» January 23rd, 2025
#47. Trump, Donald John
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas –Donald John Trump (b 1946) is the 47th President of the United States as of January 20, 2025. His presidency is being compared to the Grover Cleveland episode back in 1893. You know, “elected AGAIN, after being shoved out once.” The media refers to this go-round as Trump 2.0. Lots to talk about – the swearing in, where he failed to put his hand on a Bible although Melania was holding two –the Bible Lincoln used in 1861 we’re told, and Donald’s personal Bible, a gift from his mother. Surprisingly Melania wasn’t holding the Bible Donald has endorsed that sells for $59.99 and includes the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the handwritten chorus from Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA, as well as all the King James stuff. Two other things happened at the inauguration that fed the buzz; The Kiss – or
rather the Missed Kiss underneath Melania’s big black hat, and the Billionaire Posse in attendance, front and center. In order of wealth-worth here are the top three, beginning with the world’s richest person:
- $433.9 billion Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, Twitter, Space X
- $239.4 billion Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder
- $211.8 billion Mark Zuckerberg, Meta
A bunch of Lesser Billionaires was there too; as well as the Old Guard representing those who have followed a career in politics; our former presidents – outgoing Joe Biden, and Jill, George Bush and Laura, Bill Clinton and Hillary, and Barack Obama minus Michelle, whose absence stirred up more gossip than the sight of the pinched faces glaring back and forth across the aisle. The two women who opposed Donald in a bid for the presidency – Hillary and Kamala – had the most guts of anybody there, I’d say. And the strongest reason for showing up.
Just Look At The Numbers
It’s pretty clear that more people wanted Hillary in 2016. She got 48% of the vote to Donald’s 46%. She got 65,853,514 votes! He got 62,984,828. She should have won. But ach! The Electoral College is a sticky wicket. Even though 2,868,686 more people said “I want Her not Him,” the Electoral College, which is designed to protect specific arbitrary groups instead of individual voters, totaled up in Donald’s favor. Somehow we got through those four years, as Donald proved himself to be in the bottom three of “Worst Presidents Ever.”
And then it was 2020, at last! Donald Trump was fired, but even though Joe Biden received 7 million more Popular Votes and 74 more Electoral Votes, Donald refused to go quietly; he had a hissy fit that caused a riot and spent the next four years plotting a return. What in the world was it that allowed him back in the door? Was it the red baseball cap that made him look like one of the good old boys? Or the disdain of his critics who considered him a joke and not worth paying attention to? Or, was it the boredom of listening to the same-old same-old that turned people off politics entirely? So entirely they chose not to vote for anybody? As Sherlock would say, “the evidence is in the numbers.”
Look at this little spreadsheet showing what happened in 2024.
US Pop 2024 | Eligible Voters 2024 | Voted for Trump | Voted for Harris | Voted for Other | Total # Voted | Total # Nonvoters |
340,110,988 | 244,666,890 | 77,302,580 | 75,017,613 | 2,918,109 | 155,238,302 | 89,428,588 |
% total pop | 72% | 23% | 22% | 1% | 46% | 26% |
% reg voters | 32% | 31% | 1% | 63% | 37% |
- 72% of our US population is eligible to vote. Under-18, non-citizens, and convicted felons can’t.
- 32% of US registered voters voted for Donald Trump.
- 31% of US registered voters voted for Kamala Harris.
- 1% of US registered voters voted for various other candidates.
- 37% of US registered voters didn’t bother to vote at all.
You can read various versions of the above on different websites, but the bottom line is clear any way you look at it – a whale of a lot of eligible voters DID NOT VOTE.
To those who love Donald Trump and uphold every decision he makes, the truth remains: his “voter count” represents a mere 23% of all people living in the United States! That is NOT a majority signifying what people in the United States want, or believe.
To those who despise Donald Trump, the same is true. It is highly probable that most people share your view.
Love him or hate him, in 2024 he was NOT an unknown factor. It was clear as crystal what he could do and would do given half a chance.
Yet We Put Him There Again
Who did it?
- the 23% of eligible voters who believed that the world would be better with Donald in office and voted for him
- the 22% of eligible voters who believed that the world would be better with Kamala in office but didn’t work hard enough to see that she got the chance
- the 1% of eligible voters who diddled a vote away for no gain
And, oh yes, the 37% of eligible voters who didn’t do anything.
Start Planning
The next presidential election is coming up in November 2028.
- If you’re a young person who is just now old enough to vote, it’s time to take your part in governing your country. Shoulder up.
- If you’re a woman, and you failed to vote in 2024, remember, it’s just over 100 years that you’ve even been allowed to vote. Honor that.
- If you’re a disadvantaged minority, and you failed to vote in 2024, study your history and step up to change things for the better. Participate.
- If you’re just old and bored, and you failed to vote in 2024, kick yourself in the fanny. Perk up.
Study. Get yourself informed. Vote. We’re all responsible for what happens.
» January 16th, 2025
#46 Joe Biden Says: We All Have To Stay Engaged In the Process
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas January 16, 2025 – The word “oligarchy” is the hot potato getting tossed around today. One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions for that word is “a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.” And that word was uttered, with a serious warning, by our President #46 Joe Biden in his farewell address from the Oval Office last night. Straight-from-the-hip, straight-in-the-eye, here’s what he said:
I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. And this is the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few ultra-wealthy people, and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.
About power:
- In his farewell address President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex. He warned us then about, and I quote, “the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power,” end of quote. Six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well.
- Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families, and our very democracy from the abuse of power.
- Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time — perhaps of all time. Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy and our security, our society, our very humanity.
The challenge:
Unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work, and how we protect our nation. We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind. In the age of AI, it’s more important than ever that the people must govern. And as the land of liberty, America — not China — must lead the world on the development of AI. You know, in the years ahead, it’s going to be up to the presidency, the Congress, the courts, the free press, and the American people to confront these powerful forces.
- We must reform the tax code — not by giving the biggest tax cuts to billionaires, but by making them begin to pay their fair share.
- We need to get dark money — that’s that hidden funding behind too many campaigns’ contributions — we need to get it out of our politics.
- We need to enact an 18-year time limit — term limit — time and term — for the strongest ethics reforms for our Supreme Court.
- We need to ban members of Congress from trading stock while they’re in the Congress.
- We need to amend the Constitution to make clear that no president — no president — is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office. The president’s power is not absolute, and it shouldn’t be.
And in a democracy, there’s another danger to the concentration of power and wealth. It erodes a sense of unity and common purpose. It causes distrust and division. Participating in our democracy becomes exhausting and even disillusioning, and people don’t feel like they have a fair shot.
But we have to stay engaged in the process. I know it’s frustrating. A fair shot is what makes America, America. Everyone is entitled to a fair shot — not a guarantee, but just a fair shot, an even playing field — going as far as your hard work and talent can take you. We can never lose that essential truth — remain who we are.
I’ve always believed and I’ve told other world leaders America can be defined by one word: possibilities. After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands, a nation where the strengths of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure.
Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love it too.
God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you for this great honor.
January 15, 2025
My added comment: For every person who is disheartened that 77 million Americans voted to bring Donald Trump back again but who refuses to acknowledge what is happening and listen to what is being said and pay attention to different views and try to ascertain the truth, well, that’s monkey business. I encourage you to heed Joe’s warning – no oligarchy allowed on our watch. Speak up!
» January 10th, 2025
#39 Jimmy Carter: He Did It!
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas January 10, 2025 – In my post of July 23, 2024, I stated that Jimmy Carter was “the best-loved ‘after-president’ we’ve ever had.” And the proof of that continues. Everybody was pulling for Jimmy to reach his 100th birthday on October 1. And he did it! Although Jimmy had been in home hospice care since February of last year, birthday greetings came from every direction, with a star-studded bash in Atlanta and a parade in Plains in his honor.
But Jimmy had an even bigger goal than going down in history as the only president to reach 100. He wanted to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris for President in the November 5, 2024 election. And he did it! He sent his early ballot on October 16, with the guarantee that his vote would count even if he died before November 5.
Jimmy died December 29.
It was fitting, I think, that Kamala presented the eulogy at the service held in the Capitol Rotunda on January 8, 2025. Here are a few of her words:
We have heard much today and in recent days about President Carter’s impact in the four decades after he left the White House. Rightly so. Jimmy Carter established a new model for what it means to be a former president and leaves an extraordinary post-presidential legacy, from founding the Carter Center, which has helped advance global human rights and alleviate human suffering, to his public health work in Latin America and Africa, to his tireless advocacy for peace and democracy.
Throughout his life and career, Jimmy Carter retained a fundamental decency and humility. James Earl Carter Jr loved our country. He lived his faith, he served the people, and he left the world better than he found it. And in the end, Jimmy Carter’s works speak for him, louder than any tribute we can offer. May his life be a lesson for the ages and a beacon for the future.
January 9, 2025
Another packed service was held at the National Cathedral in DC at 10 AM on January 9. President Joe Biden delivered the eulogy there; former presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump were on row two; former vice presidents Al Gore and Mike Pence behind them. Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Melania Trump were there too; somber dark suits on a day to leave political differences behind for a bit.
Burial took place in Plains, Georgia in the late afternoon. Yes, he is buried beside Rosalynn, by a willow tree in the yard of the only home they ever owned.
Just as the motorcade arrived at the residence, the US Navy conducted a “Missing Man Formation” flyover, which means a single aircraft breaks away from the formation and soars skyward, symbolizing the departure of a life from the ranks.
“Today, Naval Aviators from Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic were honored to salute President Carter with a 21-plane flyover over his home in Plains, Georgia,” said Rear Adm. Doug Verissimo, commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. “On behalf of the men and women of Naval Air Forces, we are grateful to commemorate the legacy of a leader who lived his life in service to our nation.”
And He Did It!
Wrapping it up, I chose a photo of Jimmy exiting a polling site in October 2005 in Monrovia, Liberia. Jimmy was 81 at the time, and he was out there monitoring an election. It’s just one of those things he did! He and Rosalyn founded the Carter Center in 1982; monitoring elections around the world to promote fair and free voting was just one thing on their agenda.
Read more about the Carter’s work; visit these sites. The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum was opened in 1986. The following year, buildings connected to Carter’s life were granted status as National Historic Sites and in 2021 were collectively renamed the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park.
