George W. Bush

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

The Massive Dangers Of Project 2025 And The Heritage Foundation

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Project 2025, promoted by the Heritage Foundation, is a warning sign to America and the world!

It is an attack on everything decent that has occurred in the 20th and 21st century to expand democracy and freedom in America and the world at large!

If left to their evil intentions, the Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025 would repeal the reforms of the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Great Society, the Obama-Biden reforms, and the massive efforts of Democrats to promote and pass significant reforms under Republican Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush.

The reason for some significant reforms under Republican Presidents was due to Democratic control of Congress, a situation that was not the case under Republicans Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

Over the next days and weeks, this author and blogger will make clear the massive threats and dangers presented by extremist right wing forces, which if enacted, would bring America back to the late 19th Century Gilded Age era!

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.

70th Anniversary Commemoration Of Brown V Board Of Education!

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The single most significant Supreme Court decision of the 20th century occurred exactly 70 years ago on May 17, 1954, when the Supreme Court, in an unanimous 9-0 decision, declared segregation in public education was unconstitutional, reversing the segregation decision in Plessy V Ferguson of 1896 after 58 years.

The fact that Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) was able to gain unanimous support on this case, including Southern members of the Court who were comfortable with segregation, is what made Earl Warren the greatest Chief Justice after John Marshall (1801-1835).

It also makes one very downcast and depressed at what has happened at the Supreme Court in recent decades, particularly since Donald Trump made three right wing appointments to be Supreme Court Justices, adding on to the two Presidents Bush who gave the nation the horrendous Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Chief Justice John Roberts, also chosen by President George W. Bush, has been a great disappointment, unable to keep the Court balanced, and now containing two Justices totally out of control, arrogant, nasty, abusive, and not concerned about ethics and common decency.

This, along with the attack on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), and a reversal of Affirmative Action, has been not only promoted by this right wing dominated Supreme Court, but also by actions of Republican Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and a whole slew of other Republican governors nationwide.

This includes working to deemphazize African American history in educational curriculums, working to wipe out all of the advancements of the Civil Rights Movement after World War II for the next few decades.

Action must be taken to reverse this bigoted, right wing extremist agenda, and it begins by insuring Joe Biden wins a second term, and that, somehow, Democrats win the House of Representatives, and retain control of the US Senate.

This is a massive challenge that anyone who believes in fairness, and common decency, must engage in for the future of America as a shining beacon of change and tolerance.

Loss Of A True Statesman: Florida Governor And Senator Bob Graham!

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The state of Florida and the nation has lost a true statesman, former Governor and Senator Bob Graham, who passed away at the age of 87.

Graham was a class act as Florida Governor from 1979-1987, and as a US Senator from 1987-2005.

A leader who was of Presidential stature, he was on the short list for Vice President for Bill Clinton in 1992 and Al Gore in 2000, and briefly sought the Presidency himself in 2004.

He was a very effective governor of the Sunshine state, a true star when compared to recent Republican governors Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis. His emphasis was on promotion of the environment and advancement of education.

Graham was Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee from 2001-2003, and worked to oppose the Iraq War under George W. Bush as based on faulty intelligence.

A half brother with the same last name, Phil Graham, came to own the Washington Post.

Florida has not been the same politically since Democrats such as Bob Graham left office, and as Republicans took over state government and domination of Congressional seats.

Super Wealthy Put Low Personal Taxes Ahead Of Nation’s Welfare

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The super wealthy in America are proving that only their money and fortune matter, not the nation’s welfare!

Many of the super wealthy turned against Donald Trump after January 6, 2021, but now are finding excuses to support him, primarily to avoid higher taxation, as if they are going to take their super fortunes to the grave with them, or simply want to spoil their children with lack of motivation to have to accomplish in their own lives, without “Daddy’s” fortune!

The fact that the super wealthy gained massive tax cuts three times, under Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and then Donald Trump is not enough for this super wealthy class!

So they come up with excuses, such as the supposed poor mental state of Joe Biden, which is purely a myth, while anyone who pays attention can perceive that Donald Trump is in a much poorer mental state, clearly in dementia, and having proved it by his public appearances where he cannot even express himself in an intelligent manner!

The fact that Trump would bring into office evil people who would promote a Fascist dictatorship is of no concern, as long as these super wealthy do not have to pay taxes to help the nation and its population, that includes many who live in poverty and deprivation!

But these individuals think they are “good Christians” and “Good Jews”, and see themselves as “religious”, a total farce, clearly fake religiosity, as they clearly have no interest in anything outside their own selfish interests!

So the downfall of American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law is secondary to their own greed and selfishness!

APSA Presidential Greatness Poll 2024: The Next President On Mt. Rushmore, And Most Polarizing And Least Polarizing Presidents!

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The American Political Science Association Presidential Greatness Poll 2024 also asks participants who they would consider should join George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt on the Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota.

The overwhelming choice was Franklin D. Roosevelt by a wide margin (65.4%), with Barack Obama second with 11%, and a three way tie at 4% among Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Madison, and John F. Kennedy.

And the most Polarizing Presidents were Donald Trump, Andrew Jackson, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush in that order, with the least Polarizing Presidents being George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Franklin D.Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy in that order.

The American Economy Is Booming, And Americans Need To Realize That!

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The American economy continues to boom, and yet, so many Americans seem to be unaware of that reality.

Job Growth is high, unemployment is at a 50 year low, inflation is down dramatically, and every indication is that this boom will continue.

So Joe Biden and the Democrats must work on sharing that message of reality with American voters and not allow the lies of Donald Trump and the Republicans to go unanswered.

A reminder, that the American economy has always been much better under Democrats than Republicans, with all economic downturns since 1953 except one (Jimmy Carter 1980) being under Republicans from Eisenhower through Nixon, through Ford and Reagan and the Bushes, and Donald Trump!

Iowa Caucus History, And Caucuses Elsewhere In 2024

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In the past, there were up to 15 states that held Presidential Caucuses, with them first evolving in the 1970s.

Today, in 2024, there are only a few states that hold caucuses, with the overwhelming majority having Presidential primaries.

The only states in 2024 with caucuses being held by both major political parties are:

Hawaii
Idaho
Iowa
North Dakota
Wyoming

Two other states have Republicans having caucuses, while Democrats have primaries

Those two states with this odd situation are

Missouri
Nevada

Notice none of these total seven states have large populations, with Missouri being the largest.

At the same time, the Iowa Caucuses have NOT been a good example of accuracy as to who would be the nominees or winners of the Presidency.

The only Presidents who won in Iowa and went on to the White House were:

Jimmy Carter 1976
George W. Bush 2000
Barack Obama 2008

Walter Mondale in 1984, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2016 won the Iowa Caucuses but lost the Presidency for Democrats, while for the Republicans, only Bob Dole in 1996 won in Iowa and then lost the Presidency.