Franklin D. Roosevelt

CoronaVirus Pandemic Proves Need For An Empathetic President, And Another “New Deal” And “Great Society” In Future!

Ronald 24 Comments

The present CoronaVirus Pandemic proves the need for an Empathetic President, and another “New Deal” And “Great Society” in the future!

“Big” Government is needed, as it was in the 1930s “New Deal” and the 1960s “Great Society”!

We need leaders such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, as with all their foibles, as all human beings have, they demonstrated empathy and understood the need for federal government action!

Yes, state governors, such as Andrew Cuomo, Gavin Newsom, and many others, have stepped up in this present crisis, but the lack of concern and competency of Donald Trump and his advisers, only concerned about politics rather than human lives, needs to be repudiated once and for all!

Conservatism and limitation of national government since the time of Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich and many others has led to this debacle, and now needs to be in their death throes, as they have caused this debacle!

We need a nation where we do not have a few people having as much wealth and assets as half of the nation!

We need a nation where everyone is entitled to decent, affordable health care, and the opportunity for an education that meets their needs and abilities!

We need a nation where we do not have a wide percentage of people who are homeless, or are unable to gain enough nutrition, and where racism, nativism, and misogyny are actively prosecuted, rather than becoming government policy!

We need the kind of nation where everyone has opportunity to move forward, as was the aim and policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson!

The Self Styled “War Time” President: Greatest Economic Collapse Since 1929, And 32 Percent Drop In Less Than A Month, Back To When Barack Obama Left Office!

Ronald 18 Comments

So here we are in mid March, less than a month after the all time high on the Stock Market, and we have just witnessed the greatest collapse since 1929, a 32 percent drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other measurements of the stock market.

So now we are back to what the stock market was on the day that Barack Obama left office, after the greatest economic recovery in American history, greater than Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had to count on World War II to end the Great Depression totally!

Obama presided over a 250 percent increase in the stock market, and an unemployment rate left to him by George W. Bush and the Great Recession of 10 percent unemployment, which was lowered to 4.7 percent when he left office.

But of course, Donald Trump would never give credit to the “black man” for anything, so it is just desserts that his raving about the great performance on the stock market and in the unemployment rate, added on to what Obama had accomplished, is now totally gone!

And now, Donald Trump has the gall and nerve to call himself a “wartime President”, when he evaded the military draft with a fake medical letter claiming he had “bone spurs”>

This was Trump’s major argument for his reelection–the “great, fantastic” economy, and now it is gone! Meanwhile, Trump has done tremendous damage in a multitude of ways, and he is insured of being the absolutely worst President in American history!

There are now projections that the unemployment rate will skyrocket, maybe to an unheard of 20 percent, which would be by far the worst since the 1930s!

If Trump had any principles and decency, he would resign today as a total failure, and the only reason he will not do so is that he would face prosecution for his crimes, and hopes to avoid that.

America must defeat Trump, and send him as an indicted felon into a court of law, with just desserts being imprisonment for the rest of his natural life, but not stop there, but also go after his children and son in law, and all of the crooked people who worked for him and brought about the disaster, ongoing, of the Trump Presidency!

We Are Now In The Greatest Crisis Since World War II!

Ronald 22 Comments

It is time for all Americans to reckon with reality!

America, and really the entire world, is immersed in the greatest crisis since World War II!

Since there are very few Americans or human beings who can recall in detail what World War II did to the world, this is for almost all people a unique situation.

What we need now in America is a Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, but instead, we have Donald Trump and “Make America Great Again!”

How America and the world at large will deal with this, short term and long term, is still unsettled.

At the least, all of us need to recognize sacrifices will be necessary, and the basic one to start with is to stay home, hunker down, as we try to flatten the curve of the ultimate rise in Covid-19 cases!

Joe Biden Needs To Agree That He Would Step Aside If Unable To Handle The Presidency, Unlike Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, And Ronald Reagan

Ronald 6 Comments

We have had three circumstances where a President was unable to handle the job due to health issues, but refused to step aside.

Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in the fall of 1919, and was basically incapacitated for the remaining year and a half of his Presidency, but refused to resign, and his wife conducted cabinet meetings.

Franklin D. Roosevelt had congestive heart failure in 1944, and should not have run for a fourth term, but did anyway.,

Ronald Reagan had clear cut dementia, noticed by 1986-1987, but his wife Nancy and his top advisers covered for him in his last years in office.

Also, Donald Trump clearly has signs of mental deterioration for anyone who wishes to be honest.

And now, Joe Biden has what some people think are early signs of dementia, but not clear cut at this point.

We are likely to face a situation where either Donald Trump or Joe Biden will likely be President in the next term, but might not be able to finish the term.

It is sad but reality that Donald Trump would never resign if he was incapable of doing his job, but Joe Biden needs to be willing to step aside if his early signs become more evident during a future Presidency.

