Joe Biden

As Donald Trump Is About To Give His State Of The Union Address, His Public Opinion Ratings Are Lowest Except For His First Term!

Ronald 17 Comments

As Donald Trump gets ready for his State of the Union Address on Tuesday evening, his public opinion ratings (Gallup Presidential Job Approval polls) are the lowest of any President since 1945, except for his first term first month!

From Harry Truman to Trump, below are the ratings, in order of high to low!

Harry Truman 87
Lyndon B. Johnson 78
John F. Kennedy 72
Gerald Ford 71
Dwight D. Eisenhower 68
Barack Obama 67
Jimmy Carter 66
Richard Nixon 59
Bill Clinton 58
George W Bush 57
Joe Biden 57
Ronald Reagan 51
George H W Bush 51
Donald Trump 45 (2025)
Donald Trump 44 (2017)

So Donald Trump is not gaining approval for his radical, anarchistic, and disruptive domestic and foreign policies, with a majority of Americans uneasy about the direction of the nation!

Comparing Republican And Democratic Vice Presidents Since 1961!

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America has had a total of 50 Vice Presidents in its history since 1789.

Fourteen of those Vice Presidents have served since 1961, with eight being Republicans, and six being Democrats.

Asssessing their significance, and perceptions of their performances, there is no comparison that would rate the Republicans as superior to the Democrats, and in fact, the differences are massive!

The eight Republican Vice Presidents include in order of service in the office:

Spiro Agnew
Gerald Ford
Nelson Rockefeller
George H W Bush
Dan Quayle
Dick Cheney
Mike Pence
JD Vance

The six Democratic Vice Presidents include in order of service in the office:

Lyndon B. Johnson
Hubert Humphrey
Walter Mondale
Al Gore
Joe Biden
Kamala Harris

Nobody in their right mind would claim that the Republicans come anywhere close in background, image, and significance to the Democrats.

Only Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, and George H W Bush are looked upon in a positive way, while all six Democrats “shine”, and particularly Walter Mondale, Al Gore, and Joe Biden.

LBJ and Humphrey do not look as “good” as Vice Presidents because their Presidents chose not to utilize their talents adequately, which is a criticism of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Harris had the extra disadvantage of being unique, as a woman and mixed race Vice President, in a country where there is still misogyny and racism, sad to say.

But the remaining five Republican Vice Presidents are really horrendous, with Spiro Agnew and Dan Quayle clearly so, and with Dick Cheney, while certainly competent, perceived as “Darth Vader”, overly autocratic and seen in a negative light.

And Donald Trump’s two Vice Presidents are perceived in a negative light, but already, JD Vance in just six weeks appears far worse than Mike Pence!

In any scholarly ranking of Vice Presidents, the top three Vice Presidents in history would be in order–Walter Mondale, Joe Biden, and Al Gore.

And in any scholarly ranking of Vice Presidents, the bottom three would include in order—Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, and likely JD Vance!

The fact that Dick Cheney and Mike Pence would be rated above these three disastrous Vice Presidents, is quite a testimony to how horrendous Agnew, Quayle, and Vance have been to the office, with Vance “accomplishing” this failure in six weeks and by his statements and viewpoints expressed making the possibility of his succeeding Trump in the future as quite scary, to say the least!

Donald Trump Is “Neville Chamberlain” Appeasement Of Nazi Germany In 1938, Repeated In 2025 Involving Ukraine And Russia!

Ronald 7 Comments

In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, wishing to preserve peace, made a deal with Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler, agreeing that half of Czechoslovakia should be handed over to the Germans to preserve peace in Europe.

Chamberlain horribly misjudged Hitler’s intentions, and within a year, World War II began, and Chamberlain’s reputation was besmirched for all time, as a naive leader who was tricked by Hitler, and Chamberlain’s name has been synonymous with the term “appeasement” ever since!

The lesson learned the hard way was that one does not make deals with authoritarians to give up territory for so called peace, as such dictators are manipulating and fooling their opponents into believing peace is assured by making such deals.

But then, we have now Donald Trump, the new “appeaser”, the new Neville Chamberlain, who is willing to make a deal with the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin, who has waged the worse war and destruction in Europe since World War II, in his three year invasion and destruction waged on Ukraine.

The United States under Joe Biden and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been valiant in their support of Ukraine, but now Donald Trump and his treasonous administration is ready to abandon Ukraine and trust Putin, who is, one must remember, formerly a KGB agent in the former Soviet Union, with a clear aim to restore the old Russia which collapsed with the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Putin is vicious, bloodthirsty, deceitful, and manipulative, and has found the “perfect fool” in Trump, and one has to say that Trump clearly has some kind of hidden reason to have embraced Putin from the beginning of his pursuit of the Presidency ten years ago.

No matter what one might deny, it is clear that Putin manipulated and helped elect Trump in 2016, even though Trump lost the popular vote by 2.85 million votes. There is clearcut evidence of collaboration, and one has to wonder why Trump is so intent on embracing authoritarians, although it is now clear, if not earlier, that Trump wants to be like a Putin, an authoritarian dictator!