Jimmy Carter Library https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/
Carter National Historic Site https://www.nps.gov/jica/index.htm
I picked out a few more of his “awards and honors” too:
- Carterpuri, a village in Haryana, India, was renamed in his honor after he visited in 1978.
- In 1998, the U.S. Navy named the third and final Seawolf-class submarine USS Jimmy Carter, honoring Carter and his service as a submarine officer.
- Carter received the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, given in honor of human rights achievements, and the Hoover Medal, recognizing engineers who have contributed to global causes.
- Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”
And look at this one:
- In November 2024, Carter received his 10th nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for audio recordings of his books. He has won three times—for Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis (2007), A Full Life: Reflections at 90 (2016), and Faith: A Journey For All (2018).
The man just never quit.
» August 23rd, 2024
#46. Biden, Joseph Robinette Jr
Updated from Original Post of January 22, 2021 from Little Rock, Arkansas by Linda Lou Burton — Joseph Robinette Biden Jr (b 1942) is the 46th president of the United States.
My Thoughts January 22, 2021
Besides what you’ve heard from media blasts, what do you know about the man? Probably what the latest media focus tells you, and which media you choose to listen to. To start with a basic fact, let’s take Joe’s birthdate. It is November 20, 1942, so yes, he’s the oldest elected president ever. Is that a bad thing? Maybe that depends on your age. Do you have respect for your elders? Or do you lean towards the theory that people “lose it” as they age? I was three years old when Joe was born, so in my mind, Joe hasn’t lost it, he “gets it.” He, and I, have lived through the scares and fears and patriotism of WWII and its aftermath; the conformity of the 50s when folks settled back into traditional roles, though civil rights issues began to grip our thinking. The 60s, 70s, 80s brought us Barbie, Vietnam, Moonwalks; women’s rights, gay rights, Watergate; hippies, me-first, greed, AIDS. We morphed into the 90s learning to depend on the internet, chatting with total strangers once the whine and click of “signing on” connected us to the world beyond. We got mail! We eased into a new century despite doomsday forecasts of our worldly systems shutting down. We got hooked on technology and upping our range; our phones became cameras; Bluetooth, Facebook, YouTube became our crutch; Twitter and Going Viral became the norm.
Then came 2020, “the worst year ever” is its label now; it slapped us hard. A virus? As the year wore on, our disbelief turned into shrieks of blame; or avoidance of the issue. We quarantined at home, or we did not. We masked our faces, or we did not. We were angry, disillusioned, unemployed, sad. We canceled plans, and dreams. Buried feelings festered as we sat at home, losing sight of what had been our normal life. Small irritations grew large. We missed the human touch. When you can’t be in the world yourself, you reach for promises, hoping somebody knows what to do.
That is the world as Joe Biden steps into the role of leadership in 2021. What a plate of hoo-ha we’ve handed him to deal with! Can we trust him to do it? Joe is not perfect. But he has lived through vastly changing times, as humans have behaved badly, and then regretted it; as thinking has changed with lessons learned. Joe has done some really good things in his lifetime; and apologized for a lot of things he regrets. Joe has experienced great loss; he was sworn into his first role as a Senator in 1973 in the hospital, just after his wife and infant daughter died in a tragic accident that injured his young sons. He has been a single parent, but moved on into a second marriage with Jill Jacobs, now in its 44th year. He has fathered four children – Beau,
Hunter, Naomi, Ashley – and has seven grandchildren today. He has a sister and two brothers, Valerie, Jim, and Frank. His parents – Joseph Sr and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden – lived long, into their 80s and 90s; they died in 2002 and 2010; his oldest son Beau had too short a life; he died in 2015 at the age of 46. Various members of his family have made him proud, and at times given reason for concern, but he’s always been a family man, and a man of faith. Records show that Joe lived a basically middle-class life; his parents dealt with both good times and hard times. Joe had to overcome a speech impediment; his college years were not extraordinary. But Joe persevered. Joe gets it.
A lot of people like Joe Biden. Let’s look at his elective record, since 1970, when he was 28 years old, just starting out there in Delaware:
- 1970 County Councilor, 10,573 votes or 55% of total
- 1972 US Senator, 116,006 votes or 50% of total
- 1978 US Senator, 93,930 votes or 58% of total
- 1984 US Senator, 147,831 votes or 60% of total
- 1990 US Senator, 112,918 votes or 63% of total
- 1996 US Senator, 165,465 votes or 60% of total
- 2002 US Senator, 135,235 votes or 58% of total
- 2008 US Senator, 257,484 votes or 53% of total
- 2008 US Vice President, 69,498,516 votes or 53% of total
- 2012 US Vice President, 69,915,795 votes or 51% of total
- 2020 US President, 81,268,757 votes or 51% of total
That adds up to 217,722,528 times people “voted for Joe” in the last 50 years. And 81,268,757 people who want Joe to be our President for the next four years. If you are one of them, or if you are not, you need to read what he said in his Inaugural Address on January 20, as he accepted the job we elected him to do; all 2,514 words of it. It’s a declaration of intent, filled with purpose, and closing with a sacred oath. It’s a request to each of us to do our part; a leader is there to lead, to enable us to be the best that we can be. A great America is a cooperative effort. Wear your mask. Get your vaccination. Help your neighbor. Listen before you leap. See the possibilities.
I share with you a few lines of that Inaugural Address that were most meaningful to me.
Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There is truth and there are lies. Lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders – leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.
I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation. I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next. I get it. But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do.
We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.
We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. If we show a little tolerance and humility. If we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes just for a moment. Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you.
There are some days when we need a hand. There are other days when we’re called on to lend one. That is how we must be with one another. And, if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future….in the work ahead of us, we will need each other.
My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath. Before God and all of you I give you my word.
- I will always level with you.
- I will defend the Constitution.
- I will defend our democracy.
- I will defend America.
- I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities.
My Thoughts August 23, 2024
That’s what Joe had to say back in 2021. He considered running for a second term, but on July 21, 2024 endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for this essential leadership role as our 47th President of the United States. The Democratic Party held its convention in Chicago in August and nominated Kamala Harris; she selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate and on August 22 gave her acceptance speech, asking that we move forward, past the divisive battles of the past, not as one party or faction, but together as Americans.
Think about what those fellows intended back in 1788 when they were trying to get a country going. We were just 4 million people back then, and we didn’t have insta-hate available at our fingertips. Today we are 337 million people (and 1 more added every 28 seconds). What a mess we can make of things! OR NOT. It is essential that we play nice on the playground.
My grandson understood that when he was four years old. We’d gone to the playground, where he headed straight for the slide. A little guy, maybe two years old, kept breaking in line. Matthew watched this for about three turns as the child pushed and kicked anyone in his way; he watched the reactions of the other kids; he watched the child’s mother standing at the sidelines, saying nothing. Then, to my surprise, Matthew approached the mother, and quietly said “Maam, your son’s behavior on the playground is unacceptable. May I show him how to make friends?” The mother stared at him a moment, but nodded “Go ahead.”
Matthew approached the little boy and said “Hey bud, let’s stand together.” The boy took Matthew’s outstretched hand and they approached the ladder, talking as they waited their turn. At the top the little fellow seated himself in Matthew’s lap, then squealing, happy, down the slide and back around, high fives with everyone in line.
If a four year old can make that much difference in his tiny bit of the world, surely the rest of us can.
» July 29th, 2024
#45. Trump, Donald John
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – Donald John Trump (b 1946) was the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. A media personality and businessman, he is the only president without prior military or government experience. And who was favored by 2.9 million fewer voters than the “other guy” (who, in fact, was a female). Nobody expected such a thing to happen, “ it just couldn’t” said all the polls. But it did. Donald Trump received 304 electoral votes, Hillary Clinton 227, and that’s what makes the win. Glued to our TVs as election returns came in state by state the evening of November 8, we watched it happen. The Associated Press called Pennsylvania for Trump at 1:35 AM EST, putting him at 267 electoral votes (270 needed to win). By 2:01, they had called both Maine and Nebraska’s second congressional districts for Trump, putting him at 269 electoral votes. At 2:29 the Associated Press called the election for Trump, with 279 electoral votes. By 2:37 Hillary Clinton had called Donald Trump and conceded the election. He gave his victory speech at 2:50 AM EST November 9, 2016.
Later that day, Hillary Clinton asked her supporters to accept the result. “Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country,” she said. “I hope he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or worked so hard for, and I’m sorry we did not win this election, but I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign we built together. This vast, diverse, creative, unruly and energized campaign. You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life.” Fighting back tears at times, she acknowledged the crowd’s disappointment, saying she — “and tens of millions of Americans” — felt it, too. “This is painful, and it will be for a long time. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton (b 1946), was the first female presidential nominee of a major political party, and one of five in 58 elections over 229 years where the popular vote winner was defeated by electoral votes, meaning, simply, that the majority of voters did not get the person they chose. Hillary did not lose due to lack of experience; as a member of President Obama’s cabinet Hillary served as US Secretary of State; she was an elected US Senator from New York, was First Lady of the United States during President Clinton’s eight years and First Lady of Arkansas during the five terms her husband was governor. She majored in political science; earned a law degree at Yale; worked in numerous campaigns for over 40 years. She understood politics. Why did she lose this election? Part of the answer is her identification with the Old School; were voters just itching for a change?
Or was it simply personality differences? Hillary acknowledged once that “I’m not a natural politician, in case you haven’t noticed.” Did “charisma” just slap the dickens out of quieter manners? And how did the bolder louder candidate function in the presidential role? The next four years were brash, surprising, unsettling. Rated today in the bottom three of the “worst presidents ever” Donald Trump was defeated in the 2020 election and, in a shock wave front porch stand during the 2021 transition, almost wouldn’t leave. For the first time since the US Constitution was ratified in 1788, “peaceful transition of power” was in jeopardy. So what is the back story? Who is this Donald Trump?
The Gold
Let me tell you a story. Some 23 million immigrants came to the United States from Europe between the 1880s and the early 1920s. Add up the wars, misrule, conflicts, food shortages, swelling populations, and shrinking opportunities and you can see why such great numbers of Europeans left their homelands in search of something better. The largest group of immigrants were Germans from Europe’s Austro-Hungary Empire, and one of those was Friedrich Trump.
