Bill Clinton

A Sense Of Doom Ahead, After Terrorism In New Orleans And Las Vegas, And Wildfire Tragedy In Los Angeles!

Ronald 9 Comments

There is a growing sense of doom ahead of us in the year 2025, with the horrendous beginning with the terrorist attack in New Orleans, the explosion of an automobile outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas by an active duty soldier who committed suicide, and now the cataclysmic wildfire tragedy in Los Angeles and surrounding communities in Southern California.

It is made worse by Donald Trump, claiming wrongfully that both the New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents were conducted by migrants, illegal aliens, a totally despicable lie, but one that he has not withdrawn.

Also, Trump has blamed President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the Los Angeles Wildfires tragedy, which is act of nature caused by climate change and global warming, for which Trump has renounced the need for any action, as he asserts it is not real!

In eleven days, the nation is faced by a very unstable, immoral, unethical man returning to the White House, as too many Americans were living in a dream world, forgetting the many horrors of the first Trump Presidency.

The thought of drastic moves on immigration and tariffs, and the pardoning of criminals who attacked the US Capitol four years ago, sets a mood of total despair and a sense of helplessness at what the future of America is going to be, and whether American democracy can remain strong, with the dangers that lie ahead in both domestic and foreign policy!

Jimmy Carter’s funeral today is a sad reminder of the loss of innocence, how much the ethics, morality, and decency of the 39th President, has been wiped away with the ethical lapses of Bill Clinton, the policy lapses of George W. Bush, and the multipled horrors of the Trump Presidency, now returning!

Jimmy Carter’s Post Presidency Unmatched By Any Other President!

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Jimmy Carter’s post Presidency of 44 years will, forever, remain unmatched.

Carter left office at the early age of 56, and survived health challenges to reach age 100, also highly unlikely, ever to be matched or surpassed.

Carter established the Carter Center to promote human rights in 1982, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum was opened in 1986 in Atlanta, and this blogger and scholar visited the site two times, finding it a very impressive memorial to the President.

Carter also spent several years teaching at Emory University in Atlana.

Carter wrote a total of 33 books in his lifetime, more than any other President.

Carter participated in building housing for the poor through Habitat For Humanity.

Carter traveled the world, fighting disease, promoting free elections, and advocating resolution of various international conflicts.

Carter had varying relations with his successors and predecessors, becoming particularly close to President Gerald Ford, creating the closest friendship with a fellow President since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Other Presidents who were active after their Presidency included John Quincy Adams, who served in the House of Representatives for nearly 18 years, and wrote a diary from age 12 to age 80.

Also, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, and Theodore Roosevelt ran for the Presidency after their terms in office.

William Howard Taft served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for nine years after his Presidency.

Also, Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon, along with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama presently, have been active, but none on the level of Jimmy Carter.

Carter’s historical ranking is sure to rise from the mid 20s to the top one third over time, as his passing makes the true Carter scholarship ever more expansive in the next generation!

Jimmy Carter, The Best One Term Environmentalist President

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Jimmy Carter may have only had one term in the Presidency, but regarding environmental issues, Presidential scholars and Environmental experts agree he had the most productive one term we have seen, although it may be that Joe Biden’s one term might be seen in evaluation in the future as having surpassed Carter.

Carter put solar panels on the White House, which his successor, Ronald Reagan, had removed.

Carter put tens of millions of acres in Alaska off limits to developers, specifically 56 million acres under the 1906 Antiquities Act passed under Theodore Roosevelt.

Before he left office, he added another 100 million acres in Alaska of Wildlife Refuge under protection, an amazing accomplishment.

Carter had a great Interior Secretary, Cecil Andrus, former Governor of Idaho, who worked against the domination of mining, oil, timber, and grazing interests, and limited control of dams that could harm the health of rivers.

Also, Carter presided over the creation of the Department of Energy as a Cabinet post.

One can only imagine how much more Carter might have done had he won reelection in 1980 over Ronald Reagan.

