Presidents: Politicians and People
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I subscribe to a thought provoking web based service called Quora, where people are allowed to write in and post questions for others who may have more experience or education. Most of the time I don’t respond because in many cases the questions are a bit trivial to the nth degree on very inane topics. It is, however, interesting to see what some people have on their minds.
I remember one question when a young woman, right out of school, had just joined an investment banking firm and asked whether with her new job and salary of $125,000, would it seem out of place if she bought a new Mercedes that cost $50, 000. You would be amazed at the responses she got. At least a dozen people were trying to do an analysis of the psycho-dynamics of the impact on her coworkers and her coworkers. I told her to forget about their feelings and just be sure she got the extended warranty agreement so that for the first five years she would have no repair or service cost on the car. These people are worrying about what everyone is going to think and no one is thinking about the cost effectiveness of the vehicle. Yep, these are the people you are trusting with your money.
Another question was asked about President Obama and what he was like as a person. It just so happened that a former staff member, who had also responded to the same question about President George W. Bush, said President Obama was a friendly, but guarded person who seemed to to weigh all options, even hypotheticals before making a decision. Also, he stated that he was a sincere family man who truly cared about family.
Apparently he had given a somewhat similar review about George W. Bush and for all the hell I gave him there was one thing I believed and that he was a guy I could sit down and have a beer or two with. I’m not sure our conversation would last beyond two beers, but I do believe Bush was, at his core, a decent human being, just not the brightest bulb on the Bush family tree. If you look at their two daughters, usually good indicators of long term family values, both are still doing well despite some early teenage shenanigans. Laura Bush was always a lady, a bit stiff, but always a lady, as is Michelle Obama.
There are always idiots who can’t read this kind of object analysis without throwing out the nasty comments. I don’t know why, maybe their mother stopped nursing them too soon. They have to jump from the analysis of the person to their job, never a good idea. Anyway, given that prelude, here is my response to one of those jerks who immediately launched into a tirade about the current POTUS not doing what he thought was a good job. Is this relevant to the character of the man? Your opinions are eagerly welcomed.
I believe that most people don’t have any idea of how our system of government works, therefore, they assess blame on a singular figure. If anyone thinks that they, or any one person, can make the government change, or the world change by themselves, then they truly do not understand the complexities of our government. For example, there are those who praise Ronald Reagan for his foreign policy accomplishments, especially being instrumental in bringing down the Berlin Wall. What they do not understand is that it was simply fate that Gorbachev made that happen. The USSR was experiencing crushing poverty and the weight of the Soviet Union was making everything much worse. Were Reagan to face off against a hardliner such as Putin he would likely fail because of Putin’s willingness to forego the economic hardships of the Russian people. Putin, instead, is trying to rebuild it the old Soviet Union.
What Reagan left was an economy that George H.W. Bush was trying to revive. Many people forget about this when they rave about Reagan. The failure of trickle down economics and Bush’s raising of taxes despite his “read my lips” comment allowed Clinton to capture the White House.
G.W. Bush then came in and tried to lower the tax burden even in the face of going to war in Iraq which I truly believe he thought would pay its way out of the trouble it was in. After all, it was about stabilizing the oil market, but once the world was looking, we could not take over the oil fields. This was a mistake Bush made because he trusted the wrong people, not because he was a bad person. However, the bill of goods he was sold by Rumsfeld and Cheney, a quick and easy war, went south in a hurry but it was too late to back out.
George W. Bush is a good man but he trusted people that should have never been trusted, just as Ronald Reagan did. But there is a big difference between Bush, Reagan, and the current president. Barrack Obama is a Constitutional lawyer, in fact he taught the subject, which takes a great deal of intelligence and understanding of government. His biggest failure was trying to get the it to work like it was supposed to work. He foolishly thought that people who were voted into office, though they were political, would do their best for the people who sent them to office. This only shows the disconnect between academics and the real world.
The President should have had a clue when Mitch McConnell stated that the Republicans would do everything they could to make sure he was a one term president. But, he thought that was just political posturing. He was WRONG. Senator McConnell meant every word of it.