International affairs is being upended after 75 years of NATO and support against totalitarianism, and lies about the Russia-Ukraine War are being spread to manipulate public opinion.

It is not just Ukraine which is in danger, but all nations and their citizens who care about democracy and freedom. It is clear that Putin, if allowed to succeed in taking over Ukraine, will next move to attack the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Poland in his desire to dominate Europe.

Clearly, Trump is a traitor to American values and national security, and we are in a massive crisis of whether our nation and the world will be secure and stable moving forward! For Trump to “blame” Ukraine for the invasion by Russia and call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator, is an outrage!

Donald Trump Creating International Crises And Disruption Of American Diplomacy!

Ronald 13 Comments

Donald Trump is creating an image that “Might Makes Right” in international affairs, and that presents a disaster for the world!

Trump has said the Russia-Ukraine War must end, and is taking the side of Vladimir Putin, that territory gained from Ukraine since 2014 should be conceded by Ukraine, and that Ukraine cannot be allowed to join NATO in the future.

Trump says Russian troops have been “sacrificed”, and that, therefore, that nation must be able to have its advancements on the battlefield legalized under international law!

Trump is setting up the situation for his own plans to be aggressive in foreign affairs, and claim that American “sacrifices” must be rewarded with the gaining of teritory he has an eye on, including the Panama Canal, Greenland (Denmark), Canada, and the Gaza Strip (Middle East).

We are about to see America become aggressive and imperialistic as it was in the 1840s under President James K. Polk and the 1890s under President William McKinley!

Trump wants to act like the governments of Russia and China, and divide the world into areas of dominance controlled by those two nations and America.

It is a repudation of our alliances, including European nations in NATO, and Pacific alliances with Asian nations and Australia and New Zealand.

This is a radical, revolutionary transformation of American foreign policy, diametrically opposite to that pursued by Presidents from Franklin D. Rooevelt through Joe Biden, minus the first four years of Donald Trump!

Shocking Plane Crash In DC Politicized By Trump As “DEI”!

Ronald 19 Comments

The shocking plane crash on the Potomac River at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC is a massive tragedy, the first such event since 2009.

Overall, America has an outstanding record regarding air traffic control, although there have been a number of “close shaves”, near accidents, that thankfully did not occur.

But for Donald Trump to make the tragedy political and claim that Democrats, and specifically Joe Biden and Barack Obama, are responsible due to “DEI”, is unconscionable.

Trump claims that having some air traffic controllers who are women or non white men lower the standards of excellence is an outrage, pure racism and sexism! And to bring up the concept of intellectual or mental disabilities is ridiculous, as no one is engaged in this kind of work who has intellectual or mental disabilities.

It is making people who have such disabilities a new target for Donald Trump, who, however, has made fun of disabled reporters in past years, and has no heart or common decency!

Of course, his loyal supporters, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just mouth his prejudices.

And Trump attacked reporters who challenged his purposefully biases, with no shame, although he does not have a clue as to what caused the tragedy!

And he also attacked a great public servant, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was outstanding in that position under Joe Biden, and also served well as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

By making Buttigieg an easy target directly, Trump is also speaking out the fact that Buttigieg is a gay male with a husband and two sons, but at the same time, Trump has a Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who is also a gay male with a husband and children, so a clear double standard!

Inauguration Day: A Day Of A Right Wing Extremism Revolution Crisis!

Ronald 18 Comments

Inauguration Day has come and gone, and all the worst possible scenarios of what that day would be like, have been accomplished.

America is in the midst of a Right Wing Extremism Revolution, totally mean spirited, and vengeful.

Donald Trump did not hold back in his open criticism of Joe Biden, right in front of the outgoing President.

He moved to promote a vast number of executive orders, and made clear his repudation of a climate crisis, and his aggressive attitude toward Panama, indicating a likely forced retaking of the control of the Panama Canal.

He also gave pardons or commutations to all of the January 6 Insurrectionists, a travesty of justice, and a clear signal to those lawbreakers that they can commit future crimes with impunity, as long as they do so in the name of Donald Trump!

He also showed his plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America via Presidential edict, although that would not be legal, and to bring back the old name of Mount McKinley in Alaska, which had been renamed Denali after a native American tribe.

This also marks the new admiration of President William McKinley, based on his promotion of high protective tariffs in the Gilded Age, and his promotion of expansionism, including the Spanish American War and the takeover of the Hawaiian Islands during his administration from 1897-1901.

It will take many days, if not weeks, to fully absorb what Donald Trump is doing to revolutionize America and take away basic American democracy.

But those who care about democracy must not give up the fight, and be in despair, as instead, it needs to be looked at as a crisis similar to the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Great Recession, and the Covid 19 Pandemic, each of which was overcome by strong, principled leadership by various Presidents and Congresses!

