and the sense is that one or the other, or both as a team, might very well be the Democratic ticket for 2020, two Midwestern candidates, who could, in theory, accomplish what Hillary Clinton could not do in 2016, win Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and potentially, even Ohio and Iowa, enough to win the White House!

The Surge Of Michael Bloomberg For The Democratic Presidential Nomination

Ronald 1 Comment

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent more than $300 million in his quest to be the Democratic Presidential nominee, without participating in any debates, shaking hands and speaking to citizens, or being interviewed by news media.

Can a billionaire, worth $55-$60 billion buy the Presidency is the issue. Bloomberg has surged in recent polls, to be considered as a serious possibility for the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.

There is no debate that Bloomberg, while he has shortcomings, actually proved to be quite a good Mayor of New York City for 12 years, from 2002-2014. It is, arguably, the second most difficult government job in America after the Presidency.

He has apologized for his “stop and frisk” policies toward minorities in New York City, and suddenly, there are hints that minorities, particularly African Americans, may be moving toward him, as the sense grows that former Vice President Joe Biden is faltering.

It seems likely that Bloomberg will be participating in the next Democratic Presidential debate in Las Vegas. Nevada, on Wednesday February 19, sponsored by NBC News, since the Democratic National Committee has changed its qualification rules.

There are mixed feelings about Bloomberg, but the fact that he has pledged to spend his money on defeating Donald Trump, even if Bloomberg is NOT the Democratic nominee, makes it a quandary for many Democrats, including this author and blogger.