Some would say we have the 25th Amendment to allow for the Vice President to be “Acting President”, but that is more useful for physical ailments than mental ailments.

Looking back, Reagan was the first President under the 25th Amendment situation, and now Trump, both of them the oldest Presidents in office.

Joe Biden, or even Bernie Sanders, would be easily the most advanced in age, and while the 25th Amendment could be used, it does not seem adeqate if mental deterioration is present.

If anything, this situation that we are now presented with is an argument for Joe Biden to pick the best possible Vice President, who could be fully ready to take the oath of office if Biden, at some point, could not handle the job of President.

The Magnificent Joe Biden Revival The Greatest In American History

Ronald 10 Comments

Former Vice President Joe Biden completed the greatest turnaround of political fortunes in American history in the last four days.

Thought to be a “lost cause”, he accomplished the winning of 10 of 14 primaries on Super Tuesday, after winning South Carolina last Saturday, and left Bernie Sanders in the distance.

He also caused Michael Bloomberg to withdraw today, but pledge all financial help to the Biden and Democratic Party campaign to retire Donald Trump from the Oval Office.

What Biden did is in many ways a miracle, but it could not happen to a nicer, more decent, more compassionate, more empathetic, and more genuine man than Joe Biden.

Biden has dedicated the past half century to public service, serving 36 years in the US Senate, and 8 years as the most active and engaged Vice President in American history!

His persona looks even better when compared to the Vice Presidents before and after him–Dick Cheney and Mike Pence!

Joe Biden is not perfect, and has votes and statements and silly flubs as part of his record that can be used against him.

But he KNOWS domestic and foreign policy, and would be the most experienced public official in total years ever to be President.

The man knows how to lead, as he did as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

And he knows the importance of “crossing the aisle” when possible. which is essential for any progress on any public issue.

There are some worried about his mental lapses, but my thought is that if it ever was clear that he needed to step aside and resign, he would do so, and that makes the Vice Presidential nomination more important than ever before.

He would not stay on in poor condition as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan did, and as Donald Trump would do.

Biden needs to select a much younger person, who could be his successor, and this blogger suggests Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg, and Kamala Harris as his top three choices.

We need to pray for him, that he can meet the challenge of retiring Donald Trump, and restoring faith in American government.

Further Reflection On Elizabeth Warren: Improved Prospects For Nomination

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The performance of Elizabeth Warren in the Las Vegas Democratic Presidential debate has sunk in, along with interviews she has had on CNN and MSNBC since her devastating criticism of former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It now looks as if Warren might very well be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare, despite his calling her Pocahontas, as she has the support of many people who see her genuine nature and law school professor expertise as appealing. She has a very appealing personality and character, and grows on you as you watch her statements in interviews, and respect her intelligence and energy.

Warren would be a great debater against Donald Trump, who is not good at debates, as he is far better in appealing to partisan audiences who worship him.

This blogger and author now think that while he supports Pete Buttigieg for the nomination, that an alternative of Warren for President and Pete for Vice President would be a good team against Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

Imagine Warren against Trump and Buttigieg against Pence, scenarios which would definitely favor the Democrats!

On the other hand, Bernie Sanders would carry the burden of being a “Socialist”, which this author knows is no threat, but would be seen as so by many Americans.

This, along with Sanders’ age, his recent heart attack (which he has recovered from so well), and his grouchiness, make him not the ideal choice for the Presidency. The reality is that what he wants to do would never make it through the next Congress, unless it was an FDR or LBJ Congress, meaning 60 percent or more Democratic, which will not happen!

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

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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!

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!

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!

Nine Months To The Most Urgent Election In American History!

Ronald 9 Comments

Nine months from today, November 3, is the most urgent election in American history, as America will never be the same if Donald Trump is reelected to a second term in the White House!

Yes, there have been other crucial elections, including 1860 (Abraham Lincoln); 1932 (Franklin D. Roosevelt); and 1940 (FDR).

These elections centered around the upcoming Civil War; the tragedy of the Great Depression at its lowest moment; and the upcoming US involvement in World War II.

But while the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II were all massive crises for America, we now face a true demagogue out of control after an impeachment trial in which much of the evidence and essential witnesses to the wrongdoing of Donald Trump were not permitted to be included, due to the corruption and abandonment of the oaths taken by Republican Senators to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

The Republican Party has besmirched the historic reputation of the US Senate for all time, and have lost all credibility as a viable political party.

It is essential for the party to be soundly defeated in as many House and Senate races as possible, and for the total repudiation of Donald Trump, who will go down in history as the worst and most dangerous President we have ever had, having abandoned all common decency and respect for the law!

Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his transgressions, and for accountability under the law when he leaves the White House, having worsened the lives of tens of millions of Americans with his vindictive, lawless, and uncaring agenda!