He was just 16, US immigration records show “Friedr. Trumpf” born in Kallstadt, Germany, immigrated via Bremen to the United States aboard the steamship Eider, departing on October 7 and arriving at the Castle Garden Emigrant Landing Depot in New York City October 19, 1885. Friedrich’s sister was already there; he settled in with her and began work as a barber, carefully saving his money. In 1891, when Washington became a state, he headed cross country to Seattle where he bought a restaurant at 208 Washington Street in Pioneer Square, the “action spot” of a frontier town. He fixed it up with new tables and chairs and named it The Dairy; he sold food and liquor and Rooms For Ladies. And he made money.
Two years later he sold The Dairy and moved north of Seattle to a new hotbed for gold mining, building a new restaurant to serve the miners. The Monte Cristo “gold bubble” burst, but by 1897 the Klondike Gold Rush had begun; he funded two miners who staked a claim; in 1898 he headed for the Yukon himself. And he opened another restaurant – this one along the trail at White Horse Pass, a trail so treacherous the horses often would be beat to death trying to make the climb. (His menu included “fresh slaughtered horse.”) More money made; he moved again to Bennett, BC and opened The Artic Restaurant and Hotel, a two-story building among a sea of tents. The restaurant had one of the largest steel ranges in the area, offering fresh fruit and ptarmigan in addition to horse meat, it served over 3,000 meals a day. The hotel offered scales for measuring gold dust, gambling, private beds, and ladies, 24 hours a day. Until 1901, when the local government announced the suppression of prostitution, gambling, and liquor. Friedrich sold his shares, left the Yukon, and returned to Kallstadt, Germany at the age of 32 a wealthy man.
He met and soon proposed to Elisabeth Christ, they married in 1902 and moved to New York; a daughter was born in 1904. But Elisabeth was homesick, so back to Kallstadt. And a major slap. The Department of Interior announced an investigation to banish Friedrich from Germany! He had violated the “Resolution of the Royal Ministry of the Interior number 9916,” a law that punished immigration to North America to avoid military service with the loss of Bavarian and thus German citizenship. In February 1905, a royal decree was issued ordering Friedrich Trump to leave within eight weeks. He petitioned the ruling, but was unsuccessful. Friedrich and Elisabeth and daughter left for New York June 30, 1905.
The Business
Son Friedrich Christ Trump – Fred – was born October 24, 1905 in the Bronx, New York. And then another son, John, in 1907. Friedrich bought real estate on Jamaica Avenue, moving the family into the building and renting out rooms; he managed a hotel; he kept buying land. One day while on a walk with son Fred, he became extremely sick; the next day he was dead. His real estate holdings included a 2-story 7-room house in Queens, 5 vacant lots, $4,000 in savings, $3,600 in stocks, and 14 mortgages, placing his net worth at about $35,000 ($780,000 in 2024). The year was 1918; Fred was 13 years old. Elisabeth and Fred continued the real estate projects under the name Elisabeth Trump & Son. Fred grew up, married, and had five children. One of them was Donald Trump.
Donald John Trump was born June 14, 1946 at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York, the fourth of the five children of Fred and Mary MacLeod Trump: Maryanne, Fred Jr, Elisabeth, Donald, and Robert. Father Fred was unforgivingly strict; the Legend of Grandfather framed everything he taught his children. Make a lot of money, however you can. Hold it tight and make some more; hardship looms. Donald grew up in Queens; he attended private schools, and in 1968 when he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in economics he joined the family business. Father Fred stressed to Donald the art of deal-making. The rule: “Be a Killer.” The attitude: “Be A King.” When older brother Fred Jr declined leadership responsibility it came to Donald, passing into his hands in 1971 when he was 25.
The Trump Organization, through its various constituent companies and partnerships, has or has had interests in real estate development, investing, brokerage, sales and marketing, and property management. Trump Organization entities own, operate, invest in, and develop residential real estate, hotels, resorts, residential towers, and golf courses in various countries. They also operate or have operated in construction, hospitality, casinos, entertainment, book and magazine publishing, broadcast media, model management, financial services, food and beverages, business education, online travel, commercial and private aviation, and beauty pageants. Retail operations include or have included fashion apparel, jewelry and accessories, books, home furnishings, lighting products, bath textiles and accessories, bedding, home fragrance products, small leather goods, vodka, wine, barware, steaks, chocolate bars, and bottled spring water. No clear accounting of the value of these entities is available. Donald and his businesses have been plaintiffs or defendants in more than 4,000 legal actions.
The Finger
Did you watch The Apprentice? It ran from 2004-2015 with Donald as host, representing a successful businessman with a luxurious lifestyle. Opening theme was For the Love of Money, an R&B song by the O’Jays. The premise of the show was to conduct a job talent search for a person to head one of the Trump companies, offering the winner a one-year contract with a starting annual salary of $250,000. “Trumponomics” entered our lingo –a managerial concept meaning “impressing the boss is the only way to climb the corporate ladder.” The show is most remembered for its catchphrase “You’re fired!” shouted by a finger-pointing Donald.
On June 29, 2015, NBC announced that the network was cutting ties with Donald Trump over the Republican presidential candidate’s statements about Mexican immigrants. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBC Universal is ending its business relationship with Mr Trump.” Donald was fired for comments he made about immigrants. Well then. A bit ironic? Besides Grandpa Friedrich from Germany, Donald’s mother Mary Anne MacLeod immigrated from Scotland (naturalized 1942), his first wife Ivana Zelníčková immigrated from Czechoslovakia (naturalized 1988); his third wife Melanija Knavs immigrated from Slovenia (naturalized 2006). All with English as a second language; all seeking a better life in a land of opportunity, just like those Mexicans (who he continues to label as rapists and thieves trying to take our jobs). So there’s that.
The Twitter Finger
Fast forward to January 6, 2021. Donald was reaching the end of four years in the White House. And he’d been fired again. The 2020 presidential election saw the highest voter turnout by percentage since 1900. The Biden-Harris ticket received 306 electoral votes; the Trump-Pence 232. Everything was clear. Except to Donald. From early in the morning on November 4, 2020 with vote counts still going on in many states, Donald claimed he had won. He ordered government agencies not to cooperate with the Biden transition team. On December 2, he posted a 46-minute video to his social media in which he repeated claims that the election was “rigged” and called for state legislatures or courts to overturn the election and allow him to stay in office. In a December 18 meeting in the White House a suggestion to overturn the election by invoking martial law and rerunning it under military supervision was discussed. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville issued a joint statement saying “There is no role for the US military in determining the outcome of an American election.”
The 117th US Congress was scheduled to count and certify the Electoral College votes on January 6, 2021; vice president Mike Pence was to preside over the session. In December, Donald called for his supporters to stage a massive protest in Washington on January 6 to argue against this certification using tweets such as “Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” By January, he began to pressure his vice-president to use his position to overturn election results and declare a Trump-Pence win. Mike Pence demurred; the law did not give him that power.
At noon on January 6, Donald made an hour-long televised speech at a rally on the Ellipse, with the White House as background, continuing to press claims that the election was fraudulent. The assembled crowd became a mob that stormed the US capitol, interrupting the Joint session of the US Congress where the Electoral College ballots were being certified, forcing lawmakers to flee for their lives.
We watched it happen, remember? The capitol was ransacked, five people died, damage to the building caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million. But the process of law took place despite the worst of terrors; Congress reconvened that same night, soon after the Capitol was cleared of trespassers. Leaders of both parties, including Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Speaker Mitch McConnell urged the legislators to confirm the electors. The Senate resumed its session around 8 pm and completed its work shortly before 4 am on Thursday, January 7, declaring Biden and Harris the winners 306–232. Vice President Pence affirmed the election result, formally declaring Biden the winner. Donald Trump did not attend the inauguration of
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on January 20, 2021. Mike Pence did.
In February 2021 Donald Trump was impeached. The Senate voted 57–43 to convict him of inciting insurrection, but fell 10 votes short of the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution, and he was therefore acquitted. Other charges of efforts to overturn the election that led to the attack on the capitol, of election tampering, of willful retention of national defense information and classified documents, of hush money and business fraud, still hang over his head, tangled and delayed, waiting.
On May 21, 2024 Donald Trump was convicted by a New York jury of 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. (And this is a man who’s had three wives, five children and ten grandchildren, ah.)
The Insanity
On July 15, 2024, Donald Trump was nominated for the third time as a Republican presidential candidate at the National Convention in Milwaukee. He selected Senator JD Vance as his running mate.
Stay tuned. He’s been fired, but keeps applying. Here’s what I’m thinking – before any of you decide to rehire the man, review the job requirements. They’re simple; they don’t specify male or female, and they don’t specify skin color. It doesn’t matter who your grandpa was, or where you started out in life. But in order to BE president, a real honest-to-goodness worth-our-time president, a person must be over 35, a US citizen who lives here, and must, absolutely MUST “faithfully preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
That’s the job. And frankly, I’d prefer someone who isn’t angry all the time. Just saying.
» July 28th, 2024
#44. Obama, Barack
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – Barack Hussein Obama II (b 1961) was the 44th President of the United States from 2009-2017. He goes into the history books as “ the first African-American president in US history,” self-identifying as African-American because his father was Kenyan, and his mother was born in Kansas. Father Barack Sr was a member of the Luo ethnic group that lived along the shores of Lake Victoria; at the time of his birth in 1934 Kenya was a protectorate of the British Empire. Mother Ann Dunham was an only child; when she was born in Wichita in 1942, her Dad was in the US Army; the family’s ancestry was mostly English, with a bit of Scottish, Welsh, and Irish mixed in. How in the world – our big old world – did two such disparate people come together, we all wondered, when we first began to hear of Barack. The story is remarkable, a story bigger than imagination. And equally remarkable is the story of the 2008 presidential election, when not only the first African-American sought a spot on a presidential ticket; it was also the year the first female sought that unique responsibility.
A History Lesson before we begin – in case you didn’t get the gist back in school. The US Constitution, ratified in 1789, was put together by white male landed gentry as an outline for governing 13 colonies that had bonded together in statehood as a democracy, free from the restrictions of a monarchy. The “right to vote,” that is, to select those who would contribute to the governing of those states, was left to the individual states. The qualifications for becoming president were age (35+), citizenship (not clearly defined), and residency (at least 14 years in the colonies-now-states).
