The Wimp Factor

I'm not really sure when "wimp" was introduced into presidential politics.I suppose the concept has been around for a long time. The word "wimp" brings to mind a cowardly person, a poor leader, and that is something that I am sure has always been a concern for the voters — but there must have been other words for it."Wimp" is a term from the late 20th century, and it seems to conjure up images of appeasement — British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain...

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The Day Reagan Was Shot

On this day in 1981, the president of the United States was shot by a would–be assassin — a (thankfully) rare occurrence as it is, but this time was unique in American history.This president lived to tell the tale.That president, Ronald Reagan, wasn't the first to be the target of an assassination attempt, but he became the first president to survive being shot.There were many reasons why that probably should not have been so, but it was.Fortunately,...

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What's Logic Got to Do With It?

Robert Rapier of the Washington Post deserves credit for trying.As gas prices have continued to go up, so has the general anxiety level of American consumers.They heard what Ben Bernanke said about how this would be short–lived, but he's been criticized for overly sunny projections in the past (remind me again, how did his projections work out during the Bush years?) — and they can see how higher gas prices are affecting their personal budgets.Uncertainty and anxiety begat scapegoats. It always works that way — and, as I say, Rapier deserves credit...

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Just the Facts

"The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely."Bob HerbertNew York TimesIn case you haven't heard, Bob Herbert is leaving the New York Times.His last column was published/posted on Friday. He says he plans "to write...

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Gerry

I didn't vote for Barack Obama in 2008, but I understood what many of his young supporters were feeling.I understood it quite well. It was the enthusiastic fervor that comes with being on the same side as a trailblazer, a pioneer, and that is a feeling that, I truly believe, every generation in America should experience at least once — because it is really the essence of what it means to be an American.America has always been about pioneers — the...

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Going Rogue

My background is in print journalism — not show business.And I can only conclude that show business is what people like Sarah Palin really mean when they complain about a "liberal press."That must be what she means. Her latest remarks were in response to comments made by Bill Maher. He's a comedian (like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert), not a journalist (like Walter Cronkite and Woodward and Bernstein).Yes, Maher is bright and articulate, and he...

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2012 Is Only Nine Months Away

I guess I've always been something of an election junkie.As far back as I can remember, I've been fascinated by political campaigns.I was always interested in history. I guess I was drawn to the exciting stories about the birth of this nation and the decisions that shaped it along the way, but you could rightfully say that just about everything that has happened in America since the Revolutionary War has come to be because of the always–evolving democratic process.In short, history is about America's leaders and how they carried out the will of...

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Where Is The Outrage?

"More than three years after we entered the worst economic slump since the 1930s, a strange and disturbing thing has happened to our political discourse: Washington has lost interest in the unemployed."... [N]o jobs bills have been introduced in Congress, no job–creation plans have been advanced by the White House and all the policy focus seems to be on spending cuts."So one–sixth of America's workers — all those who can't find any job or are stuck...

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Missing the Point

I've been studying presidential elections most of my life, and it seems to me that Barack Obama and his campaign staff are missing a fundamental fact about presidential politics.Let me explain.There are, essentially, two kinds of presidential elections: One in which the incumbent is a candidate, and one in which the incumbent is not a candidate.The last election was an example of the latter. There have been only a handful of those in my lifetime,...

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Here We Go Again

"I've been told ... that we should look at Obama's interest in the tournament as evidence that he is a 'regular guy.' ..."I believe a president is not a regular guy. He is responsible for the well being of a country of more than 300 million people. That puts him in a special category."I am reminded of a scene from The West Wing, in which Toby, the speechwriter, and Charlie, the president's personal aide, are talking about the president's marital problems. Toby observes that he has been married and can sympathize. 'It's a typical marriage,' Toby...

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The Nuclear Debate

Sometimes I have been accused of being overly negative.I don't believe that is true. I think I am a realist — and a political centrist. I am not strongly committed to either the right or the left — which tends to annoy some people because they are so devoted to either side — but I feel it is a rational position to take. I try to find the merits in both arguments and, when possible, bring the two sides together.Many times, that is a tall order.But...

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My Anniversary

It was four years ago today that I smoked what is — so far, at least — my last cigarette.As the anniversaries — and semi–anniversaries — have rolled around, I have written about smoking and giving it up. I have refused — and I still refuse — to call myself an "ex"–smoker. I prefer to call myself a "recovering" smoker — even today.I know some people who used to smoke but don't anymore — and most of them tend to look down on smokers. I don't know why. Of all people, former smokers should know how hard it is to give up smoking. It is not a character...

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It's Tough to be President

"It's good to be king and have your own worldIt helps to make friends, it's good to meet girlsA sweet little queen who can't run awayIt's good to be king, whatever it pays."Tom PettyMaybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the fantasy of the presidency that fueled the Barack Obama campaign in 2008 has matched the reality.I think Obama and the millions who believed in the simplicity of the "Yes, we can" slogan really and truly believed that a president is a kinglike figure whose word is law.If something is not so, their reasoning went, it is because the...

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