As it is, Carter is rated as one of the top eight environmental Presidents, alongside Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

Democrats Have Cleaned Up Republican Economic Messes Since 1953!

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It is amazing how Republicans have lied incessantly for the past 70 years about the economy under Democratic Presidents, when it is such Democratic Presidents who have revived the economy after Republican Presidents managed to preside over economic recessions.

John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson presided over economic prosperity in the 1960s, after three recessions under Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Jimmy Carter presided over an economic recovery from the Recession of 1974-1975 under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, but sadly had to deal with another short lived, six months, recession in 1980, which was one of the factors, but not the most important, in his defeat, as the only Democratic President who had an economic decline since 1953.

Bill Clinton presided over an economic recovery from the recession under George H. W. Bush in the early 1990s, having a long period of economic prosperity.

Barack Obama presided over a long economic recovery from the Great Recession of 2008-2009 under George W. Bush, over 75 months from 2010-2017.

Joe Biden presided over revival of the American economy, from a great economic recession in office in 2020 under Donald Trump, a time of dramatic economic loss due to the Covid 19 Pandemic.

While there were moments of high inflation under Joe Biden due to the aftermath of the Pandemic, as with all Democratic Presidents, there was job growth, with most jobs created under them, and the percentage under Republican Presidents being very few under Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and the Bushes, and a massive job loss under Donald Trump.

These are economic facts, no matter what Donald Trump and Republicans claim to be the truth!

Harris Has Promoted Idea Of Prominent Republican For Her Cabinet If She Wins Presidency

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Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris stated in her joint CNN interview with Tim Walz last week that she intended to select a prominent Republican to be part of her Cabinet if she is elected President.

As this author and blogger indicated a couple of days ago, this has been a common trend in Presidents, with every President since the 1960s doing so.

The most common decision has been for Democratic Presidents to select Republicans to be Secretary of Defense, as national security is a prime issue at all times.

So John F. Kennedy selected Robert McNamara; Bill Clinton picked William Cohen; and Barack Obama chose Robert Gates and then Chuck Hagel–all to be Secretary of Defense.

So therefore, it would seem appropriate for Kamala Harris to select Adam Kinzinger to be her Secretary of Defense if she enters the Oval Office!

Having Opposition Party In A President’s Administration A Tradition!

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It is quite common for a President of one party to select a leading figure of the other party to be part of his Administration.

The number of examples abound, as follows:

John F. Kennedy appointed Republicans including:

Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense
C. Douglas Dillon as Secretary of the Treasury
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr as Ambassador to South Vietnam

Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Republicans including:

John W. Gardner as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr as Ambassador to West Germany

Richard Nixon appointed Democrats including:

Sargent Shriver as Ambassador to France
John Connally as Secretary of the Treasury

Gerald Ford appointed Democrats including:

Daniel Patrick Moynihan as Ambassador to the United Nations

Jimmy Carter appointed Republicans including:

James Schlesinger as Secretary of Energy
William H. Webster as Director of the FBI

Ronald Reagan appointed Democrats including:

Mike Mansfield as Ambassador to Japan
Jeane Kirkpatrick as Ambassador to the United Nations
William Bennett as Secretary of Education

George H W Bush appointed Democrats including:

Robert Strauss as Ambassador to the Soviet Union/Russia

Bill Clinton appointed Republicans including:

William Cohen as Secretary of Defense

George W. Bush appointed Democrats including:

Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation

Barack Obama appointed Republicans including:

Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense
Jon Huntsman Jr. as Ambassador to China
Robert Mueller as Director of the FBI
Ray Lahood as Secretary of Transportation
Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense

Donald Trump appointed Democrats including:

Gary Cohn as Director of the National Economic Council

Joe Biden appointed Republicans, including:

Christopher Wray as Director of the FBI
Jerome Powell as Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Jeff Flake as Ambassador to Turkey
Meg Whitman as Ambassador to Kenya

Magnificent, Dramatic, Inspiring Third Evening Of Democratic National Convention!

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What a magnificent, dramatic, inspiring third evening of the Democratic National Convention of 2024!