The first count of people was the 1790 US Census, which divided the population of almost 4 million into four categories, measuring Free White Males (over 16 and under 16), Free White Females, and Slaves. Free White Males made up 42% of the entire population; Free White Females 40%; Slaves 18%. The Constitution provided for a system of checks and balances – that is, self-correcting mechanisms – as a democracy should. To date it has been amended 27 times, the last in 1992. Let’s look at two that focused on voting rights:
- In 1868, during the presidency of #17 Andrew Johnson, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved people, and providing all citizens with “equal protection under the laws” (which did not assure them of voting privileges in every state).
- In 1920, during the presidency of #28 Woodrow Wilson, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the required 36 states, removing sex as a determinate for voting eligibility, stating “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” (which still did not assure them of voting privileges in every state).
Since that first election in 1789, privileges and opportunities for “voting eligibility” improved but still varied state to state, as the disenfranchised protested, lobbied, and fought for change. But even getting “on the ticket” to be voted FOR was an exclusive white male accomplishment until 2008.
Now let’s be clear – the Constitution didn’t block that from happening; it was our own perception of suitability. We didn’t favor Catholics (give the Pope power?) or Jews or agnostics or atheists; we wanted Christians, no matter how fallen. We didn’t want a president who was too young or too old. Even though we prided ourselves on our diversity, we didn’t trust anyone with an African, or Asian, or Latino connection. No off-white colors, or accents. Women were “too emotional” to make good decisions, and heaven forbid anyone who was divorced, or gay.
The major deciding factor? Our individual comfort zones. Would we accept a person of color? A person of the right color but the wrong sex? Would we elect someone based simply on their skills and experience and character and charisma?
History Lesson over now, let’s look at the story of the first person who broke the color barrier.
It Started In Hawaii
Barack Hussein Obama II was born August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother Stanley Ann Dunham (1942-1995) was 18, she’d entered the University of Hawaii fall semester, 1960. His father Barack Hussein Obama Sr (1934-1982) a 27-year-old foreign exchange student, was there on scholarship from Kenya. Ann and Barack wound up in the same class that fall.
Ann Dunham was born in Kansas; her family moved to California, then Washington; they lived in the Seattle area during her high school years. Dad Stanley Dunham was a salesman, Mom Madelyn worked at a bank; they wanted their daughter to attend Mercer Island High, a forward thinking school in an exclusive community. She graduated in 1960, high-spirited and ready for the U of Washington, but Dad sought business opportunities in Hawaii and insisted she move with them. She enrolled at the U of Hawaii that fall, met Barack, got pregnant, dropped out of school, and had a baby. In fall 1961 she moved back to Seattle with her infant son, and spent the first year of his life as a student at U of Washington. The Department of Anthropology there created the Stanley Ann Dunham Scholarship Fund in 2015 to honor her, and her work, for Ann went on to receive a PhD in Anthropology; her career led her to Indonesia and years of work addressing women’s roles and rural poverty. And her infant son went on to become president of the United States.
Barack Obama Sr was never a part of his son’s life; they met only once. He finished his last year at the U of Hawaii while Ann and baby were in Seattle; in 1962 he headed for Harvard. He was back in Kenya by 1964, and died there at the age of 48, leaving behind a trail of unrealized opportunities. He didn’t maintain a stable family life (though his relationships with four women produced eight children); he didn’t make best use of his fully funded scholarships (Harvard kicked him out of his PhD program); and he ultimately botched a prime job in Kenya. Barack published these words about his father’s absence in his life: I only remember my father for one month in my whole life, when I was 10….I think (his absence) contributed to me really wanting to be a good dad….because not having him there made me say to myself, “I want to make sure my girls feel like they’ve got somebody they can rely on.”
A Good Dad’s Childhood
Barack struck a home run in the “good dad” department. This 2015 photo by the cherry trees is typical of Obama family photos – smiles from Malia, Michelle, Barack, Sasha. The girls are even prettier nowadays; Barack is grayer, but that glow remains the same; something about the four of them seems upbeat, positive, unafraid; with maybe a little mischief lurking. Maybe? Strict about honoring responsibilities, Mom and Dad have taken these girls absolutely everywhere; they’ve seen the world. Michelle is one of the most sought-after public speakers and most admired First Ladies ever. And besides being a good Dad, and good husband, in October of his first year as president Barack was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
You need a map to follow Barack’s childhood; the places he lived; the people who made up his larger family; the languages and cultures he experienced. No wonder international diplomacy was a positive trait. Go back to his first year of life – born in Honolulu, whisked to Seattle as the son of a college student; her skin white, his black. Mom Ann moved them back to Honolulu and resumed classes at the University of Hawaii in January 1963. And there she met Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia; he was studying geography at the University. They married in 1965; when Lolo’s visa expired he returned to Indonesia. Ann and Barack moved in with her parents, and Barack attended kindergarten at Noelani Elementary in Honolulu. Ann earned her BA in Anthropology in August 1967. On to Indonesia.
Ann moved with Barack to Jakarta. Lolo worked on a topographic survey for the government; Ann taught English and served as Asst Director of the Indonesia-America Friendship Institute. Barack attended the Indonesian language Catholic school around the corner from their house for grades up to 3; then to Indonesian-language Besuki School through 4th grade. He picked up the Indonesian language, joined the Scouts, and everybody called him Barry. In the summer of 1970 Barry visited Grandpa and Grandma Dunham in Hawaii. And that August, his half-sister Maya Soetoro was born in Indonesia.
Barack (Barry) started 5th grade at the top-rated private Punahou School in Honolulu, living with his grandparents. In 1972 Mom Ann moved back to Honolulu to start graduate study in anthropology at the U of Hawaii; from grades 6-8 Barack lived with his mother and Maya. Ann received her MA in Anthropology in 1974; she and Maya returned to Indonesia. Barack chose to stay with his grandparents and continued his studies at Punahou School until graduation in 1979.
In his memoir Barack describes his experiences growing up in his mother’s middle class family. His knowledge about his African father came mainly through family stories and photographs. Of his early childhood, he writes: “That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind.” Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, he wrote: “The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear.”
Barack was still being called “Barry” by most folks when he arrived at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1979. “He always went by Barry, for simplicity and as an accommodation to Anglo society,” a friend relayed later, “but I said I would only call him Barack, because it was a strong African name.” From LA to NY, Barack transferred to Columbia for his junior and senior years, earning a BA in political science; he worked a bit in New York, then Chicago; then entered Harvard Law School where he graduated magna cum laude in 1991. And in 1992, at the age of 31, he married Michelle.
The Good Husband Part
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, the second child of Fraser and Marian Shields Robinson; her older brother was Craig. They lived in an apartment in Chicago’s South Shore community; life was described as “conventional” – Dad worked, Mom was home, dinner was around the table, school just down the street. Until 6th grade, when she entered gifted classes; she took advanced placement classes in high school, graduating in 1981. She followed her brother to Princeton, graduating cum laude in 1985; then on to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1988. She went to work at the law firm of Sidley Austin in Chicago, and that’s where she met one of the few African-Americans working there, Barack Obama. Story goes, they shared a business lunch. Barack has said it was an “opposites attract” scenario – she’d grown up in the stability of a two-parent home while his childhood was “adventurous.” Barack had made a 1987 visit to Kenya in search of his African roots; though his father had died by then, he met a grandmother, a half-sister, and many cousins; his knowledge of “family” had widened considerably.
And it continued to expand. On October 3, 1992 Barack and Michelle got married, gaining both of them a slew of in-laws. Their wedding took place at Trinity Church in Chicago; two of the bridesmaids were Barack’s half-sisters, Maya Soetoro from Indonesia and Auma Obama from Kenya, an international affair. But very traditional too; white roses, beautiful wedding gown, and all the reception-after fun.
The Obama Family Homes
After the honeymoon, Barack and Michelle lived in Chicago; he taught at the U of Chicago Law School, she became executive director for the Chicago Office of Public Allies. Barack was elected to the State Senate in 1996; Michelle became associate dean of student services at the U of Chicago. Daughter Malia was born in 1998, daughter Sasha in 2001. Barack was elected to the US Senate in 2004, and next thing you know, it was 2008.
How does it feel to know that 69,456,897 people chose you? January 20, 2009 was a glorious inauguration day; it set a record attendance for any event ever held in the city; add TV and the Internet and it was one of the most-observed events ever by a global audience. Not too many noticed the word Chief Justice Roberts misplaced as he administered the oath of office (a do-over the next day just in case; it’s “faithfully execute” and not “execute faithfully” the duties of the president); the skies were clear for the parade and in the evening there were 10 inaugural balls.
It was so good, Barack did it again four years later. 65,915,796 voters wanted him back, even though everything didn’t get accomplished that we all wanted done (it never does). But he stayed the course.
I won’t rehash the legislation, new problems, old grudges, and great successes of Barack’s eight years in office; you lived through those times yourself. When the Obamas left the White House January 20, 2017, Barack and Michelle were in their 50’s, the girls moving fast through their teens. Their list of “firsts” forever marks the history books. What broader changes lie ahead? Are our Founding Fathers watching from the past, checking every now and then to see if we’ve caught the things they didn’t even think about, and made them right?
As to my party – Michelle and Barack are such good writers (so many books, so little time) I’d invite them over for a whole evening of story-telling. And maybe let them critique this post. I’d take notes.
» July 27th, 2024
#43. Bush, George Walker
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – George Walker Bush (b 1946) was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001-2009. #43 George and #6 John Quincy Adams share a unique place in the history books – both had a father who served as president. And having “Dad” precede you in such a position of glory must have been a heck of a thing to live up to. But there’s another way of looking at it – from Dad’s point of view – how did their offspring carry on the banner entrusted to them? #41 George H W Bush lived through the eight years of his son’s presidency and beyond, as expectations and analysis continue; remember his comment about the “trials and tribulations of my sons”? And one of those tribulations began before #43 George was even declared president; and in a strange way involved two Bush sons.
A new phrase entered the lingo of the American public and it had to do with a voter’s vote getting properly counted. Or not. Hanging Chads became a physics lesson. Technology had evolved into the “hole punch ballot” so votes could be machine counted. Punch a hole in a ballot and let the machine count the holes.
But, alas, if the “chad” – that is the excess tissue that had to be removed in order to have a hole to count — wasn’t fully removed, well, you had a “hanging chad” and the machine didn’t know what to do. And those “hanging chad ballots” happened in the state of Florida, and the Governor of Florida was Jeb Bush, the son of #41 George and the brother of candidate George.