The End Of A Half Century Of Statemanship, Leadership, And Contributions!

Ronald 12 Comments

President Joe Biden is in his last full day of his four years in the Oval Office.

This is a time for celebration and pride in the leadership of the 46th President of the United States.

Joe Biden did not do everything perfectly well, but no President or any other political leader can insure constant success.

But his Presidency, already rated as number 14 in one scholarly poll, will remain in the top third and likely will rise over time, particularly and sadly, after his future demise.

Joe Biden gave the nation a half century of statesmanship, leadership, and contributions, and he showed Americans what a leader is like who has true character, morals, ethics, compassion, decency, and empathy, rare in the Presidency historically.

His years in public office were only surpassed by one President, John Quincy Adams, who spent more than half his time in appointed office, not elective office, as Biden did with 36 years in the US Senate, 8 years in the Vice Presidency, and 4 years in the Oval Office.

This author and blogger “fell in love”, so to speak in the 1970s, after his original “hero”, Senator, Vice President and Presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey passed away, as Biden came across to me as the closest equivalent to the nature of Humphrey.

There is a sense of great pride and satisfaction that after two failed tries for the Oval Office, Biden finally won it, and took us out of the horrendous once in a century Covid 19 Pandemic, and restored faith in the Presidency after the disastrous, crime ridden, abusive four years of Donald Trump.

We now enter a very sad return of Trump, but all decent Americans cannot give up, but must fight in every legal fashion to limit the harm and damage that Trump will certainly wage.

The quest for a return of the Democratic Party and its common decency must be waged without pause.

Meanwhile, God Bless Joe Biden and his lovely wife, First Lady Jill Biden, and wish them the best in future years!

Joe Biden, Despite Low Public Opinion Ratings At End Of Presidency, Will Rise In History!

Ronald 3 Comments

President Joe Biden leaves office in three days, with low public opinion ratings, despite his multitude of accomplishments in his one term of office.

This is a sad state of affairs, but clearly, the American people at large are not very knowledgeable or good at making judgments about Presidents as they leave office.

History records that Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter left office under the cloud of negativism.

But now, Truman is generally rated 5th or 6th among all Presidents in ratings of Presidential scholars and experts.

Eisenhower is generally rated 5th or 6th among all Presidents, either ahead or behind Truman.

Lyndon B. Johnson, despite Vietnam, is rated in the bottom of the top ten, and in one survey, ahead of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

Jimmy Carter is rated in the mid 20s, but it is clear his stature will rise, possibly to the bottom of the first third, or 15 Presidents.

Joe Biden has already been rated number 14 in one scholarly survey, and despite low public opinion ratings now, it seems assured he will remain in the top third or fifteen of the Presidents.

Sadly, American public opinion is ill informed and ignorant in many respects, and when it comes to being asked who are the greatest Presidents, invariably, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan are rated at the top, not Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Many experts would say that while Kennedy and Reagan consistently are in the lower part of the top ten Presidents, that both are somewhat overrated.

So it will probably, sadly, take until Joe Biden’s life has ended, before he will be completely appreciated for all the good he did!

Biden Farewell Address Reminiscent Of Eisenhower

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President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address was reminiscent of the Farewell Address of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961.

Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the “Military-Industrial Complex”, and his Farewell Address is regarded as one of the three greatest Farewell Addresses, alongside George Washington in 1796 and Jimmy Carter in 1981.

Biden brought up the dangers of the “Tech-Industrial Complex”, referring to billionaire oligarchs, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others, who are having a great impact on Donald Trump, presenting a threat to American democracy.

Biden spoke of the Gilded Age, when millionaires and tycoons such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan and others abused their powers, leading to the Progressive Era age of reform.

The term “Robber Barons” used in the late 19th century and early 20th century, particularly by Theodore Roosevelt, was employed by Joe Biden.

Now, it is Billionaires, not Millionaires, who are the threat to any concept of concern about what is good for the vast majority of Americans. Most of the Cabinet Officers around Trump fit that category.

Biden also cited his accomplishments in office, which like Jimmy Carter, will not be fully appreciated during his lifetime.

Major Accomplishments Of Jimmy Carter Under Attack By Donald Trump!

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Jimmy Carter’s funeral briefly united America around the greatness of this President in ways many had forgotten.

Among his multiple achievements that now are under attack by Donald Trump are:

The Panama Canal Treaty, which resolved a basic wrong in the proper way.

The Department of Education, which was separated from its original home, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Major Environmental Accomplishments, the most of any one term President, at least until Joe Biden.

The basic characteristics of Morality, Ethics, Compassion and Decency that Carter represented.

And now, Trump has raised the flag to full staff at Mar a Lago, against the 30 day mourning period for any President who has died, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has ordered the flag in the US Capitol raised for the Trump inauguration, defying the respect due to Carter having been President.

In 1973, Harry Truman had died on December 26, and when Richard Nixon was reinaugurated on January 20, 1973, the flag remained at half staff, but now that respect is being defied!