Among the speakers:

Bill Clinton—Nancy Pelosi—Hakeem Jeffries—Chris Murphy—Josh Shapiro—Wes Moore—Amy Klobuchar—Pete Buttigieg —Republicans Olivia Troye and Geoff Duncan—Oprah Winfrey–and of course, Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz!

The speeches by the above individuals and others were among the most exceptional that this author and blogger can remember over the decades of paying attention to national conventions.

The sense is that there is definite momentum in the Harris-Walz Presidential campaign.

It was wonderful seeing the speech, particularly, of Oprah Winfrey, which is bound to have an effect, due to the great regard millions of people have for her!

Bill Clinton gave one of his best speeches in his post Presidency, and Josh Shapiro gave a masterful performance of his oratory. Wes Moore and Pete Buttigieg are both young leaders who will be heard from in the future, and their presentations were outstanding!

And ultimately, Tim Walz, who very few knew much about a few weeks ago, is clearly a tremendous asset and talent, adding greatly to Kamala Harris’s campaign, and will inspire many Americans, not only to vote, but also as an example of compassion, empathy, and common decency, in the vein of Joe Biden!

THe Harris-Walz team will make history in November, and help to advance America!

As Democratic National Convention Convenes, Lots For Democrats To Celebrate!

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As the Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago today for the next four days, one can reflect that the party has a lot to be proud of, and to celebrate!

The Democratic Party is the party of change and of accomplishment in so many ways in the past generation!

Meanwhile, the Republican Party has imploded, becoming captive to the lunacy and authoritarian bent of Donald Trump and his MAGA followers!

The Democratic Party brought about tremendous economic growth under Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

On the other hand, the Republican Party under George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump brought economic decline and almost no employment improvement, presiding over major economic disasters, particularly under the latter two Republican Presidents.

The Democrats gave the nation its first African American male President; its first female nominee in Hillary Clinton; and its second female and African American and South Asian American female potential President in Kamala Harris.

There is a lot to celebrate as the Democrats formally nominate Harris and Tim Walz, and show their love and admiration toward Joe and Jill Biden!

Al Gore Was Correct On Climate Change And Global Warming Three Decades Ago; If Only He Had Won The Presidency!

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Former Vice President and former Senator Al Gore was correct on climate change and global warming, which he warned us about thirty years ago.

Gore went on to concede, graciously, the Presidential Election of 2000, when the Supreme Court intervened in Bush V Gore, to award the electoral votes of the state of Florida to George W. Bush. His concession was a masterful example of statesmanship.

But had Gore, who won the popular vote by 540,000, become President, the history of America environmentally would have been transformed dramatically.

The Republican Party has continued to work against climate change and global warming incessantly for the past 25 years, while Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his activism, but for nought.

The battle on the environmental future continues, as the nation and the world are now suffering immensely from the stubbornness and resistance of the Right Wing Extremists who just continue to promote the use of oil and gas without any acceptance of the crisis the nation and the world have put themselves in by greed and the profit motive!

More Corruption Scandals Under Donald Trump Than Any Other President!

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It is, sadly, now clear, that when the entire history of the Donald Trump Presidency is written, that his administration will be seen as the most corrupt in American history.

Just the fact that Trump has been twice impeached, four times indicted, and so far, one time convicted of crimes, puts Trump in a special category.

But earlier Presidents also have had a tawdry reputation to different degrees, including:

Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877
Warren G. Harding 1921-1923
Richard Nixon 1969-1974
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
George W. Bush 2001-2009

All of the above, along with Donald Trump, have been Republican Presidents!

But only Nixon comes across as personally involved in so many corrupt actions of this group, so was considered the “worst” President on corruption until Donald Trump came along.

Democratic Presidents, by comparison, have had minor, insigificant scandals, with the most prominent being the Monica Lewinsky scandal under Bill Clinton, but which was easily matched by Donald Trump with the Stormy Daniels and other scandals involving women.

And Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama had NO serious violations of the law in any way considered significant.