The US Supreme Court was involved before George finally got into the White House. Opponent Al Gore, who had served as Vice President for eight years, racked up 48.4% of the popular vote; George Bush received 47.9%. But the “electoral college” system we use gave Bush 271 electoral votes and Gore 266 (you must have 270 to win). And Florida’s 25 electoral votes were the “hanging chad recount” issue. Do the math. The tally in Florida was so close – a difference of 537 individual votes out of six million cast in Florida – that a recount was called for; then a second one as “chads” continued under scrutiny. The US Supreme Court ruled on December 9 to reverse a Florida Supreme Court decision for a third count. On December 13, 2000, Al Gore conceded the election. He strongly disagreed with the Court’s decision, but in his concession speech stated that, “for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.” On the morning of January 6, 2001, carrying out the duty of the outgoing vice president, Al Gore presided over the joint session of the US Congress where the electoral votes from every state are officially counted, and declared George W Bush duly elected with 271 electoral votes to his own 266. On January 20 George Walker Bush was sworn in as our 43rd president.
Back to 1946
George Walker Bush was born July 6, 1946 at Grace Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, the first of the six children of George Herbert Walker and Barbara Pierce Bush – George, Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Dorothy. Starting life as a “Connecticut Yankee” since Dad was a student at Yale at the time, George was two years old when the family moved to Odessa, Texas and Dad became a “Texas oil man.” So George grew up a Texan – Texas heat and Texas oil wells; the family moved about; the siblings arrived. George lived with change; his sister Robin’s bout with leukemia and death; his mother’s depression; his father’s expanding business. He went to Sam Houston
Elementary and San Jacinto Junior High in Midland; by 1959 the family was in Houston and George was sent to Kinkaid, a college prep school there. For grades 10-12 he was sent cross country to Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts, and then Yale, as Dad had done; sports and fraternities too, but with an east coast difference from his familiars. He graduated Yale with a BA in history in 1968, a C student he said, but “good at rugby.”
The Context of Vietnam
US military troops were sent to Vietnam beginning in 1965; by 1969 more than 500,000 were stationed there. The last units left Vietnam March 29, 1973. The priority of call for the draft was based on the birthdates of registrants born between 1944-1950; those exempt were in university education or medically unfit. Thousands of young men evaded the draft by moving to Canada; thousands joined the ROTC or National Guard in order to avoid being sent to the controversial ground war in the jungles of Vietnam.
The Military and Harvard
Unmarried, out of college, and physically fit, George faced the same choices as his predecessor Bill Clinton faced in 1968 when he graduated from Georgetown – choices framed by the war in Vietnam. George joined the Texas Air National Guard with a commitment to serve until 1974. After two years of training, he was assigned to Houston, flying Convair F-102s with the 147th Reconnaissance Wing out of the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. His application to the U of Texas law school in 1970 was rejected; in December 1972 the last draft call was issued. George moved to Montgomery, Alabama to work on the US Senate campaign of Republican Winton Blount and was suspended from flying for failure to take a scheduled physical exam, but drilled with the Alabama Air National Guard. In 1973 he was accepted in a graduate program at Harvard. Honorably discharged from the Air Force Reserve in 1974, the next year he received his Harvard MBA.
Enter Laura
George was 31 in 1977 when he established a small oil exploration company; and that was the year he met, and married, a girl named Laura. Laura Welch was the only child of Harold and Jenna Welch, born November 4, 1946, in Midland, Texas. By the time she and George met she was already a school teacher there; with a BS in education from SMU (1968) and a master’s degree in library science from the U of Texas (1973). A pretty good match, it seems; the story goes that when George proposed to Laura, she accepted based on one thing: “that I’ll never have to give a campaign speech.” We know how that worked out; but as of this writing their marriage is in its 47th year and George continues to give Laura credit for “smoothing his rough edges.” And he gives her credit for helping him overcome his problem with alcohol. “I woke up with a hangover the morning after my 40th birthday celebration,” he said, “and decided it was time to quit.” He avers he hasn’t had a drink since 1986. Stories abound of his 20 years of alcohol abuse, of his bar-hopping and mediocre performance in the military and in school. And theories of how such abuse affects future decision making are out there; in particular the decisions he made during his eight years as president. But that’s getting ahead of the story; let’s follow what he did, and what was happening around him, in those 24 years between 1977-2001.
The Businesses, The Kids, And Stuff
- 1977 – George established Arbusto Energy, a small oil exploration company, name later changed to Bush Exploration. George and Laura were married November 5 in Midland, Texas.
- 1978 – George ran for US House of Representatives from Texas 19th district, lost.
- 1981 – George and Laura became parents with the birth of twins Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Welch Bush; George’s father became US Vice President.
- 1984 – George became chairman when his company merged with Spectrum 7. Decreased oil prices caused the company to fold into Harken Energy Corporation; George became a member of the Board of Directors. There was an insider trading investigation by SEC.
- 1985 – George’s father re-elected vice president.
- 1986 – George vowed to give up drinking.
- 1988 – George and family moved to Washington to work on his father’s presidential campaign.
- 1989 – George’s father elected US president. George arranged for a group of investors to purchase a controlling interest in MLB’s Texas Rangers for $89 million; invested $500,000 himself and became managing general partner; George actively led team projects and attended games for the next 5 years becoming publicly more visible.
- 1991 – George was one of seven people selected to run his father’s 1992 presidential campaign.
- 1993 – George’s father lost his second presidential bid; Bill Clinton was inaugurated. George considered a candidacy to become commissioner of baseball.
- 1994 – George declared his candidacy for the Texas gubernatorial election; brother Jeb was running for governor in Florida.
- 1995 – George elected governor of Texas, became focus of attention as a potential future presidential candidate. Brother Jeb defeated in his bid for Florida governor.
- 1997 – Bill Clinton re-elected president.
- 1998 – George re-elected governor of Texas with 69% of the vote, first Texas governor to be elected to two consecutive terms. George promoted faith-based organizations; decided to seek 2000 Republican presidential nomination; and sold his shares in Texas Rangers for over $15 million. Brother Jeb elected governor of Florida.
- 1999 – Bill Clinton impeached, but remained in office with a high approval rating.
A New Century Begins
As Texas Governor, George signed a bill into law proclaiming June 10, 2000 to be “Jesus Day” in Texas, urging people to “follow the example of Jesus” and answer the call to service helping those in need. On August 3, in acceptance of his nomination as presidential candidate at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia, George attacked the Clinton administration on defense and military topics, high taxes, and a lack of dignity and respect for the presidency. Headed towards November, George campaigned as a compassionate conservative, criticizing opponent Al Gore over gun control and taxation.
You know what happened next. That was the year chads became a household word. By the end of the next eight years the Federal Budget had gone from a surplus of $236 billion to a deficit of$459 billion. Did the lid fly off Pandora’s box?
The first catastrophe happened just 234 days into George’s presidency. On the morning of September 11, 2001, four Islamic terrorist suicide attacks struck the United States, killing 2,977 people. Two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City; a third plane struck the Pentagon in Washington; the fourth plane, believed to be headed for the US capitol, crashed in a Pennsylvania field due to passenger heroism – they simply revolted against the hijackers, opting for their deaths there rather than the horrific consequences of having our capitol destroyed. The US went to war. On March 20, 2003 US forces invaded Iraq; on May 1 George Bush announced “mission accomplished.”
In the 2004 presidential election George’s conduct during the war on terrorism was rewarded; he won 50.7 percent of the popular vote and defeated John Kerry with 286 electoral votes. But by 2005, George’s approval rating had dropped below 50 percent; people were angry that US troops were now entangled in an Iraqi civil war; and at home, Hurricane Katrina struck, and destroyed, the city of New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast. George’s handling of Federal assistance to the thousands of homeless still brands him today as a “failed president.” And then, in 2007, as families had been madly borrowing against their home equity to “maintain lifestyle,” the housing bubble burst; the economy tanked. By 2008 election time, American voters were ready for the Democrats again.
The Afterlife
After welcoming Barack and Michelle Obama to the White House, and participating in their inauguration day, George and Laura returned to Texas; they’ve got a ranch in Crawford, and a home in Dallas. George and Laura remain friends with the Obamas; they’ve attended the Trump and the Biden inaugurations; they’ve stayed in touch. George has taken up painting as a hobby –self-portraits, world leaders, veterans; still life and dogs too; several books of his paintings have been published.
In 2019 on the 10th anniversary of South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun’s death, George presented a portrait of the man to his family. That was a nice gesture, don’t you think?
George’s parents died in 2018; but comparisons of father/son continue still, and that’s the touching thing. When you think of it, George was “expected to follow” in Dad’s footsteps; sent to the same schools and expected to desire the same success as a war hero and superior student. In truth he was more like his mother. Barbara never cared a flip about school; when she met George H W at the age of 16 she started planning her wedding, and her family, with no interest in college or career. She loved sports; she loved hanging out with a crowd; she wasn’t much for sticking by the rules. And the world admired that in our “National Grandmother.” So I say enough with the comparisons!
I didn’t think George should have been elected, it was an icky-sticky win. And I didn’t like much of what he did as our president; though many things occurred that were way beyond his control, he made some costly mistakes. But there’s just something about the guy I like. So yes, I’d feel pretty bad if I didn’t invite him, and Laura, to my party. And the grandkids too – just look at the cuties in that selfie.
» July 26th, 2024
#42. Clinton, Bill
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – William Jefferson Clinton III (Bill) (b 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993-2001. Always known as “Bill,” there is something about a first-name informality that tends to make a person more approachable, don’t you think? More youthful even. Bill is in his late 70’s and gray-headed now, but he still has a youthful look about him, something in his eyes lighting up when he spots a friend, or even when he stands in front of a crowd of thousands selling a book, or introducing one of the most famous persons in the country. I know, because I’ve been in those crowds. When he and James Patterson came to Little Rock in 2018 selling autographed copies of their book The President Is Missing (a political thriller) the crowd was ecstatic and Bill was tickled, breaking into “just one more story” to share with us as James kept trying to keep things on track about where to buy the book. (And even though it had a ridiculous plot, it sold over a million copies!) When Ruth Bader Ginsburg came to Little Rock in 2019 to speak before a sellout crowd, Bill was as mesmerized as the rest of us as he
introduced her, obviously thrilled (and awed and humbled) just to know her. And Bill Clinton probably seems youthful to me because he is the first president out of 42 who is younger than I am. Yes, Bill is of the Baby Boomer generation, in fact, he is also labeled as a “New Democrat” which means his policies reflected a centrist “Third Way” political philosophy.