What the POTUS has come to understand is that politicians really do not give a rat’s ass about the everyday people in this country. Once in Washington they learn very quickly that it’s a survival game. If you don’t look out for yourself, you may not be there for your next term. The Tea Party and the Libertarians have proved that to be true. No one who goes to Washington is going to make an immediate impact on anything. It simply does not work that way. Ask Ted Cruz! He might say he has accomplished something, but he really hasn’t. All he has done is make a fool out of himself and appease a bunch of idiots who do not have enough votes to swing a child’s Tinker Toy. Let him run for president and he will see just how important he really is. No doubt he will be embarrassed, if you can embarrass a fool.
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Most Brits have a great deal of time for Obama. Reagan was the last President we really liked – we always like the underdog and lets face it, going from ‘B’ movie actor to President is quite something – well it was to us anyway.
When he called Princess Diana ‘Princess David’ we liked him even more really.
You’re probably right about Bush – both the ‘not being the brightest bulb’ but deep down being decent. Frankly, he wasn’t really bright enough to be as corrupt as most politicians.
You just described American politics but the only difference between American politicians and British politicians is the accent when they speak.
All most care about is survival until they can get their mega pensions.
Shame is that politicians like Obama actually wanted to ‘do it right’.
I think you are right Norman. Most politicians are what they are … politicians. They are sort of like snakes. They are what they are and you should know that from the very start, except that snakes usually will not bother you if you leave them alone. Politicians are always wanting to screw with your life.
Well Ross, I don’t know if I can argue with you on any of those points. I do remember “Bruce Almighty” and the difficulty that the character played by Jim Carey had dealing with the job of God. I think your first job would be to somehow turn off the prayer channel so your could think straight. In all seriousness I would be pretty well satisfied as I am except for the stupidity of the politicians who, upon taking office, suddenly think that their way of thinking is the only way and anything less would be treasonous. I am quiet sure that all of the stars have their own share of problems also. However, it is a point of contention that we will ever have a government that does not have a bipolar disorder. I think not.
About being President of the United States of America, did you ever see the movie BRUCE ALMIGHTY, starring Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman? I would dearly much rather serve eight years in office as God Almighty, than ever be the President of the USA!
Think about it. Whatever needed to be done I could just order it done. I could recreate species that man exterminated such as the Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet, Quagga, and other extinct species. I could reforest the lost rain forests, put the world’s coral reefs back together again, and turn the Sahara Dessert back into grassland savannah again. I could correct global warming and pollution.
I could order no more diseases, no more candiru in the Amazon River, and no
more parasites. I could make the blind see, delete the obesity gene from fat people, make the deaf hear, and even grow missing limbs on amputees. I could end world hunger just on my orders. I could order that from now on lice, ticks, fleas, flies, and mosquitoes are to stop biting people. I could even order jellyfish to stop stinging people.
And if I made any mistakes while serving in office as God, I could just order my mistakes to be corrected. If anybody got killed because of my mistakes, I could just order these dead people to resurrected back to life. I could order there to be no more earthquakes, droughts, floods, and tsunamis.
In my seventh year in office as God, I could create my own gold mine and diamond mine, and then start a big retirement fund for myself, when I become mortal again.
Considering that most of America goes to church, synagogue, or temple, or mosque, while serving in office as God, most of the world’s people would love and worship me. But, if you are the President of the USA, no matter what you do office, you will be hated even by those who voted for you.
Technically, under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, you have the right to either choose which religion you want to practice, you even have the right to choose to not worship any Gods whatsoever, to not have any religion at all, and you even have the right to be atheist.
I have a great admiration and respect for Dan Barker, a former preacher who eventually became an atheist, and is on the staff of the FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION, of which I am a member.
However, I must warn that here in USA if you dare to profess to be an atheist, you will face a certain amount of scorn and ridicule, especially if you live in a Red State!
But, now let’s be more down to Earth of over being the President of the United States. I would much rather be a rock star like Mick Jagger or Bruce Springsteen, a country music star like Blake Shelton or Kenny Chesney, a movie star like Brad Pitt, Merle Streep, or Robert Redford, or a filmmaker like Oliver Stone or Steven Spielberg, than ever be the President of the United States of America!
If you succeed in the tough-as-nails profession of show business, your fans will love you. But if you are the President of the United of America, you will hated, ridiculed, and have to make decisions for courses of action that the public will tear you apart over!
If you are the President, our nation’s economy, international terrorism, global warming, and other serious problems are your responsibility and you are only human!
Anyone who would want to be the President on the United States of America, must be a masochistic glutton for punishment!