So what does that mean exactly? “Centrist” is another peg for “mainstream,” you know, not exactly all the way left, and not exactly all the way right. Take a little of the “right-center” folks and a little of the “left-center” folks, mix them together, and find a compromise, is that it? A Third Way? Pepper that up with some James Carville “campaign wizardry” (It’s the economy, stupid!) and you have a simple explanation of “how the Republicans were finally ousted by a young whippersnapper” who became our 42nd president. But Bill didn’t just “become” our president, he stayed for a while – presiding over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. And when he left eight years later, he had the joint-highest approval rating of any US president. Even after he’d been impeached. What goes into the making of a man who can do all of that?
Two Towns in Arkansas
Bill was born August 19, 1946, at Julia Chester Hospital In Hope, Arkansas as William Jefferson Blythe III, the only son of William Jefferson Blythe Jr and Virginia Dell Cassidy. Hope had a population of near 8,000 in the 1940s; almost in Texas, almost in Louisiana, almost in Oklahoma, it is famous for the big juicy watermelons that grow so well there in hot summer days. Bill’s grandfather Cassidy (Pawpaw) ran a grocery store there, serving black and white equally in highly segregated times, and his grandmother Cassidy (Mawmaw) was a care-giving nurse. Imagine Bill’s early life in the small-town atmosphere; imagine peaceful front-porch evenings and church on Sundays and the freedom to run and play. And
to sleep at night under his Hop-A-Long Cassidy bedspread? Hop-A-Long Cassidy was a hero in the movies and comic books and radio shows of the 40s and 50s. He was a Cassidy who represented the good, always taking up for the underdog. Did the National Park Service choose that theme for Bill’s “Clinton Birthplace” bedroom we can visit today, or is that a truth of the times?
This much is definitely true: Bill’s father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr, died in an automobile accident three months before Bill was born. Bill’s mother Virginia Cassidy was studying to be a nurse, like her mother Edith. Bill and his mother lived with James and Edith Cassidy those early years, pretty much as described, I’d say. I’ve visited Hope, and the Birthplace; that seems to be the atmosphere. Then in 1950 Virginia married Roger Clinton. They moved with Bill to Hot Springs, Arkansas, a resort town tucked in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains and famous for its health-giving mineral springs. And famous for its “gangster history” of gambling and drinking and living outside the law. A mixture of messages! Illegal gambling began there after the Civil War; it remained in some form or other until Gov Winthrop Rockefeller succeeded in shutting it down in 1967. Suite 443 of the elegant Arlington Hotel was a vacation favorite of Al Capone during the 20s and 30s – his rooms overlooked Bathhouse Row where he, and thousands of others, came for the health-spa waters offered in splendid Victorian elegance. And alcohol, and gambling.
Such was the environment in which Bill lived from 1950 to 1964. Bill’s schooling took place in Hot Springs; so did his adjustment to a different home life; his stepfather was, by all accounts, an alcoholic and a gambler. If you’ve ever lived with an alcoholic or a gambler, you get the picture. Roger Jr was born in 1956 and Bill sometimes had to intervene on behalf of his little brother, and his mother. When he was a teen, he took on the last name of “Clinton” in hopes of “being more of a family.” So there you have it. Is that the mix it takes?
Despite the distractions, Bill poured himself into his schoolwork. And he was totally nuts about music — at Hot Springs High School he was in the chorus and played the tenor saxophone, winning first chair in the state band. For two years he performed in a jazz trio, The 3-Kings. When he was sixteen, he became interested in law due to winning a debate in a mock trial in his Latin class. When he was 17; he was selected as a Boys Nation senator to go to the White House and meet President Kennedy. That handshake was the ultimate kick-in-the-head inspiration; when he graduated in 1964 he had a scholarship in hand, headed for Georgetown University (the only place he applied) and Washington, DC.
School, More School, and Hillary
In a nutshell, Bill earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, won a Rhodes Scholarship to University College, Oxford, in England; graduated from Yale Law School in Connecticut; and returned to Arkansas as a law professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. All this between 1964 and 1974. Then, back in Arkansas, he ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives against an incumbent, and lost.
He’d started preparing humbly enough; with an International Affairs major at Georgetown he supplemented his scholarship with a job clerking in Arkansas Senator William Fulbright’s office, which greatly shaped his perspective on the Vietnam war. By the time he graduated (with honors) in 1968 he’d won a prized Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University in England for two years. And he also faced being drafted for the war. He was an anti-war demonstrator; he connected with Arkansas ROTC. Reconsidering, he submitted himself for the draft; his number was drawn, but he was never called to service; it was a confusing time and his coursework at Oxford did not result in a degree. He entered Yale in 1970, and that’s where he met Hillary Rodham. The two moved to Texas temporarily in 1972 to help lead George McGovern’s presidential campaign, working at campaign headquarters in Dallas with Texas future governor Ann Richards, and the then unknown Steven Spielberg. (Good contacts in the pocket, eh?)
Back in New Haven, Bill and Hillary continued to live, and study, together; in 1973, when they both graduated, he moved back to Arkansas, but Hillary continued postgraduate work at Yale. Bill kept asking her to marry him; she kept delaying. But then a quirky thing happened. She failed the bar in DC but was admitted to the bar in Arkansas. “I chose to follow my heart instead of my head,” she later wrote. In 1974 she followed Bill to Arkansas.
So Many Firsts
Can you keep track? Bill lost his bid for US Representative and Hillary failed a DC bar exam. Then they started racking up firsts. Hillary became one of only two female faculty members at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, and then the first director of a new legal aid clinic at the University. Bill and Hillary bought their first house together in Fayetteville in 1975, and had their wedding there that October; it was a small family ceremony in the living room with a very large party in the backyard. In 1976 Hillary worked in Indiana for the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter. He won. And Bill Clinton had a win; he was elected Arkansas attorney general. The couple moved to Little Rock. In 1977 Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm, co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and was appointed to the board of Legal Services Corporation by Jimmy Carter; meanwhile Bill began a campaign for governor.
In November 1978, at the age of 32, Bill was elected governor of Arkansas, becoming one of the nation’s youngest governors ever. So in January 1979 Hillary became Arkansas’ First Lady, at the age of 32. The couple moved into the historic Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, and that’s where they were living in February 1980, when their daughter Chelsea was born. After a few missteps, Bill was ousted in the 1980 election (making him the youngest former governor, he joked), but he quickly righted his ship (a learning experience) and won the next four terms, Governor of Arkansas from 1983-1992! That’s twelve non-consecutive years Bill was governor and Hillary was the first lady of Arkansas.
On October 3, 1991, on the front steps of the Old State House in Little Rock, Bill Clinton announced the beginning of his 1992 presidential campaign. You know what happened after that. On January 20, 1993, Bill and Hillary and Chelsea moved into the White House. Republicans were out; the New Democrat was in. They stayed eight years.
Chelsea was given the codename name Energy by the Secret Service in 1993, and Bill and Hillary’s first concern was giving their 13-year-old daughter some privacy and a normal life. So much for that hope. She was 18 when her father was impeached. His trial took place between December 19, 1998 – February 12, 1999; he was acquitted by the US Senate and remained in office. Charges of perjury were approved – this was for lying to a grand jury about having sex with a White House aide. It must have been a brutal time for Chelsea, and for Hillary, but whatever may have been said in private, publicly they stood behind Bill.
And so did most everybody else. Bill’s public approval rating reached its highest point during his impeachment proceedings; he left office with a rating of 68 percent, his final quarter Gallup rating was the highest any president has received in 50 years. “He’s got weak morals,” one reporter said about him, “but he’s done a heck of a good job.” Were citizens simply more concerned with how things were going for themselves than a personal dally? (Or perhaps, mentally at least, acknowledging their own frailty?) Life was humming smoothly for most folks; the rate of inflation hovered around 2.2%; the unemployment rate was the lowest since 1969; the crime index the lowest since 1973. The US was not involved in any major warfare and wonder of wonders, the federal budget had a surplus of $124 billion, the first balanced budget in 30 years.
On A Personal Level.
There was a poster on exhibit in the Clinton Center at one time that featured Virginia Cassidy’s message to her son “Life happens in the present, and you’d better make the best of it.” So you move on. You try harder. And you get better.
Chelsea went on to be an exemplary daughter; married with three kids, a slew of college degrees (the last a Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford in 2014), and an astounding record of public service. Hillary went on to become a US Senator, then Secretary of State, and twice a presidential candidate. That, and more about her childhood, as we look at #44 and #45.
Bill and Hillary moved to Chappaqua, New York and bought a house in 2001; that’s still home base today, but they maintain an apartment atop the Clinton Presidential Center alongside the Arkansas River in Little Rock where they pop in frequently. The Park for the Clinton gravesites is along the back side of the building; inside exhibits detail every year of the accomplishments of the eight-year Clinton presidency; upstairs is a collection of Clinton personal items (including a saxophone). There’s a replica of the Oval Office, and a restaurant downstairs named, appropriately, “42.” Next door are classrooms for the Clinton School of Public Service and the Presidential Archives where approximately 78 million pages of official records documenting the life and career of the 42nd president of the United States are available for research. Opportunities for learning and participating abound.
In his 1993 Inaugural Address Bill made the statement: “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” The Clinton story isn’t over.
As to a party? Well, I’d choose to have it at the Center, with Bill playing his saxophone and Harry Truman at the piano. And as I recall, Thomas Jefferson did a mean violin. Stay tuned.
» July 25th, 2024
#41. Bush, George Herbert Walker
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas –George Herbert Walker Bush (1924 –2018) was the 41st President of the United States from 1989-1993. Described as “a gracious and underappreciated man,” George himself said his legacy was “lost between the glory of Reagan…and the trials and tribulations of my sons.” That may be true when you focus only on “presidential politics” – eight years of a vice-presidency beneath the neon glow of a Hollywood star; then eight years as a Dad to the 43rd President of the United States, who stirred up a headline controversy or two. (And another son who tried.) And then there was the 1992 “Bar Code Incident” which, as even mischaracterized media blurbs tend to do, stuck to George like glue. I admit, that’s a thing I remember about George H W. The insinuation that “My gosh, he is so out of touch he doesn’t know that groceries are scanned nowadays.” Well, that’s a silly measure of a person to start with, but digging deeper, however wealthy his childhood and however exclusive his education, George Herbert Walker Bush was no spoiled brat. This is a guy who signed up for the Navy on his 18th birthday in 1942; was commissioned as a naval aviator just before his 19th (youngest ever); and at the age of 20, on September 2, 1944 while flying a Grumman TBM Avenger, was shot down over the Pacific Island of Chichijima.
A Grumman TBM Avenger, in case you don’t know diddle about fighter planes, was a torpedo bomber that flew off and back onto aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean during WWII. George’s squadron was assigned to the USS San Jacinto, but his plane didn’t make it back that fateful day. George released his payload, hit his target, ejected over water, and floated in enemy waters before being rescued by the submarine USS Finback. His crewmates died, but his own survival after such a close brush with death made its mark on the rest of his life. Humility comes with that question: “Why was I spared?” The Navy awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in that mission. When he was discharged in 1945, he had flown 58 missions, completed 128 carrier landings, and recorded 1,228 hours of flight time. What did George do with the rest of his life? He lived 94 busy years, mostly in service to his country; he had a strong marriage and was father to six children; he founded a successful business; he studied hard and played well. He respected his heritage. And he graciously weathered the sticks and stones of public scrutiny.
Pop and Poppy
George Herbert Walker Bush was born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, the second of the five children of Prescott and Dorothy Walker Bush – Prescott Jr, George, Nancy, Jonathan, and William. George was named after his maternal grandfather, George Herbert Walker, who was known as “Pop” to the kids; so the nickname “Poppy” was given to little George. Yes, the family was wealthy – thanks to railroads and investment banking; they weathered the depression relatively unscathed. George spent most of his early years in Greenwich, Connecticut, where his parents settled in 1925. But grandpa “Pop” also owned an estate in Kennebunkport, Maine and built a cottage there as a wedding present for Prescott and Dorothy. So little Poppy had pretty places to be and nice things to do growing up. He attended Greenwich Country Day School, then Phillips Academy – a prestigious private school in Massachusetts – from 1937-1942. Phillips Academy, also known as Andover, is the oldest incorporated academy in the United States, established in 1778. Its founders were strongly associated with the Patriot cause, they manufactured gunpowder for the Continental Army. John Hancock signed the academy’s articles of incorporation; Paul Revere designed the academy’s seal. That seal includes the mottos: “The end depends upon the beginning” and “Not for oneself.” Those mottos must have made an impression.
No Time Wasted
George crammed so much into the years between leaving Andover in 1942 at age 18 and graduating from Yale in 1948 at age 24 I’ll bullet it:
- 6/1942 –enlisted in US Navy
- 6/1943 – commissioned as ensign at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, youngest pilot in Navy
- 12/1943 – engaged to Barbara Pierce
- 5/1944 – flew first combat mission bombing Wake Island
- 9/1944 – shot down over the Pacific
- 11/1944 – returned to San Jacinto, operations in the Philippines
- 1/1945 – married Barbara Pierce in Rye, New York; began training in Auburn, Maine for an invasion of Japan
- 9/1945 – Japan surrendered, released from active duty
- 11/1945 – Entered Yale on GI Bill
- 7/1946 – son George Walker Bush born
- 6/1948 –Graduated Yale Phi Beta Kappa, BA in economics
Note about his time at Yale: he was a married student on an accelerated program graduating in two and a half years; he captained the Yale baseball team and played in two College World Series as a left-handed first baseman; he was in all the honor societies, his first child was born. Barbara, by the way, was scorekeeper for all those baseball games.
Let’s Talk About Barbara
Barbara Pierce (1925-2018) was born June 8, 1925 in a hospital in Flushing, Queens, New York City, the third of the four children of Marvin and Pauline Robinson Pierce – Martha, Barbara, Jimmy, Scott. And yes, father Marvin was connected to the “US President #14 Franklin Pierce” family in some way. Marvin was a businessman, Pauline was a housewife, and Barbara grew up in Rye, New York in relative comfort. Her mother’s generally pessimistic outlook on life she saw as an example to avoid; early on Barbara decided she would choose to be happy with what she had. She attended public schools, though not all that fond of schoolwork. But she enjoyed athletics – swimming, tennis, even football; she also was a sought-after dance partner. And that leads to the story about how she met George – across a crowded room.
“You are 16, I am 17.” Like a Richard Rodgers song, George spotted Barbara across the room at a Christmas dance in 1941 and asked a friend to introduce them. They didn’t dance, George didn’t know how to waltz; so they sat and talked. And kept up a correspondence. They became secretly engaged. Then he was gone; she spent some time at Smith College, dropped out and worked in a nuts and bolts factory to support the war effort, grieved when he was shot down, got to know his family (they nicknamed her Bar, which stuck for life), and began to plan their wedding. They married January 6, 1945 in Rye’s First Presbyterian Church with a reception at the Apawamis Club, where they’d had their first date. Pretty romantic, eh? Rye, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, where each grew up, are small communities on Long Island Sound about 5 miles apart, and part of the New York metropolitan area. For their first years of marriage, they moved wherever George’s squadron training sent him. When he entered Yale, they lived in shared housing in New Haven; after George was born they moved into a converted mansion next to the president’s house where 40 people shared the kitchen and bathrooms. All the joys of young marrieds.
Gone To Texas
The next 15 years were building years. George didn’t need to confer with Barbara about leaving the “daily shadow” of family expectations and old familiar places. He accepted a job offer in TEXAS, as an oil field equipment salesman for Dresser Industries, and Barbara was gung ho to go. On their own.
They moved a lot – Odessa, Texas; Bakersfield, California; Midland, Texas – as George learned the oil business. Next was the launch of the Bush-Overby Oil Development Company in 1951; in 1953 he cofounded the Zapata Petroleum Corporation, drilling in the rich Permian Basin in Texas; in 1954 he was named president of Zapata Offshore Company, a subsidiary specializing in offshore drilling. He stayed there until the mid-60s, when he sold his stock for $1 million. The family was living in Houston by then.
And the family had grown. Robin was born in 1949; Jeb in early 1953. Jeb was just 2 months old and George not quite 7 when their sister was diagnosed with leukemia. Robin’s death that October was a tragedy of enormous magnitude; Barbara’s hair turned white; depression set in. And then one day she overheard son George tell a neighbor he couldn’t come out to play because “my mother needs me.” Barbara got herself back on track. The experience of Robin’s death did two things; it brought Barbara and her son George forever close; and it further solidified the relationship between husband and wife. Three more children were born to George and Barbara: Neil in 1955, Marvin in 1956, Dorothy in 1959.
An Appealing Political Candidate
Well known and well off in Texas by the 60s, in 1964 George tried for a US Senate seat and lost; nevertheless the New York Times reported on “his attractive personal qualities.” And so the ball was rolling. But it would be 25 years before George would stand in front of the US Capitol for a swearing-in as President of the United States. Let’s look at how he connected with the presidents along the way – Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan – a group that wound up scandalized, mistrusted, misunderstood, and unabashedly worshiped. What did he gain?
- Appointed by Richard Nixon: US Ambassador to United Nations. Chairman of Republican National Committee.
- Appointed by Gerald Ford: Chief of US Liaison Office in China. Director of Central Intelligence Agency for CIA.
While Democrat Jimmy Carter was in office he had no political appointments though he met with Carter on a personal basis. He went back to Texas as a bank president and part-time professor at Rice, and began planning his presidential campaign for 1980.
- Ronald Reagan’s pick in 1980:
George really wanted that presidential spot on the Republican ticket in 1980. He fought against Reagan, labeling his supply-side-influenced plans for tax cuts as “voodoo-economics.” Reagan wanted Ford as VP, other Republicans didn’t like that idea. But they liked George Bush. So the campaign moved ahead with a smiling Ronald Reagan and a smiling George Bush offering the promise “Let’s Make America Great Again.” By 1984 the duo is Bringing America Back. Well then.
And then it was 1988. Don’t you know that felt good?
There was even one special “goosebumps” zing to the day; it was a Bicentennial Year, George Washington to George Bush, 200 years since we inaugurated our first “head of government,”
and invested our trust in a specific person. We had chosen 41 white males to assume that role, so far.
George H W Bush probably had the broadest training for the job than any of the previous 40, even more so than our first George. He had a good education and a good family. He’d done terribly dangerous things and survived them. He’d successfully managed his own business. His time as US Ambassador to the United Nations gave him valuable experience in foreign policy and in dealing with the Soviet Union and China. As chair of the Republican National Committee, he was involved in how a hopeful person wangles their way to the starting gate.
As Chief of the US Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, George’s real-life experience as he and Barbara lived there convinced him that American engagement abroad was needed to ensure global stability and that the United States “needed to be visible but not pushy.” During his year in charge of the CIA, the US national security apparatus actively supported Operation Condor operations and right-wing military dictatorships in Latin America. Think that didn’t give George some savvy? And eight years in Second Position, just one step from the Oval Office? Never mind that Nancy and Barbara were so different in style and beliefs they barely spoke, and that his own ideas did not line up with those of Ronald Reagan. The point is: he saw how things work. So why did he fail to get a second term? Was he just too nice to fight?
It Didn’t End Here
The 1992 defeat didn’t end the Bush Legacy. George H W and Barbara continued to stay in the news. Yes, the family had another presidency to get through, and enough controversies rattling around to dash any hopes of a quiet retirement. At one point Barbara, the “nation’s beloved grandmother” said “Enough of the Bushes,” but somehow they stayed on our minds. I’ll tell you more when we get to #43.
If I could have them over for tea, I’d promise not to mention a thing about politics.
» July 24th, 2024
#40. Reagan, Ronald Wilson
Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004) was the 40th President of the United States from 1981-1989. Ronald has the honor of having his time in the White House defined as an “era.” The Reagan Era. He implemented Reaganomics. That means, basically, he cut taxes and government spending. He had two landslide election experiences – one because voters were not happy with the other guy and wanted somebody different, and one because they were mesmerized by him. Yes, somebody did try to kill him, but the perpetrator didn’t have a political concern, he was just trying to impress Jodie Foster, following the example of a character in a film she was in who went around shooting people. What’s weirdly ironic about that is well, Ronald Reagan was in a lot of films. His first lead role in the movies was “Love Is On The Air” in 1937; the one that’s most talked most was “Knute Rockne, All American” (the famous Gipper). During WWII, he produced hundreds of training films for the Army Air Force.
In the 50s he moved to TV, hosting the GE Theater, coming into our homes every week with a smile and a story. And remember Wagon Train? Zane Grey? Death Valley Days? Of course you do. By the end of the 60s he’d appeared in 53 feature films and established himself as a regular visitor in our living rooms via those black and white screens with the little nano-nano antenna on top. Famous enough to get himself elected governor of California, he feasted on politics from 1967 to 1975. It took a little finagling to get to the White House in 1980, but once in, without that “two terms only” rule no doubt he’d have gone a third. Or maybe not; he was 77 by then, the oldest person (at that time) to be in the presidential role. And though inflation had been reduced and the unemployment rate had fallen; the national debt had nearly tripled as a result of those tax cuts and increased military spending. He is remembered today as “the Great Communicator.” Was that due to years of portraying whatever character he was assigned? Or did he have a natural gift for connecting?
The Boy In Illinois
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois February 6, 1911, the younger son of Jack and Nelle Wilson Reagan; his brother Neil was three years older. Jack was a salesman, and, it is said, had an alcohol problem; the family moved several times before settling in Dixon, Illinois, a town of 8,000 about a hundred miles west of Chicago, in 1920. Nelle was deeply religious; she was active in the Disciples of Christ church and led prayer meetings there. Ronald attended Dixon High School, then Eureka College, where he played guard position for the 1930 and 1931 Eureka Red Devils football teams. His first job was as a lifeguard; he spent summers working at Lowell Park Beach in Dixon. A marker there proclaims he saved 77 lives although some of those may have been pretty girls faking distress so they could be rescued by the
handsome hunk called “Dutch.”
Ronald graduated Eureka College with a BA in economics and sociology in 1932 and headed for Davenport, Iowa and a job as sportscaster for football games in the Big Ten Conference; then to Des Moines and station WHO as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. Imagine this – the station received basic descriptions of the games by wire; Ronald then created play-by-play accounts for the airwaves. Definitely a communications skill. In 1936 he traveled with the Cubs to their spring training in California, and the “hunk called Dutch” took a screen test. Zap, he wound up with a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers. Hollywood! 1937! Ronald was 26 years old. He became a star; Gallup polls placed him in the “top 100” in 1941 and 1942.
And What About Pretty Girls?
Let’s start with Jane Wyman. Ronald and Jane co-starred in a movie together in 1938 – it was Brother Rat, a comedy about cadets at VMI and the pranks they pulled; it was adapted from a successful Broadway play. Probably fun to make too; Ronald and Jane started dating then. They married in 1940; daughter Maureen was born the next year; in 1945 they adopted a son they named Michael. Another daughter in 1947, Christine, only lived two days. Jane filed for divorce in June 1948. It was a year before the divorce was final; Ronald hadn’t wanted it to happen, but in the “oh well” department for Jane, he was her third husband; overall she married five times between 1933-1965.
And then there was Nancy Davis. She and Ronald met in 1949 when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild and she needed help because her name had erroneously come up on the Hollywood blacklist. He helped, and they began dating. Nancy had already been squired around by some good-looking actors – Clark Gable and Robert Stack and Peter Lawford to name a few. Ronald was leery of marriage after his divorce from Jane, but he and Nancy finally tied the knot March 4, 1952. William Holden was best man; the Little Brown Church in the San Fernando Valley was the place. And the “My Ronnie-My Nancy” couple that we watched during those White House days began to evolve.
Their daughter Patricia (known as Patti Davis in later years) was born October 21, 1952; yes, if you’re counting on your fingers that’s seven-and-a-half months later; their son Ronald was born six years after that. An interesting thing about Nancy’s “I Love Ronnie” fetish – she really was stuck on Ronnie, but her relationship with her kids was sometimes contentious. Of her two – Patti and Ron, and her step-kids Maureen and Michael, her worst relationship was with Patti; years of family feuding lay ahead.
Nancy Begins
Anne Frances Robbins (1921- 2016) was born July 6, 1921 in Manhattan. Called “Nancy” from the beginning, she was the only child of Kenneth and Edith Luckett Robbins. Kenneth and Edith separated soon after their daughter’s birth and Edith traveled the country pursuing acting jobs; she left Nancy in the care of her sister Virginia Luckett in Bethesda, Maryland. “My favorite times were when Mother had a job in New York and Aunt Virgie would take me by train to see her,” Nancy recalled in later years. Edith married again in 1929; Nancy’s new step-dad Loyal Edward Davis was a prominent neurosurgeon. The family moved to Chicago and he formally adopted Nancy, legally changing her name to Nancy Davis. Nancy attended Girls Latin School of Chicago from 1929-1939; then Smith College in Massachusetts for a major in English and drama, graduating in 1943.
With Mom as an actress who had friends like ZaSu Pitts, Walter Huston, and Spencer Tracy, Nancy eased into acting; 1945 a road tour; 1946 a Broadway musical; 1949 a seven-year contract with MGM. She was usually cast as “a steady woman; a loyal housewife; a responsible young mother.” And then in 1952 she became a wife and a mother. “I was never a career woman,” she later said. “I became an actress because I hadn’t found the man I wanted to marry.” Well then.
SAG, and The Governor’s Mansion
The Screen Actors Guild, in case you’re not familiar with it, is a labor union for actors; it was founded in 1933 when major movie studios were forcing actors into binding multi-year contracts. SAG sought to protect its members, and to expand work opportunities for them. Ronald served as President of SAG twice; between 1947-1952 issues included the Hollywood blacklist which banned any entertainment professional who was a member of, or in sympathy with, the Communist Party, from any work in the studios. Ronald also joined the American Veterans Committee, worked with AFL-CIO to fight right-to-work laws, and spoke out against racism. He supported Harry Truman in 1948, then began shifting to the right; he supported Eisenhower in 1952 and Nixon in 1960. He criticized Medicare, calling its legislation the end of individual freedom in the United States. In 1962 he registered as a Republican.
He announced his candidacy for the California governorship in 1966. Incumbent Pat Brown labeled Ronald an extremist; the press called Ronald “monumentally ignorant of state issues.” But guess what. Ronald was elected with 57 percent of the vote. And he won again in 1970. During his eight years as California’s governor, public schools deteriorated due to his opposition to additional public education funding, the homicide rate doubled, and armed robbery rates rose, even with the many laws he signed to toughen criminal sentencing. Ronald decided it was time to tackle the presidency.
Teflon?
On January 20, 1981 there was no snow in Washington, DC on inauguration day, just California sunshine. Limos were back for the parade; Frank Sinatra was back for the ball. And something happened that day that seemed a little too much like a Hollywood movie plot. After 444 days of President Carter’s negotiations, the release of 52 American hostages from Iran was announced, just minutes after the Reagan swearing-in. Reverend Donn Moomaw, pastor of the Bel Air church the Reagans attended, uttered these words in his benediction at the ceremony “We thank you, O God, for the release of our hostages.” And what an announcement for a brand new president to make at his inaugural luncheon – “Some 30 minutes ago, the planes bearing our prisoners left Iranian air space, and they’re now free of Iran.” Once the press got hold of the news the country went wild – the National Christmas Tree on the ellipse was lighted; the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building were bathed in red white and blue; yellow ribbons spread country-wide in joy and celebration. Theories about that perfect timing spread too, as gossip will. But 1984 brought him a second inauguration day.
“Reaganomics” was about tax cuts, though critics labeled it “trickle-down economics” — the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will spread to the poor. Rising budget deficits and wealth inequality ultimately marked the Reagan era. A massive buildup of the military took place, the arms race escalated, Grenada was invaded, Libya was bombed, the secret and illegal sale of arms to Iran was revealed. And yet, Ronald Reagan gained the name “the Teflon President,” nothing bad seemed to stick. No matter what he did, he remained popular in the public eye.
Astrology?
Remember that assassination attempt early on? It wasn’t a political thing, but it definitely impacted how the White House operated during the Reagan years. Which brings us to Nancy. Having her husband shot terrified Nancy; when Merv Griffin told her a woman named Joan Quigley had predicted that particular day would be dangerous for the president, Nancy hired Joan at a salary of $3,000 a month. Private lines were set up at the White House and Camp David and used, according to some reports, throughout the day. In his 1988 memoir, For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington, White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan wrote the following about Nancy Reagan’s consultations with an astrologer: “Virtually every major move and decision the Reagans made during my time as White House Chief of Staff was cleared in advance with a woman in San Francisco who drew up horoscopes to make certain the planets were in a favorable alignment for the enterprise.” He wanted her fired; VP George Bush also suggested she be fired. In 1990, Joan Quigley released a book in which she asserted that she was “in charge” of the President’s scheduling during the Reagan administration. Nancy’s comment: “Astrology was simply one of the ways I coped with the fear I felt after my husband almost died. Was astrology one of the reasons [further attempts did not occur]? I don’t really believe it was, but I don’t really believe it wasn’t.”
Reality?
There are those who believe Nancy greatly influenced “her Ronnie” and his decisions in the White House. Clearly she viewed herself as his protector; “The Gaze” labeled the way she watched him as he spoke. But there is no questioning her impact on style and glamour as First Lady. She wanted everything in the White House redone, and she set about doing it, taking donations from citizens to cover the expense. She dressed exquisitely, accepting gifts of dresses, gowns and suits from fashion designers who were delighted to have their names associated with White House goings on. The problem with that? Accepting gifts from the tax-paying public? The “glamorous paragon of chic” was in violation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 though she claimed she gave most gifts to museums after wearing them. And that new state china service she commissioned from Lenox? Those 4,370 pieces etched in gold cost $209,508, during a time when her husband’s administration proposed that ketchup be counted as a vegetable for school lunches.
Ronald and Nancy returned to California in 1989; friends had purchased a home for them in Bel Air; they also had their ranch in Santa Barbara. He was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 1994 at the age of 83 and died June 5, 2004, being cared for by Nancy in his last years. Nancy died of congestive heart failure March 6, 2016, at the age of 94. Ronald and Nancy are buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. Both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor; they were jointly awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.
As to me partying with the Reagans? Absolutely dreadful idea.